There are a lot of reasons an individual might choose to forgo meat. From the moral (believing it is wrong to eat meat because a living creature has to die) to the financial (meat is expensive – cutting it out of your meal lineup, even one night a week, can save you money). Regardless of the reason, many Americans don’t eat meat every day. One of the biggest obstacles in giving up meat is finding easy meatless meals that are big on taste.
For a long time, many of the meatless meals out there were simply uninspired (a.k.a. boring). Those that weren’t were not for the faint of heart (overly complicated). It was enough to drive you right back to meat. All of that is about to change. As more and more Americans have turned to meatless meals and image driven social media and content platforms have risen, tasty easy meatless meals have become more and more common. Hurray!
If you’re looking for easy meatless meals look no further than this article. Here you’ll find a collection of 18 easy meatless meals that will make you forget all about meat.
Whether you are in search of easy meatless meals because of dietary constraints or to save money, follow Freebie Finding Mom’s Easy Family Meals on a BudgetPinterest board for additional inspiration.
18 Easy Meatless Meals
1. Mexican Quinoa: If your going to be giving up meat, quinoa is probably going to be one of your new near and dear friends. Nutritious, delicious, and (of course) meat free, it is a staple of many easy meatless meals. This particular recipe can easily be frozen and re-heated so don’t be afraid to make an extra big helping!
2. Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna: If you’re looking for a dish with tons of flavor and hearty veggies look no further. This slow cooker recipe for veggie lasagna is sure to be a family favorite…even your picky little eater might willingly eat a veggie or two.
3. 10 Minute Oven Baked Tostadas: Spice up your easy meatless meals with this recipe for oven baked tostadas. Not only are they fun to make but you can customize one for each family member so he or she gets exactly what they like in terms of toppings.
4. Taco Casserole: Just because you’re giving up meat doesn’t mean you have to give up tasty tacos. This easy taco casserole recipe really is, well, easy — it only has 4 steps!
5. One Pot Wonder Pasta Con Broccoli: Easy meatless meals don’t get much easier than this. To create this wonder dish you pretty much add all the ingredients to one pot and let them simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Pretty simple right?
6. Skinny Vegetarian Mexican Chili: What would football season and winter be without chili to warm you up? If you’re looking to give up meat but can’t imagine saying farewell to chili, try this healthy, meat free chili recipe. It only takes 5 minutes to prep!
7. Light and Easy Pasta Primavera: This easy meatless meal is a feast for your senses. The flavors, smells, and brilliant colors all come together to make one heck of a dinner! To up the nutrition value consider swapping the pasta in the recipe for a whole wheat variety.
8. Lemon Parmesan Pasta: Kraft is making dinner even easier with their Kraft Fresh Take meal kits. Grab one the next time you’re at the grocery store and whipping up this easy meatless meal will be a tad bit (you guessed it) easier.
9. One Pot Wonder Southwest Pasta: Need an easy meatless meal that is hands off? Look no further. This is another wonder pot recipe where you simply throw everything in a pot and let it cook 12-15 minutes.
10. Sweet Potato Enchiladas: No one will suspect that this easy meatless meal is actually healthy. It’s sneaky like that. In fact they may not even realize it’s meatless. This recipe is a great choice when you’re trying to convince someone that meatless meals can be delicious.
11. Roasted Vegetable Cupcakes: This may be one of the only ways to get your picky little eaters to actually consume vegetables: Bake them together and call them “cupcakes”.
12. Smashed White Bean and Kale Quesadillas: These aren’t your mom’s quesadillas! Blending the superfood kale with protein filled white beans, this easy meatless meal recipe produces something out of the ordinary and out of this world good.
13. Cauliflower Carrot Soup: Easy meatless meals like this cauliflower carrot soup will make you turn up your nose at meat. This soup is just the thing to warm you up and boost your immune system during the cold and flu season.
14. Baked Ziti with Ricotta: Meat and potatoes don’t hold a monopoly on comfort foods. Pasta and cheese can certainly hold their own when you need something cozy and comforting. Don’t believe me? Try this easy meatless meal of baked ziti and ricotta which is loaded with sinfully good cheese and then let me know how you feel. 🙂
15. 15 Minute Mushroom Stroganoff: When the day gets away from you and you just want to get a meal on the table that doesn’t come in a greasy paper bag try this easy meatless meal. With a prep time of 5 minutes and a cook time of 10 minutes it’ll be ready before you could even get through the drive thru.
16. Black Bean Baked Empanadas and Spanish Rice: Delicious vegetables, gooey cheese, and black beans bake together in this easy meatless meal recipe to form a savory crowd pleaser your family will ask for again and again. Pair with Spanish rice and maybe a salad.
17. Easy Eggplant Parmesan: When you’re craving Italian food, try this recipe for meatless eggplant parmesan. It’s easier than you probably think.
18.Cauliflower Pizza: Want pizza for dinner (who doesn’t?) but want it to be a little kinder to your waistline (again, who doesn’t?) then try this easy meatless meal recipe for cauliflower pizza crust. Trust me when I say it’s easy — it only calls for 3 ingredients.
There you have it; 18 easy meatless meals that’ll make you throw out meat’s number and never look back (okay, maybe not, but they really are delicious).
Do you know of other easy meatless meals? Share them in the comments.
