Cook Once, Feed the Family for Days: Vegetarian Edition

Dinner shortcuts for vegetarians

We are all looking for dinner shortcuts and time-savers during our busy weeks, but we still want to make delicious and nutritious homemade meals for our family. Here’s help.

Many home cooks employ a strategy that we call “cook once, eat for days.” In this idea, you prep the main ingredient for several meals in one day, and then that main ingredient yields tasty — and easy — dinners for several more days. You can eat your “leftover” recipes a couple of days later and a couple of days after that, or freeze the primary component for quick future meals. Genius!

This roundup features recipes for which the main make-ahead ingredient is plant-based, but not to worry, we also have a meat version of cook once, eat for days for omnivorous families.

First up: fun with tofu

Tofu week

1. Baked tofu with grains and veggies 

Tofu is a great kitchen staple: Not only is it nutritious, but it’s also super versatile and easy on the wallet. Double or triple Gimme Some Oven’s perfectly crisp baked tofu for your first meal. While the oven is on, roast some of your favorite veggies (bell peppers, root veggies, etc.) and cook up a large pot of brown rice or quinoa.

2. Tofu and chickpea BBQ sandwiches

She Likes Food’s sandwich recipe is as easy as opening a can of chickpeas, crumbling up some leftover tofu, and then tossing it together with a few spices. Want to make this recipe even easier? Instead of making your own BBQ sauce, use your favorite store-bought brand. And, don’t forget to save some extra cabbage for meal four …

3. Quinoa-stuffed peppers with tofu 

Take some of your tofu, quinoa (or rice) and roasted veggies from the first night’s meal, add some fresh herbs and a little seasoning, and stuff it all into a bell pepper. This easy and pretty presentation from Healthy Delicious will get dinner on the table in under 40 minutes (since you’ve already done most of the prep work!).

4. Chickpea scramble breakfast bowl 

Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? Especially when it’s so easy to make and so satisfying to eat. Use up whatever leftover chickpeas and tofu you have from the week, toss in any extra veggies (say, a little leftover cabbage from night two?), and you’ll be delighted with Well and Full’s breakfast bowl scramble.

Next up: bean week

Bean week

1. Classic and simple: black beans and rice 

This is the perfect meal to cook when you don’t really feel like cooking, plus you’ll be whipping up the base for dinner for the balance of the week. Mel’s Kitchen Café uses canned beans, but do yourself a favor and cook up a large pot of dried beans so you’ll have plenty of leftovers for the week.

2. Easy grillable veggie burgers 

Minimalist Baker has the right idea with these burgers that actually hold up on the grill. The best part? You’ve already cooked up the beans and rice, the main components of this dish!

3. Black bean and leftover rice soup 

Cook Smarts turns leftovers into a warm and cozy meal by adding seasonings and some fresh veggies. Bonus: You can prep your veggies for this soup several days ahead of time and use them in other dishes during the week.

4. Vegan jambalaya 

Swap out black beans for black-eyed peas in this super savory jambalaya recipe from Feed Me Phoebe. Put in more or fewer spices and jalapeño peppers, depending on how spicy your family likes their food.

Next up: tempeh week

Tempeh week

1. Simple vegan meatballs 

Make a double or triple batch of savory and filling vegan meatballs using tempeh, and then add them to recipes all week (or pop them in the freezer for future meals). We love the Minimalist Baker’s recipe, which only uses 10 ingredients.

2. Vegan Italian wedding soup 

Skip the steps to make the meatballs in Connoisseurus Veg’s recipe and just head straight to the soup! If you have any leftover pasta from last night (that hasn’t been sauced), add that just before serving instead of cooking the orzo. Tip: Prep enough fresh veggies for tomorrow.

3. Sweet and sour tempeh meatballs 

You’ve already prepared the meatballs, so just make Oh My Veggies’ sauce for this dinner. Add a few veggies from last night’s soup prep and cook up a small pot of your favorite grains to make this a full meal.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2019, and updated most recently in January 2023.