Vegetarian Meal Prep
Step-by-Step Guide to Meal Prepping Vegetarian Meals
I am a reluctant cook. I don’t enjoy it, and if the opportunity arises where I can afford my own chef, I will definitely be doing that! But back in the real world, I have to cook meals that are quick, easy, and that can freeze well. I usually use ingredients that are in tins or frozen. Then whenever I feel inspired to cook, I can go for it. In this post, I will show how to do a vegetarian meal prep. Four Meals that freeze brilliantly.
I have simplified the recipes I read and made them a lot more budget-friendly and easier to make.
With the cost of meat increasing, I’m looking for more meatless options. Also, I am trying to get more vegetables into my diet, and these recipes definitely help.
Cheese and onion pie
Ingredients
- 200g chopped swede
- 1000g peeled and chopped potatoes
- 100g peeled and chopped onion
- 200g Mature Cheddar or I use Red Leicester cheese – grated
Prepare the cheese filling.
In a large pan, boil the swede, potato and onion until they are soft enough that you can put a fork through them. Drain the water, and in a large bowl, mash up the vegetables well. Then add the grated cheese and continue to mash and place into a foil tray to cool.
Prepare the pastry lid.
Ingredients
- 125g plain flour
- Pinch salt
- 55g butter
Put all ingredients into a bowl. Make into breadcrumbs and add water slowly until it sticks together and knead into dough. Then, with a rolling pin, roll out the pastry and cover your tray.
When the filling has cooled, you can then add a pastry lid.
To eat straight away, put this in the oven at around 180 °C for around 20 minutes and bake until it reaches a golden-brown colour.
Freezing instructions
When you are ready to eat them, take them out of the freezer the night before, let them defrost in the fridge and then cook as you normally would.
This made 4 pies.
Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 100g pasta – separate cooked as and when
- 100g onion, diced
- 400g 1 can of tomato soup
- 800g 2 cans of chopped tomato
- 200g Sweet potato
- 200g Butternut squash
- 200g Sweetcorn
- 1 packet of lasagne mix
- Mature Cheddar or I use Red Leicester cheese – grated
Instructions
In a large pan over medium-high heat, cook the onion for around 3 minutes. Then, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until well combined. Let it cook for around 20 mins (until the sweet potato is soft). When the veggies are soft enough, transfer the mixture to foil dishes.
In another pan, cook your pasta according to the packet description. When the pasta is cooked, put it into the foil dish with the sauce and mix well. Then sprinkle cheese over the top.
To eat straight away, bake uncovered in the oven at around 180 °C for 5 minutes or in an air fryer until the cheese is melted.
Freezing instructions
I only freeze the sauce when I batch cook. Then, when I am ready to eat, I take the sauce out of the freezer the night before and let it defrost in the fridge. I cook the sauce and pasta in separate pans and then combine the two in a foil tray, sprinkle cheese and put the tray in the air fryer for around 4 to 5 minutes.
This made 6 single portions.
Veggie Burgers
Ingredients
- 400g can of kidney beans
- 100g chopped carrot
- 100g Onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
- 300g sweet potato, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
Instructions
Drain and mash the kidney beans with a fork in a bowl.
In a pan, boil the sweet potato, onion and carrot until you can put a fork through it.
Drain the vegetables and place them into a bowl, and use a potato masher to mash the mixture. Add flour, tomato sauce, kidney beans and the cooked mixture and mix well again.
Shape the mixture into burgers and cook each side in a frying pan for about 4 minutes.
Freezing instructions
When you are ready to eat them, take them out of the freezer the night before, let them defrost in the fridge and then cook as you normally would.
Serve on a muffin or with chips.
This made 8 burgers.
Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 400g package spaghetti
- 1000g jar spaghetti sauce
- 400g chopped tomato
- 100g sweetcorn
- Cheese
Instructions
Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Drain it and set it aside in a bowl.
Open the jars of spaghetti sauce, chopped tomato and sweetcorn into a large pan and gently heat them up for around 5 to 10 minutes.
When it’s warmed up, add the sauce to the cooked pasta and mix well. Place into a baking tray and cover the top with cheese, and bake in the oven or air fryer until the cheese is melted.
Freezing instructions
When I batch cook, I freeze the cooked spaghetti and sauce in a foil tray. When I want to cook the meal, I take it out the night before and let it defrost, then I heat the mixture in a pan for about 5/10 minutes, then add cheese and cook in the air fryer.
This made 8 single portions.
There you have it, meal prepping 4 vegetarian meals. I hope at least one of the recipes has inspired you! Don’t forget you can change the amounts of ingredients and add extra items for flavour.
For more ideas on vegetarian meal prep, click the link below from the BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/veggie_meal_prep
Drop a comment and let us know your thoughts.
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