18 Easy & Lazy Vegan Recipes To Make In Airbnbs - Wellness Travel Diaries (2024)

Cooking on vacation is an easy way to maintain your health and wellness while traveling. It’s also an easy way to make sure your food doesn’t get cross-contaminated, if you have food allergies or sensitivities. For those vegan(ish) travelers wanting to cook at their accommodation, finding lazy vegan recipes for dinner after a day of exploration is the ultimate recipe for vacation bliss.

While Evan and I enjoy dining at all the yummy restaurants in the various countries and cities we visit, eating out multiple days starts to take its toll on our stomachs, well-being and energy levels. Therefore refueling at home (our accommodation at the time) is the best way to feel like ourselves.

In fact, eating at home is an easy travel tip for saving a little extra money for other fun activities in the city. It also leads you to explore the local food scene at the grocery store – which can be another tasty food adventure since grocery stores are different around the globe!

Nowadays, having a full kitchen while traveling is easy to book by renting accommodations through Airbnb, wellness resorts, RV’s, and vacation homes.

If you’re planning to cook at your accommodation, here are some of the best lazy vegan recipes to make on vacation. All recipes can be made gluten-free too!

Feel free to jump ahead!

How to pick a good kitchen with Airbnb

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When booking an Airbnb, one of the easiest ways to make sure the Airbnb has a kitchen is to select it as a filter in your search. Then scroll down to amenities and check the box that says kitchen. After that, click the box that says “Show __ stays” and all the results displayed will show a place with a kitchen.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that not all the places will have a full kitchen. Some options may have a kitchenette (microwave and mini fridge), while others may have a stove but no pans. Don’t worry! If it’s your dream Airbnb you can make it work, or consider looking for a different location that suits your needs better.

We’ve stayed at places that were missing pans, or only had a microwave and fridge, and got by just fine.

In order to avoid these, read the details of the description of the location in full. Then, I suggest double checking with the host to make sure the kitchen amenities are available for use and that the kitchen is fully equipped with gadgets such as knives, silverware, pots, plates, cutting boards, etc.

What makes these lazy vegan recipes for dinner easy to cook

Below, I’m going to share some easy vegan recipes for dinner with you that Evan and I personally use while traveling. These lazy vegan recipes are our go-to healthy vacation meals, and all the recipes are gluten-free too!

Although Evan is not vegan, he enjoys the following recipes which you can easily make with the addition of meat.

Likewise, each of these recipes takes 1.5 hours or less to make, including the prep time. They all use minimal spices and ingredients. Although we do love spices and will often travel with our favorites like ginger oil, and cayenne.

Lastly, these vegan recipes for dinner can be made it in any kitchen. So, if you wind up with only a microwave and mini fridge like we did, you can still eat a nutritious healthy meal from the comfort of your vacation home.

Besides, some of the leftover ingredients are excellent travel snacks. Here’s a detailed snack list of easy travel snacks for those craving more.

Vegan dinner recipes for lazy nights

Roasted Chickpeas & Broccoli

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Chop the onions and garlic. Open the can of chickpeas and combine all the ingredients on a sheet pan.
2. You can also separate the pan so chickpeas onions and garlic are on one side and broccoli is on the other.
3. Roast for about 20 minutes or until chickpeas look golden brown, onions are translucent, and broccoli is tender yet browned.

Tip: Add fresh lemon juice from a lemon for a zesty taste. Serve with toasted bread, brown rice, or pasta.

Breakfast for Dinner

There’s an abundant of ways to make breakfast for dinner, so I’m going to list a couple cheap vegan recipes that are the easiest to make on vacation.

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Black Bean & Sweet Potatoes Hash

This is a hearty dish consisting of sweet potatoes and black beans – a vegan recipe idea for dinner or even breakfast.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Cube the sweet potatoes and dice the onions.
2. Drizzle them with olive oil and mix in the salt, pepper and paprika. After place them on a sheet pan and them cook for 20 minutes.
3. After 20 minutes mix in the black beans and tomatoes, then cook for another 20 minutes.

