32 Vegetarian Dinners You'll Want to Make This Spring
Bring in the warmer weather with these spring vegetarian recipes highlighting delicious in-season produce like spinach, carrots, mushrooms and broccoli. Whether you're in the mood for a satisfying pasta dish, a cozy one-pot meal or a fresh salad, these healthy dinners will impress. Recipes like our Kale & Quinoa Salad with Lemon Dressing and Spring Veggie Wraps are tasty ways to bring seasonal flavors to your dinner table.
Whether you're celebrating spring in the Northern Hemisphere between March 1 through May 31 or the Southern Hemisphere between September 22 to December 23, it can be refreshing to see the first crops after a long winter. Freshly picked vegetables taste amazing and are packed with nutrition, too. And it's a win-win purchasing local produce because you're supporting your community and helping reduce the carbon footprint involved in getting it to your table.
Cheesy Spinach-Zucchini Lasagna
Greg DuPree
Thanks to jarred marinara sauce and oven-ready lasagna noodles, this labor-of-love kind of meal can be ready in about an hour.
Kale & Quinoa Salad with Lemon Dressing
Photography / Antonis Achilleos, Styling / Christine Keely, Ali Ramee
This kale-quinoa salad pops with different flavors and textures. Massaging the kale helps break down its fibrous nature, while add-ins like toasted almonds, feta and cucumber add crunch and saltiness.
Pepper, Pesto & Spinach Stromboli
Jason Donnelly
Stromboli can often be heavy with meat and cheese, but this version is packed with veggies. Nutty fontina is more flavorful than classic mozzarella, so a little goes long way. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.
One-Pot Lentils & Rice with Spinach
This hearty vegan dish gets its earthy flavor from cumin and brown rice. If you can handle extra heat, try doubling the crushed red pepper for a bigger punch of flavor.
Spring Vegetable Lasagna
No-boil noodles help get this crowd-pleasing vegetarian lasagna in the oven fast. Using a mandoline isn't essential, but it will make quick work of producing thin, uniform slices of roots that cook super-evenly and look stunning. Serve with a mixed green salad with red-wine vinaigrette and crusty bread.
Spring Veggie Wraps
A tangy tahini-ginger-soy mixture both marinates the tofu and serves as a sauce for this colorful veggie wrap recipe. Look for spinach tortillas for an additional pop of green.
Roasted Carrot Tart with Carrot-Green Pesto
In this vegetarian main-dish recipe, you use the entire carrot from root to greens, so there's less waste. Roasted carrots are layered on top of a creamy ricotta base with pesto made using the green tops from carrots. Untrimmed carrots can be tough to find, but when you do, cut off the tops and store them separately or they'll draw moisture from the carrots. If you don't have carrot greens, use 1 cup of parsley instead.
Farro Risotto with Mushrooms & Greens
Greg DuPree
This dish is a tasty way chef David Porras used up stems from leafy greens, flowers from bolted herbs, and other odds and ends from his farm's copious beds to serve guests at the Oak Hill Café in Greenville, South Carolina. The restaurant may be gone, but his recipe lives on.
Mushroom & Carolina Gold Rice Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Greg DuPree
At Fork and Plough in Greenville, South Carolina, chef Shawn Kelly creates dishes packed with herbs and veggies from his partner, Greenbrier Farms. The restaurant also sources from local makers, like Dark Spore Mushrooms in nearby Piedmont and the Dutch transplants at Forx Farm, who make buttery Gouda for these cabbage rolls.
Roasted Tofu & Broccoli with Peanut-Curry Sauce
Jacob Fox
Pressing the tofu before roasting rids it of some excess moisture for crispy results. If you have the time, let it sit for more than 10 minutes—the longer it's pressed, the better!
Orange-Mint Freekeh Salad with Lima Beans
Jacob Fox
This salad is loaded with colorful produce: fresh mint, snap peas, radishes and oranges. For pretty snap pea slices, cut them into long, thin strips.
Vegetarian Lo Mein with Shiitakes, Carrots & Bean Sprouts
A hit of Sriracha gives a sweet and spicy edge to this healthy vegetarian recipe. Traditional lo mein is made with fresh lo mein noodles, which can be found in Asian markets. You can also use fresh or dried linguine noodles—fresh linguine is in the refrigerated section of some grocery stores. This easy dinner comes together in just 30 minutes, so it's perfect for weeknights.
Mushroom & Tofu Stir-Fry
This tofu veggie stir-fry is quick and easy, making it a great go-to weeknight meal. Baked tofu has a firm, toothsome texture that crisps well in a hot pan. You can find it in flavors like teriyaki and sesame, both of which are delicious here. Or opt for a smoked version, which has the same texture with a more robust flavor. Serve over brown rice.
20-Minute Balsamic Mushroom & Spinach Pasta
Antonis Achilleos
This 20-minute veggie pasta dish is super savory, thanks to meaty mushrooms, while the natural sweetness from the balsamic vinegar, basil and pistachios brighten up this quick, healthy vegetarian dinner.
Mushroom Ragout with Herbed Ricotta & Pappardelle
Jason Donnelly
This mushroom ragout is topped with dollops of ricotta, which cut through the acidity of the tomato-based sauce for a balanced flavor and creamy texture.
