8 Easy One-Pot Vegetarian Dinners

Because vegetarians love to avoid dishes, too.

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Updated July 12, 2023

A blue Dutch oven filled with vegan butternut squash soup with kale. — Serious Eats / Yasmin Fahr

While we've already gone over how well-suited chicken is to making one-pot dinners, there's no reason for meat-eaters to have all the fun. I don't cook a lot of meat during the week, so when I'm putting together a quick weeknight dinner I typically turn to vegetables and grains to make healthy, cheap, and filling meals. If I can cook them in a single pot or pan, all the better. From Middle Eastern shakshuka and a vegan take on Turkish menemen to easier-than-boxed mac and cheese, here are 15 of our favorite meat-free one-pot dinners for vegetarians and carnivores alike.

Shakshuka

Shakshuka is one of my go-to weeknight dinners because of how quick, easy, and versatile it is. Beyond the tomatoes and eggs you can make it with just about whatever you have on hand—this version is made with onion, red bell pepper, chiles, and garlic and seasoned with paprika and cumin. Salty, briny toppings like olives or feta are optional, but highly recommended.

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Spicy Tomato Sauce With Lentils and Baked Eggs

Overhead of a pan of spicy tomato lentils with baked eggs. — Serious Eats / Yasmin Fahr

Case in point for how versatile shakshuka can be. This recipe uses the same basic technique, but we add lentils and kale to bulk it up. For the best flavor and texture we like to use whole canned tomatoes and break them up in the pan, but crushed tomatoes will work in a pinch.

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Baked Eggs in Avocado Cups With Mint and Feta

This simple recipe uses avocados as cups for baked eggs. We hollow out the avocados slightly, crack an egg into each half, sprinkle with crunchy pepitas, and then bake on top of naan, which is perfect for catching the yolk that will spill out of the egg once you cut into it. Once it all comes out of the oven, we garnish with salty feta and fresh mint.

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Turkish-Style Vegan Tofu Scramble (Vegan Menemen)

A decorative metal dish filled with a Turkish-style vegan tofu scramble. — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

I'm not vegan, but I almost prefer this tofu-based menemen to our classic egg version. It's prepared basically the same way, with shishito peppers, onion, tomatoes, oregano, and smoky-sweet Urfa chiles. You really don't have to worry about overcooking the tofu, which makes this recipe nearly foolproof.

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3-Ingredient Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

A closeup of homemade 3-ingredient mac and cheese. — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Not only is this macaroni and cheese recipe as fast as using a box of Kraft, but it actually requires fewer ingredients—the only things you need are equal parts elbow macaroni, evaporated milk, and cheese (and salt, of course). All of those ingredients are staples, and now you have an extra reason to keep them on hand at all times.

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Spinach, Black Bean, and Chipotle Quesadillas

Slices of a homemade vegetarian spinach, black bean, and chipotle quesadilla. — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

A simple cheese quesadilla feels more like a snack than a meal to me, but bring some more fillings to the party and that changes. This quesadilla starts with Swiss cheese, but it also gets filled with sautéed spinach, canned black beans, and a minced chipotle in adobo. Mixing the fillings up with the cheese before stuffing ensures proper distribution and better structural integrity.

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Corn and Zucchini Quesadillas

Slices of vegetarian quesadilla filled with melted cheese, corn, and zucchini. — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

This Jack cheese quesadilla is made with diced zucchini and fresh corn, which we sauté in a smoking-hot skillet so that they brown before overcooking. Be sure to fry the quesadillas in plenty of olive oil so that the tortillas puff up and turn flaky.

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Phat Phrik Khing With Tofu and Long Beans (Thai Dry-Curry Stir-Fry)

A white plate of phat phrit khing with tofu and long beans. — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Phat phrik khing is a dry Thai curry frequently made with tofu and long beans. Some recipes start with store-bought red curry paste, but you can improve the dish immensely by making your own. All you have to do is pound down garlic, shallots, makrut lime leaves, lemongrass, Thai bird chiles, cilantro stems, galangal, and rehydrated dried red chiles with a mortar and pestle.

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