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Here are the best easy vegan dinner recipes that are delicious and filling! All dinner ideas are listed with cook time for easy planning.
Finding great vegan dinner recipes is hard. Not only do they have to be easy to make: they have to be filling, healthy, and absolutely delicious! Great vegan dinners are hearty and satisfying, filled with enough plant-based protein to keep you full. Only have a handful of vegan dinner ideas in your repertoire? Don’t worry! You’ve come to the right place.
Here’s our list of all the best easy vegan dinner ideas! As vegetarian and vegan recipe developers and cookbook authors with over a decade of experience, we’ve created dependable recipes that are both filling and delicious. We’ve listed them with total cook time for easy planning. When you’re ready, click over to the recipe to get all the ingredients! Then read below the list for some notes on plant-based protein and vegan meal planning.
And now…our best easy vegan dinner recipes & ideas!
First up in our best vegan dinner recipes: this quick Vegan Curry! Coconut milk and curry powder make healthy vegetables taste like a decadent treat. And, it takes under 25 minutes to whip up! It’s an ode to the simplicity of plant-based ingredients and great seasoning.
Total time: 25 minutes
Also try: Easy Chickpea Curry
Craving that glorious comfort food, without the dairy? Try this vegan mac and cheese! Our rendition explodes with creamy decadence using only whole food ingredients like cashews, sweet potato, and canned artichokes to make a cheesy sauce that is just as satisfying as the real thing!
Total time: 30 minutes
Craving a healthy vegan dinner that’s bursting with flavor? Look no further than this tofu broccoli stir-fry! This type of fast and easy meal has become exactly what we crave (don’t you want to just dive right into that bowl?). The tender tofu cubes and crisp broccoli florets get tossed in a savory sauce that’s both sweet and umami, making it a vegan dinner everyone will love.
Total time: 30 minutes
Here’s one of our most deliciously fun vegan dinner ideas: vegan crab cakes! Essentially a plant-based patty that tastes like a crab cake, these crispy, crave-worthy bites will wow eaters of any diet. We made a plate for our omnivore family members and they couldn’t stop raving (really!). Packed with hearts of palm, artichokes, and chickpeas, serve them up with tartar sauce for a filling vegan dinner recipe.
Total time: 30 minutes
Eggplant Parmesan is one of the world’s best meatless comfort foods: so why not try a dairy-free rendition? Try this vegan Eggplant Parmesan, with all the flavor of the real deal but totally plant-based! Tender eggplant slices are dipped and breaded, then baked until crispy and smothered in a tangy marinara sauce. Top with dairy-free cheese to make a stunning vegan dinner everyone will love!
Total time: 1 hour
There’s just something about the cozy comfort of ginger-scented fried rice that’s nearly impossible for us to turn down. Here’s a rendition that makes it into a vegan meal: try tofu fried rice! Chewy cubes of tofu nestle into fluffy, veggie-packed rice bursting with savory, garlicky flavor. Top it with a drizzle of hot sauce and serve it warm, and it’s absolutely packed with flavor.
Total time: 30 minutes
Here’s a plant-based soup everyone around the table will love: vegan broccoli soup! This cozy bowl is lusciously creamy and bursting with flavor. But there is no cheddar cheese or vegan dairy substitutes: just simple ingredients! It’s a healthy and satisfying meal that pleases just about anyone.
Total time: 35 minutes
Looking for a rock-star vegan recipe or plant based dinner idea? Try this crispy tofu bowl! Imagine, chunks of perfectly-seasoned meaty, savory crispy tofu paired with fluffy rice and fresh veggies. The best part? Cover it with a spicy mayo and sprinkle everything with crunchy fried onions! It makes a bowl that's an explosion of textures and flavors.
