Obviously, food is a huge part of my life, and of course, I love cooking. However, I don’t always feel like spending hours in the kitchen. And I also don’t want to be left with a million dishes. That’s why I love one-pot meals so much! Each of these 25 one-pot vegetarian recipes is packed with flavor and nutrients, and better still, can almost all be on the table in about a half-hour. So, what are you waiting for? Head to the farmer’s market and stock up on veggies for these easy recipes!
1. Green Oatmeal
I have to admit that the color of this might be a little off-putting. The good news is that the bright green finish is all-natural, coming from a whole bunch of fresh spinach, so at least you know it’s healthy! It’s kind of amazing how sweet these oats taste. When you use ripe bananas, you genuinely can’t taste the spinach at all. Plus, if you top it with a drizzle of peanut butter and honey, it’s even more indulgent.
2. Creamy Vegan One-Pot Pasta
Full of spinach and roasted red peppers, this pasta is already super delicious. I do love a nice creamy sauce, which is why I tend to avoid vegan pasta dishes. Enter: creamy cashew rosé sauce. Seriously, it’s a game-changer! It’s a simple blend of pre-soaked cashews, vegetable broth, and tomato paste. After a few minutes in a blender or food processor, it turns into a dreamy, pink sauce that will make this pasta truly shine.
3. One Pan Mexican Quinoa
This dish is great for a quick, warm, spicy dinner, or served cold for lunch the next day. You might as well make extra because you’ll want more than one serving! Packed with protein and full of fun colors, this dish is just what you need for a light summertime meal. Of course, you can always pair it with some grilled chicken, but it honestly doesn’t need it.
4. Black Beans and Brown Rice
This dish is vegan, gluten-free, and very hearty. Plus, if you buy dried beans and rice, it’s pretty darn cheap to boot. The recipe calls for fire-roasted tomatoes, which do make a difference, so I definitely recommend getting them if you can. Otherwise, you could always roast your own fresh tomatoes with onions and garlic.
5. One-Pot Summer Vegetable Skillet Lasagna
It might not be the traditional layered pasta casserole your grandma used to make, but this skillet lasagna has all the same great flavors – made in half the time! You could always make this with your own sauce if you have a go-to recipe. If not, this veggie-packed dish is a great option. You’ll need fresh tomatoes, corn, zucchini, and a couple of bell peppers to bulk it out. There’s so much going on, nobody will even notice the lack of meat.
6. Sweet Potato Quinoa Skillet with Kale and Sage
The combination of sweet potato, quinoa, and kale makes this dish savory, sweet, and slightly nutty. Add in the sage, and you’ll have such an earthy and filling dinner. Not to mention, it’s protein-packed and colorful! I like to pre-roast my sweet potatoes for enhanced flavor, but if you cut the cubes small enough, they will cook along with the quinoa.
7. One-Pot Vegan Chili Mac
There’s no better way to bulk out a vegetarian meal than to add pasta, and who doesn’t love pasta? I’m a massive fan of vegan chili, especially when it’s brimming with corn, beans, tomatoes, and peppers. This recipe also calls for mushrooms, which add a lovely meaty texture to the dish. But like with regular chili, I need something extra. I usually serve mine with cornbread, but this Tex-Mex-Italian fusion is the next best thing!
8. One-Pot Vegan White Bean Shakshuka
Shakshuka is a fabulous breakfast/brunch dish, full of runny egg yolks and an intense tomato sauce. With this version being vegan, you won’t see any eggs but rather a few dollops of vegan cream cheese. It’s just enough to add some lovely creaminess to the mostly acidic dish. I think paprika is essential in this, so don’t be shy with it and be sure to get something good quality. Much like the above recipe, fire-roasted tomatoes will be sensational here.
9. One-Pot French Lentil Soup
Lentils are loaded with protein, fiber, iron, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and potassium. Along with all that goodness, they’re super inexpensive, and a little certainly goes a long way. It might be called a soup, but this is much more like a stew. It’s rich, thick, and incredibly filling. I love the texture of lentils, especially when they’re cooked down like this. If you like your soups/stews more smooth, go ahead and blend some of the mix before serving.
10. One-Pan Vegetarian Burrito Bowls
This can absolutely be made in one pan, but you need to be sure that your veggies will all cook in the same time – or add the softer ingredients towards the end. Sweet potatoes don’t take as long to cook as regular potatoes, but they do take longer than other veggies, like zucchini. If you like your veg with a bit of bite, just cook off your sweet potatoes and add the rest in for the last 15-20 minutes.
11. One-Pan Tofu Coconut Curry
I have to admit that I was never a huge fan of tofu. The kind I had was mushy and flavorless and just not super pleasant. Little did I know, you need to get the right kind and learn how to prep and cook it. For a recipe like this (where the tofu is the primary source of texture), you’ll need extra firm tofu, and you’ll need to press it. This means quite literally pressing out the excess moisture by adding a heavy-bottomed skillet on top. That way, when you add it to the pan and start mixing, it will hold its shape.
