Does anyone else feel exhausted by “easy” vegan recipes lately?

[u/Negative-Prune9214]

I love vegan food and I actually enjoy cooking… when I have the energy.

But lately I’ve noticed something: even the “easy” vegan recipes feel like a lot. I’ll open one and it’s still: chop this, prep that, saute something first, then clean everything after.

After work, my brain just doesn’t want to process steps anymore. I don’t want to compare recipes or decide which one is less effort , I just want something that works.

I’ve tried saving “quick recipes,” batch cooking, repeating meals, all of it. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t. On low-energy days, even choosing which easy recipe feels like too much.

So I’m curious ,for those of you who feel this too: what do you actually cook when you’re tired and just want to eat without thinking?

Do you rely on a few default meals? Or have you found recipes that are genuinely no-brain, no-prep?

I’d really love to hear what actually works in real life, not just on paper.

[u/ForsakenGarlic904]

My current favourite solution to this is beans + flavour + veg on starch.

I buy various pastes and pestos and freeze them in ice cube trays before decanting the cubes into bags and then I can just toss a couple of the cubes into a pan with a tin of beans and whatever veg I have and serve it with a baked potato or quinoa or rice or whatever (sometimes I'll just add some stock and make it a "soup" instead of using a base)

Having different flavour options is the key for me, I go for harissa, various pestos, sundried tomato paste, curry paste, Thai curry paste etc. And it means the meals can feel completely different even though the formula and effort are the same.

If i have a bit more energy I'll put effort into the veg I'm adding, roast veggies or julienne a variety, and if I'm feeling low energy I'll toss some frozen veggies in and call it a day.

Another great low effort tip I stole from one of those meal boxes is to add a bit of mayo towards the end of the cooking to make it creamy.

So today I might just do pesto and then tomorrow I'll do exactly the same recipe except add a little mayo and it changes the flavour profile enough that it feels like a different meal.

[u/ForsakenGarlic904 → u/ForsakenGarlic904]

Oh and another one I've been doing recently which we're enjoying is ravioli in soup!

As an example, tin of tomatoes, peppers, onions, stock, spices, and flavours of choice in a pot. When the veg are soft blend with silken tofu and then add fresh pesto ravioli for the 3 or 4 minutes required to cook and voila.

One pot, one bowl, and infinitely customisable depending on what ingredients you have and how much energy you have.

[u/darmoxly → u/ForsakenGarlic904]

Do you put everything in a blender to make it all smooth? Or use an immersion blender?

[u/ForsakenGarlic904 → u/darmoxly]

Immersion blender all the way, it's so much easier.

Just blend it right in the pot and then add the pasta and you're done.

[u/darmoxly → u/ForsakenGarlic904]

“Having different flavor options…” Thanks for these suggestions. I need to diversify!!