Total time: 40 minutes
On the lookout for vegan dinner ideas? Vegan Taco Salad to the rescue! This genius recipe comes to you by the magic of Walnut Taco Meat: a tasty way to make a plant-based version of ground beef. Turns out, walnuts, mushrooms and spices do a spot on job of simulating the savory goodness of meat crumbles. Add to that fresh veggies and a zingy sauce, and you’ve got a hearty meal that everyone will enjoy.
Total time: 25 minutes
Also try: Sheet Pan Nachos (uses the same taco meat!)
Need vegan dinner inspiration? Cozy up to a bowl of these creamy, zingy peanut noodles! This is one of our favorite fresh, easy dinner recipes and it comes together in less than 30 minutes. The peanut butter sauce is lusciously creamy, bursting with flavor from soy sauce, fresh lime juice and honey or maple syrup. Mix it together with luscious noodle strands and crunchy veggies and top with loads of fresh cilantro and crunchy peanuts.
Total time: 25 minutes
Try marinated tempeh! This vegan protein is often overlooked but has massive flavor when cooked correctly. Marinating tempeh gives it bold savory flavor when cooked up with soy sauce, maple syrup, ginger and garlic. Give it a quick sear in a pan and it tastes deliciously meaty, great for serving with rice or in a bowl meal.
Here’s a go-to when you need a plant based dinner that’s protein-packed: Vegan Meatballs! This recipe takes under 30 minutes to make, and it’s packed with protein! Even better: the flavor is outstanding. Serve with pasta and your favorite marinara sauce!
Total time: 30 minutes
Here’s an irresistibly delicious vegan dinner recipe: Falafel Salad! Make a batch of this easy baked falafel, then layer them with crunchy veggies and top with a creamy, zingy tahini dressing. Or, use purchased frozen falafel or even repurpose take-out leftovers!
Total time: 35 minutes
Need a fresh vegan dinner idea or crowd-pleasing appetizer? Try this lettuce wraps recipe! The punchy, savory filling is infused with hoisin, soy sauce and rice vinegar, mixing savory tofu with cashews and green onions. Throw it into tender leaf of crunchy green lettuce with a few more colorful veggies, and it’s to die for!
Is cheese essential to that classic Italian baked pasta? After lots of testing…turns out, no! Vegan lasagna is a thing, and it’s extremely tasty. In fact, we agreed: this is our favorite lasagna recipe, period. You can make this huge pan on a budget, so it’s a healthy dinner recipe that’s affordable to all!
Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Hands up if you love cauliflower! This vegetable has star status among veggies these days. Make it into tacos, use it as a stand-in buffalo wings, or hide it in alfredo sauce. But here's a favorite way to make them into a vegan dinner recipe: this Cauliflower Stir Fry! Fry it until lightly charred and tender, then add bell peppers and a punchy stir fry sauce. It’s the best way to make eating your veggies irresistible!
Total time: 25 minutes
Also try: Broccoli Stir Fry
Here’s a must-make vegan dinner recipe: this irresistible BBQ Tofu! Each bite has just the right chewy texture, bathed in a silky, sweet, savory sauce. You’ll want to keep eating it for days. This plate disappeared very quickly at our house! Serve with rice, or Southern-style sides like coleslaw and cornbread.
Total time: 20 minutes
It’s easy to resolve to eat more plant-based healthy dinners, but actually doing it is another matter entirely. Here’s one way to make it mega-delicious: Vegan Tacos! There are lots of ways to make a vegan taco, but this one is our favorite. It’s filled with hearty, spiced walnut taco meat that tastes remarkably similar to the real thing. Add refried beans, your favorite classic toppings, and dollop with a creamy, spicy sauce.
Total time: 30 minutes
Also try: Easy Tofu Tacos
This vegan shepherd’s pie is cozy comfort food to the max! Imagine: a creamy gravy filled with tender vegetables, lentils and scented with fennel and sage. It’s topped with a fluffy layer of Yukon gold potatoes and fresh rosemary, then layered in a baking dish and baked until golden.
