A Vegetarian Meal Plan You Can Follow for the Entire Week

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, high protein
• Serves: 1

Cure your case of the Mondays before they even begin with this “ice cream” treat. It’s actually just a combination of frozen bananas and nut butter made creamy and scoopable in a blender—resist the urge to add too much liquid, or you’ll end up with a smoothie instead of soft serve.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: vegan, no cook, make ahead
• Serves: 6

These garlicky, no-cook beans are excellent on toast or a sandwich, sure. But what’s more,  they’re meal-prep friendly and they happen to gluten free and vegan. How’s that for healthy-ish?

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why I Love It:
• Serves: 4

Start the week on a good note with a bowl of this creamy-yet-light pasta. It’s almost like an Arabic version of alfredo, but the yogurt-based sauce is much silkier. Use regular yogurt instead of Greek for the smoothest texture.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
• Serves: 2

Breakfast salad: It’s a thing. Use plenty of seeds to top the cucumbers and avocado—they give great flavor and texture—and use your best olive oil, as it makes a big difference with so few ingredients. Add a slice of sourdough or pita if you want to round out the meal.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour, 25 minutes
• Why I Love It: gluten free, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 4

Traditional tandoori chicken is made in a clay oven, but you can replicate the deeply caramelized crust with a baking sheet at home. In this vegetarian version, a spiced yogurt marinade lends a similar flavor and helps with browning in the oven. 

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
• Serves: 6

Here, the humble yet protein-packed lentil is the key to making these vegetarian sloppy Joes. They’re just as quick-cooking and convenient for healthy weeknight dinners (and come together in a single skillet).

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: no cook, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 2

This green blend combines apple, avocado, spinach and banana with a little coconut water and honey for a not-too-sweet, not-too-bitter breakfast drink. For a creamier texture and a little more protein, try adding Greek yogurt or a spoonful of nut butter.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <30 minutes
• Serves: 4

Within 30 minutes, you can put together a ’dilla that’s way more exciting than just cheese. Make the green sauce—which is a blend of garlic, avocado, jalapeño, herbs and lime juice—ahead of time and store it in the fridge. It’s good on everything from grain bowls to sandwiches.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, vegan
• Serves: 2

By pressing the tofu, you’ll remove the excess moisture and ensure a crispy, golden-brown crust. The romesco sauce sounds fancy, but it starts with two shortcuts: store-bought roasted peppers and almond butter.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: sheet pan recipe, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
• Serves: 12

Feel free to customize the fillings for seasonality—sweet potato or squash could easily replace the zucchini and tomato. These eggs are delicious on their own, but also happen to be great for topping on toast, rolling into a tortilla or serving as the base of a breakfast salad.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes + soaking time
• Why I Love It: vegan, gluten free
• Serves: 4

The creamy dressing (which happens to be not just vegetarian, but completely plant-based) is ideal for balancing out the bitterness of the radicchio. According to cookbook author and recipe developer Aran Goyoaga, “It’s great in many recipes where you would use ricotta, like on toast with jam or even tossed with al dente pasta for a creamy vegan sauce.”

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: one pot, <30 minutes, gluten free
• Serves: 4

Any of the veggies can be swapped for whatever you have in your fridge—broccoli instead of cauliflower, snap peas instead of bell pepper, green curry paste instead of red, you get the idea. Think of this as a blueprint and riff as you please.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why I Love It: one pot
• Serves: 2

Sure, making oatmeal from scratch requires more effort than nuking a packet in the microwave, but the results are so worth it. This version is infused with cardamom and chai spices for a warming flavor, while dates provide a touch of sweetness.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 4

Roasted chickpeas aren’t just vegetarian, they’re also cheaper and easier to prepare than chicken. FYI, the dressing contains Worcestershire sauce, but since it’s usually made with anchovies, leave it out or swap it with soy sauce for a vegetarian-friendly umami boost.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6

Give your delivery guy the night off and make this homemade pie—it’s easier to do than it sounds. You’ll start with a store-bought pizza crust (or flatbread) and top it with a pile of shaved vegetables. Sliced thin, they’ll crisp up in the oven without sogging out your slice.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
• Serves: 4

Celebrate the weekend with a short stack of these beauties, which are a modern riff on a Lebanese recipe. A hint of rosewater in the batter adds intrigue without overpowering the whole dish.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, vegan
• Serves: 4

The carrots in these meal-prep friendly bowls are seasoned with za’atar, a popular Middle Eastern spice blend that’s a mix of sesame seeds, sumac, oregano and thyme. If you keep all the components separate, they’ll keep in the fridge for up to four days.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 4

Why add vodka to your tomato cream sauce? Well, it helps to loosen up the flavorful brown bits at the bottom of the pan and adds a little heat to tames the rich sweetness of the tomato paste. While it wouldn’t really be vodka sauce without it, you can skip the ingredient if you don’t have it on hand.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 6

You don’t have to be a baking sorcerer to make these breakfast-friendly galettes—just use store-bought puff pastry. Heirloom tomatoes will taste top-notch, but even if the produce isn’t perfect, the oven will concentrate their juices to maximize the flavor.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 6

Unlike traditional cacio e pepe, the sauce for this mac is almost impossible to mess up. The trick is starting with a béchamel—basically, cooked flour and butter that thickens and stabilizes the sauce before you add tons of cheese.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: <500 calories, special occasion­–worthy
• Serves: 6

You don’t need seafood or a special skillet to make this Spanish dish—just a bunch of seasonal produce and a short-grain rice (like Calasparra or bomba). Asparagus and artichokes are perfect for spring, but any veggie is fair game.