Cooking is not a complicated process, but some recipes make it seem that way. If you don’t know where to start with vegan cooking, then look no further than this article for basic vegan meals, snacks, and dessert ideas for the newbie cook and/or vegan.

1. Noodles

Buckwheat, udon, linguini, and spaghetti noodles can be bought premade and easily prepared in a boiling water bath. College students can even make ramen noodles, so you can certainly make buckwheat noodles since the premise is the same. Boil up this Rich Soba Soup:


2. Soup

Soup is the simplest thing to make — you just chop up vegetables, throw them in some water, and wait for a long while until all the vegetables are cooked. This recipe involves just that except for the first sweating of the garlic business, but do not fret, it’s not at all complicated, and I have faith in you. You can mess about with making your own beans, but if you truly are an inexperienced cook, dear reader, than I suggest skipping that step and using the canned variety. Make this White Bean and Kale soup:

3. Rice and Beans

If you don’t know what a rice cooker is, then you should really try to invest in one because it will make your life way easier. Forget trying to boil those silly little grains on the stovetop, and slap a cup of them into a rice cooker with some water and press the button! Even my cooking-challenged brother can figure out how to make rice, so you can too — especially if you have a rice cooker. To round out your rice, open a can of beans, heat them up, and dump them on your fluffy grains. You can get fancy by making your own beans which is relatively basic as well, but store bought is always an option. Here’s a slow cooker recipe for pinto beans (you should invest in one of those too):

4. Salad

Lettuce or some other leafy green, vegetables, and dressing is all salad consists of, so if you screw it up, I can’t help you. You don’t even have to put other vegetables on your salad if you don’t want to: it can just be some romaine and a smattering of dressing and you’re good to go! Fancy salads are great too, but they require more effort that sometimes is a superfluous waste of your time when you’re on the verge the hangry level of hunger. If you’re still in an almost hungry state, then you can mess around trying to make a fancy salad like this one, but if you’re not, skip the details and dig in to your two ingredient (but still delicious!) salad.

5. Smoothies

What’s easier than chucking frozen fruits and some green stuff into your blender and pressing puree? Well, you could just gnaw on an apple, but you can’t drink an apple like you can a freshly made smoothie. Smoothies are as basic as you can get, and you really can’t mess them up unless you try really hard (but that would be disobeying Master Yoda’s commands…). This recipe features only a handful of ingredients so you won’t feel anxious about a ridiculously long and complex list of ingredients. Two peaches, a banana, kale, almond milk, chia seeds, and ginger are all that is required in this green smoothie recipe: do you think you can handle that?


6. Sandwiches

Bread and stuff is basically what a sandwich is — you could dissect a sandwich into its discreet parts and illuminate on the endless possibilities of topping combinations or the different types of bread, but that would be an exercise in futility. This sandwich recipe is not too complicated as far as sandwiches go: it only involves eight ingredients like bread, hummus, avocado, and carrots, among others. If you’re lazy, you could just forget about the other ingredients and make an avocado only sandwich which would still taste pretty good, but you can abide by the recipe and still have a great outcome. Another recipe you could try that is still basic as eating pie would be this one. Essentially, this recipe calls for two things: bread and nondairy cheese because, big surprise, it’s a grilled cheese. There are other ingredients in this sandwich that make it a nonconformist in Grilled Cheese Land, but those are the main stars of this sandwich attraction.

7. Porridge

Making oatmeal and the like doesn’t have to end in a disastrous limp bowl of mush. This recipe will help with your mediocre cooking skills by giving you precise instructions on the modus operandi of cooking oats. Sure, it has extras like corn and apples, but don’t freak out if you don’t have either —your oatmeal will just not be as exciting as the original author intended which is just fine and dandy. Follow the five steps of this recipe and you’ll whip up a simple bowl of porridge in no time at all and with little effort on your part.


8. Nut Butter

Making nut butter is simpler than you may expect. You can go out and buy a jar, but why would you when you can make your own and put whatever you want in it? Yes, it will cost you time, but you should at least try once to make your own nut butter and expand your cooking horizons. This cashew butter involves some ingredients that I’d consider to be unnecessary (coconut, chocolate chips, agave), but you can add them in if you desire. All you have to do to make this delicious goop is to shove all the ingredients into the food processor and pulse away until you reach your ideal texture. After making this, go ahead and make a sandwich because it’s that easy.

9. Stir-fry/ Sauté

These wok wonders or skillet sensations are a little more complicated than the aforementioned recipes, but they are rewarding in the end. With a few more ingredients and steps, you can make a delightful and simple dinner in no time at all, no matter your cooking ability or uneven knife cuts. This recipe for sautéed broccoli rabe has nine ingredients that will require some breaking down, but it is worth it and it’s not nearly as complicated as making a soufflé.


10. Cookies and Cupcakes

If you’re craving something sweet, don’t cave into a store bought vegan cookie with added sugars and yucky unmentionables; instead, make your own cookies and cupcakes — they’re super easy! These cookies take a measly twelve minutes to cook, and all you have to do is stir the ingredients together to make a batter. These cupcakes bake for only twenty minutes! Sit back and watch a show and wait for the commercial and you’ll only have five more minutes to wait. Use the commercial time to whip up a quick frosting (don’t sink down to store bought level) that’s included in this recipe, and you’ll have yourself some mean cupcakes!

Uncomplicate cooking by trying out these recipes because cooking your own food will maximize your health and save you when there is a zombie apocalypse and Will Smith isn’t there to save you. Starting nice and easy on your cooking adventure is key to getting you away from store bought savers, so that’s why we supplied you with these ten types of recipes (with examples) to propel you into cooking vile. With that being said, happy cooking!

Lead image source: How to Make Slow Cooker Spicy Pinto Beans