26 Easy Vegan Recipes You Can Make In 30 Minutes Or Less

When you're pinched for time and need to get a meal on the table — or in your stomach — as fast as possible, it can be tempting to go through a drive-thru or just order some takeout. But if you're following a specific diet, it can be difficult to do that and still get a decent meal, and that's not even taking the price of going out to eat on a regular basis into the equation. There just aren't that many vegan fast food meals on the market, and even the places that do offer vegan options often make them pretty lackluster.

But it is possible to make yourself or your family a good meal from scratch even when you're short on time if you just follow the right recipes. That's why we've collected these easy vegan recipes you can make in just 30 minutes or less. That's less time than it takes to wait for the delivery driver to arrive. Whether you're craving a refreshing smoothie or something a bit heartier, we've got you covered with these simple ideas — no animal products required.

Eggs are one of the easiest and quickest foods you can cook, which makes them a go-to option for many people when they're trying to get food on the table quickly. But if you follow a vegan diet, eggs are off the table — literally. That's where this recipe for Fluffy, Almost Eggy Chickpea Scramble comes in. Packed with veggies and fresh herbs, it's delicious by itself or with a side of toast. Serve some fresh fruit on the side for a gourmet breakfast that comes together in a flash.

Recipe: Fluffy, Almost Eggy Chickpea Scramble

Turnips are an ingredient that are too often overlooked, but in this recipe for Summer Turnip Salad with Lemon-Herb Dressing, they get their moment in the limelight. Crunchy, light, and refreshing, this salad makes an excellent side dish, although you could top it with some fried tofu and make it into a complete meal. Make sure not to skip the lemon-herb dressing, which transforms a basic salad into a dish that tastes like it belongs at a fancy restaurant.

Recipe: Summer Turnip Salad with Lemon-Herb Dressing

Can't decide between drinking a smoothie or a matcha latte? Why not have both? That's a possibility when you make this Plant-Based Matcha Smoothie. It only takes five minutes to make, and by packing it with baby spinach and banana in addition to matcha powder, you can ensure that it's as sweet, filling, and nutritious as can be. Plus, you'll get a boost of caffeine to help your day get off to the best possible start.

Recipe: Plant-Based Matcha Smoothie

When you need to get dinner on the table quickly, making a curry is always a great idea. You can pack it with nutrients, and a lot of the time, curry doesn't take a super long time to cook. That's definitely the case when it comes to this South Indian-Style Dry Banana Curry, which comes together in just 30 minutes. Firm bananas steal the show in this recipe, but their sweetness is tempered by a host of savory seasonings that give the dish a bold flavor.

Recipe: South Indian-Style Dry Banana Curry

Yes, Brussels sprouts absolutely belong in tacos, which is exactly why you need to make this recipe for Shredded Brussels Sprouts Tacos with Charred Corn Salsa. It's a great way to make sure you're getting enough veggies into your diet, and the green, cruciferous funk from the sprouts gives these tacos a supremely savory flavor profile. Make sure you char your corn (or use frozen charred corn) to ensure the richest, most complex flavor possible.

Recipe: Shredded Brussels Sprouts Tacos with Charred Corn Salsa

Wish you could be sitting on the beach, smoothie bowl in hand, listening to the waves as you eat your meal? So do we. But you don't have to be in paradise to enjoy this Vibrant Tropical Smoothie Bowl, which packs more than 10 different fruits into one delicious, slurpable bowl. The only problem is that once this bowl comes together, it's so pretty that you won't want to take that first bite and ruin it.

Recipe: Vibrant Tropical Smoothie Bowl

Some smoothies can be far too sweet. If that's not what you're looking for in your drinkable breakfast, you may want to turn to this recipe for a Tropical Passion Fruit Smoothie. Because it utilizes passion fruit pulp, it's quite acidic, which makes it bright and refreshing. A touch of vanilla extract helps temper that bold acidity, though, creating a balanced smoothie that's easy to sip or gulp, depending on just how hungry you are.

Recipe: Tropical Passion Fruit Smoothie

Ranch dressing is a fave for many, whether you like using it as a dip or as a dressing. But if you're vegan, the commercially available versions just aren't going to do it for you. However, you can still enjoy those same flavors when you make your own Vegan Tahini Ranch Dressing. It has that same tang you know and love along with a nuttiness thanks to the tahini. Drizzle it over your salads or use it to make your crudité plate feel more elevated than ever.