Total time: 1 hour
Welcome to…your new favorite vegan dinner. Well, at least it’s ours! Something about all those tasty fillings snuggled cozily into a tortilla makes a burrito irresistible. This burrito is packed with flavor from Spanish rice (aka Mexican rice), seasoned black beans, peppers and onions, and mashed avocado.
Total time: 35 minutes, easy to make ahead
Looking for a delicious, filling vegan dinner recipe? This quick vegan chili is for you. Yep, this one is our best chili recipe yet and it’s totally plant based! It’s full of savory flavor starring beans, plant-based crumbles, and a hint of adobo sauce for complexity. Top it with plant based toppings: vegan sour cream and some pickled jalapenos and it’s out of this world good.
Also try: Ultimate Vegan Chili
Total time: 25 minutes
Try this Sweet Potato Curry! Tender sweet potatoes and bell peppers swim in a luscious broth of coconut milk and Thai curry paste, topped with fresh cilantro and crunchy peanuts. There’s so much flavor going on, you’ll want to take another bite before you’re finished savoring the first. Welcome to: your easy weeknight vegan dinner soulmate!
Total time: 35 minutes
In need of quick vegan dinner recipes? Try this easy veggie wrap recipe! Veggie wraps can be bland and boring, but this one is anything but. Fill a tortilla with savory chickpea salad, colorful veggies, and a tasty spread, and you’ve got a lunch that will make everyone jealous! Here’s how to build a veggie wrap that’s full of flavor.
What better to please a crowd than Sloppy Joes? These vegan Sloppy Joes recipe has a zingy lentil filling that tastes just as good as the meaty version. Put it on a toasted bun with some bread and butter pickles, and WOW! You’re going to love this vegan sandwich (promise). Ready to get cooking?
Total time: 35 minutes
WOW is all we can say about this vegan enchiladas recipe! It tops the charts as one of our most crowd-pleasing plant based recipes…ever. Tortillas are wrapped around a veggie filling oozing with flavor, and it’s all doused in a zesty homemade enchilada sauce. With the crunchy veggie topping, this dish looks simply incredible.
Total time: 30 minutes
Eating plant based dinner recipes doesn’t mean giving up the burger! Veggie burgers can be seriously satisfying, and that doesn’t mean processed meat substitutes. These vegan chickpea burgers full of whole foods can be your new go-to! They’re crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a hint of nuance from smoked paprika. Painted with BBQ sauce and served with shiitake bacon and spicy mayo, they’re pretty darn tasty.
Total time: 40 minutes
Also try: Falafel Burger
Here’s a vegan dinner recipe that takes just 30 minutes and results in so much flavor…you’ll put it on your regular rotation immediately. Try this Tofu Curry recipe! The brilliant red broth is flavored with coconut milk and red curry paste, with the zing of lime and a hint of spicy sweetness. The Thai-style flavors are the perfect way to introduce tofu to those wary of it.
Also try: Vegetable Curry or Butternut Squash Curry
Total time: 30 minutes
At it’s base, this simple vegan dinner recipe requires no cooking at all: layer a dollop of hummus with crunchy veggies and serve with pita wedges. It’s easily customizable and you can make it super basic or fancier with easy additions of ingredients. It takes just 5 minutes to make this Mediterranean-style meal that’s bursting with creamy, tangy, crunchy, fresh, and savory flavors.
Total time: 5 minutes
There’s no such thing as too many easy vegan dinner recipe ideas. So let us present our new favorite: these incredible vegan fajitas! Everyone loves this meal, even meat eaters. It’s a great way to make a fun healthy dinner where no one notices there’s no meat! Roast up lots of veggies on a sheet pan with spices, and serve with refried beans and “guac-ish”.
Also try: Epic Vegetarian Fajitas (also vegan and done in 30 minutes)
Total time: 40 minutes
Here’s a fun way to infuse loads of veggies into your life: this tasty Tempeh Stir Fry! This mess of vibrant vegetables is just as tasty as it looks. It’s all smothered in a tangy, zingy vegan stir fry sauce that you’ll want to drizzle on just about everything.