Cauliflower Gnocchi with Asparagus & Pesto
Carolyn Hodges, M.S., RD
While the cauliflower gnocchi crisp up in a sauté pan, steam fresh asparagus in the microwave to keep it bright green and crisp-tender. Substitute frozen asparagus (or green beans or peas) in a pinch. Toss them together with prepared basil pesto for a satisfying supper.
Asparagus & Feta Quiche
Photo by: Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.
Quickly steaming asparagus in the microwave keeps it bright green and prevents it from becoming mushy in the quiche. For another simple flavor boost, look for feta seasoned with Mediterranean herbs.
Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Quiche
Photo by: Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.
Onions and mushrooms are classic quiche ingredients. To make the most of these vegetables and build big flavor fast, sauté sliced red onion and cremini mushrooms until golden brown (about 10 minutes) before adding them to the pie crust.
3-Ingredient Goat Cheese Pasta with Broccoli
Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.
Swap out regular pasta for pasta made with chickpeas and you'll more than triple the fiber and double the protein in this simple, satisfying dish. Be sure to save some of the pasta water to make a sauce. Feel free to use frozen broccoli in a pinch (you can blanch the broccoli in the same water you use to cook the pasta).
Pea Pesto Gnocchi with Burrata
Jacob Fox
Here we pan-fry gnocchi to get them crispy, then coat them with a pesto-like sauce made with sweet peas, spinach, basil and cashews.
Mushroom Melts
Antonis Achilleos
This mushroom melt has both Gruyère and Swiss cheeses that work together with earthy mushrooms to create a delicious ooey-gooey vegetarian grilled cheese. Balsamic vinegar helps lighten the sandwich, and the thin slices of rye bread help keep the sodium in check.
Crispy Rice Bowls with Fried Eggs
Leigh Beisch
We topped this rice bowl recipe with avocado, carrot, radishes and spinach along with eggs, but whatever vegetables you prefer will be just as delicious.
Creamy Broccoli Pasta
Brie Passano
If you're looking for a simple weeknight pasta dish, look no further. This vegetarian dinner is done in only 20 minutes and packs plenty of broccoli along with creamy goodness thanks to mascarpone cheese and low-fat Greek yogurt.
Farro Salad with Arugula, Artichokes & Pistachios
Precooked farro makes this dish come together in no time. And you can make it in the same bowl you serve it in, minimizing cleanup!
Mushroom Shawarma with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce
The bold spices and cooling and creamy tahini-yogurt sauce make these vegetarian pitas a home run for lunch or dinner. The meaty, umami-rich mushrooms do enough heavy lifting so that you don't miss the meat at all.
Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach & Feta Penne Pasta
In this quick 20-minute dinner recipe, tender penne pasta is combined with garlic, roasted red peppers and spinach and topped with crumbled feta cheese for a fast and easy Mediterranean-inspired meal. This recipe was graciously shared by EatingWell reader Dottie Carpenter, who states, "Recipes are no good if they're not shared!"
Asparagus & Purple Artichoke Pizza
Lemon and pecorino top off this delicious and easy homemade pizza that gets vibrant color from asparagus and artichoke. Shiso is a fuzzy-leafed herb in the mint family that's used in a variety of Asian cuisines. Devoted fans grow it in their gardens; look for it at Asian and farmers markets. Note: Baby artichokes hardly have chokes, so you can use a paring knife to extricate any fluff.
Coconut Black Rice Bowls with Tofu & Purple Asparagus
Black beans, black rice and black sesame seeds all contain anthocyanins, potent antioxidant compounds that have been shown to reduce inflammation. So "forbidden" rice isn't just striking, it's also a serious nutrition upgrade. Simmering it in coconut milk adds rich aroma and flavor.
Buttermilk Fried Tofu with Smoky Collard Greens
Dipping tofu in buttermilk makes the coating stick for a crispy pan-fried tofu, reminiscent of fried chicken. Spicing up the collards with paprika coats them with smoky flavor while keeping this dish vegetarian. And this quick, easy and healthy dinner comes together in just 25 minutes, so it's great for busy weeknights.
Spinach-Mushroom Frittata with Avocado Salad
Frittatas are like omelets, only easier—and they taste great hot, warm or cold. This vegetable-packed version is spiked with Mediterranean flavor and paired with a cool salad of lemony cucumbers and tomatoes with creamy avocado. This easy recipe is perfect for brunch, lunch or dinner!
Easy Pea & Spinach Carbonara
Fresh pasta cooks up faster than dried, making it a must-have for fast weeknight dinners like this luscious yet healthy meal. Eggs are the base of the creamy sauce. They don't get fully cooked, so use pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs if you prefer.
Lemony Linguine with Spring Vegetables
Instead of cooking pasta in a huge pot of water, here we use just 3 1/2 cups for this one-pot pasta recipe. When the pasta is al dente, most of the water has evaporated and the bit that's left is thickened with the starch that cooks off the pasta. With just a few add-ins like lemon and Parmesan cheese you have a delicious silky sauce. Want to use up your veggie stash in the freezer? Swap in 8 ounces frozen spinach for fresh.
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