107 Comments
Reading: quick easy vegetarian main dish recipes
We’ll never have enough quick weeknight recipes, so I’m sharing a collection of my favorites today. These are warm and comforting, yet fresh and full of nutritious vegetables. They’re exactly what I’m craving right now.
If you appreciate this post, you might also want to bookmark my “easy weeknight dinners” category, which I update with recipes as they are published. For all of my vegetarian dinner recipes, simply click here or click on the “dinner” link in the menu bar.
Don’t forget that my cookbook has many more meatless dinners, big salads, soups, and more. Cheers to a delicious dinner tonight!
Table of Contents
1) Caprese Pasta Salad
Easily gluten free (just use gluten-free pasta)
Hurry, make this one before the good tomatoes are gone! It’s a super simple burst cherry tomato pasta dish with little mozzarella balls, fresh basil and a splash of white balsamic vinegar. It packs well for lunch the next day, too.
2) Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls
Read more: grains and nuts vegetarian salad dish
Gluten free and vegan
Hearty burrito bowls made with a base of perfectly roasted spaghetti squash. These are such a fun dinner option.
3) Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
Gluten free and easily made vegan (skip the feta)
Finally! Homemade tortilla soup that’s even better than the restaurant versions I enjoyed before giving up chicken. Posole might be a better name for this soup, but whatever you want to call it, it’s light but filling, spicy and delicious.
4) Spicy Kale and Coconut Fried Rice
Gluten free, easily vegan (skip the eggs)
This recipe turned my friend’s one-year-old baby into a kale fan. She’s not the only fan of this fried rice. If you haven’t made it yet, you’ve been missing out!
5) Classic Minestrone Soup
Easily gluten free and/or vegan
“Very tasty and satisfying soup. Turned out great with no changes. Perfect on a cold winter day. I really love your recipes. I actually bought your book at Barnes & Noble and then found your website. Thank you so much for making all these delicious and healthy recipes.” – Karen
6) Broccoli, Cheddar & Quinoa Gratin
Easily gluten free
Read more: 10 Fabulous Make-Ahead Vegetarian Meals
“Gratin” sounds fancy, but this is essentially a broccoli casserole, lightened up with quinoa. Roasting the broccoli adds tons of flavor.
7) Extra Vegetable Fried Rice
Gluten free and easily vegan
“With more mouths to feed than usual over the holidays, I made this twice in the last 10 days! Both times, I followed the recipe exactly, and it was a huge hit! I used snow peas and red pepper for the 2 cups of extra veggies. Everyone gobbled it up and asked for seconds. Thanks, Kate!” – Emily
8) Kale Pecan Pesto
Gluten free and easily vegan
Extra kale? Make this easy kale pesto recipe! It’s an absolutely delicious way to eat your greens. Use it like regular basil pesto—on pasta, pizza and more. You can throw this together in 5 minutes while the pasta is cooking.
9) Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad
Read more: grains and nuts vegetarian salad dish
Gluten free and vegan
“Made this for dinner tonight when a friend came over. Even my four-year-old loved it! He is not always into raw veggies, but upon the first bite, exclaimed, “I like this! Yeah, I love it!” and had a second helping. We did leave the cilantro on the side for him. Will be making this again very soon.” – Lea
10) Hearty Spaghetti with Lentils & Marinara Sauce
Easily gluten free and easily vegan
“I never thought of lentils and marinara together, or lentils and pasta, but the combination is delightful! I used my go-to marinara recipe and will absolutely be making this dish again. And the lentils were so tasty even before being mixed in with the sauce that I may make them separately for salads, etc. Thank you for another wonderful, easy weeknight recipe!” – Alex
11) The Easiest Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Just vegetarian
This pizza dough really couldn’t be easier. Throw the ingredients into your food processor, give it a few kneads, roll it out and you’re ready to make pizza. Zero rising time required.
12) Best Black Bean Soup
Read more: grains and nuts vegetarian salad dish
Gluten free and vegan
A sweet college student named Amber just told me that this soup keeps her going through late night shifts at the hospital (thanks, Amber!). This soup gets its incredible flavor from just a few ingredients. You can totally use canned black beans for this one.
13) Lemony Collard Greens Pasta
Easily gluten free (just use your favorite gluten-free spaghetti)
This super simple pasta dish is light and fresh thanks to quickly cooked, ribboned collard greens. Parmesan, toasted pine nuts and a squeeze of lemon juice bring all the flavors together.
14) Thai Red Curry with Vegetables
Read more: grains and nuts vegetarian salad dish
Gluten free and vegan
Commenters report that this Thai red curry is the best they’ve ever made. Yay!
15) 10-Minute Quesadillas
Easily gluten free (just use gluten-free tortillas)
“These are a life-saver! It is so good to know that you can whip up something healthy in 10 minutes, that taste great… Made these more than I can count.” – Samantha
16) Vegan Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Easily gluten free, and vegan
This pasta dish is for olive lovers! It’s made with mostly pantry ingredients but tastes so fresh and vibrant.
17) West African Peanut Soup
Read more: grains and nuts vegetarian salad dish
Gluten free and vegan
If you think peanut butter in soup seems strange (I did), I dare you to give this a go. It’s perfect for cool evenings and makes great leftovers.
18) Creamy Cherry Tomato & Summer Squash Pasta
Just vegetarian
This veggie-packed pasta dish has quite a few fans. Goat cheese makes everything better.
19) Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
Gluten free (see notes)
This Thai-style sweet and spicy pineapple fried rice includes red bell pepper, cashews and cilantro.
20) Best Lentil Soup
Read more: grains and nuts vegetarian salad dish
Gluten free and vegan
Best lentil soup ever. Yep, I said it. Try it and let me know what you think!
More resources you might appreciate: 23 healthy make-ahead breakfast recipes and 16 recipes that pack well for lunch. You might also like my monthly seasonal produce guides and healthy kitchen essentials. View all roundups and resource posts here.
Read more: what vegetarian dish goes with rice
