9 Vegetarian One Pot Meals for Weeknights

These vegetarian one pot meals for weeknights are the meatless dinners I make when I want something filling, fast, and cooked in a single pot.

From a broccoli cheese orzo to a creamy coconut chickpea curry, a spinach and mushroom orzo, a pasta primavera, a stovetop mac and cheese, and a lentil soup, they lean on beans, cheese, and pasta to do what meat usually does.

Here are the nine we eat most!

A vegetarian dinner that satisfies the meat eaters at my table needs something rich in it, and every one of these has cheese, cream, coconut milk, or a pile of beans doing that job.

They’re also the cheapest dinners I make, which is a nice side effect of leaving out the most expensive ingredient.

1. One Pot Broccoli Cheese Orzo

Orzo cooks in broth with garlic and onion, broccoli goes in near the end, and a pile of sharp cheddar melts through it all into something between a risotto and a mac and cheese.

The orzo gives off enough starch to make the sauce creamy without any cream.

My kids eat the broccoli because it’s coated in cheese, and I don’t ask questions.

It’s on the table in twenty minutes!

2. Creamy Coconut Chickpeas

Canned chickpeas simmer in coconut milk with garlic, ginger, and warm spices until the sauce thickens and the chickpeas soften.

It’s a curry that takes fifteen minutes, and the coconut milk makes it rich enough to be dinner on its own.

A few handfuls of spinach collapse into it in the last minute, and lime brightens the coconut.

Serve it over rice or scoop it up with naan, and save some for tomorrow’s lunch.

3. Spinach and Mushroom Orzo

Mushrooms brown in butter, orzo toasts in the same pan, and broth, cream, spinach, and parmesan turn it into a creamy skillet dinner.

Browning the mushrooms well is the step that makes it taste like more than it is.

A little lemon zest at the end keeps the cream from being heavy.

It’s a fifteen minute dinner that looks like a restaurant made it.

4. One Pot Pasta Primavera

Dry pasta, broccoli, carrots, peppers, and peas cook together in broth, and a little cream and parmesan at the end tie it together.

It’s the way I use up the last of the vegetables in the crisper on a Thursday.

Frozen vegetables work and go in straight from the bag.

Lemon and parmesan on top, and it’s a full dinner in one pan.

5. Tomato Basil One Pan Pasta

Everything goes into a wide pan cold, the spaghetti, a pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced onion, garlic, a handful of basil, olive oil, and just enough water, and it comes to a boil together.

By the time the pasta is tender the tomatoes have collapsed and the water has cooked down into a glossy sauce around them.

Skip the parmesan and it’s vegan, and either way it’s the least expensive dinner here.

6. Garlic Parmesan Pasta

Butter and garlic sizzle in the pot first, then pasta simmers in a mix of broth and milk, and a big handful of parmesan finishes it into a silky sauce.

Frozen peas tossed in during the last two minutes turn a side dish into a meatless main.

Use a block of parmesan and grate it fresh, or the sauce will be grainy.

Lots of black pepper on top, and fifteen minutes is all it takes.

7. Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Macaroni cooks in milk and water in one pot, and cheddar, a little cream cheese, and butter melt through it at the end.

No roux, no baking, and no draining, and it’s creamier than the baked version.

Roasted broccoli or a green salad makes it a dinner and not a side.

It’s what my kids ask for when they get to pick!

8. Lentil Soup

A pound of brown lentils simmers with diced carrot, celery, onion, and a can of tomatoes in broth seasoned with cumin and a bay leaf, about forty minutes start to finish.

No soaking needed, and the lentils keep their bite while the broth thickens around them.

Finish with a good splash of red wine vinegar, which is what turns it from flat to bright.

Crusty bread, and it feeds six for very little.

9. Mushroom Orzo

A simpler take on the spinach version above, with just mushrooms, garlic, thyme, orzo, and parmesan, and it’s the one I make when the fridge is nearly empty.

The orzo cooks in the broth with the mushrooms and comes out creamy on its own.

A fried egg on top turns it into a bigger dinner.

Twenty minutes, one pan, and a pile of parmesan.

Notes on Vegetarian One Pot Cooking

Orzo and short pasta are the two starches that make a one pot vegetarian dinner creamy without much help, since they give off starch as they cook in the liquid.

Brown the mushrooms and onion well before the liquid goes in, because that browning is where the depth comes from when there’s no meat.

Without meat, a dish leans harder on seasoning, so taste at the end and reach for lemon and flaky salt before you call it done.

Take the pot off the burner before the cheese goes in, and grate it fine on a microplane so it disappears into the sauce.

The orzo and pasta dishes want a wide lidded skillet, and the lentil soup wants the depth of a Dutch oven.

Every recipe here calls for broth, and a jar of vegetable bouillon base lasts months and beats the boxed kind.

Canned chickpeas and lentils are the cheapest protein in the pantry, and I keep a shelf of them so one of these is always possible.

More Weeknight Dinners on the Site

The quick crockpot dinners with ten minutes of prep post has the same low-effort idea in the slow cooker.

My crockpot chicken alfredo pasta is the creamy pasta for a night when chicken is back on the menu.

And the hearty crockpot beef stew with root vegetables is the other end of the same week.