Easy Plant-Based Recipes for New Home Cooks and Vegans Alike

You might be participating in the annual month-long phenomenon that is Veganuary, or you might be simply learning how to cook. Either way, it's important to have a few easy vegan recipes for beginners under your belt. Avoiding burnout and keeping up with it requires having a few good plant-based options up your sleeve, whether you're meal-prepping for lunch or whipping up a quick breakfast on the spot.

Even though not all of them require the use of the oven, each of them are simultaneously nourishing, and shouldn't take too long. This way, you won't be dreading where your next meal is coming from.

Instagram foodie @jessicainthekitchen made a plant-based spin on the classic Israeli dish, shakshuka. While breaking out a cast iron pan may sound like a little more work than you'd previously anticipated, all it involves is 45 minutes of prep and simmering.

Replacing the traditional eggs are tofu "eggs" that cook in garlic, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cumin. It's all topped with red pepper flakes and parsley, making for a flavorful and herbacious breakfast.

Make sure you have tortillas or pita on hand, and prepare to share or box up some leftovers — it generates enough food for a few meals, which is ideal when you're meal-prepping!

We love a one-pot meal, because that means we'll be doing less dishes in the long run. And @healthygirlkitchen's 10-minute dinner sounds like the nourishing and comforting meal we could all use right now.

After cooking up onion, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, and chickpeas in olive oil, you'll add orzo and water, stirring until the water almost cooks out. Add peas and spinach at the last minute, and wait a few more minutes for all the water to cook out.

Once all of the liquid is absorbed, make sure the texture is what you want. You can add a little more water to let it cook longer, or keep it al dente, before seasoning it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and maybe some vegan parmesan.

For a new go-to potluck dish, @matts_recipes' bruschetta is simple, delicious, and refreshing — especially in the summertime. All you'll need to do is dice up 2 blanched tomatoes, 1/2 a red onion, 1/2 clove of garlic, some basil leaves, rosemary, and thyme. Then, you'll mix all of the ingredients together along with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

You'll then take a baguette and slice it up into however many slices you'll need. Toast it, and serve it alongside the tomato mixture, for a fresh and delicious taste of warm weather. You can add vegan parmesan cheese, too, but that's completely optional.

For a vegan take on chicken salad, look no further than @naturally.kelly's Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich. Calling it "probably one of the best sandwiches [she's] eaten," it makes for an easy-to-make, filling, and tasty lunch without much hassle or too many ingredients — perfect for whenever you're in a bind, or looking for something on the go.

The "vegan chicken salad" combines mashed chickpeas, avocado, diced red onion, diced bell pepper, garlic powder, and lemon juice. You can choose whatever kind of bread you want, and she recommends adding apple and cucumber slices on top. Honestly, sounds like our new go-to.

Finally, whether you're looking for a lazy oven-free meal, or if you just want something to fill you up after a tough workout, @plantbasedkrystal's Carrot Cake Smoothie Bowl is a deceptively delicious meal (supposedly it really tastes like dessert!). You'll blend together frozen banana, chopped boiled carrot, medjool dates, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and soy milk.

If you're looking for #gains, she suggests substituting vanilla protein powder for vanilla extract, and topped it all off with banana, cashew butter, coconut, walnuts, grated carrot, and cinnamon. We're literally drooling.