An easy Spanish-style tortilla is a great way to pack five vegetables into one dish. You can use frozen vegetables too, which makes it a simple midweek meal. Add grated cheese to the egg mixture for extra flavour. All it needs is a crisp, green salad on the side.
Get the recipe for courgette, pea and broad bean tortilla here
This vegan twist on a Middle Eastern classic is ready in 30 minutes and packed full of goodness. If you're not catering for vegans, swap the plant-based yogurt for thick Greek yogurt. It serves two and is all cooked in one pan – such an easy meal solution.
A southern Indian-inspired dish with small aubergines stuffed with a spicy, peanut paste, which is also used to make the sauce. The vegan recipe calls for sieved tamarind pulp but you could replace the same quantity with tamarind paste or concentrate to save time. The tamarind adds a wonderfully sweet, sour and tangy note.
If you're firing up the grill, succulent sweetcorn topped with garlic and herb creamy cheese and a Mexican-inspired spiced butter will really hit the spot. Serve on its own or as a side with griddled halloumi or a veggie burger.
This is a take on a Sicilian peperonata, a dish of slow-cooked peppers usually served as a side. Here it's made into a main course with the addition of beans. The one-pot dish is baked in the oven and accompanied by thickly sliced bread to mop up the juices. Top tip: it tastes even better the day after you've made it.
Get the recipe for slow-roasted peppers with chilli, garlic and beans here
In this veggie lasagne, a meat sauce is replaced with mushrooms, onion, garlic, courgettes, spinach and tomatoes. Most mozzarella is vegetarian, but check on the pack. For strict vegetarians, you can replace the Parmesan with a vegetarian cheese, but even mature Cheddar would work well.
Enjoying your favourite comfort food is even speedier when it's all cooked in one dish. You can use cream cheese or mascarpone to make the sauce, and a good trick with a creamy pasta is to add citrus zest, which makes the dish feel lighter and fresher.
This dish is a lighter, vegan version of lasagne. Instead of cheese, there's a paste made with cashew nuts, but you could use any soft cheese if you don't need it to be plant-based. Two different types of mushrooms give a lovely savoury note and crunchy toasted hazelnuts really complete the dish.
This is a budget-friendly, easy recipe that makes the most of store cupboard ingredients. Two tins of black beans are joined by vegetable stock, onion, cinnamon, cumin, chilli powder or flakes, garlic and carrots. It's smoky, spicy and takes only 10 minutes to prepare. Serve with rice or wrap in a burrito.
This hearty veggie burger is made with baked sweet potatoes, beans, onion, spices and peppers. Serve it in a bun with garlicky avocado cream and your favourite fillers – tomato, crisp lettuce, mayonnaise and jalapeño peppers to add extra bite.
This is a vegan recipe which you can make with squash when pumpkin is out of season. To add extra flavour, toss the gnocchi with semi-dried or sun-dried tomatoes and nutty pesto, which has just a hint of garlic.
A comfort food classic is given an Indian twist with spices like cumin seeds and chilli added to the rich, cheese sauce. Some of the cauliflower is puréed to add into the sauce, which makes it even more comforting. You could add in some broccoli too.
Paneer is a mild, Indian cheese which holds its shape during cooking. In this easy one-pan dish, paneer is fried off with spices, onion, ginger and garlic to which you add tomatoes and peas (frozen is fine). Serve with chapattis, toasted pitta or flatbreads.
This is sheer goodness in a bowl: a warming stew packed with vegetables and fresh herbs. It's a vegan recipe too, with no tricky or hard-to-find ingredients, and it's on the table in less than an hour. Serve with crusty, wholemeal bread.
Get the recipe for hearty, herby stew here
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To make this savoury dish, thin buckwheat pancakes are stuffed with spinach and ricotta, then baked with béchamel and a rich, tomato sauce. You can easily use frozen spinach for this recipe. The finished dish is topped with Parmesan, so use a vegetarian substitute if you need to.
This is such a simple curry which doesn't take long to make. It has a tiny hint of spice so it's not too fiery. The eggs are hard-boiled, then added to a coconut, ginger and garlic sauce. Serve it with plain rice.
