3 Vegan Comfort Food Recipes for When You’re on a Budget

Being vegan doesn’t mean you have to spend mega $$$ in order to enjoy your favorite vegan comfort food staples.

From pasta bake to double chocolate cookies, Rose Lee of Cheap Lazy Vegan shows us three vegan comfort food recipes to make when you’re on a budget.

3 Budget-Friendly Vegan Comfort Food Recipes

No Boil Lentil Pasta Bake

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 13.2 ounce box of pasta
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
1/4 cup tomato paste 
1/2 onion, diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup red split lentils 
1 large 28 ounce can of tomatoes, diced or whole
1 cup bread crumbs (optional)
2-3 tablespoons vegan cashew parmesan, nutritional yeast, or vegan cheese (optional) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. In a large, deep baking pan (11 x 11 inch worked well in this recipe), add dry uncooked pasta, Italian seasoning, salt, minced garlic, olive oil, and mix well.
3. Add tomato paste and mix well again. 
4. Add onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, red split lentils, and canned tomatoes and mix further. If using canned whole tomatoes, break up the tomatoes with spatula and mix. 
5. Add 4 cups of water and bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes. 
6. Take out and stir to make sure the mixture is evenly cooking. Then top with breadcrumbs, vegan parmesan, or other toppings of choice and bake for another 15 minutes. 
7. Take out of the oven and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes. Serve warm! 

NO BOIL PASTA BAKE
Ingredients (6-8 servings):	Price
1 box (375g) of pasta (dry)	$1.74
1 tbsp Italian seasoning	$0.13
1 tsp salt	$0.01
1 tbsp minced garlic	$0.04
2 tbsp olive or avocado oil	$0.03
1/4 cup tomato paste	$0.22
1/2 onion, diced	$0.40
2 cup sliced mushrooms	$0.79
1 bell pepper, diced	$1.58
3/4 cup red split lentils (dry)	$0.19
1 large can (796ml or 28oz) of tomatoes, diced or whole	$0.79
1 cup bread crumbs (optional)	$0.79
2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast	$0.36
TOTAL PRICE:	$7.07
Price per serving based on 8 servings:	$0.88

Creamy Mushroom & Potato Soup 

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced 
3 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced  
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups water or vegetable broth
1 block vegetable stock cube (if using vegetable broth listed above, omit)
1 tablespoon thyme 
1 tablespoon miso paste
1 15 ounce can coconut milk 
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste 

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot on medium high heat. 
2. Add onions and cook for one minute, then add mushrooms and garlic. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. 
3. Add potato and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Add flour, give it a quick stir, and slowly add in water or broth while mixing. 
5. If using, add vegetable stock cube by breaking it up into smaller pieces. Add thyme. Bring to boil on high heat.
6. Once it comes to a boil, turn down to medium-low to allow this to simmer for about 20-30 minutes until potatoes are soft. 
7. Meanwhile, add miso paste into a small bowl along with a few spoonfuls of the warm broth, taken from the pot. Mix together to thin out the miso paste. Set aside. 
8. Once potatoes are cooked, add in coconut milk. Mix well and cook for another 10 minutes.
9. Turn off heat, add in the thinned out miso paste ,and mix well. 
10. Add salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy! 

CREAMY MUSHROOM & POTATO SOUP
Ingredients (around 4 servings):
1 tbsp olive oil	$0.02
1/2 onion, diced	$0.40
3 cups mushrooms, sliced	$1.19
1 tbsp garlic, minced	$0.04
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces	$1.19
2 tbsp flour	$0.03
1 block vegetable stock cube	$0.26
1 tbsp thyme	$0.19
1 tbsp miso paste	$0.21
1 can coconut milk	$0.70
TOTAL PRICE:	$4.22
Price per serving based on 4 servings:	$1.06

Fudgy Double Chocolate Cookies

Makes around 14-16 small cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder 
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/3 cup chocolate chips (plus 2 additional tablespoons or topping, if desired)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoon applesauce
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (more if needed)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add white flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, salt, and 1/3 cup chocolate chips. Mix well. 
3. Add in the vegetable oil, applesauce, non-dairy milk, and vanilla extract, and mix well. If needed, add in 1 tablespoon extra non-dairy milk at a time to get to thick, cookie dough-like consistency. 
4. Wet a tablespoon with water (or use a small ice cream scoop) and scoop out small balls of cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet. 
5. Top each cookie with 2 tablespoons of extra chocolate chips, if desired. 
6. Bake at 325 degrees F for 12-13 minutes. 
7. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes and enjoy! These are extra delicious when served warm as the chocolate gets nice and gooey. 

FUDGY DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES
Ingredients (makes around 14-16 small cookies)
3/4 cup white flour	$0.20
1/4 cup cocoa powder	$0.24
1/3 cup sugar	$0.04
1/2 tsp baking soda	$0.01
1/4 tsp salt	$0.01
1/3 cup chocolate chips + 2 tbsp more for topping, if desired	$0.64
1 tbsp vegetable oil	$0.03
3 tbsp apple sauce	$0.09
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (more if needed)	$0.12
1/2 tsp vanilla extract	$0.03
TOTAL PRICE:	$1.42

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