Lentils are low in calories, high in plant based protein nutrition, and budget friendly. And, they make 40 times less greenhouse gases than a burger. Impressive, right? So here’s our favorite new way to eat them: our Best Ever Lentil Soup. We're pulling out the superlatives because this one is so delicious, you’ll feel like you’re wrapped in a cozy hug. Did we mention it’s a plant based dinner recipe, too?
Also try: Curry Lentil Soup or Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Total time: 45 minutes
In the mood for a vegan sheet pan dinner? Roasting your dinner on a baking sheet makes for an easy meal concept! This whole food plant based sheet pan dinner to load on the veggies. This recipe has 4 of our best vegetables to eat all at one time: and it’s seriously tasty, too.
Total time: 45 minutes
Here's a vegan dinner recipe to file under dinnertime basics: this Easy Rice Bowl! This 30 minute dinner features these easy black beans, a trick to make a bland can of beans taste amazing in 5 minutes. Pair it with rice and colorful veggies. The kicker? A zingy Cashew Cilantro Sauce that you’ll want to bathe in.
Total time: 30 minutes
Jackfruit as a vegan substitute for pulled pork? Turns out this tropical fruit magically mimics pulled pork in a way we never dreamed. And one of the best ways to eat it? Jackfruit tacos: a fast and easy dinner recipe for weeknights. Vegan comfort food, at its finest!
Total time: 20 minutes
This Moroccan stew recipe is one of our top vegan dinner recipes we refer to people who want to eat more plants. Why? It’s ultra flavorful, with a blend of Moroccan spices that’s truly irresistible! And it’s full of nutrient rich vegetables: sweet potatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes and spinach. We like to serve it with quinoa for a delicious plant based dinner that’s also gluten free.
Meet your recipe soulmate: Crispy Avocado Tacos. You’ve got avocado fries, breaded and baked in a hot oven until crispy, with a texture reminiscent of a fried fish taco. Then top that with spiced black beans, pico de gallo, and the refreshing crunch of romaine lettuce. Drizzle on a creamy lime and cilantro sauce, and it’s heaven on a plate. It tastes like restaurant tacos, but it’s easy to whip up in your kitchen.
Total time: 30 minutes
Introducing this easy Veggie Power Bowl! The simple combination of whole grain, veggies, protein and a sauce makes dinnertime delicious. This one is irresistibly good, pairing quinoa with tender roasted broccoli and cauliflower, crunchy raw veg, and finished off with a creamy pop of tahini sauce. Serve it in a shallow bowl and well, it’s swoon-worthy.
Also try: Vegan Grain Bowl or 10 Easy Vegan Bowls
Total time: 35 minutes
Tofu is a healthy vegan protein that's great for incorporating into your meal prep repertoire. Want to fall in love with it? Come taste this tofu stir fry. It’s got the most flavor-packed stir fry sauce that works with any veggie, and the tofu is crisped on the outside and perfectly seasoned.
Total time: 35 minutes
Here’s a soup recipe that’s ultra cozy and deliciously hearty: Vegan Mushroom Soup! You won’t believe how creamy this is…without the use of dairy! Just like our fan favorite Wild Rice Soup, we’ve harnessed the magic of cashews to make a delightfully creamy base. Add to that spices, lots of veggies and whole grains, and it’s the perfect canvas to highlight deliciously savory mushrooms.
Also try: Creamy Broccoli Potato Soup
Total time: 40 minutes
Want to eat a vegan dinner recipe and have your poke bowls too? These popular healthy bowl meals are all the rage. Poke is a Hawaiian specialty, typically made with raw ahi tuna that’s marinated and then served with lots of veggies and tasty sauces. What if you don’t eat fish? We’ve got a whole food plant based (WFPB) version for you: vegan poke bowls! These tasty bowls are bursting with flavor, and they’ve got an unusual ingredient that amazingly gives the same texture and flavor as poke.
