One Pan, Two Plates: Vegetarian Suppers: More than 70 Weeknight Meals for Two

by Carla Snyder, Jody Horton (Photographer)

More and more people are making the shift to a vegetable-centric diet. Yet, in a two-person household it can be challenging to find quick, easy, and satisfying recipes to cook up at the end of a busy workday (especially without leftovers). This follow-up to the successful One Pan, Two Plates provides 70 perfectly sized vegetarian entrées—think Butternut Risotto, Gnocchi with Wild Mushrooms and Edamame, and Eggplant Rollatini—all requiring only one pan and one hour or less to prepare. With beverage pairings for each recipe and an "Extra hungry?" feature for heartier appetites, each dish is one that home cooks will make again and again.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Reference

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2016

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't love this one. I can definitely get behind the idea of just having one pot or pan to clean up afterwards, as well as recipes designed for two people instead of 4-6 (although leftovers are kinda great!), but very little in this book actually appealed to me.

I think part of it is that many recipes rely on ingredients I'm not that fond of (quinoa, farro, pomegranate) or seem a little too cheese and sauce-heavy for my tastes, or just...don't inspire any sort of excitement whatsoever. It might partly be the layout as well--the instructions remind me of using Blue Apron, where there are only four or five steps per recipe, but tricky steps, because each step is really a whole block of text that tells you to do multiple things. It makes it hard to keep track of where you are, and the print is fairly small. Not all recipes are photographed, a lot of them take more than 45 minutes to prepare, and some of the recipes really seem more like side dishes to me.

Snyder's note in the beginning makes it clear that this is aimed mainly at flexitarians, or people who eat meat and want to move towards eating less of it without drastically changing their diets. Given that, I can see why this book might not be my thing. But if that's the boat you're in, it might be the perfect fit for you!

[Shannon Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the end of this week, I will have officially cooked every dish in this cookbook. I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone who wants to diversify their meat-free meals. This book is also very easy to adapt as needed, and very coherent in its use of spices, condiments, grains, etc (so that you become familiar with a particular culinary "toolbox" and don't waste lots of cash on rare ingredients). The time estimates are very helpful for planning meals throughout the week, in the sense of identifying whether a recipe is 20-40 minutes to make, or over an hour (as in some of the baked dishes, or layered dishes). However, I always take longer than their time estimates due to chopping vegetables, and because I usually double the recipes to cover the next day's lunch (more prep).

The only dud in the book is the "Superfood Salad."

It is extremely difficult to choose favorites (again, I have cooked almost exclusively from this book on a daily basis for two years), but the "Eggplant Stacks" are an absolute delight, and are perfect for special occasions (e.g. feast days and dinner parties).

[Kimba Tichenor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book offers vegan and vegetarian recipes that can be made in one pan and serve two people. Each recipe includes a suggestion for a side dish that could be served with the “one pan” meal on nights one might be especially hungry. However,the serving sizes are generous, so it is unlikely you will need something else.

The directions are clear and all recipes that I have tried to date are very good. There are sections on pizza, soups and stews, grains and bowls, etc. It is a good cookbook to have as a resource if you want tasty vegan/vegetarian fare for two that does not require a large amount of prep work or too many exotic ingredients.

There are a few things, however, that some might consider downsides to this cookbook. The number of illustrations is limited. Additionally, the cookbook does not provide nutritional information for the recipes, although most of the main dishes appear to be protein rich. Finally, while I understand the many shortcuts (inclusion of store bought finished products, such as tahini sauce, pizza dough etc.) are intended to keep prep down, it would have been nice if instead, they gave recipes for these items so that everything could be made from scratch, and then listed shortcuts one could take on nights one did not have sufficient time to make everything from scratch. Still, I would recommend this cookbook, especially since vegan/vegetarian cookbooks for two remain uncommon.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been cooking my meals almost exclusively from this cookbook for 4 years now after a dear friend gifted it to me. The recipes are generally easy or easy to adjust. They are inspired by many cultures (my spice rack is bursting at the seams in the best way). The author's notes are short, useful, and make me smile. Most recipes give me 3-4 servings. The index is excellent. As someone who values homecooked meals but struggles with cooking anxiety (long story), this cookbook has been a great foundation and has nourished me on literally hundreds of days. Pretty much the best gift one could receive!

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've made six dishes from this cookbook so far, and they're all slam dunk: delicious, easy cleanup, seasonal, you name it. We check out a lot of cookbooks from the library but this is one I'll actually buy!

[Poiema · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so impressed with the first One Pan, Two Plates cookbook that I went ahead and purchased this vegetarian version, since my own diet is largely plant based. I love that most of the recipes are prepared in a single cast iron skillet and most take 35-45 min to prepare.There are beautiful photos and suggestions for rounding out the meals. I immediately made a list of the recipes I want to tackle first:

*Roasted brussel sprouts w/ butternut squash, apple, and walnuts
*Root vegetable tarte tatin
*Barley salad with nectarine
*Ricotta frittata with spinach, corn, and sun dried tomatoes

Downsizing my cooking to two has been a challenge for me. Carla Snyder has inspired and challenged me and stimulated me to be creative.

