Peanut Tempeh Lettuce Wraps

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This budget dish serves 2 (but you can easily scale it up) and it takes under 15 minutes. For an even cheaper dish, you can substitute tofu for the tempeh (cube and fry; no need to steam).

Ingredients: 

200g tempeh
1/2 head round lettuce, divided into leaves and cleaned
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/4 cup sweetcorn
1 spring onion, sliced
2 tbsp peanuts, chopped

For the peanut sauce:

2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce (or to taste)
1 tbsp maple syrup

Directions: 

1. Steam the tempeh until tender, and then cut into chunks. 
2. Mix the peanut sauce ingredients. 
3. Place the lettuce leaves on a plate and top with the red pepper, cucumber, and sweetcorn. 
4. In a frying pan with a little spray oil, fry the tempeh until lightly coloured. Add 1/4 cup water and the peanut sauce, and stir to coat. 
5. Top the lettuce and vegetables with the tempeh, and sprinkle with peanuts. To eat, roll the leaves around the filling and enjoy!

Five-Minute Black Bean Tacos

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This is one of our favourite quick dinners: flavoursome comfort food that’s ready in a flash!

Ingredients:

1 can black beans
4 corn tortillas
1 red pepper
1 carrot
½ green cabbage
2 green onions
½ cup all-plant coconut yoghurt
1 tbsp lime juice
½ tsp garlic granules
Salt and pepper

Directions: 

1. Shred the carrots and cabbage, and finely slice the pepper; I used a food processor to speed it up. 
2. Warm the beans and toast the tortillas in a pan to make them crispy. 
3. Make the dressing by mixing the coconut yoghurt, lime juice, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. 
4. Serve the tortillas with the beans, veg, and dressing.

Five-Minute Cauli Fried Rice

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Either use pre-riced cauliflower (you may find it in the frozen food aisle) or rice your own cauliflower in a food processor. Sauté some onions, garlic, and ginger, and then add the cauliflower rice to the pan with your favourite selection of frozen veggies; we used sweetcorn, peas, mushrooms, and peppers. Mix a sauce of 2 tbsp hoisin, 2 tbsp soy, and 2 tbsp water. Stir through, and enjoy!

Tomato and Basil Beans

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A really easy addition to your salads and sandwiches throughout the week. Simply mix, refrigerate, and use as desired.

3 cans butterbeans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp suitable for vegans pesto
1 small bunch basil, torn or chopped
6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Salt and black pepper

Ras-el-Hanout Stew

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A warming and very flavoursome stew that’s made in the Instant Pot in about 10 minutes, but you can cook it on the stovetop too; it will just take longer to make the squash tender. This serves 4.

Ingredients: 

2 red onions, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced 
1 inch ginger, grated
1 butternut squash
1 can chickpeas
1 can white beans of choice (alternatively, you can use another can chickpeas)
12 dried apricots, quartered
12 plum tomatoes, halved
500ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp ras-el-hanout
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Directions: 

1. Prick the butternut squash, put it on a plate, and microwave for 5 minutes to soften. Allow to cool.
2. Meanwhile, sauté the onions until softened. Add the garlic and ginger for about a minute more, and then stir in the squash, beans, apricots, tomatoes, stock, purée, and spices. 
3. Cover, set the Instant Pot to Manual on high pressure for 3 minutes. When cooked, carefully release the steam. Alternatively, if cooking on the stovetop, cover the pot with a lid and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the squash is cooked. 
4. Stir through the lemon juice, and season to taste before serving.

Coconut Macaroons

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Can’t bake? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with these Mini Coconut Macaroons!

Ingredients: 
1 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
1 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
1/2 cup soy (or other all-plant) milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Generous pinch salt
Pinch chilli powder
8 squares of suitable-for-vegan dark chocolate, melted (optional)

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 180C, and line a baking tray with a silicone mat or baking parchment. 
2. In a saucepan, simmer the coconut, flour, soy milk, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and chilli powder very gently until the coconut has absorbed the liquid, stirring often. 
3. Take heaped teaspoons of the mix and with wet hands roll them into balls. Place the balls on the baking tray and bake for about 12-15 minutes or until golden on top. 
4. Drizzle with the melted chocolate, if using, and allow to cool fully on a wire rack before enjoying.