Recipe: Vegan Tahini Ranch Dressing

Making sushi at home can be a fun project, but let's face it — most sushi rolls are pretty tricky to pull off, especially if you don't have a ton of sushi-making experience. That's why we love making these Charred Avocado Hand Rolls, which simplify the sushi-rolling experience and turn an average plain avocado roll into something rich, complex, and super satisfying. The best part? Your meal will be on the table in just 20 minutes.

Recipe: Charred Avocado Hand Rolls

Banana and matcha are a match made in heaven in this recipe for an Easy Banana Matcha Smoothie. "Easy" really is the operative word here: You only need five ingredients and 15 minutes to pull it off. You can leave your smoothie plain if you prefer a healthier version of this simple breakfast, or you can top it with some vegan whipped cream if you want to add another layer of sweetness to the dish.

Recipe: Easy Banana Matcha Smoothie

If you've made hummus before, you've probably used chickpeas to make the bulk of the dip. What you may not realize, though, is that you can switch things up and use a completely different type of bean if you're looking for a different flavor profile. Enter this 5-Ingredient Edamame Hummus. Edamame plays the starring role in this recipe, of course, but the beans are accompanied by tahini, garlic cloves, lemon juice, and plenty of salt to round out the flavor. Use it as a dip for crackers and veggies, or spread it on some bread for deeply flavorful toast.

Recipe: 5-Ingredient Edamame Hummus

Tacos can take a lot of time to prepare, but when you make all the ingredients on a sheet pan, they come together more quickly than you might expect. That's why you need to make these Chile-Lime Sweet Potato and Chickpea Sheet-Pan Tacos. They pack in a ton of different veggies, so you get all the health benefits of eating a salad with all the pleasure of eating tacos. You can adjust the chipotle peppers or chili powder to your liking depending on how spicy you want your tacos to be.

Recipe: Chile-Lime Sweet Potato and Chickpea Sheet-Pan Tacos

You may not be able to find blood oranges at your local grocery store year-round, so when you do get your hands on them, they're absolutely worth snagging. Even if you don't want to eat them all on their own, you can use them to make this incredibly juicy and refreshing recipe for a Blood Orange Tropical Smoothie. Those blood oranges will be joined by bananas, raspberries, and cubed mango, along with coconut milk, for a deliciously fruity and surprisingly creamy smoothie experience.

Recipe: Blood Orange Tropical Smoothie

If you've been on the internet in the past year or so, you've probably heard plenty about Gigi Hadid's famous pasta recipe. But if you follow a vegan diet, you likely haven't gotten the chance to try it out for yourself. After all, it features animal-based ingredients that don't exactly align with your dietary choices. Luckily, though, you can still try this Veganized Gigi Hadid Pasta so you can get a better sense of whether all that hype is justified. It comes together in just 23 minutes, so you don't have to spend a ton of time in the kitchen.

Recipe: Veganized Gigi Hadid Pasta

Forget the meat and even the tofu and tempeh. You don't need any of those ingredients to make incredible fajitas. In fact, all you really need is some tortillas and a ton of black beans. That's what you need to make these Easy Black Bean Fajitas, which come together in 25 minutes for a quick dinner that your whole family will love. Since this is such a versatile recipe, you can really riff with different veggie ingredients here based on what you already have in your fridge. That makes it a great way to reduce food waste in your kitchen.

Recipe: Easy Black Bean Fajitas

When you need to make a quick meal, stir fries are almost always the way to go. They come together super quickly, and you can spoon them over pasta, rice, potatoes, or basically any other starchy food to create a complete meal. This recipe calls for crunchy broccoli, which gives it some substance, along with walnuts, which provide a lovely, hearty crunch. Finish it all off with some chopped scallions and sesame seeds for a flavorful — and visually appealing — garnish.

Recipe: Walnut Broccoli Stir-Fry

Craving takeout vegan pizza but trying to save your money? Make this recipe for Artichoke Tomato Pesto Flatbread instead. It's absolutely packed with fresh veggies, ranging from tomatoes to artichokes to red onion, and it all comes together on a homemade crust that holds all those nutritious ingredients perfectly. Sure, it may seem like a tricky, time-consuming recipe, but it takes under 30 minutes, which means you can have a gourmet meal on the table in no time at all.

