Are you searching for easy vegetarian dinner ideas that are full, satisfying, flavorful, and can stand on their own? While grilled cheese and plain roasted vegetables are wonderful plant-based dinner options on occasion, we’re all for thinking beyond the box.
What draws individuals to vegetarianism? Some have made a move on environmental grounds, while others have an ethical objection to eating animals. Others simply desire to live much longer, healthier lives. A plethora of scientific studies shows that vegetarianism has major health benefits.
One reason is that many vegetarians consume a high proportion of fresh, healthy, plant-based foods that are high in antioxidants and fiber. When a person decides to eat veggies, they frequently become more engaged in making overall healthy choices.
Healthy vegetables are practically free of cholesterol-laden, artery-clogging animal products, which physically slow us down and keep us hitting the snooze button day after day. And since whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables are abundant in complex carbs, they provide enough of invigorating fuel to the body.
Vegetarians appear to have lower levels of LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and incidences of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than meat eaters. Vegetarians also had a lower BMI, lower cancer rates, and a lower risk of chronic disease.
And it’s no surprise: nutrition is linked to an estimated 70% of all diseases, including one-third of all malignancies. Obesity, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some types of cancer such as colon, breast, prostate, stomach, lung, and esophageal cancer are all reduced by a vegetarian diet.
Plant-based diets can also help you lose weight. While this lifestyle choice does not automatically result in weight loss, it can assist you in reducing lipid cells and simple carbs so that you can effectively manage your weight.
If you’re looking for culinary suggestions and a wonderful vegetarian dish, look no further than the internet, your favorite bookshop, or the newsletter of your local vegetarian community.
Let go of the persisting prejudice that veggie food is boring and join us on an exciting trip that will delight even the most discriminating palate. Fortunately for you, eating green saves time because veggies cook faster than proteins.
If you’ve been debating what to make for dinner, we’ve got you covered with some delectable ways to incorporate proteins, calcium, and other nutrients into your diet, as well as clever tips, to take vegetarian cuisine to the next level.
Vegetarian Dinner Ideas
There are many of fantastic vegetarian recipes if you have veggie friends coming to dinner, or a teenager who has recently sworn off meat or is trying out a plant-based diet.
Whether you’re a lifetime vegetarian trying to change your normal cycle of vegetarian healthy dinner dishes, or an omnivore thinking “what can I make for dinner if I don’t have any meat?” We’re certain you’ll discover it in these delicious veggie recipes!
1. Quinoa Salad With Sun-dried Tomatoes and Spinach
This salad is ideal for lunch. It could also make an excellent protein-packed side salad for a veg dinner. Add a fried egg on top and you’ve got yourself a healthy vegetarian dinner recipe.
It’s vegetarian as is, but you could add some feta if you like. Chickpeas might also be tasty. Arugula is an excellent substitute for spinach. This easy spinach quinoa salad is bursting with delicious Mediterranean flavors like lemon, sun-dried tomatoes, and toasted almonds! It’s vegetarian and gluten-free, making it an excellent choice for a potluck.
Do you know how to prepare quinoa? To prepare the quinoa, follow the instructions on the package. Allow to cool. Combine chickpeas, spinach, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Adjust the quantity or seasonings to taste to get that savory flavor. Serve hot or cold!
You can easily combine all the ingredients given below for the quinoa salad and add seasonings as per your taste and start your vegetarian dinner at ease: quinoa (1 cup), chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 tin), some chopped spinach, olives, olive oil (1/2 cup), sun-dried tomatoes, basil, olive oil (1 tbsp), salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice to bring all the flavors together.
2. Vegan Lentil Soup
Proteins are what you need to consume if you want to reduce weight. We give to you a protein-rich lentil soup that will assist you in your weight loss program. Lentils are high in protein and other nutrients, making them an essential component of any weight loss diet.
The mixture of delectable spices and fresh vegetables keeps this thick Lentil Soup delicious. It’s a fantastic way to use up seasonal vegetables or other vegetables that have passed their prime.
