Step-by-Step Guide to Meal Prepping Vegetarian Meals
I’ll admit it—I’m a reluctant cook. I don’t particularly enjoy spending hours in the kitchen, and if I could afford my own chef one day, I’d happily hand over the apron!
Until then, I need meals that are quick, easy, budget-friendly, and freeze well. Most of the ingredients I use are either tinned or frozen, so I can always throw a meal together whenever I feel motivated to cook.
In this guide, I’ll show you how I batch cook four vegetarian meals that freeze brilliantly. I’ve simplified the original recipes to make them more affordable, easier to prepare, and perfect for busy weeks.
With the cost of meat continuing to rise, I’ve been looking for more meat-free meals. At the same time, I’m trying to include more vegetables in my diet, and these recipes have become regular favourites.
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
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.
Pastry
Ingredients
- 125g plain flour
- Pinch salt
- 55g butter
Rub the flour, salt and butter together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add a little cold water at a time until a dough forms. Knead lightly before rolling out to fit your foil trays.
Place the pastry over the cooled filling and seal the edges.
Bake at 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for around 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
Freezing
Freeze before baking. Defrost overnight in the fridge before cooking as above.
Makes: 4 pies
Vegetable 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
Cook the onion in a large saucepan over a medium heat for around 3 minutes.
Add the tomato soup, chopped tomatoes, sweet potato, butternut squash, sweetcorn and lasagne mix. Stir well and simmer for around 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Transfer the sauce into foil containers.
Cook the pasta separately according to the packet instructions.
When the pasta is cooked, put it into the foil dish with the sauce and mix well. Then sprinkle cheese over the top.
Bake in the oven at around 180 °C/Gas Mark 4 for 5 minutes or in an air fryer until the cheese is melted.
Freezing
I prefer to freeze only the sauce. Defrost overnight, cook fresh pasta, combine the two, sprinkle with cheese and finish in the oven or air fryer.
Makes: 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.
Serve on a muffin or with chips.
Freezing
Freeze the uncooked burgers. Defrost overnight in the fridge before frying.
Makes: 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
Freeze the spaghetti and sauce together in foil trays. Defrost overnight before reheating in a saucepan. Transfer to a baking dish, top with cheese and finish in the oven or air fryer.
Makes: 8 single portions
Final Thoughts
Meal prepping doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. These four vegetarian recipes are simple, filling and ideal for stocking the freezer, making busy weekdays much easier.
Feel free to adapt the recipes by adding your favourite vegetables, herbs or spices to suit your own tastes.
If you’re looking for even more vegetarian meal prep inspiration, the BBC has a great collection of recipes:
Have you tried any of these recipes? I’d love to hear your favourite vegetarian freezer meals in the comments below.
