quick easy vegetarian main dish recipes

Vegetarian main dishes are not only quick and easy to make, they also provide a healthy meal for those who abstain from eating meat. Many vegetarian recipes are hearty enough to serve as a full meal.

02/10/2021 18:08 18

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20 simple, fresh and healthy recipes for busy weeknights. All vegetarian. familycuisine.net

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!

Caprese pasta recipe

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.

spaghetti squash burrito bowls

2) Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls

Gluten free and vegan

Hearty burrito bowls made with a base of perfectly roasted spaghetti squash. These are such a fun dinner option.

Vegetarian tortilla soup

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.

kale coconut stir-fry recipe

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!

Vegetarian minestrone soup with Parmesan on top

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

Broccoli casserole, made better with roasted broccoli, cheddar cheese, quinoa and whole grain breadcrumbs. - familycuisine.net

6) Broccoli, Cheddar & Quinoa Gratin

Easily gluten free

“Gratin” sounds fancy, but this is essentially a broccoli casserole, lightened up with quinoa. Roasting the broccoli adds tons of flavor.

Vegetable fried rice recipe made with extra veggies and brown rice, for health and flavor bonus points! Get the recipe at familycuisine.net

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

kale pesto recipe

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.

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9) Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad

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

lentils with marinara sauce and pasta with twirled fork

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

Easy whole wheat pizza dough recipe

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.

vegetarian/vegan black bean soup recipe

12) Best Black Bean Soup

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.

lemony collard greens pasta

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.

This Thai red curry with vegetables is the best! familycuisine.net

14) Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

Gluten free and vegan

Commenters report that this Thai red curry is the best they’ve ever made. Yay!

Quesadillas are the perfect quick meal. Enjoy this vegetarian quesadilla in under 10 minutes! Get the recipe at familycuisine.net

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

Super simple vegan spaghetti alla puttanesca, a perfect meal for busy weeknight dinners

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.

West African Peanut Soup

17) West African Peanut Soup

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.

Creamy Cherry Tomato & Summer Squash Pasta

18) Creamy Cherry Tomato & Summer Squash Pasta

Just vegetarian

This veggie-packed pasta dish has quite a few fans. Goat cheese makes everything better.

Sweet and spicy Thai pineapple fried rice, a simple vegetarian dinner! - familycuisine.net

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.

best lentil soup recipe

20) Best Lentil Soup

Gluten free and vegan

Best lentil soup ever. Yep, I said it. Try it and let me know what you think!

Simple, fresh and healthy recipes for busy weeknights. All vegetarian. familycuisine.net

20 easy vegetarian dinner recipes

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.