Cheap Vegetarian Dinners
These 30 cheap vegetarian dinners bring together recipes tagged budget-friendly and vegetarian, from bubbling cheese toast to hearty lentil bowls. Choose a quick dinner ready in 20 minutes or less, or give a stew a little longer on the hob. Unlike Budget dinners, everything here is vegetarian; unlike Vegetarian dinners, every recipe also carries our budget-friendly tag. That means Swiss comforts such as Bubbly Raclette Toast sit alongside vegan options such as Dal Tadka, with no need to choose between the two collections. There are beginner-friendly recipes, family favourites and meals tagged for meal prep, so you can plan around tonight’s energy and tomorrow’s lunch. Salty’s suggestion: start with the potatoes, pasta or pulses already in your cupboard, then pick a matching recipe.
24 recipes
Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek)
Velvety, golden lentil soup with cumin, a hint of mint, and a squeeze of lemon. Cheap, cosy, and even better the next day.
30 min · Turkish · Vegan, Vegetarian
Bubbly Raclette Toast
The cosy taste of a Raclette evening in 15 minutes — melty cheese over crusty bread, tiny potatoes, cornichons, and a pinch of paprika.
15 min · Swiss · Vegetarian
Weeknight Chana Masala
Tangy, warmly spiced chickpea curry that's on the table in 25 minutes. Budget-friendly, vegan, and one of those dinners everyone goes back for.
25 min · Indian · Vegan, Vegetarian
West African Peanut Stew
Creamy, gently spiced peanut and tomato stew with sweet potato, chickpeas, and greens. Hearty, vegan, and seriously satisfying.
35 min · African · Vegan, Vegetarian
Weeknight Shakshuka
Eggs gently poached in a cumin-spiced pepper and tomato sauce, finished with fresh herbs. Mop it all up with warm flatbread.
25 min · Middle eastern · Vegetarian, Gluten free
Smoky Spanish Chickpea & Spinach Stew
A Sevillian tapas favourite turned dinner: chickpeas and spinach in a smoky paprika-tomato sauce, with crusty bread for dunking.
25 min · Spanish · Vegan, Vegetarian
Aloo Gobi
Cauliflower and potatoes cooked with turmeric, ginger and warm spices until golden and tender. A cozy, budget-friendly vegan classic.
35 min · Indian · Vegan, Vegetarian
Bündner Pizokel with Savoy Cabbage
Hand-cut Graubünden dumplings tossed with buttery Savoy cabbage, golden onions and melted mountain cheese. Rustic Alpine soul food.
40 min · Swiss · Vegetarian
Dal Tadka
Golden, creamy yellow lentils finished with a sizzling tadka of cumin, garlic and chilli. India's everyday comfort and a vegan staple.
30 min · Indian · Vegan, Vegetarian
Gschwellti with Cheese Platter
The coziest no-cook-cook dinner: steaming jacket potatoes with a board of Swiss cheeses, butter, pickles and pickled onions.
30 min · Swiss · Vegetarian, Gluten free
Crispy Rösti with Fried Egg & Garlic Spinach
The Swiss Tuesday hero: a golden, crackly Rösti crowned with a runny fried egg and buttery garlic spinach. Cheap, cosy, and done in 25.
25 min · Swiss · Vegetarian, Gluten free
Chinese Tomato & Egg Stir-Fry
China's ultimate home-cooked comfort: fluffy scrambled eggs in a sweet-tangy tomato sauce over rice. Fifteen minutes, five ingredients.
15 min · Chinese · Vegetarian, Dairy free
Miso-Glazed Aubergine (Nasu Dengaku)
Silky roasted aubergine halves lacquered with sweet miso glaze and sesame, served with rice and cucumber. Vegan and seriously moreish.
30 min · Japanese · Vegan, Vegetarian
Harira (Moroccan Lentil & Chickpea Soup)
Morocco's soul-warming soup of lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes and herbs, gently spiced and brightened with lemon.
50 min · Moroccan · Vegan, Vegetarian
Garden Minestrone
A big, colourful bowl of vegetables, beans and little pasta in a tomato-herb broth. Light, filling and better the next day.
40 min · Italian · Vegan, Vegetarian
Ethiopian Misir Wot (Spiced Red Lentils)
Rich, warming red lentils slow-cooked with heaps of onion and berbere spice. Deeply comforting and naturally vegan.
40 min · Ethiopian · Vegan, Vegetarian
Turkish Menemen
Soft, silky scrambled eggs cooked into sweet peppers and juicy tomatoes with a pinch of Aleppo pepper. Turkey's favourite fast comfort, great with warm bread.
