38 Easy Plant-Based Meals To Fuel The Family

What if we told you that mealtimes in family households could be simple? That every family member could enjoy the same meals and even better…the kids ate (and loved) their veggies?

The good news is this is absolutely possible. We’ve collated a wide variety of family-friendly recipes designed to make mealtimes easier while ensuring your little ones get all the nutrition they need—without the mealtime battles. Whether you make them fresh or batch-cook for the week ahead, these breakfasts, lunches, and dinners sneak in plenty of veggies while keeping everyone at the table happy.

Breakfast Ideas

These kid-friendly breakfasts are designed to fuel your little ones with lasting energy. Whether it’s a nutrient-packed smoothie bursting with fruity flavours or fluffy American pancakes loaded with hidden goodness for leisurely weekend mornings, these breakfast recipes are an easy way to sneak in essential vitamins and minerals without sacrificing taste.

Sunshine Smoothie
Drinks
3 mins

Sunshine Smoothie

Kick-start your day with a smoothie that radiates sunshine. Turmeric, as well as giving food a bright golden hue, has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Combine this with sweet pineapple and ginger and you have a breakfast that’s as good for you as it looks.

View Recipe
Banana Chocolate Chunk Pancakes
Breakfast
15 mins

Banana Chocolate Chunk Pancakes

Satisfy your sweet cravings with our banana chocolate chunk pancakes. These deliciously fluffy pancakes are packed with sweet, ripe bananas, rich chocolate chunks, a drizzle of maple and a pinch of salt. With just 8 ingredients, they’re easy to make and you’ll have them on the table in just 15 minutes. Whether you're treating yourself on the weekend or surprising your loved ones with a sweet morning treat, these pancakes are guaranteed to be a hit.

View Recipe
Strawberry Overnight Oats
Breakfast
15 mins

Strawberry Overnight Oats

The perfect fuss-free breakfast. This takes less than 15 minutes to prep the night before, meaning you have the most delicious, nourishing breakfast ready to go as soon as you wake up.

View Recipe
PB & J Smoothie
Drinks
5 mins

PB & J Smoothie

This simple, yet seriously satisfying, 4-ingredient smoothie comes together in moments — the perfect afternoon snack or light breakfast.

View Recipe
American-Style Fluffy Pancakes
Breakfast
15 mins

American-Style Fluffy Pancakes

These American fluffy pancakes are the ultimate weekend breakfast and take no time at all to make. They're thick and fluffy, and taste delicious with the fresh blueberries added into the pancake mix. We love to enjoy these topped with another handful of fresh blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup.

View Recipe
Quick Chocolate Oats
Breakfast
5 mins

Quick Chocolate Oats

These quick chocolate oats take just a few minutes to pull together and make the perfect breakfast for any day of the week. The cacao adds a delicious chocolate taste, while the maple syrup adds a hint of sweetness. We love to mix through big juicy raisins and serve with some fresh raspberries, almond butter and coconut chips on top.

View Recipe

Recipes For Lunches and Dinners

These kid-friendly recipes cleverly sneak in extra veggies while keeping flavours that everyone will love, ensuring dinner times require a lot less persuasion!

High Protein Tofu Bolognese
Mains
60 mins

High Protein Tofu Bolognese

This is the perfect batch cooking recipe. Easy to make, packed with nutrition and very versatile. It’s great with pasta, quinoa, jacket potatoes or rice; and it’s equally popular with adults and kids alike.

View Recipe
Sunshine Pasta Salad
Mains
20 mins

Sunshine Pasta Salad

This vibrant pasta salad looks and tastes like sunshine on a plate. The creamy tofu-based sauce is made with turmeric, lemon and mustard; then tossed with pasta, yellow peppers and sweetcorn — full of flavour and ready in 20 minutes. Bellissimo!

