5-Ingredient Vegan Recipes for Busy Days

We all have days when we just can’t deal with making anything complicated. Or weeks when we didn’t do much shopping and hardly any pre-planning — it happens to everyone from time to time. There are days when it’s all we can do to stop ourselves from reaching for the take-out drawer. There’s nothing wrong with keeping a a meal really simple — even when not under duress. Here are five 5-ingredient recipes (salt, pepper, and water don’t count) that will make those “too tired to cook” days a whole lot better.

Black Bean Nachos Grandes are not only a great appetizer or snack, but in a pinch, can serve as a centerpiece. This one calls for a big, colorful salad and some steamed broccoli or garlic-sautéed greens.

Vegan Chili-Cheese Grits are great for breakfast or brunch, but they can also be a change-of- pace dinner served with baked sweet potato and coleslaw.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese is not only super-simple to make, it’s also somehow emotionally comforting. So if you or someone in your family has had a tough day, this dish comes to the rescue using only five ingredients. This is great served with a carrot salad and green beans or broccoli.

Baked Risotto, a creamy-textured rice dish, takes a bit more than an hour start to finish, but making it takes very little hands-on time.

Traditional-Style Miso Soup might not fill you up on its own, but if you pick up some ready made vegetable sushi from the supermarket, some sliced ready-made baked tofu, and a steamed green vegetable, you’ve got an emergency meal that looks more like a feast.