5 Healthy Dollar Tree Vegan Recipes You Can Make For $6.25

Prep the ingredients

Here are the five Dollar Tree foods we will be using. I got: a bag of brown rice, a bag of lentils, a bag of the California blend veggie mix, a bag of pepper stir fry mix, and a can of diced tomatoes.

I also used a few pantry staples for free: a little bit of oil, salt, minced garlic, garlic powder, white pepper powder, cumin, and curry powder.

I went ahead and started prepping all the main ingredients for the Dollar Tree vegan meals. The five meals used two cups of brown rice, so we actually had a lot left over. I also made two full cups of lentils.

Cook the rice

I went ahead and rinsed my rice, added water, and let it start cooking. I also like to add a teaspoon of salt to my pot before I start cooking the rice. That way it can absorb the flavor, to make sure everything is well-seasoned. 

Cook the lentils

I added my lentils to my pot. I put in two cups of lentils and double the water. You have to rinse them before you have them in the water. You don’t want to add salt at this point, because it can make the outside of the lentil a little harder.

Portion the vegetables

I opened up my bags of Dollar Tree vegan veggies to see what we were working with. It’s always interesting to me to see the ratio of different vegetables. This California blend is well-proportioned with nearly equal amounts of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.

I portioned out each of the meals, and what I would be using veggie-wise. The clumps of finely diced white things are the onions from the pepper stir fry blend, which I diced up really small. I also took several of the cauliflowers and chopped them really finely like a riced cauliflower. 

1. Curried lentils and cauliflower over brown rice

First the first Dollar Tree vegan meal, I went ahead and added ¼ cup of the juice from the diced tomato can to a pot. Then I added in my spices.

I used ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of curry, and ¼ teaspoon of white pepper. I’ve been enjoying the white pepper. It brings the right amount of spice, without being too spicy.

I added my vegetables: ¼ cup of diced tomatoes, ¼ cup of sliced carrot, ½ cup of collar pieces, 1 tablespoon of minced onions, and a cup of lentils, along with ¼ cup of water and ½ teaspoon of salt.

I added one cup of rice to a cup measurer and turned it over on the plate to make a nice little shape. Then, I poured the lentil mixture around it.

The meal is ready. The flavors melted together. The meal was delicious and quite filling. 

2. Stir-fried lentils and brown rice

Use a bit of oil and heat it up in the pan. Saute a tablespoon of onion, a teaspoon of minced garlic, and salt to taste. Sauteing really helps bump up the flavor in your dishes.

Add in a cup of rice, ½ cup of lentils and vegetables, ¼ cup of chopped carrots, ¼ cup of chopped tomatoes, and a tablespoon of chopped peppers and onions. Stir it all together, making sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom, but that everything gets cooked well with oil.

If you want to add more protein, you could add more lentils. You could even add a scrambled egg if you have that on hand.

This Dollar Tree vegan meal was delicious. 

3. Tomato-sauced lentils over brown rice

We have a lot of lentil-themed dishes because that’s our main protein. If you’re not a fan of lentils, you could always use chickpeas. You could also use ground turkey or ground beef. The flavors would taste good with these dishes.

Add ½ a cup of tomato sauce, ¼ cup of cubed tomatoes, ⅛ cup of slivered carrots, a tablespoon of minced onions, and ½ cup of broccoli to the pot. Now I’m adding in my spices: minced onion, ½ teaspoon of minced garlic, a teaspoon of cumin, and ½ teaspoon of salt.

Here’s the finished dish, served with rice.

4. Roasted vegetables over brown rice

Saute ½ cup of peppers and onions. Add ½ cup of cubed tomatoes, salt to taste, and stir.

Add the lentils, ½ teaspoon of cumin, and ¼ teaspoon of white pepper.

I used cumin a lot in this meal plan because it goes really well with lentils and adds a punch of flavor. If you use simple ingredients, you need really good spices.

Here’s the finished plate, served over rice.

5. Roasted pepper and onion lentils with cauliflower rice

I've seen several places that sell regular rice with cauliflower rice mixed in to help lower the calorie count and add in more veggies and nutrition into what would otherwise be a purely starchy meal. I wanted to mimic that with this Dollar Tree vegan recipe. 

I added a cup of cauliflower to the pan without any oil and dried it out by cooking it and stirring it frequently, so it didn’t burn on the bottom. I added ½ teaspoon garlic and a cup of brown rice and set it to the side.

I served it alongside a pepper and onion saute, made with oil, one teaspoon of minced garlic, ½ cup of pepper and onions, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ cup of lentils.

Here’s the final dish.

Dollar Tree vegan recipes

If you are trying to eat healthy and stay on a tight budget this New Year, I hope these Dollar Tree vegan recipes have been helpful. Which recipe was your favorite? Let us know in the comments.