View Recipe
Chickpea, Avocado & Tomato Toastie
Mains
10 mins

Chickpea, Avocado & Tomato Toastie

This is our take on the ‘tunacado’ craze, replacing tuna with crushed chickpeas mixed with red onion, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and garlic. It’s a brilliantly tasty, tangy way to get that tuna-type texture and goes perfectly with creamy avo, tomatoes and pesto. You might find yourself making these on repeat!

View Recipe
Spinach & ‘Ricotta’ Stuffed Pasta Bake
Mains
55 mins

Spinach & ‘Ricotta’ Stuffed Pasta Bake

Friends coming round for dinner? Wondering what to cook? The beauty of this dish is that it looks great on the table, it’s creamy & indulgent, but it’s packed with healthy fibre & protein. You can also prep ahead, by making the tomato sauce the day before and the pasta filling an hour before baking. Perfect!

View Recipe
One-Pan Tomato & Lentil Spaghetti
Mains
20 mins

One-Pan Tomato & Lentil Spaghetti

Satisfying and deliciously moreish, this one-pan pasta dish is just the thing for a quick midweek dinner for the whole family. A comforting creamy tomato sauce made with passata and coconut yoghurt, a handful of fresh basil and beluga or Puy lentils for energy-fuelling protein. You can swap the spaghetti for any pasta you have in the cupboard.

View Recipe
Sweet Potato & Lentil Cottage Pie
Mains
60 mins

Sweet Potato & Lentil Cottage Pie

This is a great recipe for a sharing-style dinner on a cold evening, or if you're looking to have leftovers the next day. We love to enjoy this dish with a side of fresh green salad and some roasted long-stem broccoli.

View Recipe
Hidden Tofu & Veggie-Fried Rice
Mains
25 mins

Hidden Tofu & Veggie-Fried Rice

Make this quick and easy tofu & veggie-fried rice for dinner or for a WFH lunch in under 30 minutes. The tofu is grated, so it almost dissolves into the rice and vegetables. Feel free to swap the pepper, courgette and carrot for any other vegetables that you have at home; broccoli or defrosted frozen peas would also work well.

View Recipe
Courgette Chips
Sides
65 mins

Courgette Chips

These courgette chips are deliciously crispy and great for all of the family. We like to make them for a pre-dinner nibble and serve them with a big bowl of cashew cream to dip into.

View Recipe
Classic Hummus
Sides
15 mins

Classic Hummus

We’ve given our simple hummus a bit of an update here to make it even more delicious for you. I make this every week, it’s a great thing to have in the fridge as it’s so versatile. I love dipping crunchy vegetables into it, spreading it onto open faced rye sandwiches, dolloping it on top of lunch bowls or using it as a side with a lunch time salad. If you make a big batch, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for about five days.  

View Recipe
One-Pan Tomato & Gnocchi Bake
Mains
40 mins

One-Pan Tomato & Gnocchi Bake

Hearty, flavourful and simple to make, this rich gnocchi bake is packed with goodness and easy on the washing-up. A perfect weeknight dish to satisfy everyone and any leftovers can be reheated for a quick lunch the next day.

View Recipe
Carrot & Chickpea Burgers
Mains
55 mins

Carrot & Chickpea Burgers

These punchy protein-packed burgers not only provide four different sources of plant-based protein — including quinoa, chickpeas and tofu — they’re also so easy to bring together. If you’ve got friends or family coming over, this is a great recipe to prepare ahead of time, as you can store them in the fridge (or freezer) until needed.

View Recipe
Chargrilled Broccoli Pittas
Mains
15 mins

Chargrilled Broccoli Pittas

For an easy lunch, try these chargrilled broccoli pittas. With maple- and chilli-toasted chickpeas and walnuts and tahini yoghurt, they’re big on flavour but light on prep time. You can swap the broccoli for any quick-to-cook veg — courgettes, mushrooms and asparagus all work well too.

