Lazy vegan meals… can it be done and still be nutritious and delicious? Absolutely. Let’s be honest, no one really wants to stand around and cook (then clean) in the kitchen all day. So today, we’re going to take a look at easy/lazy vegan lunch ideas for all ages.

It’s becoming a common misconception that vegan meals aren’t made up of nutritious food, and I think we have social media trends to thank for that. With the right basic ingredients, it isn’t difficult to make a healthy meal without animal products. If nutrition is a concern for you, I strongly encourage you to shop the perimeter of a grocery store. This is where you’ll find loads of fresh produce and vegan options for milk etc. You will have to venture into the middle of the store for pantry staples like beans and pasta, but try to avoid highly and ultra processed foods.

The Biggest Tip: Meal Prep

You’re going to see this theme throughout the article. I’ve tested this again and again and it always comes back to this: to make the easiest meals, you need to set yourself up for success. Let’s say you want to cook two new recipes this week and they each require onion. You could cut the onion each night, or you could cut enough onion at the start of the week to cover the two new recipes along with any other recipe you may want to add onion to. Good meal prep allows you to eliminate the prep time required before each recipe you cook.

Personally, I like to meal plan for the week, then do the shopping. The next day I’ll spend an hour in the kitchen prepping up produce for all the breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. In fact, if you want to see your family eat more fresh produce, have it sitting in the fridge, ready to eat. I used to keep loads of containers of fruit that was up for grabs and my kids would demolish it in days. The same fruit in a fruit bowl? Loads of food waste.

At the start of any week you’d normally find huge bags of onion, carrots, celery, greens, cabbage, and mushrooms, all prepped and ready to be used on the fly. There would also be glass containers of fruit for the kids to grab. Each day when cooking breakfast and dinner, I’d grab a bag of prepped produce and use it.

If money isn’t a concern, you can purchase most fresh produce pre-prepped. I found that the cost wasn’t worth it for us, unless it was onions. I was happy to spend a little to let someone else cut onions for me.

Another “Lazy” Tip: Batch Cooking

Making a big batch of food may sound like more work, but it’s actually one of your secrets to success when you want to enjoy lazy days. The reason this works: double batching or triple batching a recipe usually only adds 10 – 20 extra minutes to your overall cook time, and most of that is in veg prep (cutting, etc.). From there, you’re usually just cooking in a larger pan.

When we look at the math, it’s like this: a batch of vegan chili takes about 45 minutes to cook, plus about 15 minutes of veg prep. So, an hour in all. If I want to eat that once a week, that’s 4 hours a month for chili. However, if I use a large pot and make a triple batch, it now takes me about a total of 1 hr 20 mins. By triple batching, we’ve saved 2 hrs and 40 mins for the month.

Now, do this with 6 meals and you’re saving nearly 18 hours in your kitchen. Let that sink in. It’s a huge time save in the long run. To make batch cooking work however, you need the right tools, a large storage freezer, and the right types of containers. If this is something you’re interested in, check out my batch cooking eCourse.

Sheet Pan Meals to the Rescue

Where you can, make sheet pan meals. These are a simple way to get delicious ingredients cooked and served. Many sheet pan meals call for basic ingredients that create very balanced meals. In addition to sheet pan meals, look into pasta bakes. Both of these can be made vegan, and are an excellent option for those who eat lunches at home. Honestly, these are two of the best lazy vegan meals to make because you’re just putting ingredients on a tray/dish and popping it into the oven.

