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Vegetarian meal plan for early winter

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Need some meatless meal ideas this season? Here’s a 7-day vegetarian meal plan for early winter including prep tips and serving suggestions!

A photo of orange chili with a text overlay that says, "vegetarian meal plan early winter."

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Hello, Rhubarbarians! Here's a weeks worth of dinner ideas for you that use early winter produce.

Jump to:

December and January can be truly exciting with amazing meals and treats. But, with short days and long nights, you need meals that are simple for busy weeknights.

All of these recipes are beginner vegetarian friendly and quick enough for weeknights if you prep ahead just a bit (I'll show you how). If you're participating in Veganuary in January, here are 31 Veganuary dinner recipes to try.

Need more ideas? Check out this list of vegetarian dinner recipes to make all winter long or our vegetarian meal plan for mid winter!

What to eat in early winter

Your vegetarian meal plan for early winter is packed full of seasonal fruits and vegetables! Enjoy bright and juicy citrus fruits, root vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, and mushrooms.

Don't forget to add in some winter greens, maybe some green kiwis, and lemon in your water or tea!

Here's our January seasonal produce and recipes guide for you.

Meal plan

Each recipe below includes a quick description, recipe tips, side dishes to serve, and a link to a printable pdf of the recipe.

Prep ahead tips

Let's set you up for success for the week! If you'd like to, you can pre-chop all of your veggies for the week and have them ready to minimize prep time later on.

At the beginning of the week I also recommend cooking the quinoa for the grapefruit quinoa salad (maybe even the Sunday before).

The sweet potatoes will need to be marinated ahead of time for the tacos, so I recommend prepping these Monday night.

The black eyed peas will need to be soaked ahead of time. This can be done in the morning on Thursday or Wednesday night.

If you can't find super firm tofu, you'll need to press your tofu. This only takes about 15 minutes, but don't forget on Friday night!

The pot pie filling mixture for Sunday can be made a day or two ahead to save time Sunday if you need.

Monday

Grapefruit quinoa salad with herbs and walnuts

With only 15 minutes of prep time, this protein packed salad is going to be your new fave for winter. Bright and refreshing fresh grapefruit, lots of fresh herbs, and hearty quinoa and chickpeas.

Pro tip: cook the quinoa ahead of time to save time!

A photo of a salad with grapefruit segments, quinoa, chickpeas, feta cheese, and walnuts.

Recipe tips:

  • Choose a grapefruit that you love. Ruby grapefruits are the sweetest!
  • Make it vegan by omitting the cheese or using vegan feta.
  • Add a bit of honey or maple syrup to the dressing to sweeten if desired.

Serve with:

Print this recipe including ingredient list here.

Tuesday

Easy winter ale roasted sweet potato tacos

What's better than Taco Tuesday? Beer marinated vegan sweet potato tacos on Tuesday! There's a lot of flavor in the sweet potatoes, so you can keep toppings simple.

Pro tip: marinate the sweet potatoes ahead of time, even overnight if you need to. It takes 3-12 hours.

A photo of five sweet potato tacos on a plate topped with red onion, corn, avocado, and cilantro.

Recipe tips:

  • Use a winter ale that you enjoy drinking! I like to use Deschutes Jubelale.
  • The toppings can be swapped out for any of your favorite taco toppings.
  • You can cut the sweet potato into cubes if you'd prefer.

Serve with:

Print this recipe including ingredient list here.

Wednesday

Vegetarian chili with orange and cinnamon

This pot of chili is full of unexpected flavors of orange and cinnamon, but still comfort food like you want from chili. It's easy to prepare, vegan, and is great for freezing for easy meals later on.

Pro tip: The black beans and kidney beans can be swapped for almost any type of bean. Try pinto beans, white beans, or even chickpeas if that's what you have.

A photo of a bowl of chili topped with orange slices, radish slices, and cilantro.

Recipe tips:

  • If you want to cook dry beans, you'll need 1 ½ cups for each can. So for this recipe, swap the two cans of black beans for 3 cups of cooked beans. Swap the can of kidney beans for 1 ½ cups of cooked beans.
  • You should yield about ⅓ cup of orange juice from one navel orange. You can use unsweetened bottled orange juice if needed but a lot of the flavor comes from the orange zest.
  • Omit the serrano for a less spicy chili. Or swap the serrano for a jalapeno for a slightly less spicy chili.

Serve with:

  • Cornbread.
  • Tortilla chips, corn chips, or tortilla strips.
  • Cheese quesadilla.

Print this recipe including ingredient list here.

Thursday

Smoky black eyed pea soup

There's a good chance you have some dried black eyed peas in your pantry this time of year! The beans are soaked with smoked paprika so they are very flavorful.

Pro tip: Soak the beans overnight if it makes things easier for you!

A photo of vegan black eyed pea soup with a spoon in it.

Recipe tips:

  • Use the freshest black eyed peas you can find. Old ones may not soften.
  • Be sure you are using sweet smoked paprika and not hot paprika.

Serve with:

Print this recipe including ingredient list here.

Friday

Vegan sweet and sour tofu

This meal is amazing for a weeknight dinner because it is EASY. The perfect recipe for anybody who is new to tofu or is new to trying meatless meals.

Pro tip: I love the homemade sweet and sour sauce, but feel free to use store bought if you need to.

A photo of sweet and sour tofu over rice in a white bowl with chopsticks on the side.

Recipe tips:

  • If you can find super firm tofu, that's the best. Otherwise, remember to press your tofu.
  • switch out the veggies for broccoli, cauliflower, or whichever ones you prefer.
  • Double the sauce to make this recipe a breeze later on. It freezes well!

Serve with:

Print this recipe including ingredient list here.

Saturday

Coconut curry lentils with roasted cauliflower

Warm and creamy spiced red lentils topped with perfectly roasted masala cauliflower. It's the warm and cozy vegan dinner of your dreams!

Pro tip: Be sure to save some coconut milk for drizzling on top.

A photo of a bowl of curried lentils with roasted cauliflower and a piece of naan bread.

Recipe tips:

  • Make sure you are using red split lentils to get the texture right.
  • You can swap the cauliflower for broccoli, zucchini, or your favorite roasted vegetable.

Serve with:

Print this recipe including ingredient list here.

Sunday

Easy vegan mushroom pot pies

No need to make a crust for these individual pot pies! You just make the filling, place in a ramekin, and top with some puff pastry.

Pro tip: The filling can be made ahead and heated before baking with the puff pastry top.

A photo of three pot pies in white ramekins one with a spoon in it.

Recipe tips:

  • If you can't find oyster mushrooms, go ahead and use portobellos.

Serve with:

Print this recipe including ingredient list here.

Recommended products and resources

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Here are some of the products that I recommend for prepping and cooking in your kitchen!

Recommended resources:

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