7 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan (28 Easy Recipes and a Shopping List)

This vegetarian meal plan is the week I cook when I want seven days of proper food without a single bit of meat, and without spending every evening wondering what to make. Every breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack is one of my own tested recipes, and each one links straight to the full method.

In short, this 7 day vegetarian meal plan gives you 28 recipes: a breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack for every day from Monday to Sunday. It suits families and anyone trying a meat free week, it includes eggs and dairy, most dinners serve four to six so leftovers cover the next day’s lunch, and eleven of the 28 recipes are vegan as written.

I built it the way my family actually eats: quick breakfasts on school days, soups and salads for lunch, one cosy dinner a night and a small snack for the afternoon slump. Save the chart below, then scroll down for each day, a shopping list by aisle, my prep ahead tips and easy vegan swaps.

How This Vegetarian Meal Plan Works

Honestly, the secret is balance rather than rules. Every day has a protein at lunch and dinner, so you are not relying on a bowl of pasta to keep you full. Beans, lentils, chickpeas, eggs, cheese and nuts all take a turn, and dairy and eggs do some of the heavy lifting because this is a vegetarian week rather than a vegan one.

• Protein every day: chickpeas on Monday, lentils on Tuesday, cottage cheese on Wednesday, edamame on Thursday, and eggs and cheese through the weekend.
• A balanced plate: I loosely follow the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, so I add a side salad, steamed greens or fruit wherever a meal looks beige.
• Leftovers on purpose: most dinners serve four to six, so the extra portions become tomorrow’s lunch or go straight into the freezer.
• Easy weekdays, slower weekends: Monday to Friday leans on fast or make-ahead recipes, while Saturday and Sunday have the bakes that like a bit more time.

If you want to cook most of this in one go, my vegetarian meal prep ideas show how I batch soups, curry and snacks on a Sunday afternoon.

Monday: Chia Pudding to Chickpea Curry

First, an easy start to the week. The chia pudding and pasta salad are both made the night before, so Monday is just one pan of curry.

• Breakfast: Chia Pudding. Three ingredients, five minutes, then at least four hours in the fridge.
• Lunch: Greek Pasta Salad. It keeps for up to four days, so make the whole bowl.
• Dinner: Coconut Chickpea Curry. Serves six in 45 minutes, with 11 g of protein a serving.
• Snack: Hummus with carrot sticks or crackers. It keeps for five days.

I stir the chia pudding straight into wide mouth glass jars with lids, so Monday’s breakfast is ready to grab from the fridge.

Tuesday: Oatmeal, Lentil Soup and Pasta Primavera

Next, Tuesday is soup day. I cook the lentil soup on Monday night while the curry simmers, because it tastes better the next day anyway.

• Breakfast: Instant Pot Oatmeal. Six portions after just 2 minutes at pressure.
• Lunch: Lentil Soup. One pot, 14 g of protein a bowl, and it keeps four to five days.
• Dinner: Pasta Primavera. 35 minutes in one skillet. Use a vegetarian hard cheese instead of Parmesan, which is traditionally made with animal rennet.
• Snack: Energy Balls. No oven, and they keep a week in the fridge.

Wednesday: Sheet Pan Pancakes and Cauliflower Masala

Midweek, I want a hot breakfast that cooks itself. The pancakes bake in one tray, and the leftover squares reheat in the toaster on Thursday.

• Breakfast: Sheet Pan Pancakes. Fifteen squares in 28 minutes, with no flipping.
• Lunch: Cottage Cheese Flatbread with leftover hummus and salad. Each flatbread has 9 g of protein.
• Dinner: Cauliflower Masala. Gently spiced, vegan as written, with 12 g of protein a serving.
• Snack: Granola Bar. No bake, and a batch of 12 lasts the rest of the week.

Thursday: Granola, Minestrone and Baked Mac and Cheese

By Thursday I want comfort. So the minestrone goes into the slow cooker in the morning, and the mac and cheese is the treat at the end of the day.

• Breakfast: Granola with yogurt and fruit. It keeps two weeks in an airtight jar.
• Lunch: Minestrone. Vegan, serves eight and keeps up to four days.
• Dinner: Baked Mac and Cheese. Three cheeses and a buttered crumb top, with 30 g of protein a serving.
• Snack: Edamame Hummus. Fifteen minutes, with more protein than the chickpea version.

Friday: Pumpkin Muffins and Spinach Ravioli

Then Friday is all about speed. The muffins are baked ahead, the fritters are quick, and the ravioli bakes in the same skillet it simmers in.

• Breakfast: Pumpkin Muffins. One bowl, seven ingredients and 30 minutes.
• Lunch: Zucchini Fritters with a spoonful of yogurt or sour cream.
• Dinner: Spinach Ravioli. Cheese ravioli, mascarpone and spinach; check the ravioli label and swap the Parmesan for a vegetarian hard cheese.
• Snack: Crackers made with sourdough discard. They keep a week in a tin.

Saturday: Sourdough Waffles and Vegan Lasagna

At the weekend I slow down. Waffles for breakfast, a simple salad for lunch, and a big lasagna that you can assemble the day before.

• Breakfast: Sourdough Waffles. Crisp outside in about 20 minutes, and they freeze beautifully.
• Lunch: Spinach Salad with toasted walnuts and lemon. Use a vegetarian hard cheese in place of the Parmesan or Romano.
• Dinner: Vegan Lasagna. Tempeh or smoked tofu and a creamy nut layer, with 18 g of protein a serving.
• Snack: Chocolate Mousse made from avocado. Five minutes, and vegan too.

