Looking for easy vegan dinner recipes? Here’s a big list of easy vegan dinner recipes we’ve published on this site. These recipes are all oil-free, whole grain, plant-based and vegetarian. Want to make two meals at once? Double the recipes and store the leftovers in the fridge for a quick and easy lunch the following day.
Easy oil-free vegan dinner recipes
Meal time can be quick and easy when you’ve meal prepped your weekly ingredients. Enjoy hearty and delicious meals in minutes using the following easy vegan dinner recipes.
Meatballs & Pasta
These super easy vegan meatballs are oil-free, plant-based and contain just several ingredients, including cooked lentils, walnuts, ground chia or flax seeds, breadcrumbs, water and salt. Simply puree all ingredients in a food processor, scoop into balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 30-45 minutes. Before serving, steam for about 5-7 minutes because the tops get a little dry during baking. While meatballs are baking, cook your favorite whole grain or gluten-free pasta according to package directions and heat some oil-free marinara sauce.
To serve, place cooked pasta onto a plate, top with meatballs and warm marinara sauce.
Recipe: Super Easy Vegan Meatballs
Make your own pasta: How to make vegan pasta dough: egg-free, oil-free recipe and video
Macaroni & Cheese
Looking for an easy to make, oil-free vegan macaroni and cheese recipe? You’re going to love this vegan mac and cheese made with a blender sauce and whole grain or gluten-free pasta. There is absolutely no oil in this recipe, or processed vegan cheese or soy products. It’s simply made by blending a sauce made of cashews or hemp seeds with nutritional yeast and other basic flavorings and spices that are most likely already in your kitchen.
Pour this plant-based macaroni and cheese sauce over cooked whole grain or legume pasta. Enjoy immediately, or place into a casserole dish and bake with breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. You can also pour the cashew sauce into an ice cube tray and store individual sauce servings in the freezer for a super easy weeknight meal.
Recipe: Oil-free Vegan Cheese Sauce
Flatbread Pizzas
This super easy 4-ingredient vegan flatbread recipe takes just several minutes to prepare the dough and takes as little as six minutes to cook in a skillet. There is no oil, eggs or dairy in this recipe, instead it calls for tahini (sesame seed butter, or other nut or seed butter) which adds fat without refined oils.
To make flatbread pizzas, before baking flatbread, make into a pizza or calzone by spreading sauce on top and your favorite vegetable, herbs and spices. If making a calzone, fold into a pocket before baking.
Recipe: Easy 5-minute flatbread recipe (oil-free, vegan)
Hummus Quesadillas
One of our favorite, quick and easy vegan dinners is to prepare are Hummus Quesadillas. Oil-free hummus is super easy to prepare, simply combine cooked chickpeas, sesame seeds, cumin powder, salt, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, water and optional nutritional yeast into a food processor and puree.
To prepare quesadillas, smear hummus onto two oil-free tortillas or flatbreads, combine to make one big quesadilla, then cook in a hot skillet or bake in hot oven for about 7-10 minutes. Cut into triangles and serve with salsa or hot sauce. You can also add leafy greens or vegetables into the quesadilla before cooking if desired. Serve with a salad and you’ve got a full meal packed with legumes, whole grains, seeds, vegetables, and leafy greens.
Recipe: Easy oil-free vegan hummus recipe
Creamy Cauliflower & Potato Casserole
Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice or dice yellow potatoes or sweet potatoes. Slice or dice cauliflower into bite sized pieces. Place prepared potatoes and cauliflower into a baking dish. Toss with nutritional yeast and your favorite seasonings, such as fresh or powdered garlic, onions, rosemary, thyme, and similar. Cover with Easy Homemade Milk. Place into preheated oven and bake covered or uncovered for 40-60 minutes, or until desired doneness. Optional, include other vegetables as well, such as diced carrots, chopped kale, onions, etc.
[Printable] 16 easy vegan kids meals (oil-free, plant-based, whole grain)
Baked Tofu & Vegetables
Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain tofu from package. Slice into 7-8 slabs. Place into a baking dish. Cover with soy sauce, tamari or liquid aminos. Sprinkle with fresh grated or powdered ginger. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until desired consistency. Serve with cooked vegetables and brown rice.
BBQ Tofu & Steamed Vegetables
Making this sesame BBQ tofu recipe is easy, simply combine your favorite oil-free, vegan BBQ sauce (check out our favorite organic BBQ sauce from Trader Joe’s) and sesame seeds in a glass container. Cover with a lid and shake to coat the tofu. If you want, add sliced carrots which makes the tofu crumble.
To serve, steam your favorite vegetables for 5-8 minutes, or until tender and serve with BBQ Tofu.
Recipe: $1 meals: 5-minute sesame BBQ tofu recipe
Chickpea Meat & Salad
Looking for an easy way to add more legumes into your life? One of our favorite, easy vegan meal prep recipes is for something we call “Chickpea Meat”. This is made by combining cooked chickpeas with a flour and a glaze and then roasting or air frying them until the chickpeas are starting to get crunchy. To serve, place cooked chickpea meat onto a plate with your favorite leafy green salad. Alternatively, use this cooked mixture in place of meat in traditional recipes, such as in tacos, burritos, salad bowls, and similar dishes.
