Five dinners for one person, all vegetarian, with an estimated shop of £14.23 (range £10.89–£18.81), about £2.85 per serving.
Estimated shop
£2.85 per serving · 5 servings
Range £10.89–£18.81
£14.23
✓ Likely under the £25 budget
Likely under means our estimate gives this week at least an 80% chance of staying under £25. The dinners use about £6.51 of the £14.23; the rest is left in opened packs.
Price ranges set using Open Prices data (Open Food Facts, ODbL).
The recipes
Amounts are scaled for one person.
Monday · 27 min · about £1.34 per serving in ingredients used
Pad Woon Sen-Style Rice Noodles with Egg and Vegetables
Rice noodles stir-fried with scrambled egg, cabbage, carrot, tomato and onion in a savoury-sweet soy sauce.
Prep 15 min · Cook 12 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianGluten-free (check labels)Dairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 65 g flat rice noodles
- 2 eggs
- 65 g white cabbage, shredded
- 40 g carrots, cut into matchsticks
- ½ tomato, cut into wedges
- ¼ onion, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- ¼ bunch spring onions, cut into short lengths
- 2½ tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- 2½ tsp vegetable oil
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: egg, soya. Check the label: gluten. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Soak the rice noodles in a large bowl of just-boiled water for 6–8 minutes until soft but still a little firm. Drain, rinse with cold water, toss with 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil and snip into shorter lengths with scissors.
- Mix the soy sauce, sugar and 2½ teaspoons of water. Beat the eggs.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a wok or large frying pan on high heat, pour in the eggs and scramble for 1–2 minutes until just set. Lift onto a plate.
- Add the rest of the oil with the onion and garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the white cabbage and carrots and stir-fry for 3 minutes until wilted but still crisp. Add the tomato for 1 minute.
- Add the noodles and the sauce and toss for 2 minutes until the noodles have soaked it up. Return the eggs with the spring onions and a good grind of black pepper and toss to mix.
Tip: Rinse the soaked noodles well in cold water; it washes off the surface starch so they don't clump in the wok.
Leftovers: Keeps in the fridge for 1 day; reheat in a hot pan with a splash of water until piping hot.
Tuesday · 30 min · about £1.56 per serving in ingredients used
Chinese Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry with Garlic Cabbage and Rice
Soft scrambled eggs in a sweet-savoury tomato sauce, with garlicky stir-fried cabbage and fluffy rice.
Prep 8 min · Cook 22 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianGluten-free (check labels)Dairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 75 g long-grain rice
- 2 eggs
- 1½ tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 75 g white cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- ¼ bunch spring onions, sliced
- 1½ tsp tomato ketchup
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp soy sauce
- ¼ tsp cornflour
- ¼ tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- salt, to taste
Contains: egg, soya, sesame. Check the label: gluten, celery. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Rinse the rice and put it in a saucepan with 150 ml of water. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender (if not, cover and cook 2–3 minutes more). Leave covered off the heat for 5 minutes.
- Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and the toasted sesame oil. In a cup, mix the tomato ketchup, sugar, soy sauce and cornflour with 25 ml of water.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan on high heat and stir-fry the white cabbage with a third of the garlic for 3–4 minutes, until wilted and catching at the edges. Season with salt and tip into a dish.
- Add 1½ teaspoons of oil to the pan on medium-high heat, pour in the eggs and stir gently for 1–2 minutes, until softly scrambled and just set. Tip onto a plate.
- Add the last tablespoon of oil and the rest of the garlic, then the tomato, and cook for 3–4 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their juice. Stir the sauce, pour it in and bubble for 1 minute, until glossy.
- Return the eggs with the spring onions and fold together for 30 seconds. Serve with the rice and the cabbage.
Tip: Use the ripest tomatoes you can find; with pale winter tomatoes, add an extra tablespoon of ketchup.
Leftovers: Best eaten straight away. Cool leftover rice within 1 hour, keep it in the fridge for no more than 1 day and reheat it only once, until steaming hot.
Wednesday · 26 min · about £1.49 per serving in ingredients used
Air Fryer Tofu Manchurian with Peppers and Rice
Crisp air-fried tofu tossed in a glossy Indo-Chinese garlic, ginger and soy sauce with peppers, over rice.
