“West African” Peanut Stew, which is an Americanized version of various groundnut stews/maafe, is super nutritious and cheap. It is quick if you put in 1hr in advance to make like 3kg of soup, ~8 servings, for ~10 bucks. I think it’d freeze OK too.

Look up a recipe, but basically: 1 onion, garlic, 6c broth (vegetable in your case), 2lbs sweet potatoes (maybe 3lbs if vegetarian), 1 bunch greens (collards, kale, mustard greens, whichever you have/like/are ceapest), can diced tomatoes, peanut butter, 2-3tbsp vinegar, optional spices (cumin, turmeric, bay leaves, chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper/red pepper flakes, oregano, minced ginger, msg, etc), optional garnishes: peanuts, cilantro.

Sautee 1 diced onion in a pot until translucent, add garlic and spices & sautee 30s more, add 6c broth, 2lbs cubed sweet potatoes, chopped greens, can of diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20mins. Take off the heat and add 1c peanut butter and 2tbsp of vinegar (recommend adding 1tbsp at a time and tasting so as not to add too much), stir to combine. Serve.

I add 1lb chicken to mine and it makes like 3kgs of soup. Calorie dense, nutritious, very tasty. I also add a small amount of soy sauce, fish sauce, and/or worcesteshire when adding the liquid - imo this mimics some of the fermented sauces used in West African foods. Apple cider vinegar added at same time as the peanut butter really improves the dish. Salt and pepper throughout cooking, of course - but even without spices this is a tasty soup. Spices do help though.