12. One-Pan Veggie Fajita Pasta
I always make fajita pasta with my leftovers, whether that’s with meat or not. It’s such a fabulous dish and a great way to ensure you’re not wasting any food! This meal is made from scratch, using pasta or spaghetti, tomatoes, vegetable stock, hot sauce, onions, garlic, bell peppers, red pepper flakes, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and water. Phew! That’s quite a list, I know! But don’t worry, it all goes in the pot together, so you have little to do but measure it all out.
13. One-Pot Sweet Potato Soup
The base of this silky smooth soup is made with sweet potatoes, carrots, and ginger, so you know it’s intensely flavorful and super vibrant. The best way to puree this is with an immersion blender, which will work while the soup is still hot. If you only have a blender, be sure to let it cool first. If you like things a little more creamy, feel free to add in some coconut milk.
14. Vegan Corn Chowder with Quinoa
Given that chowders are typically very creamy, you might be wondering how this vegan recipe archives the right texture. It’s a combination of dairy-free milk and “creamed” corn. I like to just pull some of the soup out once it’s cooked and blitz that down. If you start with some blended corn and add enough dairy-free milk, it should be perfectly creamy.
15. One-Pot Vegan Jambalaya
Jambalaya is one of my all-time favorite meals. Full of incredible spices, chicken, sausage, and shrimp, it’s pretty much the perfect dinner! But is it as good without the meat? Almost! I love that this recipe has all the same unique flavors and uses tomato chunks for added texture. Of course, you could also use tofu in this if you want a “meatier” texture.
16. One-Pot Vegan Pasta Sausage Gnocchi
You won’t believe me, but this insanely delicious and filling vegan sausage gnocchi takes just 20 minutes to prepare. Yup, for real. It’s not overly saucey – letting chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spinach do all the heavy lifting, making this lovely and light. It’s still super hearty, using fluffy gnocchi in place of boring old pasta. Plus, there’s some vegan sausage sprinkled over the top for added salty goodness.
17. Carrot and Ginger Soup
One thing we can count on is having carrots in the grocery store year-round. They’re sweet, colorful, and even the kids love ‘em. They’re also pretty cheap and a whole lot easier to work with than a big, thick pumpkin. This soup is creamy, dreamy, and the perfect way to warm up on a chilly day. You can even throw in some extra veggies if you want!
18. Thai Sweet Potato & Chickpea Green Curry
I know that picking up a curry paste from the store is the easiest option, but if you have the time to make your own vegan Thai green curry paste, I promise you won’t regret it. Once you have that, it’s such a simple process to make this one-pot curry. Just remember to dice your sweet potatoes small enough that they’ll cook in time. Or, roast off a whole batch at the start of the week so you can add them to your meals whenever you want!
19. 30-Min One-Pot French Ratatouille
Between the fresh tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and bell pepper, this dish will be sitting pretty in a lot of Insta pics! Ratatouille is such a wonderful summer dish that’s bursting with flavor, color, and – most importantly – nutrients! I mean, it’s essentially a big bowl of veggies, right? That means you can eat as much as you want, guilt-free!
20. Creamy One-Pot Taco Pasta (30 Minutes)
I have to admit that seeing “vegan grounds” in the ingredient list was a little jarring for me. I know I’m more than happy to eat ground beef or pork, but this just sounds a touch… ambiguous. That being said, if you can find a brand you like, it’s a terrific way to incorporate some protein that also gives you the same great texture of taco meat. It can really make all the difference when making the change to meatless meals.
21. Healthy One-Pot Cauliflower Stew with Curry
Vegan, gluten-free, and perfect on its own; this stew needs nothing more than a big bowl and spoon. But I do recommend serving it with either rice or maybe homemade easy vegan naan because you won’t want to miss a drop of this insanely good sauce.
22. Creamy Vegetable Risotto (30 Minutes!)
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’ve ever had risotto without a generous helping of Parmesan. It adds so much lovely flavor to the mix, and I genuinely thought I’d miss it here. Boy, was I wrong! The trick is to get an outstanding vegetable stock since it’s the backbone of this recipe. This easy one-pot vegetable Broth is my favorite and will breathe new life into this simple rice dish.
23. One-Pot Lentil Curry with Peas
Full disclosure: this isn’t the prettiest dish on the list. You’ll use brown lentils, which will end up (obviously) brown. But it gets brightened up with garden peas, and the flavors speak for themselves. You can also swap out the broccoli for cauliflower if you want to brighten this up further.
24. One-Pot Tomato & Chickpea
Don’t worry; this dish is so much more than just tomatoes and chickpeas! I guess they just couldn’t fit onion, carrot, bell pepper, garlic, chili, cumin, paprika, coriander, olives, tahini, soy sauce, black pepper, and spinach in the title. Needless to say, this stew is rich and intensely flavorful.
25. One-Pot Curried Cauliflower with Couscous and Chickpeas
This gorgeous little curry has both split lentils and pearled couscous, so you know it’s going to be super hearty and filling. If you want to use dried chickpeas, just don’t forget they’ll need to soak overnight and probably be boiled before use. Otherwise, just rinse the canned chickpeas to make things a little quicker. Click on a star to rate it!
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