Sunday: French Toast Bake and Baked Ziti

Finally, Sunday is the generous day. The French toast bake can soak overnight, and the ziti feeds a crowd with leftovers for Monday’s lunchbox.

• Breakfast: French Toast Bake. Assemble the night before and bake for about 35 minutes.
• Lunch: Instant Pot Mac. Fifteen minutes in one pot, with no draining and no roux.
• Dinner: Baked Ziti. Ricotta and mozzarella, 26 g of protein a serving, and a vegetarian hard cheese instead of Parmesan on top.
• Snack: PB Oat Balls. Five ingredients and no oven.

The Whole Week at a Glance

Here is the full vegetarian meal plan on one screen, matching the chart above, so you can screenshot it for the fridge door.

A Note on Nutrition and Balance

This vegetarian meal plan is a family week of food, not a diet, so I have not counted calories. That said, a few things keep it well rounded. The dinners range from 11 g of protein a serving for the chickpea curry to 30 g for the baked mac and cheese, and every lunch adds pulses, cheese or eggs on top.

• Add colour where you can. A handful of salad leaves, a bowl of frozen peas or an apple on the side is the quickest way to balance a cheesy dinner.
• Mix your proteins. Lentils, chickpeas, edamame, dairy, eggs and nuts all appear, which is better than leaning on cheese every night.
• Think about B12 and iron. Eggs and dairy supply some B12, and lentils, chickpeas and spinach bring iron, especially with a squeeze of lemon or some tomatoes alongside.

All figures come from my recipe cards and, like all my nutrition information, are estimates. If you have specific needs, a registered dietitian is the best person to tailor a week for you.

Vegetarian Meal Plan Shopping List by Aisle

This list covers everything in the vegetarian meal plan, so you can shop once. Check the cupboard first, because many of the spices and staples will already be there.

• Fruit and veg: onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, celery, broccoli, a red pepper, courgettes, a yellow squash, a cauliflower, button and shiitake mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, a cucumber, a red onion, baby spinach, three ripe avocados, lemons, a lime, parsley, chives, coriander, basil and fruit for breakfast.
• Tins and jars: chickpeas, cannellini beans, chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, pumpkin puree, kalamata olives, tahini, marinara sauce and vegetable stock.
• Pasta, grains and pulses: rotini, penne, elbow macaroni, ziti, instant lasagna sheets, small soup pasta, rolled oats, oat flour and dried brown or green lentils.
• Fridge: milk, buttermilk, butter, eggs, yogurt, feta, cottage cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, mascarpone, cheddar, Monterey Jack, a vegetarian hard cheese, fresh cheese ravioli, and tempeh or smoked tofu.
• Freezer: shelled edamame and peas.
• Baking aisle: flour, self raising flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, cocoa, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flaxseed, nuts, macadamias or cashews, coconut, cranberries, chocolate chips, honey, maple syrup and vanilla.
• Store cupboard: olive oil, coconut oil, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, peanut butter, almond butter, nutritional yeast, breadcrumbs, sourdough bread and your spices.

Prep Ahead Tips for the Week

Purdue Extension’s meal planning tips boil down to mapping your meals, shopping from a list and loving your leftovers, and that is exactly how I run this week.

• Sunday evening: stir the chia pudding, cook the pasta salad, blend the hummus, roll the energy balls and press the granola bars.
• Monday evening: while the curry simmers, cook the lentil soup for Tuesday. Then freeze half the curry for up to 2 months.
• Tuesday evening: bake the sheet pan pancakes and mix the flatbread dough for Wednesday.
• Wednesday evening: bake the granola and chop the vegetables for Thursday’s minestrone.
• Thursday evening: bake the pumpkin muffins and grate the courgettes for the fritters.
• Every week: repeat the vegetarian meal plan as it is, or swap one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner so it never feels samey.
• Saturday afternoon: assemble the lasagna, then soak the French toast bake overnight.

In addition, keep the toppings separate: fruit for the chia pudding, lime and coriander for the curry, and fresh herbs for the soups all go on the day.

Leftover dinners go into glass meal prep containers as soon as they have cooled, so the next day’s lunch is already portioned and ready to reheat.

Vegan Swaps for This Vegetarian Meal Plan

More than a third of the week is already vegan: the curry, lentil soup, minestrone, masala, hummus, edamame hummus, oatmeal, granola, crackers, lasagna and mousse. If you are not sure where the line sits, my guide to vegan vs vegetarian explains it. For the rest, these swaps keep the plan intact:

• Chia pudding: use oat or almond milk and maple syrup instead of milk and honey.
• Greek pasta salad: leave out the feta and use an egg free pasta.
• Pasta primavera, mac and cheese, ravioli and ziti: swap in the vegan lasagna or a second night of curry.
• Pancakes, waffles, muffins and French toast: have the oatmeal or granola with plant yogurt instead.
• Energy balls and granola bars: both use honey, so pick the peanut butter oat balls made with maple syrup and plant milk.
• Flatbread and fritters: replace them with hummus and crackers or an extra bowl of soup.

Labels Worth Checking

• Parmesan and Romano are traditionally made with animal rennet, so buy a hard cheese labelled suitable for vegetarians.
• Other cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella and feta can be made either way, so look for vegetarian rennet on the pack.
• Stock should always be vegetable stock, never chicken stock.
• Worcestershire sauce usually contains anchovies, so if you add a splash anywhere, choose a vegetarian one.
• Honey is vegetarian but not vegan, which matters if you are cooking for a vegan friend.

Frequently Asked Questions