Comforting Vegetarian Recipe Ideas You’ll Want to Make for Autumn and Beyond
Only one thing is the order of the day when it’s grey and blustery outside: autumn comfort food. From soul-warming soups and stews to hearty dinners and puddings, the best vegetarian autumn recipes make the most of gorgeous, seasonal flavours.
When keeping cosy is priority number one, it can be easy to lose motivation to stay on top of your goals. The trick is to build your week-by-week meal plan around quick meals and batch-cook friendly dishes, so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time relaxing under a fluffy blanket.
Of the 100 brand-new recipes in our brand-new cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Express, 34 are vegetarian (and so many more are easy to adapt!).
It’s helpfully split into two ‘quick cook’ and ‘quick prep’ chapters, making it easier than ever to flick straight to healthy homemade dishes that suit your schedule.
You can pre-order your copy today in time for December 7th!
Vegetarian autumn breakfasts
When you know which tasty, vegetarian autumn recipe you’ll be waking up to, it’s far easier to find the motivation to jump out of bed on a frosty morning.
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, pencil our Biscoff and Banana Porridge into your midweek rotation. We’ve swirled our creamy oats with an autumnal blend of cinnamon and vanilla essence that’s irresistible all year round.
For added indulgence, our recipe is topped with a drizzle of melted Biscoff spread and banana slices.
The warm, deep-spiced caramel flavours in Biscoff spread are great for staving off the cold – it’s a vegetarian (and vegan) store cupboard essential!
There’s no denying that our Marmite Mushrooms on Toast recipe is pure autumn comfort food. Love or hate Marmite, this easy-peasy velvety brunch starts the day with a savoury bang.
While it looks and tastes luxurious, we’ve used reduced-fat cream cheese to keep our version surprisingly slimming friendly. It takes less than 15 minutes to make, so there’s no excuse not to give it a whirl!
You can take things to a whole other level with a sprinkling of chives on top.
Breakfasts you can batch-cook are an absolute life-saver on dark, cold mornings. Our juicy-in-the-middle Bakewell Baked Oats will be just as delicious whether you reheat them after a few days in the fridge, or a few weeks in the freezer.
To recreate Bakewell-inspired flavours, add a teaspoon of cherry jam to the mixture of vanilla-infused oats, before baking to golden perfection. If Bakewell isn’t your cup of tea, keep things autumnal by whipping up a batch of Cinnamon Roll Baked Oats instead.
Vegetarian autumn lunches
When lunchtime rolls around, you want to be tucking into vegetarian autumn recipes that’ll fuel you for the day ahead. Our Mulligatawny Soup is absolutely brimming with nutritious seasonal veg like carrots and butternut squash, as well as filling basmati rice and red lentils.
A chunky, punchy homemade soup, it’s perfect for batch cooking and stashing away for grab-and-go lunch breaks.
We like to add a few taste bud tingling teaspoons of mild or hot curry powder, but you can add less or none at all, if you’d prefer a milder serving.
Chances are you’ve already got everything you need to make our Cheese and Apple Toastie. It’s ready in less than 10 minutes with just 3 simple ingredients: reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, apple slices and wholemeal bread.
We’ve used Granny Smith apples for our recipe because their tart crispiness pairs like a dream with Cheddar, but there’s nothing to stop you using a different variety.
Sweet, juicy apples are a cracking ingredient for a number of autumn comfort foods. You can find even more ideas in our apple recipes blog.
Bursting with a medley of Mexican-inspired ingredients, our Veggie Quesadillas are a lunch with an unmistakable crunch.
We’ve filled low-calorie tortilla wraps with veggies, creamy guacamole and gooey cheese, and folded them into crispy, oven-baked triangles. A speedy, satisfying lunch idea, it’ll go from frying pan to plate in a matter of minutes!
For the full recipe, turn to pages 60-63 in your copy of Pinch of Nom: Budget.
