Healthy MyPlate-Inspired Vegetable Recipes

These delicious vegetable recipes make it easy to eat healthfully and in line with the USDA's MyPlate Guidelines. These healthy recipes meet the MyPlate guidelines for calories, portion size, sodium, saturated fat and added sugars. To make these recipes part of a complete meal, please refer to our serving suggestions included with the recipe.Watch Video
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Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans

Start to finish: 30 mins
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In this one-skillet supper, we toss dark leafy greens, diced tomatoes and white beans with gnocchi and top it all with gooey mozzarella. Serve with a mixed green salad with vinaigrette.

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Quinoa Lasagna

Start to finish: 1 hr 30 mins
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This healthy quinoa lasagna recipe has a layer of quinoa (rather than noodles) along with vegetables, cheese and herbs. Though it tastes like comfort food, don't worry, this quinoa lasagna recipe is not too heavy--you'll still have room for dessert. To save time, use your favorite jarred tomato sauce in this vegetarian lasagna. (Adapted from “Quinoa Revolution” by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming; Pintail Books, 2012.)

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Shrimp Fried Rice

Start to finish: 40 mins
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This healthy shrimp fried rice recipe is packed with vegetables and makes 4 generous servings, so you'll need to use a large skillet that is at least 12 inches wide. A large wok also works well. If you have cooked rice on hand, omit Step 1 and add 2 1/2 cups cooked rice to the pan in Step 5.

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Spaghetti Carbonara with Peas

Start to finish: 30 mins
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Our healthy spaghetti carbonara recipe is lower in calories and fat than a traditional spaghetti carbonara recipe, plus it boasts 9 more grams of fiber per serving from whole-wheat pasta. For the best flavor, use Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The eggs in the sauce are not fully cooked; if you're concerned about consuming undercooked eggs, use pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs in this spaghetti carbonara recipe.

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Wild Rice Pilaf with Sweet Potatoes & Brussels Sprouts

Start to finish: 1 hr 45 mins
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Wild rice is intensely aromatic so it's a great match for the bold flavors of saffron and Madeira in this wild rice pilaf recipe. Roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts studded on top give it a festive look and help make it filling enough for a vegetarian main dish.

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Spring Pizza

Start to finish: 40 mins
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Asparagus, chives and fontina cheese top this easy pizza recipe. Serve with baby greens tossed with vinaigrette and pecans.

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Moroccan-Style Stuffed Peppers

Start to finish: 30 mins
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Aromatic savory-and-sweet stuffed peppers are a satisfying supper, thanks to lean beef, brown rice and bell pepper in each bite. Serve with rainbow chard sautéed with olive oil, garlic and parsley.

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Baked Stuffed Eggplant

Start to finish: 1 hr 15 mins
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These stuffed eggplants are filled with peppers, onion, garlic and tomatoes. Serve it along with olives, hummus, warm pita and tabbouleh for a fantastic vegetarian feast.

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Thyme-Braised Brussels Sprouts

Start to finish: 20 mins
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Brussels sprouts braised in broth and thyme is a surprisingly simple preparation that yields rich and savory results.

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Chickpea, Spinach & Squash Gnocchi

Start to finish: 35 mins
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Currants add a surprising touch of sweetness to this simple sauté of chickpeas, spinach, squash and gnocchi. We prefer the texture of shelf-stable gnocchi, but if sodium is an issue for you, opt for frozen instead. Serve with a glass of chardonnay.

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Smoked Turkey, Kale & Rice Bake

Start to finish: 40 mins
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This hearty one-skillet dinner is loaded with celery, kale, tomatoes and quick-cooking brown rice. It's easy to make the recipe vegetarian by substituting smoked tofu for the turkey.

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Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Pizza

Start to finish: 40 mins
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This stuffed pizza is filled with crumbled tofu, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese and fresh basil. It's easy to make stuffed pizza at home. Just roll the crust thin, spread filling over half and fold closed. To use fresh spinach, cook 10 ounces until just wilted; finely chop and squeeze dry. Serve with: Marinara sauce for dipping and mixed green salad.

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Paprika-Spiced Stuffed Peppers

Start to finish: 2 hrs 10 mins
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Plenty of paprika lends a lightly pungent flavor and vibrant red color to the creamy sauce and the pork, beef and rice filling in this Hungarian-inspired stuffed peppers recipe.

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Southwestern Vegetable & Chicken Soup

Start to finish: 1 hr 30 mins
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Who wouldn't want to eat their vegetables when they're tucked into a fragrant broth with bits of tasty chicken and spiked with a shot of fresh lime and cilantro? This healthy chicken vegetable soup seems even richer with the smoky flavor from roasted poblano peppers and garlic. Serve this healthy chicken soup recipe with tortilla chips.

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Vegetarian Quinoa & Squash Casserole

Start to finish: 1 hr 20 mins
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An aromatic mixture of garlic, paprika, cumin, coriander, allspice and cayenne flavors this vegetarian quinoa and squash casserole recipe. Frozen squash is a super-easy topping.