If you have any leftover red lentils from this lentil soup recipe, use them for dinner with this delicious Lentil Dahl. This seven-ingredient blended lentil soup is velvety smooth, creamy, and filling! It’s a high-protein and delicious soup that’s ready in less than 25 minutes.
You can start cooking the soup by adding the onion (1 chopped) in olive oil (1 tablespoon) and saute for a few minutes until soft. Bring the carrot (4 medium grated), dried red lentils (140 grams), stock/broth, cumin (1 teaspoon), and milk (100 ml) to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 15 minutes, or until the lentils are mushy and cooked through. Serve with a mixer, food processor, or hand blender, and serve with fresh herbs and seeds on top with a loaf of crusty bread.
3. Garlic Chili Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower
This meal has a spicy kick, a garlic kick, and crunchy roasted cauliflower. This fast one-pot dish is served over al dente pasta noodles and keeps things simple but gratifying. This is the ideal quick weeknight supper when you want something substantial, comfortable, yet light.
Pair it with a salad, such as the Kumquat Kale Salad or the Apple Pecan Arugula Salad, to make it more filling. Garlicky, chili-infused linguini with vegan parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, and garlic-roasted cauliflower! A tasty, filling plant-based cuisine that takes only 10 ingredients and 30 minutes to prepare. It’s a dish that the entire family will enjoy!
Pasta al dente (350 grams and gluten-free) with garlic (3 cloves) and Chile olive oil (2-3 tablespoons), fresh parsley (2 tablespoons chopped), fresh basil, and vegan parmesan cheese (1/4th cup). You won’t even miss the creamy sauce.
If you’re sick of cauliflower, roast it! It will bake wonderfully and go excellent with this light pasta meal if you season it correctly – in this case with red pepper flakes (1/4th teaspoon), garlic, and sea salt (1/4th teaspoon).
4. Coconut Curry Ramen
How about we make a noodle meal that’s sort of like a curry, but also kind of like ramen, and just happens to be vegan? Like, one where you can clear out the fridge while simultaneously making it Instagram-worthy, all while feeling like you’re eating takeout?
When mixed into boiling ramen (250 grams), coconut milk (400 ml) in coconut curry ramen elevates the broth with its extra-rich flavor. It’s a simple ingredient that elevates ramen. You only need vegetables (mushrooms and bok choy), ramen, some tofu (400 grams), and coconut milk or almond milk.
It will take a minute to chop the vegetables and cleaning mushrooms is a chore but everything is worthwhile. Meanwhile, you’ve begun your tofu in the oven because oven-baked tofu can be rather tasty. Make it however you like.
The noodles are added at the end; we just simmer the vegetable broth (6 cups), add the noodles until they are cooked, and then top with a scoop of tofu and some fried eggs (optional). Sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onions, and lime squeezers are also included.
5. Vegan Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
In this vibrantly fragrant vegan sweet potato salad recipe, roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, black beans, and raw kale are tossed in a creamy lime dressing.
This health-bomb of a vegan salad is self-care in a bowl, with rich roasted sweet potatoes (50 grams), toothsome raw kale (chopped), a squeeze of lime, a dash of jalapeno, and loads of creamy avocado—blended into the sweet potato salad dressing and diced up in the salad, too.
Plenty of protein (from the salad’s black beans and the dressing’s cashews) and healthy fats (from avocado, olive oil, and nuts) ensure that you’ll feel full and content for hours.
In addition to a teaspoon of salt and a splash of water, you’ll need the following ingredients to prepare simple vegan lime-cilantro-cashew cream dressing: fresh cilantro, garlic, lime juice, olive oil (regular or extra virgin—either work!), cashews (raw)—no need to soak unless your blender isn’t super powerful, avocado, and jalapeno.
We use half a jalapeno, seeded, to give this dressing the quietest, most delicate kick imaginable. If you dislike any type of heat, you can leave it out. And we haven’t even mentioned the beautiful roasted sweet potatoes—they’re a fairly amazing cuisine, so we think they need their own spotlight.
