50+ Easy Vegetarian Dinners to Make This Week

updated Nov 17, 2020

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Credit: Shelly Westerhausen
Toasted Grain Soup with Crispy Mushrooms and Kale

Whether you’re a vegetarian or just someone who prefers to lean on veggie-heavy meals, it can be hard coming up with ideas to keep things exciting in the kitchen. But we’ve got plenty of inspiration for vegetarians and vegetable-lovers alike. As many of us non-vegetarians start to think about how much meat we’re eating and our impact on the environment, it’s a great time to dive into meat-free cooking and add a few vegetarian recipes into the regular dinner rotation. Here are some of our favorite easy vegetarian meals to throw together during the week.

Soups and Stews

Soups and stews are perfect for vegetarian cooking. They are the ideal meal when you’re looking for something a little lighter to hold you over, and they make the perfect final destination for all of those vegetables in your fridge that need to be used up.

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Perfect Potato Soup with Crunchy Kale

This rich and elegant take on potato soup is filled with heaps of melty cheese.

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Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup

Calling all vegetarians! This soup is full of light, fluffy matzo balls in a flavorful broth.

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Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Split Pea Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

This silky smooth vegetarian split pea soups boasts the same rich flavor as its meaty version. Making it in the slow cooker keeps it extra easy.

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Toasted Grain Soup with Crispy Mushrooms and Kale

This vegetarian soup is supremely satisfying, thanks to a winning combination of veggies, herbs, beans, and grains.

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Easy Cabbage & White Bean Soup

This recipe ushers in a fresh start for cabbage soup. Let’s celebrate its flavor, color, and the fact that it’s chock-full of healthful vegetables.

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Slow Cooker Golden Chickpea Soup

This is wholesome comfort food at its finest, with a taste and texture that's equal parts hearty as can be, yet bright and totally nourishing.

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Lemony Black Lentil Soup with Crispy Kale and Yogurt

This wholesome and hearty vegetarian lentil soup is both smoky and bright, which is thanks to cumin, coriander, and lots of lemon.

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It tastes and feels like a chicken pot pie, but instead it's a pile of veggies doused in a rich miso gravy.

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Curried Vegetable and Chickpea Stew

This stew is full of tender vegetables and chickpeas, along with the warming flavors of ginger and garlic — and it’s vegan!

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One-Pot Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Bean Stew)

Let this soup simmer all day and your reward is a stew so thick you could stand a spoon in it and so hearty that the dreariest winter day will feel cozy.

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Kale and Cannellini Bean Stew

The Parmesan-garlic broth that’s the base of this wholesome stew is going to be your new BFF when you need deep flavor without meat.

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Pinda (Peanut) Stew

We took inspiration from a delicious stew consumed in the Ivory Coast that combines an array of fresh veggies in a rich and creamy peanut sauce.

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Vegetarian Phở (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)

Between the broth, noodles, and assorted garnishes — like onions, herbs, chiles, and lime — phở is a wonderful interplay of textures and flavors.

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Tuscan Bread & Tomato Soup (Ribollita Soup)

Thanks to the chunks of bread that soak up the flavorful broth and thicken the pot, ribollita really straddles the line between soup and stew.

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Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

The sweet grass-like aroma of the wild rice as it cooks, the deep savory taste of caramelized mushrooms, the first creamy sip of soup: all things that make this soup worth trying.

Salads and Grains Bowls

Whoever said that salads can’t be exciting was definitely eating the wrong salads. They are a great vegetarian choice because the options are limitless. Grains? Go for it! Roasted veggies? Help yourself. Here are some of our favorite vegetarian salads.

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Bún Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Noodle Salad)

With slender rice noodles, a generous handful of fragrant herbs, crunchy bean sprouts, savory protein, and a salty-sour-sweet sauce, this dish is delightfully complex, yet incredibly simple to make.

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Vegetarian Kale Taco Salad

In this wholesome take on a Tex-Mex taco salad, shredded kale is tossed with hearty black beans and crisp veggies, and softened by a creamy yogurt and cilantro dressing.

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Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

This easy quinoa salad is filled with fresh vegetables, herbs, and cheese that's perfect for a make-ahead lunch.

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Antipasto Grain Salad

Packed with buttery olives, peppadew peppers, and fresh mozzarella, this vibrant farro salad gets even better as it sits.

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Orzo Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, Pine Nuts, and Parsley

This delicious orzo salad includes caramelized cauliflower for flavor, toasted pine nuts for subtle crunch, and raisins and sultanas for a perfect hint of sweet.

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The Ultimate Summer Salad

Here's everything we love about summer packed into one bright, flavor-packed bowl.

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The Ultimate Fall Salad

This roasty, toasty salad celebrates everything you love about autumn. It's packed with squash, apples, and chewy farro, and tossed in a bright lemon vinaigrette.

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Golden Beet and Barley Salad with Rainbow Chard

Golden beets, red onions, barley and wilted chard stems are tossed with a quick lemony dressing and topped with a sprinkle of salty feta.

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Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Fontina

This salad is divine. Seriously full of flavor, nutty, chewy, and salty.

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Orzo Salad with Spinach Pesto, Olives & Feta

This salad is destined for picnic glory. The bright green pasta beckons from across the lawn, and the pungent flavors of olives and crumbly feta make it irresistible.

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Marinated Chickpea and Feta Salad with Spring Veggies

This star of this crunchy, veggie-packed salad is a tangy Greek-inspired dressing, which doubles as a marinade for the feta and chickpeas.

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Israeli Couscous Salad with Feta, Chickpeas, and Herbs

The best salads are the ones that play multiple roles. Eat this one for lunch, pile it on top of greens for dinners, or use serve it up as a side dish.