Tip: Add vegan cheese on top and serve with fresh bread

Ramen

Ramen is an easy vegan dish that can be made anywhere. You can grab ramen packs from the store, then add vegetables and protein to create a balanced meal. Or you can opt to make the ramen entirely from scratch with a quick and easy recipe.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Boil a pot of water or vegetable broth, then chop your vegetables.
2. Once the water/broth is boiling add your chopped vegetables, noodles, and protein. Also add your bouillon cube if you didn’t use broth.
3. When the vegetables are tender your ramen is ready! Top it with your herbs, salt, pepper and even a squeeze of lemon juice or ginger infused oil.

Tip: If you don’t have a stove, just put everything in the microwave. You can also use a hot water pot too! Evan and I did this once because our Airbnb kitchen didn’t have a stove or microwave. Just make sure once the hot pot is finished boiling to pour the hot water into a bowl that can be covered. Covering the bowl allows the veggies to steam and the noodles to cook.

Pan Sheet Dinner

What I love about pan sheet dinners is that you can pick any vegetable and protein to make your ideal vegan dinner. A popular combination in our household is pan sheet dinners loaded with veggies, beans and sweet potatoes. Mix and match with your favorite veggies, or use whatever local vegetables you find at the market or local grocery store.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Cut the vegetables, and place everything on a sheet pan.
2. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Lentil Chili

This is one of my favorite dishes to make during the winter months while traveling. Lentil chili is a hearty vegan dish that will warm you up on the coldest of nights. From hiking snow covered national parks to exploring the winter paradise of Plitvice Lakes, this dish is incredibly warming.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Sauté the onions in olive oil first, then add the carrots.
2. Once both are browned, add in water and bring to a boil. Instead of water you can also use vegetable broth, or vegetable bouillon cubes. It will add even more flavor to the dish, and its relatively easy to find in most countries such as Spain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy, Ukraine, and various others. Honestly, there hasn’t been a country I haven’t found it in yet.
3. Add lentils, canned tomatoes, any other vegetable you want and the spices.
4. Let the dish simmer until the lentils are tender.

Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce

Classic spaghetti with marinara sauce is an easy vegan recipe that can be made anywhere. All you need is spaghetti noodles (or other noodles if you prefer) and marinara sauce. We found marinara sauce is almost every country we’ve visited and gluten-free noodles too!

Some of these jars came with spices added, chunky tomatoes, olive oil, or mushrooms. Just pick your favorite! Feel free to add in extra spices or some extra greens like spinach.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil and add noodles. Sometimes we’ll add extra veggies to the boiling water to beef up our pasta dish like broccoli, spinach, bell peppers, carrots or chard. Note: Spinach doesn’t take long to cook, so you can add it in this stage to make it extra tender or add it in when you make the sauce for a more wilted and firmer spinach.
2. Once noodles are done, drain the water and toss the noodles in olive oil.
3. In a separate pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and toast the spices for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
4. After the spices are roasted, pour in the sauce to heat it up, and then serve.
5. If you only have one pot, just add the spices and sauce to the noodles once the water has been drained. Allow the sauce to heat up in the pot and enjoy!

Tip: If you’re gluten-free opt for gluten free noodles. Not all stores will have them, but many stores will.

Giant Salads

Salad is a simple dish that can be made everywhere. First choose you base – lettuce, arugula, baby kale, spinach, or a mixture. Then choose your favorite toppings – onions, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, cucumbers, broccoli and cauliflower.

For some crunch consider adding – sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, sliced almonds. If you have any leftovers, take some of these crunchy topping as a healthy travel snack for the next day!

In addition, for protein sources you can add – chickpeas, tofu, kidney beans, edamame, or whatever else you prefer.

Lastly, add some fresh herbs such as cilantro, parsley, or you can skip altogether! Then top it with your favorite salad dressing.

Buddha Bowls

This dish is an excellent dinner choice because each person can design their bowl according to their taste buds. Typically, the base of our bowls are brown rice, but feel free to use pasta instead. Then top your base with cooked or raw vegetables, protein of choice, healthy fat, and a sauce.