Prep 6 min · Cook 20 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianGluten-free (check labels)Dairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 75 g long-grain rice
- 125 g firm tofu, drained
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 5 g fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- ¼ bunch spring onions, sliced, white and green parts kept apart
- ¼ pepper (red, yellow or green), diced
- 2½ tsp cornflour
- 1½ tsp vegetable oil
- 2½ tsp soy sauce
- 2½ tsp tomato ketchup
- ¾ tsp cider or white wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp sugar
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: soya. Check the label: gluten, celery, sulphites. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Rinse the rice and put it in a saucepan with 150 ml of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender (if not, cover and cook 2–3 minutes more). Leave covered off the heat for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the air fryer to 200°C. Pat the tofu dry with absorbent paper, cut it into bite-size cubes and toss with 1½ teaspoons of the cornflour, 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil and a pinch of salt. Air-fry in a single layer for 14–16 minutes, shaking twice, until crisp and golden.
- While the tofu cooks, mix the soy sauce, tomato ketchup, cider or white wine vinegar, sugar, the rest of the cornflour, plenty of black pepper and 25 ml of water.
- Heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan on high heat and stir-fry the garlic, fresh ginger, the white parts of the spring onions and the peppers for 3 minutes. Pour in the sauce and bubble for 1–2 minutes until thick and glossy.
- Toss the tofu in the sauce, scatter with the sliced green tops and serve with the rice.
No air fryer? Roast on a baking tray at 220°C (200°C fan) for 20 minutes.
Tip: Toss the crisp tofu in the sauce just before serving so it keeps some crunch.
Leftovers: Tofu and sauce: fridge 2 days, reheat until piping hot. Cool leftover rice within 1 hour, keep it in the fridge for no more than 1 day and reheat it only once, until steaming hot.
Thursday · 27 min · about £0.71 per serving in ingredients used
Cabbage Okonomiyaki-Style Pancakes
Small Japanese-style cabbage and carrot pancakes, pan-fried golden, with a sweet-savoury sauce and mayonnaise.
Prep 13 min · Cook 14 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianDairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 100 g white cabbage, very finely shredded
- 25 g carrots, coarsely grated
- ¼ bunch spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1 egg
- 10 g mayonnaise
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 1½ tsp vegetable oil
- 2½ tsp tomato ketchup
- ¾ tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp honey
- ¼ tsp sesame seeds, to serve (optional)
- salt, to taste
Contains: gluten, egg, soya, mustard. Check the label: celery. Optional extras contain sesame. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- For the sauce, stir together the tomato ketchup, soy sauce and honey.
- Whisk the plain flour, the eggs, 25 ml of water and a pinch of salt into a smooth, thick batter. Fold in the white cabbage, carrots and most of the spring onions until everything is coated.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Spoon in half the mixture as 4 mounds and flatten each to about the thickness of your little finger. Cook for 3 minutes a side until golden and set in the middle, with no wet batter when pressed. Keep warm while you cook the rest in the remaining oil.
- Serve two pancakes each, drizzled with the sauce and the mayonnaise, scattered with the rest of the spring onions and the sesame seeds if using.
Tip: Shred the cabbage as finely as you can; fine shreds bind into the batter and cook through in the time.
Leftovers: Keeps in the fridge for 2 days; reheat in a frying pan until piping hot.
Friday · 30 min · about £1.40 per serving in ingredients used
Air Fryer Tofu Karaage with Rice, Cabbage and Lemon Mayo
Ginger-soy tofu coated in starch and air-fried until crisp, with rice, shredded cabbage and lemon mayo.
Prep 8 min · Cook 22 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianGluten-free (check labels)Dairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 75 g long-grain rice
- 125 g firm tofu, drained and patted dry
- 5 g fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 15 g mayonnaise
- ¼ lemon
- 50 g white cabbage, very finely shredded
- ¼ bunch spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1½ tsp soy sauce, or tamari for gluten-free
- ¼ tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp sesame seeds
Contains: egg, soya, sesame, mustard. Check the label: gluten. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Rinse the rice and put it in a saucepan with 150 ml of water. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender (if not, cover and cook 2–3 minutes more). Leave covered off the heat for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the air fryer to 200°C. Tear the tofu into bite-sized chunks (rough edges crisp best) and toss with the soy sauce, fresh ginger, garlic and toasted sesame oil.
- Toss the tofu in the cornflour until well coated, then drizzle with the vegetable oil and toss again.
- Air-fry in a single layer, in two batches, for 10–11 minutes per batch, shaking halfway, until golden and crisp.
- Mix the mayonnaise with a squeeze of the lemon. Serve the tofu with the rice, the white cabbage, a spoonful of lemon mayo and the rest of the lemon in wedges, sprinkled with the sesame seeds and spring onions.
No air fryer? Roast the coated tofu on an oiled baking tray at 220°C (200°C fan) for 20–25 minutes, turning once.
Leftovers: Best eaten straight away; leftovers keep in the fridge for 2 days and re-crisp in a hot oven or air fryer. Cool leftover rice within 1 hour, keep it in the fridge for no more than 1 day and reheat it only once, until steaming hot.