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Couscous Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries

This couscous salad with its roasted squash and citrusy vinaigrette, is one of those recipes that we find ourselves making again and again.

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BBQ Tofu Salad Bowls

On the nights we're craving salad for dinner but also want a meal that's warm & comforting, these BBQ tofu & roasted vegetable bowls hit the spot.

Pastas

Pasta is like that loyal friend you’ve had forever. There when you need it. Never makes things too complicated. And always makes you feel better. These pasta recipes get a bonus point because they require zero meat to taste absolutely delicious.

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Lemony Brussels Sprouts & Breadcrumb Spaghetti

Perfect for after Thanksgiving, this easy pasta dish makes good use of those leftover Brussels sprouts, bread or rolls, and even the last dregs in the bottle of white wine from Turkey Day.

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Spaghetti with Mascarpone, Meyer Lemon, Spinach, and Hazelnuts

This pasta is sophisticated yet wildly simple to make — the perfect choice for a dinner party or just a midweek meal that you want to feel a tiny bit more special.

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Skillet Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

A creamy, decadent twist on classic mac and cheese that swaps the noodles in for potato gnocchi.

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Creamy Ricotta Pasta with Broccoli

This creamy lemon-ricotta pasta is equal parts simple and satisfying. It only needs five ingredients, two of which combine to make a lusciously creamy sauce.

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One-Pot Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

This vegetarian one-pot pasta, which is made with mostly pantry staples, is ready in 15 minutes flat.

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One-Pot Creamy Mushroom Pesto Pasta

In this 20-minute vegetarian dinner, vibrant pesto and creamy mascarpone cheese combine to create a silky sauce that clings to the noodles.

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Creamy Tomato Pasta

This quick and easy weeknight pasta is tossed in a tomato cream sauce and finished with chopped fresh basil.

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Lemony Ricotta Pasta with Basil

This quick pasta dinner is tossed with a creamy, no-cook ricotta sauce that's flavored with lots of lemon and fresh basil.

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Creamy Wild Mushroom One-Pot Pasta

In this fast and easy one-pot pasta recipe, you'll add linguine, chicken broth, and heavy cream directly to a pot with sautéed mushrooms, then boil until the noodles are al dente and the liquid has thickened into a silky sauce.

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Beet Pesto Pasta

This gorgeous pasta dish is easy to make and gets people who love beets excited about them all over again.

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One-Pot Cacio e Pepe

With its one-pot cooking method, the chicken broth and the Parmesan rind, this rendition of cacio e pepe might not be the most traditional you’ll ever make. But it’ll be one of the quickest and most delicious ones you’ve ever had, not to mention the version with the least amount of dishes.

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Pasta Pan-Fried with Butternut Squash, Fried Sage, and Pine Nuts

The thing that makes this pasta a little different is the step of pan-frying all the ingredients together. This deepens all the flavors and gives the pasta that slightly crispy, browned taste that you find in Chinese pan-fried noodles.

Casseroles

The best part of casseroles is how filling they are. People always joke that vegetarians must be so hungry, but these recipes might have them reconsidering that. These casseroles are warm and comforting, and make great leftovers.

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Broccoli and Cheese Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Tender strands of spaghetti squash are tossed with crisp-tender broccoli and enveloped in a fluffy, cheesy custard, giving you all the best parts of the classic side wrapped up into a feel-good, veggie-packed main.

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Chickpea Casserole with Lemon, Herbs & Shallots

This recipe is perhaps the perfect expression of what we love about casseroles. It’s quick and easy — a modern, lightened-up version of a “dump-and-mix” dish, where you open up a few cans and mix everything together.

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Lentil, Mushroom & Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

With its rich, mushroom-studded filling tucked under a layer of soft mashed sweet potato, this dish has all the hallmarks of a good shepherd’s pie, but it’s completely vegan.

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Cheesy Lentil, Mushroom & Rice Bake

Adding lentils to the dinner roster is a good way to eat meat-free, but all too often they can be boring. This recipe — which adds cheese, meaty mushrooms, nutty brown rice, and plenty of fresh parsley to the mix — solves this.

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Smoky Sweet Potato & Black Bean Casserole

This recipe for a hearty vegetarian casserole of sweet potatoes, black beans, and smoked mozzarella that works as both a main or side dish.

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French Onion Soup Casserole

This French onion soup casserole takes everything your know about the homey dish and gives it a rich and luxurious update. Expect big flavor on this one!

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6-Ingredient Vegan Enchilada Casserole

This vegan weeknight meal combines everything you love about enchiladas — the savory filling, corn tortillas, and bright salsa — with the ease and comfort of a casserole.

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Classic Eggplant Parmesan

While the preparations are straightforward, a few tricks will help you make the tastiest eggplant Parmesan yet.

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Tomato, Broccoli & Mozzarella Pasta Casserole

There’s broccoli (from the freezer, or fresh, if you’ve got it) and a can of chickpeas for texture and protein. Mix it all up, throw in some dollops of fresh mozzarella and handfuls of Parmesan cheese, and you have yourself an easy dinner that everyone will love.

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Pumpkin & Ricotta Pasta Casserole

This casserole includes many of our favorite casserole elements. It isn’t too full of cheese; there is only part-skim ricotta and a handful of Parmesan here — no heavy cream or gooey cheese. And yet it’s rich and creamy, thanks to the pumpkin.

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Double Spinach Pasta Casserole with Pesto & Asiago Cheese

When you're craving something ultra-comforting but still kinda wholesome, this is the casserole to make for dinner.

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