Recipe: Easy oil-free “Chickpea Meat” recipe
Cauliflower Buffalo Wings & Salad
We are obsessed with this oil-free vegan buffalo cauliflower hot wings recipe at our house. They are a staple because they are a super healthy and a delicious way to enjoy cauliflower. These wings also make a great party platter appetizer, perfect for Super Bowl Sunday, birthday party or baby shower.
Serve with homemade oil-free vegan ranch dressing or your favorite dipping sauce and your favorite leafy green salad.
Recipe: Oil-free vegan buffalo cauliflower hot wings
Eggplant Salad
Looking for an easy and delicious way to enjoy eggplant? This oil-free eggplant salad is great for lunch or dinner. It contains so many antioxidants, lots of fiber, and leafy greens which are all highly recommended as part of a healthy plant-based diet.
Enjoy this salad with the sautéed mixture warm on top of the salad, or chilled. This is similar to a Thai eggplant salad but slightly different flavorings and zero oil. This is a fat-free salad that can be enjoyed as part of a whole food plant-based diet.
Recipe: Easy oil-free eggplant salad recipe
Tempeh Tostada Salad
Tostadas are so delicious and super easy to prepare. You can load them with anything you prefer, this recipe calls for tempeh, vegetables, whole wheat tortillas and avocado. You can use whole wheat tortillas or corn tortillas to make this recipe gluten-free. One way to make these extra hearty and delicious is to smear the toasted tortillas with avocado before layering the rest of your ingredients on top.
Recipe: Easy Tempeh Tostada Salad Recipe
Collard Wraps
I love using collard wraps as a taco shell or wrap. Collard greens are hearty and stay together better than most other leafy greens. You can fill them with your favorite fillings and easily whip up a delicious and very healthy gluten-free meal to enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple days.
To assemble collard wraps, fill with baba ganoush (eggplant pate) or oil-free hummus, chopped fennel, red onions, tomatoes, radish, kalamata olives, and carrots.
Recipe: Easy oil-free vegan collard wraps
Black Bean, Yam & Spinach Enchiladas
These vegan Black Bean, Yam and Spinach Enchiladas are great for dinner and super easy to meal prep. Feed a whole army (or whoever is at your house) for very little cost and little time spent prepping.
Freezing tip: Prep these easy vegan enchiladas ahead of time and freeze in an airtight container before baking if you prefer. To reheat, simply remove from the freezer and bake, adding about 10-15 minute extra time in the oven.
Recipe: Easy vegan meal prep enchiladas recipe
Kale & Chickpea Salad
Dinner can be as easy as whipping up an oil-free vegan kale salad made by mixing leafy greens, veggies, fruit, condiments and seasonings into a bowl and serving immediately or chilled. Enjoy this easy kale salad recipe anytime you’re hungry, or specifically for dinner. If you’re craving greens this is a great recipe for getting them.
Recipe: Easy oil-free vegan kale salad recipe
Black Bean Tacos
I’m obsessed with these cabbage and black bean tacos! They’re perfect for taking on the go, especially for kids lunches. You can easily meal prep these tacos as well because the cabbage acts as a barrier to prevent the corn tortillas from getting soggy.
Recipe: Easy Vegan Taco Meal Prep Recipe
Vegetable Curry
Vegetable Curry is easy to prepare and spiced with ginger, turmeric and cinnamon. It is great served over whole wheat couscous or brown basmati rice. The spices give it a spicy kick without any chiles or pepper, which makes it a great meal for kids (or adults) who do not enjoy spicy food.
Recipe: Vegetable Coconut Curry (oil-free, vegan recipe)
Red Lentils Potato Soup
Looking for an easy and delicious red lentil and potato soup recipes? Here’s our favorite, and basic vegan red lentil soup recipe, feel free to add additional vegetables such as carrots, celery, and similar.
Enjoy this soup throughout the week when you make it as part of your weekly plant-based meal prep. Reduce down to a thick consistency and purée to make a delicious and hearty vegetable lentil dip.
Recipe: Recipe: Easy Red Lentil and Potato Soup
Black Bean Burritos
Looking for an easy and delicious vegan Black Bean burrito recipe? Check out the recipe below to learn how you can easily make plant-based Black Bean burritos for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Black Bean burritos are a great addition to your weekly meal prep routine.
Recipe: Recipe: Easy Vegan Black Bean Burritos
Dinner ideas for vegetarians and vegans
On this site, we focus on sharing easy to prepare meals and recipes so you can focus on staying healthy without feeling stressed about cooking. On this page you’ll find dinner ideas for vegetarians and vegans, perfect for meeting your daily nutrition goals on a low-fat, whole food, plant-based diet. Stay inspired with easy vegan meals to cook and healthy vegan recipes by subscribing to our email newsletter.
All recipes on this site were created by professional chef, Veronica Dailey who has over 20 years experience and a culinary arts degree, as well as is a former cooking instructor for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). This site is where she shares her easy meal preparation techniques using her experience working in a variety of restaurants, retreat centers, consulting hospitals and teaching for PCRM and professional culinary arts in colleges.
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