Vegetarian autumn dinners
When cold, dark evenings make you want to hibernate, putting autumn comfort food on the table is a must. Our Mushroom Chilli is one of those homely dishes that’ll make the most of your store cupboard and your spice rack.
To replace minced meat, we’ve blitzed mushrooms until finely chopped, for a lower-calorie, nutritious alternative.
The spices on our ingredients list are at a mild, family-friendly level, but there’s nothing to stop you ramping up the heat with extra chilli powder if you’re feeling brave.
Speaking of spice, if you’ve not tried a curry night with our Cauliflower Madras at the centre, you need to change that!
Our fiery florets are simmered in a rich, homemade curry sauce that’s far tastier and healthier than anything you’d find inside a shop-bought jar. Tuck into a portion with a side of fluffy basmati rice and Onion Bhajis, for a fuller Indian-inspired spread.
It’s unbelievable how versatile cauliflower is! We’ve got a whole roundup of cauliflower recipes you can try.
We can’t talk about autumn recipes without mentioning the slow cooker. It’s the ideal time of year to be coming home to a bubbling hot dinner that’s ready to serve, like our Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings.
It’s loaded with plenty of seasonal veg, including onions, leeks, butternut squash, carrots and mushrooms, alongside cannellini beans for a filling protein boost.
While making homemade dumplings might sound daunting, our recipe is nice and easy to follow. Simply add them to the rest of the ingredients in your slow cooker pot until they’re fluffed up and glorious!
You can make this cheesy stew in an oven instead, if you’d prefer.
Whether you make our Vegan Campfire Stew in an oven, a slow cooker or an Instant Pot, you know it’s guaranteed to serve up food for the soul.
We’ve used jackfruit for a vegan-friendly alternative to pulled pork, simmered until fall-off-the-fork tender with beans, herbs, spices and veggies.
We like it best with a dollop of Creamy Mashed Potatoes on the side, to soak up every last drop of smoky sauce.
There’s no shortage of vegetables in our scrummy Roasted Vegetable Risotto, with courgette, aubergine, cherry tomatoes, onions and red peppers in the mix!
Like most risottos, our tomatoey recipe will need to be stirred bit by bit as you add the stock, but the silky texture you’ll be left with is well worth the effort.
It tastes best with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on top – just be sure to check that your Parmesan is veggie-friendly, as some brands may include rennet.
Vegetarian autumn desserts
Getting cosy after a long, cold day isn’t complete without a comforting, autumn pudding. While Pumpkin Pie normally comes out when the trick-or-treaters do, we can promise it’s just as delicious as the year goes on.
To keep the calories down without compromising on luxurious taste, we’ve made our base by swapping pastry for clever low-calorie tortilla wraps. We love to top each slice with a swirl of low-fat aerosol cream for an extra heap of comfort, but fat-free yoghurt would also work really well.
If you can’t get enough of pumpkin flavours, why not sip on our Pumpkin Spiced Latte? It’s far better for you and your budget than cafe-bought versions.
A classic autumnal dessert, it’s true that homemade apple pie isn’t often found on a slimming-friendly diet. Our Crustless Apple Pie removes the pastry to keep things lighter than light, without losing out on that all-important warming sweetness.
It takes just 10 minutes to mix everything together for this custard-based pudding, cinnamon-infused apple slices included.
You’ll know it’s ready after around half an hour in the oven, when the topping is an eye-catching golden brown. If you’re feeling really hungry, add a glug of our homemade Custard for an additional 158 calories.
You won’t find anything fancy in the ingredients list for our Microwave Chocolate Sponge Pudding. This delightfully simple, fluffy sponge cake is a proper chocolatey treat, and far lighter than you’d expect (only 170 calories per portion!).
It’s a seriously comforting recipe that’s ready in 5 minutes from a microwave, or less than an hour from the oven, if you can bear to wait.
If you’re an avid chocolate lover, you need to add the ingredients to your shopping list!
Which vegetarian autumn recipe are you making first?
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