Recipe: Artichoke Tomato Pesto Flatbread

Sometimes, you need a side dish that can come together in a pinch, and that's just what this Simple Sautéed Broccoli Recipe will do for you. It comes together in just 10 minutes — yes, 10 — and calls for just six ingredients to yield soft, lemony broccoli that can be paired with just about anything. We like to make a big batch of it and keep coming back to it throughout the week, but since it's so easy to make, you can throw it together at the last minute before dinner for equally delicious results.

Recipe: Simple Sautéed Broccoli

Broccoli takes center stage with this recipe for Broccoli Steaks with Romesco. You'll cut your broccoli into thin, flat pieces that can be treated as a main course. But you don't just want to eat plain broccoli, right? What really transforms this recipe is the rich romesco sauce, which uses ingredients like almonds, roasted red peppers, and fire-roasted tomatoes to give it its signature fiery flavor. Add plenty of chili if you like things spicy, or keep the dish milder by omitting or going easy on the hotter spices that this recipe calls for.

Recipe: Broccoli Steaks with Romesco

Tofu gets the katsu treatment in this recipe for Simple Tofu Katsu that seems like it would take quite a bit of time to make but that you can actually get on the table in a matter of 20 minutes. By breading your firm tofu with a breadcrumb-based mixture, you'll get a super crispy protein-filled bite that pairs perfectly with a variety of veggies over a bed of rice. You'll be blown away by just how simple it is to make this restaurant-quality vegan meal.

Recipe: Simple Tofu Katsu

Egg salad isn't exactly a vegan-friendly dish, but you can make it into one by replacing the egg with tofu instead. Don't believe that flavor combo could work out well? You must haven't tried this recipe for Vegan Tofu "Egg" Salad, then. You'll cover chunks of tofu in a mayo- and Dijon mustard-based sauce that adds a ton of flavor to the dish, and then deck it out with all of your other favorite egg salad add-ins, like celery, scallions, and fresh dill. It has a fresh crunch to it that works well on bread or wrapped in lettuce leaves.

Recipe: Vegan Tofu "Egg" Salad

Who ever said that nachos couldn't be sweet? Certainly not us, not after we've made this recipe for Apple Nachos with Date Caramel. Granola, dried cranberries, and mini chocolate chips adorn a plain raw apple, which is transformed into a dessert with a creamy, coconut milk and date-based drizzle. It's a filling, fresh, and ultimately healthy dessert masquerading as an indulgent sweet treat that you can enjoy every night of the week, completely void of animal products that would interfere with your veganism.

Recipe: Apple Nachos with Date Caramel

It doesn't have to be Halloween to make this Ghastly Beet Hummus Halloween Appetizer. Not only is it full of flavor, but because you're using beets, you'll get a dip that's as brightly colored as can be, making it an app that's deeply appealing to anyone who likes plenty of color on their plate. You can cut the pita into ghost-like shapes if you're celebrating the holiday, but plain pieces of pita will do at any other time of the year.

Recipe: Ghastly Beet Hummus Halloween Appetizer

Why wait until Thanksgiving to make this delicious Vegan Thanksgiving Gravy? It has all the richness and lusciousness of animal product-based gravy, but it fits into a vegan diet without forcing you to compromise your values. You'll get that savory gravy flavor you love from poultry seasoning (which is void of any actual poultry) along with tamari, onion granules, a vegan chicken bouillon cube, and dried mustard, which all join forces to create a flavor profile that belongs spooned onto a generous serving of mashed potatoes.

Recipe: Vegan Thanksgiving Gravy

Whether you're trying to make an appetizer for a get-together or you just want an excuse to snack on an entire baguette, you have to try making this Lemony Artichoke Crostini. It calls for canned artichokes — so you don't have to worry about processing a whole one yourself — and it gets its creamy texture from pine nuts. You'll use both lemon juice and zest to create that bold, fresh flavor that really brings the whole dish together. Spread it on some sliced baguette, and you have a truly elite snack.

Recipe: Lemony Artichoke Crostini

Who doesn't like crunchy fried corn covered in an array of savory spices? Certainly not us. When we're looking for a crunchy side dish or simply a delicious snack to crunch on before dinner, we turn to this recipe for Crunchy Tangy Masala Corn. It elevates corn to star status in a way no other recipe save popcorn ever could. This famous Indian street food is surprisingly easy to make at home if you know how to deep-fry, and it'll only require 15 minutes of your time to pull off.

Recipe: Crunchy Tangy Masala Corn