View Recipe
5-Minute Rainbow Vegetable Wraps
Mains
5 mins

5-Minute Rainbow Vegetable Wraps

Want a fresh, crunchy, veg-packed lunch in only 5 minutes? These wraps are perfect when time is tight, but you don’t want to compromise on nutrition. Plus, they taste as good as they look! The veg is tossed in a deliciously tangy apple cider vinegar & maple dressing for maximum flavour. Feel free to get creative too, adding any extras you have in the fridge — avocado or sliced cucumber are particularly delicious!

View Recipe

Sweet Treats Made With Simple Ingredients

Made with simple, kitchen cupboard ingredients, these recipes offer a healthier way to enjoy a sweet treat together and are ideal for getting little hands involved in the fun.

Tropical Froyo Bites
Sweets
15 mins

Tropical Froyo Bites

These heavenly bites of deliciousness are made with sweet chunks of mango and zingy lime zest stirred through creamy coconut yoghurt, frozen and then dipped in rich dark chocolate. Simple to make, the only hard bit is waiting for them to freeze. They’ll be an instant hit.

View Recipe
Easy Berry Flapjacks
Sweets
35 mins

Easy Berry Flapjacks

Easy to make and ready in half an hour, these fruity flapjacks are the perfect afternoon treat or lunchbox snack for the week ahead. Top tip: make sure you do use porridge oats for these, if you use jumbo oats they won’t stick together

View Recipe
4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Bites
Sweets
15 mins

4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Bites

We’re all about simple, speedy sweet treats, because who always has the time (and patience!) for elaborate baking? These come together with just 4 ingredients and hardly any effort at all. The combination of sticky dates, nut butter, crunchy peanuts and smooth dark chocolate is so moreish that it’s almost impossible to have just one of these bites!

View Recipe
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sweets
20 mins

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are gooey in the middle, a little crunchy on the outside with big chunks of melted chocolate. Really easy, really speedy, completely delicious. Can’t wait to hear what you think.

View Recipe
Crunchy Chocolate Fridge Bars
Sweets
30 mins

Crunchy Chocolate Fridge Bars

We've wanted to create a recipe for fridge bars for a while and these turned out to be so moreish and crispy. They're best kept in the fridge to keep their texture and are delicious enjoyed cold, but you can also keep them at room temperature if you don't have room or want to take them on-the-go.

View Recipe
Cobweb Cookies
Sweets
45 mins

Cobweb Cookies

These spooky spiderweb cookies are an easy sweet treat made with oats, ground almonds and piped with a simple chocolate cobweb design — perfect for Halloween.

View Recipe
Quinoa & Cacao Crispy Treats
Sweets
15 mins

Quinoa & Cacao Crispy Treats

These are the best little treats as they only need five ingredients and they take just 5 minutes to make and 10 minutes to set, so you can have a sweet dessert or snack in just 15 minutes. They taste totally rich, chocolatey and indulgent, perfect for afternoon tea, or an amazing snack whilst you curl up in front of a film!

View Recipe
Banana Chips
Sweets
95 mins

Banana Chips

These crunchy banana chips are the perfect topping for porridge or granola, or else are delicious just by themselves as a snack!

View Recipe
Salted Chocolate Popcorn
Sweets
5 mins

Salted Chocolate Popcorn

Whether for a party with friends, movie-night snack or stress-free after-dinner dessert, this salted chocolate popcorn is quick, easy and great for sharing.

View Recipe
Apple & Banana Spelt Muffins
Kids
40 mins

Apple & Banana Spelt Muffins

Our most popular muffins yet. These are sweet, super satisfying and have a lovely warmth from the of cinnamon. They’re also incredibly easy to make.

View Recipe
Peanut Butter & Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Sweets
20 mins

Peanut Butter & Jam Thumbprint Cookies

If you’re a fan of the classic combo of PB&J, you’ll love these cute quick-bake cookies. Turning the all-American lunchbox tradition into a fun new treat, they come together in just 20 minutes. Switch up the jammy centre to whatever flavour takes your fancy.

View Recipe

Delicious Ways to Feel Better

Discover simple tools for a healthier life

Become a Deliciously Ella member today