Vegetarian Meal Plan: January - Week 3

Here's a vegetarian meal plan for the upcoming week, full of easy weeknight dinners, a weekend breakfast idea, and a weekend baking project you will love.

Four vegetarian dinners in a Meal Plan for January, featuring lentils, cauliflower, Swiss chard and pasta.

Planning Notes

Most of the dinners for this week's meal plan can be made within approximately 30 minutes except Wednesday's pasta dish, which only requires about 15 minutes of prep work, but a slightly longer cook time.

I save recipes that that take a little longer and more effort for the weekend when I have more time (in theory...).

MEAL PLAN

MONDAY: Pan-Fried Chickpea Salad with Curried Yogurt

TUESDAY: Easy Lemony Swiss Chard Sauté with Quinoa, Capers and Olives

WEDNESDAY: Trofie Pasta with Creamy Poblano Sauce

THURSDAY: Beet Salad with Lentils and Preserved Lemon

FRIDAY: Romanesco Pasta with Curry Cauliflower Sauce

WEEKEND: Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce

WEEKEND BREAKFAST: Broccoli Cheddar Frittata with Tomatoes

WEEKEND BAKING PROJECT: Aglio and Olio Pizza Bread

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M O N D A Y

30-MINUTE DISH GLUTEN-FREE MEDIUM DIFFICULTY

Pan-fried chickpeas and arugula tossed in a curried yogurt dressing, and finished with a little diced red onion.

Pan-Fried Chickpea Salad with Curried Yogurt Dressing

I first saw this curry yogurt chickpea salad a number of years ago on the 101 Cookbooks website, and have made it a bazillion times now. I tweak it every once in a while, but it's seriously good as it is. Serve it with roasted broccoli with a few squeezes of lemon.

Omnivore Tip: Purchase a store-roasted chicken, shred it or chop it up, and toss into the salad for the meat eaters at the table. You'll need to increase the amount of dressing, depending on how much chicken you add.

T U E S D A Y

VEGAN 30-MINUTE DISH GLUTEN-FREE

A skillet of a vegan Swiss chard sauté with quinoa, lemon, capers and olives.

Easy Lemony Swiss Chard Sauté with Quinoa, Capers and Olives

This easy vegan Swiss chard recipe is full of goodness from healthy Swiss chard and quinoa. This dinner comes together in roughly 25 minutes if you already have cooked quinoa on hand in the refrigerator. Otherwise you can make it ahead, or make it first and allow it to cook while you make the rest of the sauté.

Omnivore Tip: Serve as a side dish for the meat-eaters. This dish goes well with most any meat entree.

W E D N E S D A Y

EASY 15-MINUTE PREP

A plate of trofie twisted pasta tossed in a creamy poblano sauce topped with queso fresco cheese.

Espagueti Verde (Spaghetti in a Creamy Poblano Sauce)

This easy espagueti verde pasta dish is tossed with a sauce made from poblano peppers, Mexican crema, cilantro (or parsley), and bouillon paste. It needs only 15 minutes of prep. The rest of the time to make it is just cooking the pasta and roasting the poblano peppers.

Serve with soft potato rolls and a romaine and avocado salad dressed with a lemon vinaigrette.

Omnivore Tip: Add grilled or sautéed shrimp or salmon.

T H U R S D A Y

30 MINUTE DISH EASY EASILY MADE VEGAN

A platter of lentils topped with a pickled beet salad, and topped with parsley.

Beet Salad Over Lentils with Preserved Lemon

This lentil beet salad is loosely modified and simplified from a recipe in The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone cookbook by Deborah Madison. If you have an Instant Pot and Air Fryer, this recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make.

Eliminate the feta cheese to make this dish vegan, or use a plant-based feta cheese.

Serve with roasted carrots.

Omnivore Tip: Add bacon lardons to the lentils.

F R I D A Y

30-MINUTE DISH VEGAN

A skillet of pasta cooked with romanesco and apples, topped with Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs.

Vegan Romanesco Pasta with Apples and a Creamy Curry Cauliflower Sauce

This vegan romanesco pasta is super easy to make, and you'd never ever guess that there's no cream in the sauce, and no nuts like cashews. The pectin in the cauliflower florets makes the sauce creamy. Seriously, who knew?

Omnivore Tip: Add bacon lardons to the pasta.

W E E K E N D

GLUTEN FREE VEGAN PARTS CAN BE MADE AHEAD

Whole roasted cauliflower, with tahini sauce and smokey paprika dressing.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Smoky Paprika and Tahini Sauces

A whole roasted cauliflower, Middle Eastern style, roasted until charred and caramelized at the edges, and then covered in a smoky paprika dressing is one of the most beautiful and delicious vegetarian dishes you'll make. It's served on a tahini sauce. This post also includes tips for making tahini sauce, if you've ever had one separate on you.

Serve with roasted carrots or umbrian lentils and roasted tomatoes.

Omnivore Tip: Add chorizo to the sauce.

W E E K E N D B R E A K F A S T

GLUTEN FREE KETO-LOW CARB

A frittata of eggs cooked with broccoli, cheddar cheese and tomatoes.

Broccoli and Tomato Frittata with Cheddar Cheese

This broccoli tomato frittata is ready in 30 minutes if you have a frittata pan. A frittata pan is actually 2 interlocking pans, which allow you to flip the frittata on the stove, instead of finishing it in the oven. It will take a little longer if you need to finish it in the oven.

W E E K E N D B A K I N G P R O J E C T

YEASTED BREAD

Three rounds of baked pizza bread seasoned aglio and olio style on a cutting board.

Aglio e Olio Pizza Bread

This olio pizza bread is best with an overnight chill in the refrigerator. It can be torn up like garlic bread pieces to use for sopping up sauces or dipping into soups.