Quick vegan dinners for two?

I need some ideas please:) I come back late from class and am now in charge of cooking dinner. I love all cuisines and spicy food. Have a beloved Zojirushi rice cooker too.

How much time do you have to spend cooking after class?

What I hate to do when I’m short on time is a lot of prep work which vegetarian often requires. So many ingredients!

One of my quick go to meals is pasta with a cauliflower “alfredo” sauce. If I have broccoli and can be bothered to steam it, I will add that to the dish. Frozen peas (thawed in warm water whilst you make the sauce) are a nice addition as well and guild that lily with some sauteed mushrooms if you can.

I’m not vegan but I like cauliflower “alfredo” better than the dairy version. It’s also great in lieu of bechamel in a veg lasagna.

Do you eat seitan, tempeh, tofu, tvp?

I like to make veggie burgers when I have a little extra time and freeze them for quick meals. Serve with coleslaw which is pretty quick to make.

A Thai coconut curry over rice can be done pretty quickly. I generally use whatever vegetables I have on hand.

When I was vegan, I spent an insane amount of time cooking to make really good meals. That was my biggest gripe. As I think of more quick ideas, I will post.

Tonight is roasted poblano and corn soup; garlic butter on previously frozen sub rolls on the side. I have some vegan sausages in the freezer. I don’t love them but they will become sausage, pepper, onion sandwiches tomorrow. Tomato risotto will use up some excess tomatoes on Tuesday, green salad on the side. Advance planning/cooking is your friend. Bean chili with smoked tomatoes will appear later in the week.

I am not a vegan, so I am not experienced. However, what about black bean (really soy fermented soy bean) minced garlic with green beans?

Agree with gourmanda the planning ahead is key.
Can you use the rice cooker to make congee or jook? That’s something you could start the night before and just rewarm and add toppings at dinner time (smoked tofu, scallions, sesame oil, bean sprouts, chili oil…)

Miso soup with extra tofu and some udon or soba noodles

Use leftover rice for fried rice with whatever veggies are on hand and edamame or tofu

Maybe not so quick, but I’ve been liking Thug Kitchen Burritos - http://www.thugkitchen.com/

Happy to “see” you here, Ttrockwood!

1 Like

I’d say realistically I have an hour to cook, I need tons of time for translation, I could do earlier prep and then cook later, but nothing elaborate. I have literally shelves of cookbooks with elaborate recipes.
I love tofu, tempeh, seitan. I really can’t take vegan sausages; they taste too much like meat for me!..and have a beloved Zojirushi rice cooker. Congee wanted to make that…

Gourmanda; Trockwood super to see you both

Saute onion with some chili powder. Add drained and rinsed canned beans (we like black, kidney, and pinto). Pour in some salsa and simmer. Great as a topping for taco salad, burrito filling, and I’ve mashed this and used it as a very non-traditional enchilada filling, too. Also decent as part of a baked layered dip.

That bean/salsa/onion mix could also top pasta or rice.

We often add steamed brown rice when we’re using it as a burrito filling. Hadn’t thought of it as a topper, but it would be good on pasta or rice, @Gourmanda and now I’m thinking about it over cornbread - maybe with some corn added?

1 Like

I’m not a vegan but sometimes I make a vegan version of Fuchsia Dunlop’s Mapo Tofu recipe from “Land of Plenty” substituting mushrooms for the meat.

Here’s a link to a version of her recipe without meat:
http://www.eattravellive.com/recipe/ma-po-tofu-recipe/

It’s pretty quick to make if you get all the ingredients ready beforehand, and goes well with rice.

2 Likes

That looks good - and doable. How do you prepare the mushrooms?

I usually quarter them or slice them and sauté them in the oil until they are cooked in the beginning of the recipe before the step where the chili paste/doubanjiang is added, and leave them in the pan for the rest of the recipe. Works pretty well.

1 Like

Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you minced them or pre-cooked prior to tossing in the wok.

Sometimes dinner is nothing more than a simple baked potato stuffed with broccoli or beans, topped with cashew “cheese” or butter substitute. Black bean soup. Broccoli or other vegetable soup. Simple and fast are necessary with busy schedules. Also, if you don’t know about the website theppk.com … she has good recipes and ideas.

1 Like

:::waving:::
Hi!! Good to see you too!

If you make extra rice and have it cold in the fridge I would use it stuff portabella mushroom caps. Just sautee some onion, zucchini and red pepper until softened or use any vegetable combo you like Mix with rice then add anything else you like, vegan cheese (I’m vegetarian so use feta) chopped tomatoes, olives…really anything you like. . Clean out the mushroom caps removing stems and gills then stuff with rice mixture and bake at 400 until caps are tender, usually about 25 - 30 minutes.

You could make the rice filling ahead so all you need to do when you get home is stuff the mushroom and bake.

1 Like

A few years ago now NY times published various “sheet tray dinner” recipes that were totally brilliant , but almost all omni. The premise is to chop up your veggies, get them in the oven first, then prep and add the protein. The veggies are small enough to cook quickly and various different spices etc change it up. You could look through some of those and swap in tempeh or tofu or even chickpeas for the omni protein. This one is a tofu version from bon appetite

And don’t forget about quesadillas- a layer of refried beans, some quick sauteed bell peppers, a few pickled jalapenos, cilantro, green onions. Serve with cashew cream spiked with lime juice and salad. I haven’t tried it yet myself (it’s freaking $7 at the market near me) but a discerning friend of mine is loving the “chao” cheese from field roast, it apparently melts well

1 Like

Quesadillas have come to the rescue many times.