Quick Vegan Recipes

Do you just have a few minutes to spend cooking but want to enjoy a vegan meal? The good news is that using tofu instead of meat can reduce cooking time for many dishes. You can add stir-fries to your repertoire of fast vegan meals.

While soaking and cooking dried beans and cooking rice can eat up the clock, you can also use shortcuts such as canned beans and leftover rice for quick dishes. Here are recipes that take 20 minutes or less.

  • 01 of 09

    Quick Vegan Breakfast Burrito With Tofu

    Salsa-Tofu Breakfast Burrito
    Carin Krasner / Getty Images

    You can enjoy a breakfast burrito packed with vegetables using tofu as the protein. It takes only 15 minutes from start to finish to make this healthy and tasty dish to start your day right. It's egg-free and dairy-free.

  • 02 of 09

    Buffalo Tofu Hot Wings

    Buffalo wing tofu
    Kim Smith-Miller Photography / Getty Images

    It takes only 20 minutes to whip up this vegan snack that will satisfy your cravings on game day. Hot wing sauce typically includes butter and Worcestershire sauce (which may not be vegan). This recipe substitutes vegan margarine and doesn't use Worcestershire sauce. You can serve it with your favorite vegan hot sauce.

  • 03 of 09

    30-Second Vegan Chili "Cheese" Dip

    Mexican cheese and chilies dip and fried tortillas
    Annabelle Breakey / Getty Images

    Do you want to serve a hearty vegan dip for guests or movie night? If you have two items in your pantry, you can have an almost-instant hot dip that might disappear as fast as it took to make it.

  • 04 of 09

    Cold Asian Vegan Rice Salad With Veggies

    Cold asian rice salad

    The Spruce

    If you have leftover rice, you are just minutes away from enjoying this cold rice salad packed with vegetables, including snow peas, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and green onions. It's a great mix of crunchy textures and tangy flavors.

    Continue to 5 of 9 below.
  • 05 of 09

    Quick and Easy Vegan Black Bean Soup

    Black Bean Soup
    Grace Clementine / Getty Images

    Start with canned black beans and salsa from your pantry and you'll have a bowl of great soup for your family in less than 15 minutes. A dollop of vegan sour cream or grated vegan cheese will give it a tasty finish.

  • 06 of 09

    Vegan Indian Palak "Paneer" (Spinach and Tofu)

    Indian palak paneer spinach and tofu

    The Spruce Eats / Anastasiia Tretiak

    In only 20 minutes, you can enjoy this spicy vegan dish. It uses tofu instead of Indian paneer cheese, and you'll need vegan yogurt for the creamy sauce. You can make it with curry powder, you can experiment with using individual Indian spices instead. Serve it with rice or with Indian bread such as chapati or roti.

  • 07 of 09

    Vegan Tofu Stir-Fry With Vegetables in Peanut Sauce

    Delicious food
    allgord / Getty Images

    Tofu stir-fries are very quick recipes, and this delicious one takes only the typical 20 minutes from start to finish. Half of that time is spent in the preparation time cutting the vegetables and tofu. You can even cheat on that by having them pre-cut.

  • 08 of 09

    Vegan Yellow Thai Curry With Mixed Vegetables

    Vegan yellow thai curry

    The Spruce

    This tasty recipe goes together in 20 minutes if you have pre-cooked potatoes and carrots. If not, try the trick of slicing them and cooking them in a steamer in the microwave for 5 minutes. This recipe uses a yellow curry you put together with curry powder, turmeric and chili sauce.

    Continue to 9 of 9 below.
  • 09 of 09

    Italian Style Vegan Rice and Beans

    Italian style vegetarian rice and beans

    The Spruce Eats / Anastasiia Tretiak

    This Italian-style recipe takes less than 15 minutes if you use instant rice or leftover rice and canned beans. It only uses five ingredients and depending on how you make it, it can be both a killer side dish or main entree.