A vegan diet doesn’t have to be boring or bland. With delicious vegan dinner recipes, you could create meals that are sure to impress both your fellow vegan and meat-loving friends. If you’re on the lookout for some new meals to make your vegan diet more interesting, there will definitely be a few on this list that will be suitable vegan recipes for weight loss.
Here are some recipes we recommend to help get your vegan lifestyle on track.
Vegan Dinner Recipes
1. Vegan Chili
One of the easiest and most popular vegan recipes is chilli. You can try and create your own vegan chilli that’s completely meat-free, but contains all of the spices you need to make it savory and simply delicious.
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery sticks
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1-2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 red pepper, cut into chunks
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 400g can black beans, drained
- 400g can kidney beans
- lime wedges, guacamole, coriander and rice to serve
Instructions:
- Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Chop the potatoes into chunks and tip them into a roasting tin. Lightly coat with 1½ tbsp oil, 1 tsp smoked paprika and 1 tsp ground cumin and mix until they are completely covered.
- Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add chopped onion, celery and carrots. Heat for approx 10 minutes and stir until soft.
- Stir in the tomato puree and paprika and cook for 1 minute.
- Add 200ml of water, red pepper and chopped tomatoes and bring to the boil for 20 minutes before allowing it to simmer.
- Flavor with lime wedges and add a dollop of guacamole.
- Serve with rice.
2. Vegan Falafel Sandwich
If you go out for lunch or dinner on a regular basis, you may be wishing to eat a sandwich as a light bite, but are unable to think of any fillings that are vegan-friendly.
Making a falafel sandwich is one of those easy vegan meals for beginners. It’s light enough to eat when you are not too hungry. Check out this vegan dinner recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- Handful of coriander
- Flat-leaf parsley
- 400g chickpeas soaked
- chickpeas 400g, soaked overnight in cold water and drained
- 4 tbsp gram flour
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Instructions:
- Add the onion and garlic in a food blender and put on a high blitz. Add the herbs, chickpeas, gram flour, coriander, pepper, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda until they are the same consistency. Scrape the sides of the blender should there be any food left untouched and repeat until the mixture turns into a thick paste.
- Heat a pan with oil until at 180c. Cook the mixture in small chunks for around 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Spoon out of the pan and onto a plate.
- Serve in pitta bread or bun and add a touch of chilli sauce for extra flavor.
3. Vegan Lasagne
If you have never tried lasagne as a vegetarian or vegan, this vegan dinner recipe will allow you to put your own spin on this classic Italian dish that is sure to tickle your taste buds! Not only will it please dinner guests, but will also be perfect for vegan family meals.
Ingredients:
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small aubergine, cut into dices
- 1 medium courgette, cut into dices
- 1 red pepper, seeds removed,
- 250g small chestnut mushrooms,
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 100g dried red split lentils
- 2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp sugar,
- 1 vegan vegetable stock cube
- 150g/5½oz fresh young spinach leaves
- 9–10 dried lasagne sheet
For the white sauce
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 100g plain flour
- 800ml almond milk
- 3 tbsp yeast flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200c / 180c fan
- Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onions for around 3-4 minutes until light browns and soft.
- Add garlic and cook for a further few minutes, before adding lentils, sugar and tomatoes.
- Add 400ml water and spinach leaves; stir well and bring to the boil.
- While the pan simmers, it’s time to make the white sauce. Heat the oil in a pan and add the flour. Stir for 1 minute. Then, add the yeast, nutmeg and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Whisk for another 4-5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thick.
- Spread 1/3 vegetable mix over the base of the dish and start to cover with the lasagne sheets. Add another layer of the vegetable mix and place another lasagne sheet over the top.
- Next, pour the white sauce and add another layer of vegetable mix before adding another lasagne sheet and the remainder of the white sauce.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until the pasta lasagne sheet on top is starting to turn golden brown
4. Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Many people are convinced that pasta contains eggs, however, this isn’t necessarily the case. Be sure to check the ingredients on the back of the packet to ensure this vegan dinner recipe is completely animal-product free.
Ingredients:
- 140g onions, diced
- 140g mushrooms, diced
- 240g tomatoes, diced
- 10 sage leaves, chopped
- 120ml soy milk
- Black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegan cream
- Pasta
Instructions:
- Place a non-stick pan on medium heat and tip in the onions, tomatoes, sage, milk, black pepper and mushrooms and stir together for approximately 3 minutes.
- Add some vegan cream and stir. Then, add a touch of salt for further flavoring. If you notice that the mixture is starting to stick or get dry, feel free to add more milk.
- Cook the pasta with the instructions on the packet and once soft, drain the water and tip onto a plate. The add the mixture.
Dessert Recipes
Now that we have looked at some of the main meals you can cook for lunch or dinner, we’re going to take a look at some dessert recipes that you could indulge in after one of the main meals above, or even a vegan Sunday dinner.
5. Chocolate Cake
You may be vegan, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on chocolate. This vegan dinner recipe will provide you will all the information you need to whip up a chocolate cake that’s both scrumptious – and completely suitable for vegans!
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 300 ml soya milk
- 275g self-raising flour
- 25g cocoa powder
- 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 175g caster sugar
- 150 g Flora Freedom, melted
- 3 tablespoons golden syrup
- 75 g Flora Freedom
- 200g icing sugar
- 25g cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180c / 160c fan
- Mix together the milk and lemon juice and leave to the side
- Tip flour, cocoa, caster sugar and bicarbonate of soda and sieve together into a large mixing bowl.
- Take your milk and lemon mixture you put aside earlier and tip it into the bowl. Mix gently.
- Pour the mixture into two grease-lined sandwich tins and bake for between 35-40 minutes
- Beat the icing sugar until smooth
- When both cakes are completely cold, line the first cake with icing sugar and place the other on top.
6. Vegan Eton Mess
If you have a very sweet tooth, this delicious vegan dessert recipe will be the perfect treat to polish off an evening meal.
Ingredients:
- Drained liquid from can of chickpeas
- 100g golden caster sugar
- 500g mixed berries
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- ½ tbsp rose water
- 400ml vegan coconut yogurt
- Rose petals
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas 1 and line a tray with parchment paper.
- Whisk the chickpea liquid until fluffy and white.
- Gradually whisk in the caster sugar until it starts to become stiff.
- Spoon the meringue into the parchment paper and bake for around 1 h 30 minutes.
- As it bakes, mix the berries into the icing sugar and rose water. Set aside for around 30 minutes as the berries soak into the liquid.
- Put the yogurt into a bowl, add the meringue and crush. Stir the berry mix in slowly, and spoon into dishes, adding the rose petals as a finishing touch.
Recipe from BBC Good Food.
We hope this guide has given you some useful vegan dinner recipes to work from. While there are plenty of other recipes online you can browse through, the above will be ideal for you to get started.
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