As I began this month of vegan, I was racking my brain and trying to decide what I could make for my family to eat for dinner.  I remembered what Benita had said during her interview about many recipes being “accidentally vegan.”  This made me wonder what vegan recipes were already published on Patty Cake’s Pantry, and which ones could become vegan with minimal modification.  Each of the following vegan entrees had already been published on Patty Cake’s Pantry prior to us beginning our 30 days of vegan challenge.  I was surprised to discover that there were already eight vegan entrees on the site that I could draw upon when trying to come up with dinner ideas.   This list gets me through the first week of vegan dinners with minimal effort, and that makes me happy. 

Here’s our List of Vegan Entrees in order of their publication on this site:

Rice with Lentils

Rice with Lentils, or Lentils with Rice is a very flavorful dish.  It’s very strongly flavored with cumin, and the combination of lentils and rice provide all of the essential amino acids that our bodies need.  We love this recipe because it’s simple to prepare, and very inexpensive.  The cost of this entire recipe is only $1.16.  Served with a salad topped with a citrus vinaigrette, this makes the perfect meal  I love to pair this with my Lemony Celery Salad.

Fully Loaded Marinara

Vegan friendly spaghetti noodles topped with this Fully Loaded Marinara sauce is a hearty and satisfying meal.  None of the members of my family have ever missed the meat that’s not in this recipe.  This is another frugal recipe, serving eight people for $4.18 for the sauce.  You can easily whip up some vegan Parmesan style cheese to sprinkle over the top, too.

Spaghetti Squash

While you may consider spaghetti squash a vegetable side dish, it can also be part of a delicious vegan entree.  Topping spaghetti squash with fully loaded marinara makes a hearty meal.  It’s also delicious topped with vegan cheese or mixed together with a vegan pesto.   It’s also delicious in place of noodles in Asian style stir fry.  The possibilities are endless.

Beans and Greens

The combination of beans and greens is a hearty and satisfying meal.  We love this as a side to meat entrees, but during our 30 days of vegan, this will make a delicious meal.  Obviously, when preparing this, the chicken broth will be replaced with vegetable broth.    Beans and Greens are perfect when paired with some vegan cornbread.

Beans and Toast

As a child, I was frequently served beans on toast.  This is delicious with vegan style baked beans, but it’s equally delicious when topped with pinto beans.  The only important thing here is to ensure that if you’re using canned beans that you read the label to ensure that they are truly vegan.  It’s simple, filling, frugal, and I really like it.

Veggies and Hummus

This is more of a lunch entree than a dinner entree, but veggies and hummus could be the perfect light dinner for a summer night when it’s too hot to cook.  Putting together these jars of veggies topped with small containers of hummus is the perfect way to have a grab and go lunch for work.  I like to have these with some vegan pretzels on the side, too.

Easy Beans for Burritos

Technically, these are a component of an entree, not an entree, but knowing how to transform cans of vegan friendly pinto beans into something suitable for a burrito is a good skill to have if you want to get dinner on the table quickly.  These easy beans for burritos can be combined with lettuce, tomato, onions, olives, rice, and avocado for an amazing, and filling, burrito, or they can serve as  bottom layer on a deluxe tostada salad.   I love these beans and how simple they are to prepare.

Cannellini Beans and Tomatoes

A hearty meal that ‘s loaded with flavor, but easy on the wallet, Cannellini Beans and Tomatoes is another dish from Patty Cake’s Pantry that’s “accidentally vegan.”  Even Baker’s man fell in love with this one and claimed the leftovers for his own after I served it the first time.  It makes regular appearances on our dinner menu, and the leftovers make a great lunch for the next day.

What do you think of our list of vegan entrees?  Which one sounds good to you?  Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Thanks for visiting Patty Cake’s Pantry.