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Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Onions

Start to finish: 35 mins
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Fresh herbs, onion and bacon sauté alongside Brussels sprouts in this easy vegetable side dish recipe. This savory dish is delicious in the fall and winter months, when Brussels sprouts are in season. If you can find them still attached to the stalk, don't be intimidated--buy them, as they're likely more fresh. Recipe adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.

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Oven Sweet Potato Fries

Start to finish: 25 mins
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Making oven fries out of sweet potatoes brings out their inherent sweetness.

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Creamy Pea & Chicken Stew

Start to finish: 40 mins
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This cheesy, saucy one-pot pea and chicken stew reminds us of the filling in chicken potpie. While it tastes rich and comforting, it has plenty of peas and cauliflower, too, so you get lots of veggies. Serve this creamy healthy pea and chicken stew recipe with biscuits or over brown rice.

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Mushroom & Cheddar Stuffed Onions

Start to finish: 1 hr 15 mins
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In this recipe for stuffed onions, mild onion layers are filled with a tasty mushroom and Cheddar cheese blend spiked with sage and a splash of dry sherry. Serve as a vegetarian main dish for 4 or as a vegetable side dish for 8.

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Basil, Shrimp & Zucchini Pasta

Start to finish: 35 mins
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This quick-cooking, healthy dinner is a simple combination of zucchini, shrimp and pasta flecked with plenty of fresh basil. If you have leftover cooked pasta from another meal, use it and skip Step 2. Since the recipe combines a starch, vegetables and the shrimp, all you need is a fruit or vegetable salad to round out the menu. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

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Sweet & Sour Green Beans

Start to finish: 20 mins
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This slightly sweet, slightly sour green bean recipe takes just a few minutes to make and is great served at room temperature. Make it ahead and let the green beans bathe in the dressing, soaking up flavor.

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Curried Lentil Stuffed Squash

Start to finish: 1 hr 30 mins
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In this stuffed squash recipe, a spicy red lentil curry stew fills acorn squash. If you find them at your market use tasty jarred piquillo peppers in this.

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Acorn Squash Stuffed with Chard & White Beans

Start to finish: 40 mins
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Acorn squash's natural shape makes it just right for stuffing. This filling has Mediterranean flair: olives, tomato paste, white beans and Parmesan cheese. Serve with: Mixed green salad with radicchio and red onion and crisp white wine, such as Pinot Grigio.

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Smothered Green Beans with New Potatoes

Start to finish: 1 hr 50 mins
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This green bean recipe from chef Alex Patout of Landry's restaurant in New Iberia, Louisiana, gets plenty of flavor from bacon and onions.

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Pork & Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant

Start to finish: 1 hr 30 mins
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The Thai-inspired pork-and-shrimp filling for this stuffed eggplant recipe is generously seasoned with lemongrass and green curry.

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Apple & Fennel Salad with Blue Cheese

Start to finish: 15 mins
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Apples and blue cheese are a heavenly match in this fennel and apple salad recipe dressed with a tangy cider-vinegar dressing.

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Greek Pasta Salad

Start to finish: 30 mins
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This quick, healthy Greek pasta salad recipe is tossed with all the elements of a Greek salad--plus chickpeas for added protein. This pasta salad holds well in the refrigerator or a cooler and tastes even better as the pasta absorbs the tomato-infused vinaigrette. Serve with pita chips.

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Massaged Broccoli Rabe Salad

Start to finish: 30 mins
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In this broccoli rabe salad recipe, the dressing is massaged into the leaves and florets, virtually eliminating its bitter undertones.

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Grilled Green Beans with Horseradish Ketchup

Start to finish: 20 mins
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Grilled green beans? Absolutely! Make this grilled green beans with horseradish ketchup recipe in a grill basket if you have one, otherwise improvise with a piece of heavy-duty foil. Cook a steak or pork chops on the grill at the same time and dinner is done.

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Green Pizza

Start to finish: 30 mins
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Why not use cooler-weather vegetables like broccoli and arugula as an unconventional pizza topping? The arugula adds a slightly bitter, peppery taste--for a milder flavor, use spinach instead. Serve with wedges of fresh tomato tossed with vinegar, olive oil, basil and freshly ground pepper.

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Zucchini Salad with Shaved Parmesan

Start to finish: 45 mins
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Drizzle grilled zucchini with a tangy lemon vinaigrette and it becomes an easy vegetable salad. Want a little heat? Add minced fresh jalapeño.

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Oven "Fries"

Start to finish: 25 mins
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Coated with olive oil and baked in a hot oven, these fries are soft and buttery inside and crisp on the outside--the perfect combination.

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Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Caraway & Lemon

Start to finish: 20 mins
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Thinly sliced Brussels sprouts cook quickly and soak up whatever flavors you add to them--in this case, lemon and caraway.

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