They’re not an extremely low-carb food, with 27 grams of carbs per cup of cooked sweet potato (and roughly 17 grams of net carbs), but they’re still a nutritious choice that can be eaten as part of all but the most severe low-carb diets.
6. Butternut Squash Soup
The perfect comfortable, light dinner is creamy butternut squash soup with sweet apples, garlic, and thyme. Butternut squash and cool weather go together as if they were meant for each other, which they are.
The butternut squash soup is rich and creamy, with a distinct roasted butternut squash flavor. This classic butternut squash soup will complement your fall and winter dinners. Throughout the winter, combine it with grilled cheese sandwiches and salads.
This delicious soup just requires eight simple ingredients: butternut squash (1 large), olive oil (1 tablespoon), butter (1-2 tablespoons), shallot (1/2 cup chopped), garlic (4 cloves chopped), vegetable broth (3-4 cups), maple syrup (1 teaspoon), and nutmeg (1/8 teaspoon).
A small amount of butter fills out the flavor and makes it absolutely delicious, without weighing down the soup as heavy cream does. (For vegan/dairy-free soup, substitute with olive oil).
The majority of the taste in this soup comes from the cooking procedure, which begins with roasting the butternut squash to bring out its caramelized best. It is no longer necessary to peel or cut the squash. Begin sautéing the shallot and garlic after the squash has completed baking.
If you’re making this soup for guests, you may serve it straight from the blender. Make it the day before and reheat it in a blender or on the stove. Although this soup does not require a garnish, you can add a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper or some toasted pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) for added visual appeal.
7. Lemony Collard Greens Pasta
Because of the swiftly cooked, ribboned collard greens, this incredibly easy pasta dish is light and fresh. Parmesan, toasted pine nuts, and a squeeze of lemon juice tie everything together. Whatever you call it, this meal is spicy and vibrant, with a strong lemon taste that comes together quickly!
Fresh herbs and lemon are used in this simple pasta recipe to lighten the earthy collard greens. For a little heat, we added a dash of garlic and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes. Lacianto kale, also known as dino kale, Tuscan kale, or black kale, is our favorite green here; blanch it and then cut it into thin ribbons to tangle with the pasta.
Regular kale, Russian kale, Swiss chard, collard greens, and turnip greens are other excellent choices. Need a little oomph? Consider mustard greens. For easy cleaning, blanch the greens in the same pot as the pasta and then cook the entire dish in the same pot.
The aim is to thinly slice the green (about 10 green leaves) and stir fry them for a few minutes until they’re dark green and fragrant. Chiffonade is the technical term for this slicing method. Each collard green’s middle rib should be removed. Layer just a few green ones at a time and roll into a cigar shape.
Slice the roll as thin as possible (18′′ to 14′′). Shake the greens and cut them in half to shorten the strands. Cook the pasta (1/3rd of the whole package) according to the package directions. Toss all of your collard greens in a tablespoon of olive oil and season with red pepper flakes, salt, and garlic (2 small cloves) for around three minutes.
Toss the greens with another sprinkle of olive oil in the pasta pot, adding pasta water if needed. Serve with two large lemon wedges per person and top with pine nuts and parmesan shavings.
8. Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese with White Cheddar
It’s a wonderful and satisfying 20-minute one-pot dish packed with two types of cheese that taste great. Ooey gooey cheesy foods were being served everywhere you looked. And you can bet we took full use of them.
My preferred cheese for macaroni and cheese is cheddar. It’s tasty, melts well, and adds the classic orange hue to the mac and cheese. Make sure you’re using standard mild, medium, or sharp cheddar cheese, not extra sharp or aged cheddar.
After tasting this homemade mac and cheese, you and your family will forever say “goodbye” to powdered cheese and “hello” to this creamy luscious real-cheese version! Once you start cooking, this easy mac and cheese recipe moves quickly, so make sure you have all of your ingredients measured and ready to go!
