Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Quick and easy vegetarian student recipes
Hi, my name is Ellie and I’m a third year Dietetics student who loves cooking tasty meals. If you want some quick and easy vegetarian student recipes, then read on – and don’t forget you can always bookmark this blog for later.
When I first came to university and started living in student halls I had very little experience of cooking. I was basically starting from scratch. While I knew that I enjoyed making my own food, I lacked the confidence to buy ingredients and follow a recipe with lots of steps in as they looked complicated. Now that I’m moving into my third and final year, I’ve come a long way. I now cook a lot of my own meals and along with finding my own comfort recipes, I’ve also developed the cooking confidence to experiment with new and unfamiliar recipes.
So, if you’re wondering on how you can prepare for your first year and impress your new flatmates with a dish, or just interested in some new tried-and-tested recipes - here’s my list. Oh, and everything is veggie. However, for those carnivores out there, my flatmates have also tried these dishes and have given the thumbs up on all of them.
Cheesy Veggie Pizza
My flatmate and I always make this homemade cheesy vegetarian pizza every Saturday evening, so you know that this is a perfected recipe. Pizza is a great meal to cook when you want to use up any leftover vegetables in the fridge. It’s also super quick as it takes under 25 minutes from start to finish. For a fluffier pizza, I like to leave the dough to rise after kneading it for ten minutes. Or, if it’s a crisp pizza you prefer, knead it well and then top it immediately afterwards before putting it straight in the oven. If you want a side, salad or chips go great with this.
For the base (makes 2 pizzas):
· 300g Pizza flour
· Olive oil
· 200ml Water
· 1 Tbsp Sugar
· 1 Tbsp Dried active yeast
For the toppings:
· 1 Tbsp tomato paste
· A handful of grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese
· Chopped peppers
· Sweetcorn
· Chopped mushrooms
· Seasoning to taste
· Oven
· 2 Mixing bowls
· Measuring jug
· Wooden spoon
· Rolling pin
· Baking tray
· Pre heat the oven to Gas Mark 7/220°C.
· Measure out 200ml of warm water into a mixing bowl and add the yeast and sugar. Leave for 15 minutes until the yeast forms a foam on the top of the water.
· In another mixing bowl add the flour, oil, salt, and yeast mixture and stir until it forms a shaggy dough.
· Sprinkle a work top surface or chopping board with flour and start kneading the dough for a few minutes until it becomes smooth and bounces back when you press a finger on it.
· Cut the dough in two. This recipe makes two pizzas, if you don’t want to make the second one now you can wrap the second half in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for up to a week.
· Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough ball. Place the base onto a pan greased with oil and spoon on the tomato paste.
· Sprinkle any herbs onto the tomato paste base and then add the grated cheese and vegetable toppings.
· Cook in the oven for 15 minutes.
Mixed berry smoothie bowl
One of my all-time favourite breakfasts is the Insta-famous smoothie bowl. Even if you’ve never had one, I’m sure you’ve seen a photo on Instagram. I love taking photos of these as they look so satisfying and make for a very aesthetic picture. While they may look slightly complex with all their different toppings, smoothie bowls are surprisingly quick to make. The mixed berry breakfast smoothie bowl is my favourite one to make. It’s super fruity and delicious.
· 2-3 Tbsp Milk of your choice
· Handful of frozen berries
· Chopped mixed nuts (e.g., hazelnuts, pecans, and cashews)
· 1 Tbsp Chia seeds
· 1 Tbsp Flaxseeds
· 1 Sliced Dried fig
· Mixing bowl
· Blender
· Add some frozen berries to a mixing bowl or blender and cover with your chosen milk.
· Blend until there are no lumps but make sure the mixture remains sorbet-like in consistency.
· Decorate with your toppings, I like adding mixed nuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and dried fig. If you’re like me, you’ll enjoy this step as you make your bowl look really pretty.
Fruit and chocolate baked oats
Baked oats went viral on TikTok recently, but they are more than just a social media-fad. To me they are one of the best hearty pick-me-ups. One which you can quickly put together. Whether I’m having one for breakfast or as a comforting study snack, I can’t get enough! The best thing about baked oats is their resemblance to cake and the fact the options for making these are endless. If you are like me and have a major sweet tooth, you’re going to love my Fruit and Chocolate Baked Oats recipe.
· ½ Cup Rolled oats
· 1 Egg
· ½ Tsp Baking powder
· 1 Tbsp Honey or golden syrup
· 1 Ripe banana
· 1 Tbsp Cocoa powder
· 1 Handful of mixed berries (e.g., raspberries and blueberries)
· Mixing bowl
· Blender
· Oven proof dish
· Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5/190°C
· Blend together the oats, egg, banana, baking powder, honey or golden syrup and cocoa powder.
· Spoon into an oven proof dish and mix in the fresh berries.
· Bake for 20 minutes.
Tofu noodle miso bowl
This is a warming and filling meal I often throw together as an alternative to making a stir fry. As I like to change things up a little and avoid repeating recipes. Miso paste is the key ingredient in this soup. It has a sweet and salty flavour that will tantalise your tastebuds. This has been such a big hit with my flatmates that they’ve even started making it on their own!
· 1 Vegetable Stock cube
· 300ml of water
· 1 Tbsp of White miso paste
· 1 Handful of noodles
· 1 Onion, sliced
· 1 Pepper, sliced
· 1 Garlic, minced
· 1 Handful of spinach
· Seasoning to taste
· Vegetable Oil
· Saucepan
· Ladle
· In a large saucepan fry your chosen seasoning (I use paprika, ginger and Chinese five spice) in oil and add the minced garlic, onion and pepper.
· After a few minutes, add the water, stock cube and miso paste.
· Bring to a simmer, then add the noodles and spinach.
· Once the noodles are cooked through, bring off the boil.
I hope you enjoy eating these quick and easy vegetarian meals. Making your own meals from scratch makes them taste that little bit more delicious!