Here are some of my favorite ingredients to add:

Directions:

1. Pick a base for your Buddha bowl (brown rice, arugula, pasta, quinoa).
2. Decide what vegetables you want to top it with. These veggies can be cooked or fresh, then add them to your bowl.
3. Add your source of protein.
4. Drizzle your favorite sauce on top (i.e tahini, hummus, ranch, BBQ sauce, chipotle aoili, etc.) and enjoy! Some countries have fun sauces you can try out in your dish.

Tip: If you’re feeling adventurous try a new sauce! Every country has different options for sauces to pile high on your Buddha bowl. In Spain, there’s salsa brava sauce that can be purchased in the grocery store, or in Romania, there’s hamburger sauce. Don’t be afraid to grab what inspires that inner chef, you may find a new sauce you love!

Big Ol’ Sandwich

Sandwiches are another dinner option that lets each person create their personal masterpiece. Plus, they’re delicious, especially after a long day of exploring!

Find you favorite fixing at the local grocery store and market, then go to town on creating the optimum sandwich for your dinner. I highly recommend opting for fresh bread from a bakery!

Loaded Baked Potatoes/ Sweet Potatoes

This hearty dish consists of potatoes stuffed with your favorite toppings. Start by baking your potato or sweet potato in the oven (you can also microwave it, if there’s no oven), and while you’re waiting, start prepping your fixings. Here are some suggestions for what to top it with:

Loaded potato ideas:

Directions:

1. Drizzle the potato of your choice with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then cover in foil.
2. Bake it in the oven (around 375F˚) until tender inside.
3. Top with the ingredients of your choice

French Bread Pizza

Using French bread is a fun and easy way to make pizza on the road. First, stop by a local bakery and grab some French bread, or gluten-free bread. Then grab marinara sauce, vegan cheese (if you can’t find any just omit), and your favorite pizza toppings at the grocery store.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Slice the French bread in half.
2. Add the marinara sauce, cheese and your favorite toppings.
3. Then bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, and enjoy!

More lazy vegan recipes for dinner

Similarly, there are a plethora of simple vegan recipes to make in an Airbnb. In case you want a few more vegan recipes for inspiration, here’s a couple more.

Tips for lazy vegan dinner recipes

1. Freeze your dishes. Evan and I travel abroad often from California visiting several countries at a time – such as: Spain, Croatia, Bulgaria and Ukraine. This means were can’t make our dishes beforehand and then freeze them. However, when we’re road tripping through the States, freezing dishes and packing them in a cooler is an easy way to make a vacation meal. Just heat up the food once you’re ready to eat it!

2. Prep the veggies before your trip. Again, if you’re planning to travel via car, cutting your vegetables and meal prepping beforehand can cut down your time in the kitchen. Simply chop your veggies, put them in containers and store them in the cooler with lots of ice before you set off on your trip.

3. Pack healthy travel snacks. Having snacks on hand is an easy way to keep the hangry monsters at ease. You can use them throughout your day while traveling, or as a tasty appetizer while you’re waiting for your food to cook. Here’s my go to travel snack list.

4.Pack your favorite kitchen gadgets. While full kitchens should have all the cooking essentials you need, if there are some gadgets you can’t live without, consider bringing TSA approved kitchen gadgets. Amazon has a plethora of compatible kitchen utensils and gadgets to choose from.

5.Bring your own spices. If you’re traveling for a week and know you’ll be cooking, consider packing your favorite spices and adding them to your self-care kit because all spices may not be available at your destination. While salt and pepper are commonly found at Airbnb’s, other spices like cumin, oregano, cayenne, and garlic powder are a toss up. Plus if you pack them, then you don’t have to buy them at the store, which can quickly add up and you probably won’t finish using all the spices depending on the duration of your stay.

Do you have go-to lazy vegan recipes for dinner that you love to take on the road? I’d love to swap travel recipes!

Additional travel resources

Vegan travel guides by city

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