It's easy to get stuck in a rut with your meal planning, and it can be challenging to come up with new ideas when you choose a limited diet--especially when it comes to the idea of traditional comfort foods!

Most of the time, dishes classified as "comfort foods" are laden with cream, cheese, or butter--definitely not vegan-friendly ingredients. Whether you were raised as a vegan or just made the switch to a diet free from animal products, we present eight different, vegan-friendly, and tasty recipes for true comfort food.

1. Vegan French dip sandwiches (h/t Connoisseurs Veg)
This take on the French dip subs portobello mushrooms for roast beef and uses vegan Worcestershire sauce for authentic French-dip flavor.

2. Dairy-free herbed scalloped potatoes (h/t Vegan in the Freezer)
Dig in to this dairy-free-yet-creamy casserole with a rich filling and a crispy topping. It's a perfect side or round it out with a salad and fruit to have a complete meal.​

3. Classic black bean soup and rice (h/t Landleelu)
This homemade soup uses simple ingredients from your pantry and is ready in fifteen minutes! FIFTEEN MINUTES!
​

4. Biscuits and mushroom gravy (h/t Gimme Some Oven)
Gimmee Some Oven provides a healthy way to get your biscuits-and-gravy fix that you can eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner--and since you make the gravy while the biscuits are baking, it all comes together quickly.

5. Epic Crispy Quinoa Burgers Topped with Sweet Potato Fries, Beer Caramelized Onions + Gruyere (h/t Half Baked Harvest)
The title might be long, but don't let that stop you. The recipe is for a total meal that comes together in just under an hour. Keep it vegan by swapping the butter out for olive oil (or vegan butter) and the vegan cheese for the standard dairy cheese.

6. Instantpot vegan lentil sloppy joes (h/t Saved By Grace)
Don't worry if you don't have an Instantpot--you can absolutely use a a regular pot or a rice cooker to prepare your lentils for this homestyle dish. (And the sauce comes together in just three ingredients!)

7. The best vegan chili ever (h/t Full of Beans)
This is the chili that meat eaters will love. In fact, the esteemed Bowdoin College now serves this exact recipe as part of its vegetarian lineup, so you know it has to be delish.

8. Vegan baked ziti (h/t Nora Cooks)
This recipe replaces the traditional ricotta and parmesan with vegan substitutes. To save time, it calls for jarred marinara sauce, but feel free to use your own homemade sauce for even more from-scratch goodness.

Copyright 2016 Cooktop Cove