Vegetarian Casserole

Name: Vegetarian Casserole
Prep time: 11 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 31 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 Rapeseed Oil; 1 Onion; 3 cloves Garlic; 1 tsp Paprika; ½ tsp Cumin; 1 tblsp Thyme; 3 Medium Carrots; 2 small stalks Celery; 1 Red Pepper; 1 Yellow Pepper; 2 x 400g tins Tomato; 250ml Vegetable Stock Cube; 2 sliced Courgettes; 2 sprigs Thyme; 250g Lentils

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Vegetarian recipe with British flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 49 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 31 min total

1 Rapeseed Oil
1 Onion
3 cloves Garlic
1 tsp Paprika
½ tsp Cumin
1 tblsp Thyme
3 Medium Carrots
2 small stalks Celery
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
2 x 400g tins Tomato
250ml Vegetable Stock Cube
2 sliced Courgettes
2 sprigs Thyme
250g Lentils

Step-by-step instructions

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan. Add the onions and cook gently for 5 – 10 mins until softened.
Add the garlic, spices, dried thyme, carrots, celery and peppers and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, stock, courgettes and fresh thyme and cook for 20 - 25 minutes.
Take out the thyme sprigs. Stir in the lentils and bring back to a simmer. Serve with wild and white basmati rice, mash or quinoa.

Why this works on a weeknight

Vegetarian Casserole lands at about 31 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Vegetarian Casserole actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Vegetarian British Casserole Vegetarian