Lazy Vegetarian Meal Ideas
Sometimes you don’t want to cook a big meal. It’s okay, we’ve all been there! After this happened to us a few times we decided to make a plan for “lazy” backup meals that could be thrown together easily and quickly with things we had on hand. I’ll take you through some examples and then show you a sample shopping list with pricing from a local grocery store chain. As always this is the vegetarian version, but this same concept easily converts to any diet type or family size.
Our Staples
Ground Beef: We usually keep at least two of these in our freezer at all times. It does need to be thawed prior to cooking, but we just defrost it in the microwave when we are ready to use it. Please note that is not listed on the packaging as an option so do that at your own risk! One package of this ground beef can easily transform into sloppy joes, spaghetti or hamburger helper making it a great staple. Our favorites are the Impossible Ground Beef or the Gardein Crumbles.
Chick’n Nuggets: “Nugs and cheese” is one of my husband’s favorite dinners. On nights where neither of us feel like cooking, we will make chick’n nuggets with macaroni and cheese. This is truly the perfect meal for a lazy dinner. The nuggets can stay in the freezer while the macaroni is shelf stable for a lengthy period of time. There are multiple brands of chick’n nuggets, but our favorites are the Impossible Dinosaur Nuggets and the Gardein Ultimate Nuggets.
Burger Patties: Most meatless patties cook from frozen and only take about 10 minutes to cook. Hamburger buns can also be kept in the freezer and toasted lightly to thaw and crisp up. Depending on the package you purchase, you can end up with multiple meals spread out over months. Our favorite burger patties are the Impossible brand.
Chick’n Patties: Same principle as the burger patties, but with chick’n. These patties are also cooked from frozen and can be used with the same package of burger buns. Our favorite are the Impossible Chick’n Patties.
Sample Shopping List
For the purposes of this list we will say we are planning for two people and shopping at H-E-B. Those that aren’t from Texas will not recognize that name, but just know it’s the main grocery store chain in my area. Please note this is just an example shopping list for reference and to show you what this might cost.
Hamburger Helper $1.81
Manwich (original 15oz can) $1.55
Spaghetti Noodles (16oz) $1.18
Spaghetti Sauce (15.5oz) $2.67
Impossible Ground Beef $7.12 (x3) $21.36
Gardein Chick’n Nuggets (14.7 oz) $8.32
Velveeta Shells and Cheese (12oz) $2.60
Impossible Burger Patties (pack of 6) $14.15
Hamburger Buns (8 count) $2.60 (x2) $5.20
Impossible Chick’n Patties (5 count) $7.64
Total $66.48
Divided by 9 Total Meals $7.39/meal
Obviously that doesn’t include any side dishes for some of the meals, but with a cost of about $7.39 per meal a side dish is more affordable. We always have chips in the pantry and we keep a bag of french fries in the freezer for these occasions, but get whatever works for your family. Also note that using our hypothetical of a two-person household we would have extra spaghetti noodles and extra hamburger buns to use for future lazy meals.
Lazy Meals are Friends, not Foes
I call these lazy meals, but if you really think about it, planning ahead and having these things on hand was time and money effort on your part. I wouldn’t consider that lazy in the least. Sometimes you just don’t have the mental or physical capacity to cook a big meal for your family and that’s okay! Take the list above and modify it to suit your family’s diet and size needs. Having a backup plan can be budget-friendly and will only set you up for success. Let me know if you try this or if you already do something similar.
Until Next Time,
Happy Grocery Shopping