[BookBec · Rating 2 out of 5]

The original "One Pan, Two Plates" is by far my favorite. While this book is vegetarian, it feels like the meat was swapped for lots of dairy products, which I don't eat but which are often essential elements of these recipes. The index helpfully lists the dairy-free recipes in the book: 14 out of 70. That's a mere 20%.

I made a barley, bean, and sweet potato stew (fine) and falafels (again, fine). I'm sad not to be excited about the follow-up books in this series, after the first one earned itself a place on my shelf.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was interesting but not what I expected from a one pan cookbook, to me this means something cooked on a stove top not oven baked but there a few recipes I fancy trying none the less!

[Brindi Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

again...very few photos

[Dee’s Cozy Corner Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to do this for my health. Great starter.

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recipes are easy and adaptable to your personal taste; I make the recipes for me and my sister, who is not a vegetarian but thinks they are delicious too!

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple vegetarian recipes that you won't have to eat 12 times in a row. I really found this useful!!

[Kristen Barenthaler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delicious, vibrant dishes to make vegetarian weeknight meals an easy addition to your rotation.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a vegetarian, however I’m interested in delicious ways to add some meatless meals to our routine.

The recipes in this book are simple and elegant. The idea is exactly what the title suggests – one pot meals for two. I love the minimal clean up these recipes require. Do note that these are vegetarian – not vegan – and include liberal use of cheeses/egg, etc.

Now the two in our family refers to myself and the resident 8-year-old. Honestly, many of the meals in the book simply don’t suit a child’s palate. We had the most success with the pasta dishes. My daughter’s favorite was the spaghetti cacio e pepe. It’s a simple and minimalist dish – just a few ingredients – and definitely most suited to a child’s palate. The recipe instructions were simple enough that my daughter actually did most of the work in cooking this.

I did wish there were more pictures in the book. There are some, but I admit to preferring a cookbook with pictures of every dish.

And a note on ingredients: if you live in a more rural area, some of the ingredients may be hard to come by and they don’t list substitutions for the more unusual stuff.

All in all, I found that this was an interesting book with many elegant and simple recipes that were unfortunately unsuited to my small family. For young marrieds, date nights, or empty nesters with refined palates who want hearty vegetarian fare, however, this would be lovely.

• Advanced Reader Copy provided by Publisher

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of my favorite things I have made/ate from this book so far: sweet potato cakes with apple and spinach, farro primavera with pesto and peas, Tuscan white bean salad with sweet potato and lemon vinaigrette and the Indonesian fried rice. Things I still want to try include the crispy black bean tacos, falafel, barley salad with fennel and nectarine 'pico de gallo', roasted brussel sprouts with butternut squash, apple and walnuts; and MANY more!

I also really appreciate that these recipes don't go crazy on weird ingredients that I need to go to a specialty store for. I enjoy using whole ingredients and keeping things simple <3 I also love that for each recipe there is a little part at the end for additions if you are extra hungry and also what beverages may pair well with the dish.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a stellar cookbook. The recipes are simple, use mostly easy-to-find ingredients, and would produce hardly any dishes to wash, which are the kinds of recipes all weeknight cooks love. I love the little box at the end of each recipe that gives at least one suggestion for bulking out the meal even more, as well as a beverage suggestion. Snyder's voice is refreshingly dry in its wit. We always cook eight portions of a meal at a time in our household, making the portioning here unrealistic for us, or I would seriously consider purchasing this book.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It always feels a bit disingenuous to put up a book from which I haven't made any recipes yet, but here I am! I have made so many copies from this one- so many of the recipes look so good! And they seem pretty straightforward- not calling for too many ingredients, especially not too many hard-to-get ingredients. The concept of cooking smaller amounts is important to me, as well- and there's a nice "Feeling extra hungry?" section that allows people to bulk up the meals if they weren't quite enough.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my new favorite cookbook! The recipes are so easy, fresh and healthy. I think I might try every recipe in the book. A great blend of some old fashioned comfort food with some new middle eastern/ works flavors.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the recipes were not to my fancy, but I really appreciated the practical drink parings. This is a good book for someone who wants vegetarian meals that are quick, similar to what an omnivore would eat, and are sized for two.

[Sarah Furan · Rating 2 out of 5]

My biggest complaint with cook books is when they don't offer a picture for every recipe...I understand that must be costly, but this recipe book has few and far between, so it was hard to work up an appetite for many of the recipes.

[Ashley Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve tried three vegetarian cookbooks and this is by far the best! I’m 6 for 6 for recipes from this book that my “carnivore” partner has both eaten and enjoyed. Great for a busy schedule. Wine pairing suggestions are much appreciated 😁

[LemontreeLime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must. Make. Every. Recipe. In. Book. Gasp!

[Chris]

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