ThePrep: 30-Minute Vegan Dinners Even Meat Lovers Will Love

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Going vegan or even just incorporating more plant-based foods into your routine can make a serious impact on your health, with research crediting it with a decreased risk for diabetes and certain types of cancer, improved heart health and better weight management (thanks to all the fiber-rich foods!). These 30-minute vegan dinners will make easy work of your evening meal and are so delicious even meat lovers will fall in love.

Your Meal Plan

Switching over to a vegan diet or adding in more plant-based meals is easier than you may think. Just think about all the vegan ingredients you already have in your kitchen—beans, nuts and seeds, veggie odds and ends, olive oil and whole grains, like quinoa and whole-wheat pasta!

I for one love rooting through my cabinets to see what I can make with what I have, so recipes like Wednesday's Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry are the norm in my house. This recipe calls for jarred curry sauce but when I don’t have that on hand, a can of coconut milk plus curry powder does the trick! The complex flavors and filling ingredients mean I (and my meat-loving husband) don’t even miss the meat. The rest of the easy 30-minute recipes in this week’s line up will have you feeling the same.

Here’s how you can get ahead on prep for the week to make these easy 30-minute dinners even easier:

1. Measure out ⅓ cup dry quinoa to make 1 cup cooked for the Vegan Black Bean Burgers on Sunday.
2. Make the filling for the Beefless Vegan Tacos (Step 1) and refrigerate for Tuesday’s dinner.
3. Mix up the Sherry Dijon Vinaigrette for Wednesday’s salad.
4. If you want to save a few dollars, cook a batch of brown rice for Thursday's Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry and cross off the pre-cooked rice packets from the shopping list.

Sunday: Vegan Black Bean Burgers

Monday: Sweet Potato-Peanut Bisque

Tuesday: Beefless Vegan Tacos

Wednesday: Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo with greens topped with Sherry Dijon Vinaigrette

Thursday: Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry

Friday: Vegan Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Mushrooms & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

We're making shopping easier with a list of all the ingredients you need to make this week's dinners, meal prep lunch and featured treat. Get the shopping list.

Meal-Prep Lunch

The Brussels Sprouts Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas recipe is my current favorite to meal prep for lunch or even make for a veggie-packed dinner. But be warned—the Tahini Sauce with Lemon & Garlic that gets drizzled over top is guaranteed to become your newest obsession.

The glass meal-prep containers that you see pictured with most of our meal prep lunches are super handy for making multiple lunches for the week

Buy them here! Prep Naturals Glass Meal-Prep Containers with Lids, amazon.com, $30

See More Meal-Prep Containers : The Best Meal-Prep Containers for Work Lunches

Watch Me! How to Meal Prep the Brussels Sprouts Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas

Treat Yourself

Not that I need an excuse to make a batch of these mouthwatering Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies but there is a big snowstorm due to hit Vermont this weekend, which is all the more reason to turn on my oven and bake away!

Get the Recipe: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Let me know if you make any of these recipes or what else you’re doing to prep ahead for a healthy week! Email me at ThePrep@eatingwell.com. If you have a question or requests for future newsletter topics, I’d love to hear those too.