15 min · Turkish · Vegetarian, Dairy free
Air-Fryer Patatas Bravas with Fried Eggs
Crispy potatoes with smoky spicy bravas sauce, topped with runny fried eggs. Tapas night that counts as a proper dinner.
30 min · Spanish · Vegetarian, Gluten free
Pasta e Fagioli
Italy's thrifty, hearty bean and pasta soup with rosemary and garlic. Thick enough to eat with a fork, cozy enough for every week.
35 min · Italian · Vegan, Vegetarian
Mushroom Mapo Tofu
A plant-based spin on the Sichuan icon: silky tofu and savoury minced mushrooms in a fiery, numbing chilli-bean sauce.
25 min · Chinese · Vegan, Vegetarian
Tortilla Española
Spain's beloved potato and onion omelette: tender inside, golden outside. Great hot, cold or packed for tomorrow's lunch.
35 min · Spanish · Vegetarian, Gluten free
Veggie Yaki Udon
Thick, chewy udon noodles stir-fried with mushrooms, cabbage and carrot in a glossy soy-mirin sauce. Fifteen minutes to slurp heaven.
15 min · Japanese · Vegan, Vegetarian
Mujadara (Lentils, Rice & Crispy Onions)
Humble, magnificent Levantine comfort: spiced lentils and rice crowned with a tangle of sweet, crispy onions. Vegan and cheap.
45 min · Lebanese · Vegan, Vegetarian
Gigantes Plaki (Greek Baked Giant Beans)
Big, buttery beans baked in a dill-flecked tomato sauce until thick and sticky. Vegan, budget-friendly and loved all over Greece.
50 min · Greek · Vegan, Vegetarian
Can't choose between these? Spin the dinner wheel and let Salty pick one.
Turn cupboard staples into a vegetarian dinner plan
Start your cheap vegetarian dinner plan with a cupboard check: pasta, lentils, chickpeas or potatoes can point you towards tonight’s recipe. Then check the equipment and total time before choosing. This collection runs from 15-minute dinners to longer simmered or baked dishes; budget-friendly does not automatically mean quick.
For a solo dinner, Lemony Ricotta & Pea Pasta is an easy, beginner-level choice ready in 15 minutes. Scale the recipe to your portion rather than cooking a whole packet of pasta by habit. Frozen peas are handy when you only need a small amount. If mint is missing, use a little basil for a different herbal finish, keeping the lemon and ricotta at the centre.
For a couple, Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek) offers a mild, vegan option tagged for meal prep. Decide before cooking whether you want dinner only or extra portions for another day. Keep the lemon for serving so each bowl can be as bright as you like. If you have no mint, leave it out rather than buying a bunch just for this soup.
For a family table, Gschwellti with Cheese Platter is one of this collection’s tagged family favourites. Put the potatoes, cheeses, butter and pickles out separately so everyone can choose their combination. Use suitable cheeses already open in the fridge, checking that any replacements are vegetarian rather than assuming all cheese is.
At a mixed-diet table, Weeknight Chana Masala is a verified vegan option that is also tagged for meal prep. Keep it as the shared dinner rather than making separate mains. For a quicker vegan evening, choose Veggie Yaki Udon: it takes 15 minutes and cooks in one pan. Swap the carrot for extra cabbage if that is what needs using, cutting it thinly for the stir-fry.
FAQ
What are some cheap vegetarian dinners ready in 20 minutes or less?
Quick choices here include Bubbly Raclette Toast, Lemony Ricotta & Pea Pasta and Veggie Yaki Udon, all ready in 15 minutes. Swiss Cheese Toast (Chässchnitte) and Penne all'Arrabbiata take 20 minutes. Each is tagged budget-friendly and has a beginner skill level, so these options meet our definitions of both quick and easy.
Which cheap vegetarian dinners are good for meal prep?
Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek), Pasta e Fagioli and Mujadara (Lentils, Rice & Crispy Onions) all carry our meal-prep tag. Tortilla Española is another tagged option if you prefer eggs and potatoes to pulses. Choose from these budget-friendly vegetarian recipes when planning extra portions, and check each recipe’s storage and reheating guidance.
Can cheap vegetarian dinners also be vegan or dairy-free?
Yes. This collection includes verified vegan and dairy-free recipes such as Dal Tadka, Weeknight Chana Masala and Aloo Gobi. Vegetarian does not automatically mean dairy-free: several Swiss cheese dishes here contain milk. Use the verified diet tags to narrow your choice, and if allergies are involved, check ingredient labels and the recipe’s allergen list.
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