Great Simple Ingredients to Keep on Hand

When stocking your fridge, freezer, and cabinets, there are some fantastic pantry staples I think every vegan should keep on hand. This will make putting together easy vegan meals a reality for you, especially on a busy day. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of awesome ingredients:

• Aromatic Vegetables (garlic, white/yellow/red onion, celery, carrots, shallots, etc.)
• Beans (black beans, chickpeas, white beans, etc., a great high protein ingredient)
• Bell Peppers (great for snacking and stuffing)
• Butters and Spreads (peanut butter, almond butter, chickpea butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.)
• Coconut Products (coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut flour)
• Dairy Free Basic Substitutes (vegan butter, dairy free milk, vegan yogurt)
• Flavourful Salts (sea salt, smoked salt, garlic salt, flake salt, pink salt, etc.)
• Healthy Fats for Cooking (olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc.)
• Sweet Potatoes & White Potatoes (such versatile ingredients)
• Nutritional Yeast (not everyone loves this but a lot of recipes call for it)
• Rice (white rice, brown rice, wild rice, etc.)
• Sauces (soy sauce, hot sauce, salad dressings, creamy sauces etc.)
• Shredded Jackfruit (you can buy this canned or frozen, it’s a great base for other flavours)
• Spics & Seasonings (basil, marjoram, black pepper, ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, etc.)
• Tomato Products (tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced/crushed tomatoes)
• Tortillas (corn tortillas, wheat tortillas, gluten free tortillas if needed)
• Vegan Parmesan Cheese & Other Vegan Cheeses (I like the Follow Your Heart Parm because it’s also top 9 allergy free)
• Vegetable Stock

Keep Your Favorite Veggies on Hand

After years of feeding a whole family of people with different dietary restrictions for medical reasons, I can tell you that keeping a range of fresh veggies and fruits on hand that each person loved was a big part of my feeding strategy. Some of my fave fresh vegetables to have are:

• Beets (steamed beets have an amazing texture)
• Broccolini (mainly for roasting)
• Carrots
• Mushrooms (common and exotic varieties)
• Onions (my kids love caramelized onions)
• Peppers (big and small)
• Potatoes
• Salad Greens (spinach, kale, blends, etc.)
• Tomatoes (cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, etc.)

I’ll also add: keep lots of fresh fruit in your fridge as well. Fruit has loads of nutrition and provides hydration as well.

Great Kitchen Tools to Have

These are some of my fave kitchen tools to suggest for those who are following a plant-based diet. These tools will allow you to make easy meals, large batches of meals, and everything else in between.

• Air Fryer
• Box Grater
• Comfortable & Sharp Knives
• Food Processor
• High Powdered Blender
• Instant Pot
• Several Cutting Boards
• Spiralizer and/or Vegetable Sheeter

A good food processor can save you so much time when it comes to prep (especially after a long day), and most are dishwasher safe. A good food processor can chop/dice onion, mushrooms, and other basic ingredients. They’re also great for making power balls.

An air fryer can be used to make simple vegan recipes including taquitos (so easy to make in an air fryer). Also know that your air fryer is great for reheating foods, even from frozen.

I can’t stress this enough if you plan on cooking at home: get good knives. When your knives are sharp and comfortable, not only is this safer, but you’ll work faster in the kitchen as well.

Making Versatile Options

One way to enjoy lazy meals is to create a few main ingredients that are super versatile. Let’s look at a delicious vegan taco as an example. The main ingredients would be:

• Vegan Protein (shredded mushroom, trumpet mushroom, shredded jackfruit, tofu, etc.)
• Perhaps Some Beans
• Toppings (salsa, guac, sour cream, etc.)

Now, we can take those main ingredients and make something else with them. On day one, we make the delicious vegan taco. The next day, we make a pasta sauce from the guac by adding a little milk. Toss your pasta in that with drained black beans and now we have a taco salad. You could even crush tortilla chips and sprinkle them on top.

On the third day, using those same main ingredients, we make a delicious vegan rice bowl. Start with steamed rice, add the salsa, mushrooms, and a creamy tasty sauce. You could even add some spices such as paprika, ancho chili, and cayenne to your sauce to spice things up.

This may not seem like a lazy collection of meals on the surface, but they are. That vegan protein? We cooked it once. Everything else was most likely purchased ready to consume. Even if you were to make your own guac, you make one big batch and eat it for several days.

By using this method regularly, you’ll find yourself making delicious easy/lazy vegan meals regularly.

