Vegetable-led dinners with cupboard ingredients
Substantial dinners built around vegetables, pulses, grains, eggs or cheese, from lentil dhal to stuffed peppers.
Choose a recipe for what you have
Roasted tomato and lentil soup
Roasting fresh tomatoes adds depth to a red-lentil soup. Lentils thicken it without cream, and a potato masher gives texture without handling a blender full of hot liquid.
Potato, leek and cabbage mash with chickpeas
Soft potato mash folded with sweet leek, cabbage and crushed chickpeas. The pulses make this a substantial bowl rather than a plain mashed-potato side.
Courgette and chickpea fritters
Small pan-fried courgette and chickpea patties with cool yoghurt alongside. Squeezing the courgette is the key to a mixture that holds together.
Courgette and tomato gratin
A bubbling courgette and white-bean bake with a crisp bread and Cheddar topping. Beans turn the vegetable gratin into a two-person dinner.
Pea and spinach oven frittata
An oven-set frittata that slices into four generous portions. Cook and drain the vegetables before adding them so the eggs set evenly.
Roast vegetable couscous bowl
Roast courgette, pepper and thin carrot pieces with chickpeas, then fold through fluffy couscous. Different cuts help the vegetables finish together.
Savoury vegetable bread bake
Stale bread and safely stored cooked broccoli become a savoury egg-and-milk bake with a golden Cheddar top.
Chickpea and spinach curry with rice
A tomato-based chickpea curry with spinach stirred in near the end. Mild curry powder keeps the ingredient list short without needing a cupboard of separate spices.
Mushroom and pea risotto
A gently stirred risotto with browned mushrooms and peas. Add stock gradually and judge the rice by its centre, not just the timer.
Broccoli and Cheddar jacket potatoes
Fluffy baked potatoes with tender broccoli, warm milk and melted Cheddar folded into the middle. A simple vegetable dinner with no separate cheese sauce.
Red lentil and sweet potato dhal
A thick, spoonable red-lentil dinner with sweet potato and coconut milk. Small potato cubes soften as the lentils break down.
Lentil and rice stuffed peppers
Tender pepper halves filled with freshly cooked rice, tinned lentils and tomato sauce. Precooking the rice gives a reliable filling without guessing how much liquid a pepper holds.
Roast aubergine with lentils and yoghurt
Soft roast aubergine halves topped with warm tomato lentils and cool yoghurt. Scoring the flesh helps oil reach the middle without cutting through the skin.
Mushroom and spinach polenta
Soft quick-cook polenta with browned mushrooms and wilted spinach. A little Cheddar finishes the base without needing cream.
Sweet potato and black bean quesadillas
Crisp folded tortillas with mashed sweet potato, black beans and Cheddar. Mash the filling enough to hold together without turning it into a smooth purée.
White bean, spinach and tomato stew
A quick tinned-bean dinner with greens stirred in near the end.
Broccoli and cauliflower macaroni bake
Cook brassicas before folding into a cheese-sauce pasta bake.
Tomato and spinach pasta
A simple tomato sauce with spinach and dried pasta.
Ginger vegetable rice bowl
Freshly cooked rice with vegetables, ginger and chickpeas.
Courgette and pea pasta
A light vegetable coating rather than a cream sauce.
Courgette and Cheddar omelette
A quick egg-based supper with grated courgette.
Before choosing your meal
These are vegetable-led choices, not an allergy or vegetarian-suitability guarantee. Check stock, cheese and packaged ingredients against the people eating.
Tinned pulses are cooked; dry lentils and beans need their own preparation. Do not swap them using the same timing.
Use the grain specified in each method: risotto rice, couscous and quick-cook polenta need different quantities of liquid and cooking times.