A different take on potato and cheese pie, this savoury slice is made with shop-bought puff pastry, so there's very little effort involved. It would be great served with buttery green vegetables such as green beans or kale.
This is such a clever recipe, where the pasta is cooked in the same pan as the sauce. Simply add it towards the end of cooking. The sauce is creamy and herby, full of flavoursome mushrooms. It's served with Parmesan, which you can replace with a vegetarian version.
This layered vegetable bake has a tomato and spinach sauce, with butternut squash, aubergines and peppers. Mozzarella is added to the layers and although most is vegetarian, double check the packet. It's topped with Parmesan but a vegetarian Cheddar or blue cheese would be equally good.
A perfect dish for a sunny day, this spiced chickpea and potato salad, with lemon, red onions, pomegranate and fresh herbs, is vibrant in colour and flavour. It's smothered with a minty, thick yogurt and drizzled with a tangy, sweet and sour tamarind and date sauce.
This fragrant Sri Lankan curry has a creamy, coconutty base with cashews, chickpeas, sweetcorn and spinach. You could use other leafy greens such as chard or green radish leaves instead of spinach. It's filling on its own but serve with rice, if you like.
If you have avocados which aren't quite ripe enough, grilling will soften them up. They're added to this rice-based salad with grilled carrots, roasted tomatoes and raw broccoli stalks. You could add hard-boiled eggs or a poached egg to each serving, if you aren't catering for vegans and want to make it even more filling.
Get the recipe for grilled avocado salad with tahini dressing here
Here's the perfect recipe when you need something speedy during the week. Mushrooms and pak choy are stir-fried with noodles in a spicy, hot and sour sauce. It's all made in just one pan and is on the table in 15 minutes.
A simple one-pan Mediterranean recipe which is loaded with healthy vegetables and made more filling with lentils. The ingredients are easy to find, with some dried herbs and fresh basil to add flavour. Serve it with some crusty bread.
Cubes of halloumi, which are dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, then fried until crisp, take a tasty salad to the next level. Mixed with roasted peppers (you can buy them in a jar to save time), courgettes and tomatoes, and served with a homemade pesto dressing, this is a perfect main course salad for a warm evening.
In this simple traybake, aubergines are baked in a rich tomato and bean sauce and spiced up with a little chilli and cumin. Once the aubergines are tender, top them with grated cheese and put under the grill until golden and bubbling. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.
Perfect to take on a picnic or for a barbecue, this flaky filo pastry pie is stuffed with spinach, ricotta and feta. Mint jelly adds an extra burst of flavour. You could serve warm, straight from the oven, or cold with salads.
Recipes don't come much easier than this. Butternut squash, red onion, aubergine, nuts and butter beans are mixed with tomato sauce and roasted. The crunch added by the nuts gives such a good texture and if you're not catering for vegans, this is really tasty sprinkled with feta once it's cooked.
Get the recipe for roasted spicy squash, nuts and beans here
This vegan stir-fry is loaded with umami flavours, that savoury taste which is sometimes missing in vegetarian food. Meaty shiitake mushrooms are stir-fried with black beans and cashew nuts for a dish with a difference.
Get the recipe for mushroom, cashew and black bean stir-fry here
In this one-pot vegan curry, plantain and chickpeas are cooked in a spicy coconut sauce, and fresh spinach is stirred through at the end. It's really filling so needs no accompaniment but you could serve a fresh salad on the side.
Try a classic French recipe – leeks are slowly cooked in butter, mixed with eggs and crème fraîche, then poured into a pastry crust and baked. If you're not confident about making your own pastry, buy ready-made shortcrust pastry instead. This tart is best served just warm, with a crisp green salad on the side.
Potato salad is always a favourite side dish but you could serve this hearty recipe as a main, perhaps with some crunchy green beans or a tomato salad. The irresistible dressing is made with a soft, creamy garlic and herb cheese to add a new twist.