Toffles

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If you haven’t tried a Toffle, you’re missing out. This is tofu cooked in a waffle iron; it’s easy to prepare, and its texture is both crispy and chewy. This recipe is incredibly simple, but you can vary the flavours as you wish.

Ingredients: 
1 block tofu, pressed and cut into 3/4 – 1cm slices
2 tbsp suitable-for-vegans tomato ketchup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp water
2 tsp Jerk spice mix

Directions: 
1. Mix the ketchup, soy sauce, water, spice mix. Coat the tofu in it, and leave to sit for about 10 minutes while you preheat the waffle iron. 
2. When the waffle iron is hot, spray with cooking spray and add the tofu. Save the remaining sauce. Cook until really crispy–depending on the temperature of your iron, this could take between 5 and 15 minutes. 
3. Brush with the remaining sauce and serve.

Sweet Chilli and Lime Yuba

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A very easy, quick, and cheap lunch that serves 4. If you don’t have a spiraliser, you can use a vegetable peeler to create ribbons with the vegetables and cook them in the same way. 
 
Ingredients:
500g yuba (tofu skin, fresh or rehydrated)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece ginger, grated
4 courgettes, spiralised
2 carrots, spiralised
1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
 
Directions:
1. Heat a nonstick frying pan over a medium heat, and coat with some spray oil. Fry the yuba until it starts to brown.
2. Add the garlic, ginger, and spiralised vegetables, and season the mixture lightly with salt. Continue to fry until the noodles are soft.
3. Meanwhile, mix the sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, five spice, and cornflour.
4. When the noodles have softened, add the sauce to the pan and cook until thickened. Serve hot.

Irish Colcannon

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Colcannon is an Irish staple that can be cooked with either kale or cabbage, and it can be served as a a side or a main dish. This version is easy, cheap, quick, and nutritious. It serves 4 as a side.

Ingredients:
5 medium potatoes
100g kale, finely chopped
1 bunch scallions (green onions), green and white parts minced
Plenty of minced, fresh parsley
2 tbsp all-plant milk (I used soya) or cooking water
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Optional additions:
suitable-for-vegans mustard
or
suitable-for-vegans horseradish
or
nutritional yeast

Directions:
1. Add the potatoes and kale to a large pot with plenty of cold, salted water. Bring to the boil, cover, lower the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender (ours took 12 minutes).
2. Drain the potatoes and kale and return to the pot over a very low heat for a few seconds just to remove any excess liquid.
3. Mash the potatoes with the all-plant milk (using a little more if necessary). Mix in the scallions and parsley, season to taste (add in one of the optional ingredients, if desired), and serve.

Portobello Unfried Black Bean Wraps with Avocado Aïoli

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Though this looks like an involved recipe, it takes only about 15 minutes to put together, and it makes a hearty and filling lunch.

FOR THE MUSHROOMS
6 large Portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Pinch black pepper

  1. Add the mushrooms to a preheated frying pan with the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Sauté until the liquid that they release has been evaporated and they are cooked through.

FOR THE AVOCADO AÏOLI
2 large Hass avocados
2 cloves garlic (roasted or lightly sweated if you don’t want the raw garlic flavour)
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp sea salt
Pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Transfer to a squeeze bottle (I used an clean and dry empty vegan mustard bottle) to serve.

FOR THE UNFRIED BLACK BEANS
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 red pepper, roasted (I used one from a jar)
1 can black beans, drained and mashed
1/4 cup broth or water
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground chilli pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp lime juice

  1. Preheat a sauté pan over a medium low heat, and sauté the onion until it starts to take on some colour. Add the garlic and and stir for 30 seconds.
  2. Stir in the jalapeño and red pepper, black beans, broth, herbs and spices, salt, tomato purée, and lime. Cook the mixture until all of the liquid is absorbed.

TO ASSEMBLE
4 wholegrain suitable-for-vegan wraps
Salsa
Spinach

  1. Layer spinach, the unfried beans, and the mushrooms on a wrap. Top with salsa and avocado aïoli to serve