Total time: 40 minutes
Understanding vegan protein & how to stay full
The most important part of eating vegan dinner recipes: plant based protein is key for staying satiated and full. Recipes with meat and dairy naturally have lots of protein, but it’s not true for vegan dinners. Make sure to load them with plant based protein so you’re not hungry 1 hour later! Here are some top plant-based protein filled foods:
- Legumes: Lentils, Beans, Chickpeas, and Peas
- Whole Grains: Rice, Quinoa, Barley, Farro, Bulgur Wheat, and Millet (see How to Cook Whole Grains)
- Nuts & Seeds: Almonds, Cashews, Peanuts, Walnuts, Pecans, Hazelnuts, Pistachios, Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds), Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds
- Soy: Tofu, Tempeh (Stick to 2 to 4 servings per week)*
- Veggies: Some vegetables have protein, but in much lower amounts than the foods above. Some higher protein veggies are Corn, Broccoli, Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, and Artichokes.
Choose from a variety of sources!
When you’re eating lots of protein from plants, it’s important to get a wide variety of protein sources. The point isn’t just to eat a can of black beans every day! Per to Harvard School of Public Health, make sure to mix up your sources so no “essential” components of protein are missing. For more on plant based protein and lots of recipes, go to All About Plant Based Protein.
Is soy a healthy plant-based protein? Yes, in moderation! According to the Harvard TH Chan School of Nutrition, soy is a nutrient-dense source of protein that can safely be consumed several times a week. It’s likely to provide health benefits—especially when eaten as an alternative to red and processed meat.
Consider Vitamin B12
Lastly, make sure to consider vitamin B12 if you’re eating lots of vegan recipes. Dairy, eggs, and seafood have the Vitamin B12, which is important for avoiding anemia and does not occur naturally in plants. If you eat a fully vegan diet, you may need to add a supplement (specifically vitamin B12) to make sure you receive all the nutrients required. Consult your doctor for more.
More vegan recipes
Love making vegan recipes? We’ve got you covered for every meal of the day. Here are some of our top vegan resources:
- Browse our top 50 Easy Vegan Recipes
- Try our 15 Vegan Lunch Ideas
- Go for 25 Vegan Breakfast Ideas or 21 Vegan Brunch Ideas
- Make 30 Tasty Vegan Side Dishes
- End the meal with 30 Vegan Desserts
40 Vegan Dinner Recipes: Vegan Curry & More!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Here are the best easy vegan dinner recipes that are delicious AND filling! All dinner ideas are listed with cook time for easy planning.
Ingredients
- White or brown basmati rice, to serve*
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 medium bell peppers (we used 1 yellow and 1 orange)
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cups (5 ounces) baby spinach leaves (or chopped spinach)
- 28-ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes (or best quality crushed tomatoes)**
- 1 tablespoon curry powder (or garam masala)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¾ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ¾ cup full fat coconut milk
Instructions
- Cook the rice: If serving with rice, start the basmati rice (or use an Instant Pot.)
- Prep the vegetables: Dice the onion and bell peppers. (For super speed, you can go to Step 3 and mince the garlic and ginger while they cook.) Mince the garlic. Peel and mince the ginger (or grate it).
- Saute the veggies: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and peppers saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and spinach and saute for 2 minutes until the spinach is fully wilted.
- Simmer: Carefully pour in the crushed tomatoes and their juices, then add the curry powder, cumin, salt, chickpeas, peas, and coconut milk. Cook for 5 minutes until bubbly. Remove from the heat. If desired, stir in a little more coconut milk (depending on the tomato brand*). Serve with rice.
Notes
*Or make the rice in advance, which is helpful for brown rice because it takes longer to cook. To reheat the rice, place it in a pan on the stovetop and add a splash of water. Heat gently for a few minutes until the water evaporates and the rice is warmed through.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Curry
- Diet: Vegan