When you're looking for an easy, lighter meal, hot tabbouleh would hit the spot. Bulgar wheat is usually served in a cold salad, but in this dish, it's served warm. The recipe just contains three main ingredients, but we think a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end will balance the flavours and add some zing.
You need nothing more than chapatis, flatbreads, naan or roti to serve with this more-ish spiced lentil dish. You'll want something to mop it up with. It's also low in calories and saturated fat too, so a healthy meal option.
Kimchi, Korean fermented vegetables, is a wonderful partner for cheese. You can make your own or find it ready-prepared in supermarkets. Use whichever combination of vegetarian cheeses you prefer, but do add in a blue cheese for a pleasing tangy flavour.
This is not just any veggie burger. The secret is to marinate tomatoes (overnight if you can) in soy, rice vinegar, chilli, garlic and sugar. This gives the burgers a more intense savoury flavour which is only increased by cooking large mushrooms in a herb butter.
Get the recipe for spinach, tomato and mushroom burgers here
Cook up a taste of Thailand with this popular tofu curry. The panang curry paste is bursting with wonderful flavours – ginger, lemongrass, chilli, lime, garlic and coriander. They're just whizzed up in a blender, so it's really worth making your own for the fresh flavours you won't find in a jar.
Put an Indian twist on a favourite by making a naan base for your pizza. The classic margherita topping of tomatoes and mozzarella (check it's vegetarian) is given added spice with coriander seeds, nigella seeds and chilli. The naan dough contains milk and yogurt to give it a lovely soft texture.
Meatball lovers needn't miss out if meat is off the menu. These 'meatballs' are made from mushrooms and lentils and served with a rich marinara sauce. The recipe contains Worcestershire sauce which isn't vegetarian, so add soy sauce instead.
Get the recipe for vegetarian meatballs with marinara sauce here
Tuna pasta is given a vegan makeover here, using jackfruit combined with nori seaweed, soy and lemon juice, to create a tuna flavour without the fish. It's topped with herb breadcrumbs and whizzed macadamia nuts to add extra crunch and texture.
Named after Zuo Zongtang, a Qing Dynasty statesman and military leader, this dish is comfort food 101. Perfect for those who like spicy food, but are trying to cut down on their meat intake. It is incredibly easy to make, so a great mid-week meal.
This is a fragrant curry, with a soft heat to it. The sweetness of cinnamon and clove is balanced out perfectly with more earthy spices of fennel and cumin. This is served best with brown rice or a flaky paratha.
Heavenly caramel-like sweet potatoes with creamy feta and sweetened red onions is an epic flavour combination. So simple to make with really easy-to-buy ingredients. You can use goats' cheese or ricotta instead of the feta if you wish. Serve the frittata hot, warm or cold and a slice is fantastic the next day too.
Get our recipe for sweet potato, feta and red onion frittata here
This squash soup was inspired by Mexican tortilla soup and it has a rich spiciness to it. The recipe recommends using chipotle for the lovely smoky flavours it brings, but any sort of chilli paste is fine. The zest and juice of lime will give freshness and bring the soup to life.
This is quite different from the classic shakshuka, but we think that the sweet potato provides just the right amount of moisture and heft to serve as a base for these eggs. Serve this vibrant dish as a weekend brunch – it sure looks the part.
This recipe uses yogurt instead of cream, which makes it lighter but doesn’t lose any of the creamy comfort elements typical of a korma. Serve with rice, but the dish is also filling and satisfying on its own.
This is a wonderfully simple tart, that is bursting with flavour. Great for picnics or a snack, it will keep in the fridge for up to two days. Although, it really is a treat fresh from the oven.
This is effectively a mashed tofu stir-fry that is brought to life with a custard-like cheesy, spicy sauce. The tofu takes on the flavours impressively, while staying delicate and wobbly like just-set custard. The keys to this dish are fresh moist tofu and nutritional yeast, which is really worth scouting out from health food stores.
A common way beetroot is eaten across the Middle East is in salad form, roasted with olive oil, lemon and with garlic. This recipe takes that idea and adds in a few more dimensions. The salty flavours of the halloumi work wonderfully with the fresh and woody tastes of the lemon and walnut in the gremolata.