Easy Vegan Recipes to Take for Lunch

These are some of the easiest vegan recipes you can make. Each one is also gluten free and allergy friendly.

• Chickpea Mock Tuna Salad
• Vegan Easy Bean Chili (a great one-pot recipe)
• Creamy Dairy Free Avocado Pasta
• Simple Turmeric & Date Rice Recipe
• Vegan Potato Salad Recipe
• Pumpkin Mac N Cheese Recipe

Leftovers: The Best Lazy Vegan Lunch (Awesome Dinner Recipes)

I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but leftovers really are the ultimate lazy lunch option. Many people are living fast paced lives, and on busy weeknights, the last thing anyone wants to do is make a dinner that will take hours on end. With that in mind, here are easy recipes that make for easy dinners. However, they also serve as fantastic leftovers for your lunch. I love easy meals that pull double duty, and that allow us to be lazy the next day. Note: all of these recipes are also gluten free and allergy friendly.

• Vegan Eggplant and Rice Recipe (an amazing rice recipe that’s super creamy)
• Dutch Oven Legume Free Vegan Potato Curry Stew
• Mayo Free Creamy Pasta Salad Recipe
• Broccoli Mac N Cheese
• Eggplant Pasta Bake Recipe
• Roasted Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe

More Lazy Vegan Lunch Ideas

• Here’s a few more ideas you can tap into when you need to make the perfect quick meal.
• Buffalo Baked Tofu (great standalone, on pizza, on a salad, or as part of a grain bowl)
• Chickpea Salad or Tofu Salad (think mock egg salad) can be served standalone, with toast, with chips, or as a sandwich
• Falafel Wrap
• Grain Bowl with Rice or Quinoa (beans and tofu make for excellent toppings, be sure to add a delicious sauce)
• Hummus + Veggies
• Wraps or Sandwiches such as ALT (avocado, tomato, lettuce)
• Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Vegetable + Hummus Wrap or Sandwich
• Tofu Scramble + Hash Browns

Answering Your Vegan Lunch Questions

Do you know of a good chickpea pasta?

The brand I’d suggest looking at is Banza. Generally, my kids detest all things chickpeas, so I was genuinely surprised when they said it was good. I know in recent months Banza has gotten some bad press about their ingredients, but I’ve found them to be a brand that cares about their customers.

Do you have a quick lunch idea for a nut free vegan?

I do! The best part about this article is that all of the recipes I shared are nut free. I would lean into easy sandwiches (with a tasty sauce), delicious leftovers, or an easy layered bean dip. Pair any of those with fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, and some kind of snack bar you enjoy.

I’m a soy free vegan. Do you know of any quick vegan recipes that would work for me?

Why yes I do. Just about every recipe I shared in this article is not only great when following a vegan diet, but also soy free. Scroll thru the recipes again and see what stands out. Honestly, the first things that came to mind when reading this question: pasta. Pasta requires very little effort and yet, is super versatile. You can mix in flavorful spices, top it with amazing sauces, and everything in between.

I’d also say look up simple recipes for jackfruit. For example, you could make a base of shredded jackfruit, then enjoy it several ways throughout the week. This is a great way to cook once and eat twice (or even three times). On day one, you could transform your basic shredded jackfruit into a delicious wrap. The next day, you could use it as a layer in a bean dip. On day three, you could toss is with a tasty sauce and serve over rice or pasta.

These types of recipes don’t require a lot of time, and the end result is a super delicious meal.

Are vegetarian meals the same thing as vegan meals?

No, these are two different diet types. However, they have a lot of similarities. If something says it’s vegan, that means it’s also a vegetarian meal. If it says it’s vegetarian, it may not be vegan.

The vegan diet eliminates all animal and insect derived ingredients. There’s no animal flesh, seafood, dairy products, or eggs. Additionally, there’s no honey and some vegans even eliminate figs due to the growing and harvesting process.

On the other hand, a vegetarian meal can have dairy products (milk, cheese, butter, etc.), eggs, honey, and figs. Vegetarians eliminate all animal flesh and seafood, but consume other animal products.