25 Cheap and Easy Meatless Meal Ideas (NORMAL Food!)

Twenty-five more recipes to help you get through Lent. There may be duplicates from previous posts, but many of them are new ideas.

From Catholic Icing

By Lacy

Are you looking for normal Meatless Meal ideas for Lent? The kind you can afford, kids will actually eat, and aren’t sprinkled with goat cheese or pine nuts? Well, I made a list of “normal” food that is meatless to help me on Fridays this Lent, and I thought I would share it with you. Here goes!

If you scroll down to the bottom of this post, I also have a simple printable version of this list plus a few bonus ideas! I love having this list of simple meatless meal ideas that aren’t complicated.

For more Lenten recipes for kids, check out The Symbolic Holy Week & Easter Cookbook! This cookbook includes 23 recipes that point to the true meaning of Easter. It only includes 29 pages of bonus printables! You do not want to miss this amazing resource.

Meatless Family-Friendly (And EASY) Dinner Ideas

• Cheese Pizza– I mean it doesn’t have to be cheese as long as it doesn’t have meat, so feel free to put all the vegetables on it that your heart desires as long as your kids will still eat it! This is so fast and easy for mom- a real life saver on a Friday in Lent.
• Mac and Cheese– This has got to be one of the cheapest and easiest meals to cook ever! And a kid pleaser for sure!
• Mexican (with beans instead of meat)– We love to make tacos or burritos but use the re-fried beans rather than meat. All the other toppings are still good to go- lettuce, salsa, guacamole, rice, chips, etc.
• Tomato Soup and grilled cheese– one of the easiest meals ever and ALWAYS on of my Lenten go-to meals. We like to make our grilled cheese with smoked Gouda.
• Pancakes- For dinner? Sure thing! They’re quick and easy and always a crowd pleaser! You can add blueberries, canned pumpkin, bananas, or even peanut butter for different twists.
• French Toast– Another breakfast for dinner idea! Just as delicious as pancakes and with all the protein of eggs!
• Quiche-Breakfast for dinner again?! Yep! Quiche is a great option because the eggs keep you full and you can sneak some veggies in there as well. Depending on how picky your kids are, cut or blend the veggies super small.
• Loaded Baked Potatoes (with no bacon)– my kids like… absolutely love potatoes! We eat ours with butter, salt, pepper, sourcream, chives, and shredded cheese.
• Omelettes– another variation of quiche, but the usefulness of eggs can’t be overlooked when cooking meatless meals.
• Spaghetti– but without meat. I never use actual spaghetti shaped noodles because kids can’t cut or eat them, so I usually like a ziti or shell shape, but you get the idea.
• Quesadillas– I like to melt a little butter in a pan, put the tortilla shell, sprinkle it with a little bit of cumin and then garlic salt. Then I add the top tortilla. At that time it’s ready to flip. The butter makes it delicious and crispy! So fast and easy.
• Vegetarian Chili– So with all your favorite chili stuff, but minus the beef. A great idea for a slow cooker day!
• Fish (fish sticks, baked, broiled, fried, you get the idea)- our favorite way to eat fish is to bake tilapia. In a bowl, I mix some mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and Worcester sauce. I spread this mixture across the top of the tilapia and bake it. Even my kids, who don’t “like fish” love to eat it this way. It’s delicious!
• Tuna Boats– I was surprised how easy these are to make and how much my kids like them! We bake them in the oven in hot dog buns and melt cheese on top.
• Tuna Helper– So it’s like hamburger helper, but you use tuna instead.
• Salmon Patties– Another really cheap and easy fish recipe for Lent! We eat them like burgers and they’re delicious.
• Shrimp And Grits– So for those of you who don’t know, I was born in Charleston and this is one of my favorite meals ever! Here’s the lazy way I make it: Saute small chopped onions in butter and garlic. Add the shrimp and saute until pink. Mix a bunch of instant grits and the right amount of water in the pan. The grits absorb all the butter and shrimp flavor and it’s awesome!
• Avocado Pasta– This is a new love in my family. Make pasta, but rather than using marina sauce, smash a ripe avacado over the pasta and add garlic salt to taste. This is actually totally delicious and all 4 of my kids love it. They will have to get past the green color lol. You can see a more involved recipe for avocado pasta here.
• Shrimp Teriyaki Lo Mein– Start your noodles boiling in one pot, and in a separate pan saute some onions, peppers, and veggies of choice in some soy sauce. Add half a can of crushed pineapple and all the juice from the can. Add your shrimp and saute until pink. Drain the noodles and add them to the pan. Stir together so noodles absorb the flavor.
• Meatless Sandwich Ideas For Kids Peanut Butter (with jelly, honey, sugar, bananas… your choice). You don’t even have to have it on bread! You can put it on crackers or roll it up in tortillas or wraps and slice it like pinwheels for easy fun. This is a great staple for Lent because it’s cheap and easy protein.
• Egg salad– this is so easy to make! I just smash up hard boiled eggs and add mayonnaise, salt, pepper, a little bit of mustard, and sometimes sweet pickle relish. I don’t even measure anything and my kids always love this!
• Fried eggs– This is so fast and easy, and it doesn’t have to be breakfast to serve a fried egg sandwich! Fry your egg and serve it on toast or a bagel. We like ours also with some cheese, salt, and pepper on top.
• Pimento cheese– I have never made this from scratch, I buy mine from the grocery store in a tub. This is another great meatless sandwich option.
• Tuna salad– because Catholics can eat cold blooded animals on Fridays during Lent, fish (including tuna) is totally fair game! Another great way to get some protein.

If you’re looking for a printable list of meatless meal ideas that you can keep in your liturgical binder for future reference, you download yours here.