As you can see, this recipe has only eight ordinary ingredients that most of us have on hand at all times! Prepare the macaroni (500 grams) according to the package directions.
Be careful to season the boiling water liberally with salt. It may appear to be a minor detail, but it makes a tremendous impact on the overall flavor of this mac and cheese (or any pasta meal for that matter)!
To begin, produce a thickening by mixing together flour (2 tablespoons) and butter (2 tablespoons). Pour in the water (2 cups) and milk or almond milk (3.5 cups), then add the uncooked pasta and spices.
Allow the pasta to cook until soft and all of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the two types of grated cheese (4 cups of cheddar 1 cup of mozzarella) and till the cheese is melted. Serve immediately, if desired garnished with parsley.
9. Scalloped Potatoes
Everyone enjoys scalloped potatoes, whether they are meat eaters or vegetarians. What’s not to love about soft potato slices coated in a creamy, cheesy sauce and baked until the top is golden brown?
Scalloped potatoes are made by layering thinly sliced potatoes in a casserole dish and baking them with whipped cream or milk (or a combination of the two). Typically, the cream is infused with an aromatic, such as garlic or fresh herbs.
A traditional scalloped potato recipe does not use cheese and is cooked with a roux (white sauce). By cooking the sliced potatoes for a few minutes, the potatoes don’t have to cook as long and are already warm when they go into the oven.
Layer with cheese and onions and condensed cream of mushroom soup! Top the cheesy scalloped potatoes with extra cheese and bake until brown and bubbling. Roasted broccolini goes perfectly with scalloped potatoes! It’s light and crisp, and it works beautifully with the creaminess of the spuds.
10. Burnt Aubergine Veggie Chilli
This hearty aubergine chili is low in fat and contains four of your daily five. Serve this smokey flavored vegetarian meal with brown rice and all the fixings. Simply puncture one large eggplant all over with a fork to allow steam to escape as it cooks in a gas oven.
Season the meat side with salt and pepper and brush with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast the aubergines for 12-15 minutes, turning often with metal tongs, until the flesh is soft and smokey and the skin is charred all over, on two moderate flames. Keep a close eye on these aubergines at all times to prevent them from catching fire.
The eggplant is delicious immediately off the stove, but it’s much better after a few hours when all the flavors have had a chance to combine and intensify.
Additionally, use a barbecue or heat the grill to its highest setting and cook until totally blackened, rotating occasionally (the grill will not provide the same smoky flavor). Allow cooling on a platter before peeling off the charred skin and removing the stem. Set aside the flesh, which has been roughly chopped.
When the aubergine is done, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet and sauté one chopped onion for 1 minute, or until slightly softened. Cook chopped red peppers, 1 chopped carrot, and some green beans for 5-6 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.
Stir in 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, and 1/4th teaspoon chili powder. Stir in 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce until it has evaporated. Return the aubergines to the pan after adding the chopped tomatoes.
Stir in the beans (400 grams), lentils (400 grams), and 3 cups of vegetable stock to mix. Bring the chili to a boil, then reduce to low heat, cover with a lid, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the chili from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Remove the lid and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. You may spice it up to your liking and serve it with anything from tortilla chips, some tomato slices, and rice to coriander and mashed avocado.
Vegetarian dishes are far from dull. We’ve found here lots of good comfortable pasta dishes, fresh tasty salads, hearty soups, and healthful vegetarian dishes that everyone will like. With these healthy vegetarian meals, even your pickiest eater will beg for seconds.
Furthermore, several of these meals may be prepared ahead of time, making them ideal for busy weeknights. Some of them even stay well in the fridge, allowing you to consume them for lunch throughout the week.
These 10 recipes are substantial and healthful, meatless recipes filled with grains like gluten-free pasta and quinoa and healthy fruits and vegetables. We guarantee you’ll find plenty of vegetarian dinner recipes to enjoy, from 15-minute mac & cheese to a vegan roasted sweet potato salad and everything in between.
Last Updated on by somya909
