Healthy Vegetarian Recipes

Take cauliflower gnocchi to the next level with these hearty, plant-based meal-prep bowls. Here we double up our Roasted Butternut Squash & Root Vegetables recipe (see Associated Recipes) and combine it with white beans, pesto and store-bought cauliflower gnocchi to make a week of healthy meal-prep lunches. You'll have leftover roasted veggies, so plan to use them as easy side dishes for dinner throughout the week or incorporate them into another recipe, like Creamy Roasted Vegetable Soup with Chicken or the Piled-High Greek Vegetable Pitas (see Associated Recipes).

For a gorgeous take on a classic caprese, make this healthy salad recipe with heirloom tomatoes in various colors, shapes and sizes. Swapping regular mozzarella for creamy burrata makes this summer salad even more special--but it's still incredibly easy to make.

These healthy peanut butter and chocolate energy balls deliver a mixture of simple and complex carbohydrates to help fuel you up whenever you need a little boost. They're no-bake and easy to make with ingredients you probably have on hand, like oats and nut butter. Feel free to experiment with different mix-ins--for example, dried fruit or chopped nuts--in place of the chocolate chips and coconut.

These healthy apple pancakes puff to perfection thanks to the right combination of ingredients, including a mixture of double-acting baking powder and baking soda (using both ensures the batter will spread out evenly and rise well). Ricotta cheese makes pancakes moister than using milk alone, and it packs nearly four times more protein than whole milk. Walnut oil is full of healthy fats and has a rich, nutty flavor, and white whole-wheat flour packs in more fiber than all-purpose flour. A bit of buttermilk adds a nice tang to these flapjacks. All in all, it adds up to a healthy breakfast that's sure to impress.

This slow-cooker dal recipe has a range of pleasing textures: red lentils and millet break down as they cook, and the toor dal, which are split pigeon peas, stay toothsome. Look for all three ingredients at Indian markets or natural-foods stores. The crock pot does most of the work for this healthy vegetarian recipe, and a quick herbed yogurt added just before serving brightens up the flavors. Bonus: Both the dal and the yogurt can be made ahead and the leftovers are wonderful.

Potatoes and beans make this tomato-based crock-pot vegetable stew super-hearty. You could also add briefly sautéed chunks of zucchini or fresh corn kernels just before serving, or add another can of cannellini beans for more substance. A dollop of pesto on top is also super-delicious. Adding homemade garlic croutons is an easy way to elevate this healthy dinner.

Minced olives add a briny flavor to this healthy homemade salad dressing. The dressing keeps for several days in the fridge, so make a big batch to use on your favorite dinner salads and side salads. Try it on a salad with sliced red onion and fresh oranges.

Try this zippy healthy homemade salad dressing on a steak salad with corn and tomatoes.

A little honey adds a touch of sweetness to this easy homemade salad dressing. This healthy dressing would be wonderful on a chopped chicken and cabbage salad.

This healthy homemade salad dressing has just the right amount of sweetness without being cloying. Try it on a salad with fresh strawberries and spinach or arugula.

You can use fresh dill or fennel fronds to make this healthy salad dressing. Serve it over a salad with shaved or sliced fennel for a super-fennel experience. It would also be wonderful with a simple tomato and cucumber salad.

This healthy salad dressing takes just a few minutes to whip together and keeps for several days in the fridge. Try it with spicy greens, such as arugula, or any of your favorite dinner salads.

Simply pour warm aromatic oil over a selection of olives to infuse them with loads of flavor fast. These olives are a wonderful easy party appetizer--add any leftovers to salads or simply snack on them.

Put down that cookie scoop! Baking one giant cookie in a skillet saves time and produces craveable results: a cookie that's crispy on the edges and oh-so-soft on the inside. This easy dessert is sure to please your family and friends.

This quick throw-together relish takes any weeknight dinner to the next level. Try it over chicken or pork. It would also be wonderful on a turkey sandwich.

Apple adds natural sweetness to this homemade sauce so you can cut down on the amount of added sugar for a delicious dip you can feel good about eating and serving to your kids. Try it on burgers and as a dip for oven-baked fries.

Use up your apple-picking haul in this easy applesauce recipe. All you need are five ingredients (and one of them is water!) and 25 minutes to make the classic, delicious fall favorite. You don't even have to peel the apples! We've seasoned the sauce with pumpkin pie spice, which works beautifully with apples, but feel free to sub in cinnamon or any other fall spice. The sauce makes a great healthy snack and it's also wonderful dolloped on pancakes.

Madeira, a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name, has a sweet, mellow flavor somewhat like sherry (which can be used as a substitute here). Serve this healthy vegetable side dish with steak or chicken or add it to a salad or grain bowl.

Whole-wheat sandwich bread makes for a crust that's easy to cut and stuff into muffin tins in this easy quiche recipe--if you have kids, this is a great cooking task for them to help with. You can use the leftover bread scraps to make fresh breadcrumbs. As beaten eggs heat, steam releases, creating air pockets that make these quiches rise and puff out of the muffin tin, like a soufflé. Be sure to grab the kids when you take the pan out of the oven so they can see the magic.

Top crispy shredded potatoes with spinach pie filling for a satisfying easy weeknight dinner that's a mashup of a traditional Swiss rösti (potato pancake) and a Greek spanakopita. Buying preshredded frozen potatoes makes this healthy dinner recipe (or breakfast, lunch or brunch!) extra-easy to prepare.