Budget Vegan Dinners – Cheap and Easy Weeknight Meals

A lot of people feel that going vegan is expensive and takes effort. Well, I’m here to tell you that it really doesn’t have to be. Sure, you can spend a lot of time putting together some vegan meals, but the same goes for some omnivore meals. And just as there are quick and easy omnivore meals, the same goes for vegan meals. You just need some cheap and easy go to budget vegan dinners in your repertoire.

And these are three of mine. I love these meals, and make them again and again. All three of these recipes are easy weeknight meals that my kids all love, and they’re nice and budget friendly.

Lentil Bolognese

The first budget vegan dinner recipe is the old favourite – Spaghetti Bolognese. Tinned lentils make this recipe super easy and super cheap. I also use a flavoured tomato pasta sauce so that I don’t need the Worcestershire Sauce and herbs. Using premade pasta sauce, this Lentil Bolognese costs me $7.60 to make.

Creamy Baked Risotto

This baked risotto is a great weeknight meal because it takes 5 minutes to put everything in the baking dish, and then it cooks itself. Risotto is also a great cheap meal, because all you really need is stock and arborio rice. This recipe costs me just $6.60 to make. The cashew cheese sauce does put the price up considerably (by an extra $12!) but that includes the cost of buying enough ingredients to make a lot of cheese sauce. The most expensive ingredient is nutritional yeast, which is $8 a bag, and you only use 1 Tbs of it for the recipe.

This risotto is also delicious with my budget vegan cheese recipe, that you can get in my 14 Day Vegan Budget Meal Plan.

Chickpea Korma

Nothing beats a curry for a delicious and filling budget vegan dinner. We have this recipe at least once a week, and the whole family loves it.

One great thing about this recipe is that it uses curry paste that comes in jars which have enough for twice the recipe. So, I always make double and freeze the leftovers. Then you’ve got instant curry for the next week! (or night if it doesn’t last that long…).

So, this Pumpkin and Chickpea Korma costs $13.90 to make a double batch, which works out at just under $7 to make as a meal. Ah the economics of cooking in bulk….

If you’re looking for more delicious budget vegan dinners (and breakfasts, lunches and snacks!), check out my 14 Day Budget Vegan Meal Plan. In it you’ll find these recipes, my amazing budget vegan cheese recipe, and another 47 other delicious cheap and easy recipes.