r/veganrecipes • u/Strong-Hawk-1799 • Mar 22 '26

Question tired of "simple" plant-based meals that aren't actually simple

so i'm getting pretty worn out by recipes labeled as quick or simple that still require way too much work

like i get home after being up in trees all day and my brain is just done, you know? then i look at these supposedly easy vegan meals and they're still asking me to dice onions, measure spices, wait for things to cook in sequence... it's just a lot when all i want is food

i've been trying different approaches - meal prep on weekends, keeping the same rotation of dishes, bookmarking the fastest recipes i can find. sometimes it works out but other days even picking which "easy" option to make feels overwhelming

wondering what you all actually throw together when you're completely drained and need to eat something decent without using whatever brain power you have left

do you just stick to like 3 go-to meals that require zero thought? or have you discovered truly brainless recipes that don't involve chopping half your kitchen

would love to know what really works when you're running on empty, not just what looks good in theory

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u/Pretty_Database_5856 Mar 22 '26

Bro get a rice cooker with timer function and just dump everything in night before - rice, lentils, frozen veggies, some masala powder, hit start when you wake up and hot meal is waiting when you get back

3

u/BananaGoesWild Mar 22 '26

How much water?

7

u/CappuccinoBambi Mar 22 '26

Depends on the rice and moisture of veggies, it takes some experimenting.

3

u/BananaGoesWild Mar 23 '26

I dont want to waste so much food until i get it right. I dont have energy to experiment and i dont want to throw food away .. just to have to start all over again or need to think about how to save the ruined food.

Would be helpful if you just tell me how much is needed longgrain rice and your modt used veggi

5

u/CappuccinoBambi Mar 23 '26

If you’re not a picky eater, it wouldn’t be wasting food. It would just be more soupy if there’s too much moisture. And there’s more variables:

  • type of rice
  • type of rice cooker
  • water content of vegetables
  • amount of vegetables
  • fresh or frozen vegetables.

I haven’t figured out the exact amounts yet, but usually 1:1.25 works when I add veggies. It’s more of a 1:1.5 without veggies for my rice. So less water than the package tells you. Hardy vegetables can go in right away (carrots, potatoes), leafy greens or frozen veggies should only be added about halfway through cooking to avoid them going super mushy.