By Lisa Esile, MS,
Spending lots of time at home presents a new opportunity to cook simple, comforting meals to nourish yourself and your loved ones. Whether you've got a fully stocked pantry or you're a little low on supplies, these pantry-practical recipes will help you cook great-tasting, healthy meals. Feel free to make substitutions. You never know what amazing creations you'll come up with!
Indian-Spiced Cauliflower and Potato Casserole
This flavor-packed casserole is surprisingly easy to pull together using pantry staples.
Baked Sweet Potatoes Stuffed with Chickpea Chili
For a hearty, comforting meal that requires little prep or clean-up, these baked sweet potatoes topped with an easy chickpea chili are a winner.
Costa Rican Rice and Beans (Gallo Pinto)
This simple rice and bean dish works well as a main or side. Make plenty and eat it for multiple meals—even breakfast.
Shepherd’s Pot Pie
In this comforting plant-based shepherd's pot pie, mashed potatoes top off a medley of frozen veggies in a thick, savory gravy flavored with nutritional yeast. Note: If you don't have arrowroot flour, tapioca flour or potato starch will give similar results.
Vegan Quinoa Curry Bowl
This quick and easy dish uses frozen stir-fry vegetables along with quinoa, fresh ginger, and garlic. Packed soon after picking, canned and frozen veggies are loaded with nutrients and are great to keep on hand for everyday use. And they're a lifesaver when you can't get to the store.
8-Ingredient Slow-Cooker Chili
This slow-cooker chili uses simple ingredients, has a surprising depth of flavor, and is open to endless variations.
Quick Chickpea Bolognese
In this 15-minute pasta dish, whole grain spaghetti (or any pasta you have on hand) gets topped with a simple tomato and chickpea sauce. If you don't have mushrooms, simply leave them out or substitute an equal measure of another fresh or frozen vegetable.
Roasted Tomato and Cannellini Bean Pasta
Fragrant with garlic, this easy tomato and bean pasta is incredibly satisfying and simple to make.
Quick and Easy Noodle Soup
This luscious vegan noodle soup features basic ingredients like onion, celery, and carrots. The chicken-soup flavor comes from a combination of dried herbs: marjoram, sage, and thyme.
Basic Veggie Burger Recipe
This recipe guides you to mix and match beans and grains with your choice of herbs, nuts, and seasonings to create your own tasty veggie burger.
Mexican Veggie Burger
Spiced with chipotle powder and chili powder and packed with rice, beans, nuts, and vegetables, these scrumptious veggie burgers have all the staying power you need.
Lentil Sloppy Joes
Brown lentils give these sloppy Joes a meaty texture that is as tasty as any meat version and far healthier. If you don’t have burger buns, swap in toasted bread, pita pockets, or tortillas.
Homemade Oil-Free Vegan Pizza Dough
This easy-to-work-with vegan pizza dough has just four ingredients: Flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Now the fun part, choosing what to put on top!
Quick Cornmeal Pizza Crust (Gluten-Free)
This gluten-free pizza crust has a satisfying crunch thanks to the cornmeal and almond flour. As an added bonus, it's made with baking powder so you don't have to wait for it to rise.
Potato-Onion Pizza
Potato pizza is an authentic Italian delight with mashed beans and roasted garlic to keep the sliced potato topping in place. This recipe uses Homemade Oil Free Pizza Dough, but you could use whatever dough you have, or even toasted pita rounds.
Chickpea Flour Pizza Crust (Gluten-Free), Plus Topping Ideas
This recipe for chickpea flour pizza crust is gluten-free, easy to make, and delicious. Cook several crusts at once and freeze them for later. Having the frozen crust and bottled marinara sauce on hand means any night can be pizza night.
Brown Rice Breakfast Pudding
Transform leftover brown rice into a mouthwatering pudding by cooking it with plant milk, ground cloves, dates, and cinnamon. (The recipe calls for a cinnamon stick, but 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon will work just as well.) Just sweet enough and very satisfying, it's great any time of the day or night.
Easy Overnight Oats With Chia
If you feeling like a change to your breakfast menu, try these overnight oats. The chia seeds add thickness, and cinnamon and maple syrup add a sweet touch.
Chocolate Pancakes
If you keep unsweetened applesauce on hand (and we recommend you do), then you're likely to have the rest of the ingredients needed to make these scrumptious chocolate pancakes.
Egyptian Breakfast Beans (Ful Medames)
This traditional Egyptian breakfast made with dried fava beans, dried cumin, garlic, lemon, and onion, can be served over brown rice. The beans need to soak overnight and take a couple of hours to cook so this is a good dish to make plenty of.
Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal
For a comforting, satisfying breakfast, nothing beats good old-fashioned oatmeal. This vegan oatmeal recipe includes raisins for a bit of natural sweetness with no added sugar.
Whole Grain Corn Muffins
The base of these gluten-free muffins is made from oat flour, cornmeal, and frozen corn. Unsweetened applesauce keeps them moist and maple syrup adds natural sweetness.
Wholesome Oat Snackles
Curb your cravings with these delectable little cookie bites—it’s like having your oatmeal without the bowl! Orange zest gives them a pleasant citrusy flavor, but don't worry if you don't have any on hand: you can leave it out and enjoy the raisin-oat flavors.
Outrageously Healthy Black Bean Brownies
These vegan brownies are moist, chocolatey, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, and made with just five ingredients: black beans, dates, oats, cocoa, and baking powder.
Chocolate Chia Pudding
Our Chocolate Chia Pudding uses few ingredients, all of which you're likely to have lurking in your cupboard. Another bonus is that it sets almost instantly.
Whole-Wheat Berry Muffins
Loaded with berry goodness, these deliciously moist breakfast muffins work equally well with frozen, fresh, or wild blueberries.
About the Author
About the Author
Lisa Esile, MS
As an author, Do Nothing meditation instructor, and wellness coach, Lisa Esile combines her love for food and nutrition with her mental health background and delights in helping people find a stress-free way to make lasting lifestyle changes. Esile has a master’s degree in human nutrition and is the co-author/illustrator of Whose Mind Is It Anyway? Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life. Learn more at lisaesile.com.
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