It’s a new year, and that means healthy eating is an even bigger priority than usual in most of our minds. Maybe you’re trying out Whole30 for the first (or third) time, or are finally cutting down on sugar… go you! But if you’re just looking for one small step to take, consider setting a goal to eat more veggies.
These super-quick vegan dinner recipes make it easy—with 10 minutes of cooking time or less, there’s just no excuse to order takeout. Adding a few vegan meals into your weekly dinner lineup pretty much guarantees you’ll be getting in more greens and cuts down on dairy while you’re at it. We can’t be the only ones who overdid it on the cheese boards this season, right?
1. Easy Vegan Mushroom Risotto
If you’ve ever given up dairy, you know the feeling of missing creamy dishes like mac and cheese, fettuccine Alfredo, and risotto. Cheese and cream are just TOO good. Thankfully, with a few sneaky ingredient swaps, you can make a creamy risotto that’s way healthier. Hummus, nutritional yeast, and pre-cooked rice are the stars of the show here, plus a healthy amount of mushrooms for that creamy base.
2. Simple Tomato Bisque
Let’s be real: Salads just don’t taste as appealing in the winter. It’s practically a fact. So we’re all for slurping your veggies instead. Next time you’re craving a warm meal, trade out the Campbell’s for this easy tomato soup. It gets its creaminess from avocados, and tons of flavor from red pepper flakes, lime juice, and basil.
3. Zucchini Cauliflower Fritters
Veggie burgers can be full of sketchy ingredients and low on actual vegetables. Pretty lame if you ask us. On the flip side, these homemade fritters use only four ingredients, two of which are zucchini and cauliflower. No need to worry about what you’re putting into your body here!
4. Spinach Artichoke Hummus Pasta
This dish basically tastes like spinach and artichoke dip in pasta form, and we are so into it. Who knew hummus was the secret to such delicious pasta?! Start with your favorite noodles, be it gluten-free, lentil-based, or good ol’ spaghetti, then get your veggies in with artichoke hearts and spinach.
5. Asian Cucumber Salad
When you want something super-duper light but still tasty, this Asian cucumber salad is a winner. Slice up cucumbers, radishes, green onions, and red onion, then toss it all in the easy sweet and sour sauce. It’s fresh, crisp, and fragrant, and can be ready in 10 minutes.
6. Veggie Greek Lentil Salad
Put down whatever gross detox drink you’re attempting to choke down and make this clean salad instead. It’s made with veggies, herbs, black lentils, and a super-basic Greek vinaigrette dressing. That’s it! The lentils will fill you up, and there’s nothing in it to make you feel bloated or blah after.
7. Cheesy Vegan Zoodles
One of our favorite ways to eat veggies is to disguise them as pasta. After all, if it looks like pasta and tastes mostly like pasta, we can pretend it really is, right? That’s what we tell ourselves, anyway. With onion, red pepper, and nutritional yeast to give it that cheesy taste, and minimal ingredients beyond that, these zoodles are a delicious weeknight meal that won’t stress you out to prep.