Get our recipe for roasted beetroot with grilled halloumi and gremolata here
This tart of spinach, mushroom and ricotta, encased in buttery puff pastry, can be made mostly ahead of time. Note that Gruyère is included in this recipe but isn't vegetarian, so replace with another strong, hard cheese if you need to.
When you’re after an intense umami hit, you can’t get better than a shiitake mushroom. This Cantonese dish packs a super-savoury punch and is so quick and easy. Ideally this dish is made with ‘dan dan’ noodles, which are a bouncy and oily type, but any dried wheat noodles can work.
This is just the recipe you need for a 15-minute meal. The satay element comes from peanut butter which is mixed with soy, rice vinegar and sesame oil to give a wonderfully nutty flavour. Simple to make, but big on taste.
Cheese and cauliflower is a classic combination, but adding a smoked Gouda in with some Parmesan gives a real depth of flavour. You can also add a creamy and soft cheese like mozzarella to give the dish an even richer feel. It's just perfect for when you need some comfort mid-week.
An easy vegetarian centrepiece dish of puff pastry, potatoes, shallots, mushrooms and blue cheese. The recipe suggests Charlotte potatoes but any white salad potato works and feel free to use ready-made puff pastry for ease and quickness.
Usually made with chicken, this recipe substitutes the protein with tofu, which gives the perfect texture to the dish. A creamy curry with warming spices such as cumin and turmeric, it goes great with chapatis or even a side salad.
These lean, green fritters could be served in a bun as a veggie burger or on their own. Using frozen vegetables, they are simple to make. It's worth making extra as they'll keep in the fridge for a couple of days and make a perfect light lunch.
Get the recipe for mint, pea, spinach and chia fritters here
Coconut dal is a great as is but adding stuffed aubergines gives the dish an extra oomph. This recipe suggests using paneer – particularly one with a texture like compressed ricotta – but you can also use tofu and wrap slices of aubergine around to create little parcels. This is a dish that is great to prep and cook the day before and heat up when you’re ready to eat.
Don't worry if pumpkin is out of season, just use butternut squash for this curry instead. It's coconut milk-based so fresh and fragrant, rather than hot and fiery. If you can't find fresh curry leaves, substitute with dried. But it's worth the effort tracking fresh ones down, if you can.
Toad in the hole is a classic British dish of sausages baked in savoury batter. But here it's made vegetarian, packed with roasted root vegetables, peppers, onions and tomato. The recipe serves eight, but you can easily freeze any leftovers and reheat for another meal.
Crisp cubes of tofu in a mildly spiced, rich tomato sauce, is an easy dish to make. But you do need to take a little time to fry the tofu to get that lovely texture which makes all the difference to the dish. Frozen peas are added towards the end of cooking, but spinach or any greens you have in the fridge will work perfectly too.
Great if you have several people to cook for, a pulao is a simple dish of spiced rice with vegetables, all cooked in one pot. Mix and match the vegetables according to what you have to hand. It doesn't need any accompaniments, although you may want to add raita on the side.
With flavours of sesame, soy, ginger, chilli and garlic, everyone will love this dish. Topped with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and crunchy peanuts and served with noodles, it's a great midweek meal.
Frozen spinach adds a bigger depth of flavour than fresh to this speedy 20-minute recipe, so it's worth adding to your shopping list. Orecchiette is used here as it catches the sauce but you could use fusilli or any pasta shape that does the same.
Potato salad gets a makeover with pea shoots, radishes, sugar snap peas and asparagus. The vegetables are tossed in a creamy dressing which has a lovely kick of horseradish. If you want to make it even more filling, add a can of rinsed cannellini beans too.
Get the recipe for asparagus, new potato and radish salad here
When tomatoes are at their best in summer – sweet and fragrant – you can't go wrong with this recipe. It's a free-form tart using shop-bought pastry, with cheese scattered over the pastry base, then layered with cooked onions, tarragon, courgette and tomatoes. Serve with a green salad for a perfect meal.