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Healthy Vegetable Main Dish Recipes

Find healthy, delicious vegetable main dish recipes including vegetable pasta, stir fry, stew and soup. Healthier recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Butternut Squash Alfredo with Chicken & Spinach

Shrimp Scampi Zoodles

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto & Chicken

Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Pesto & Shrimp

Healthy Recipes with Vegetable Noodles

Put down that box of pasta and try vegetable noodles instead. With a spiralizer or vegetable peeler, you can create ribbons or strands of nutrient-packed veggies that are lower in calories than pasta. Firm vegetables hold their shape best. Try carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, turnips, summer and winter squash in these delicious recipes. Eating more vegetables is just a twirl away.

White Bean Moussaka

Moussaka is a Middle Eastern baked main dish, typically made by layering slices of eggplant with a seasoned ground beef or lamb mixture. This protein-filled vegetarian version replaces the meat with white beans but will still delight any and all meat-eaters at your table.

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Pumpkin Seed Salmon with Maple-Spice Carrots

Because this one-pan meal is ready in just 35 minutes, it's a good choice for a healthy recipe after you've had a long day at the office. Maple-spiced carrots cook alongside pepita-crusted salmon fillets and deliver amazing taste and nutrition in a dinner the whole family will devour.

Pork Tenderloin with Sweet-Spiced Onions

A cinnamon-allspice rub adds intriguing flavor to the pork tenderloin in this one-dish meal. Served alongside an easy couscous, pea and sliced almond mixture, the pork is topped with an orange-onion sauce that your family will love.

Garlic-Roasted Pork Loin with Salsa Verde

Slivers of garlic add major flavor to roast pork in this simple main dish recipe. Pair it with a zesty fresh green salsa and you'll be serving a winner for dinner.

Zucchini Parmesan

Nothing goes to waste in this twist on eggplant Parmesan, as the scooped-out zucchini flesh gets mixed into the meat sauce. Use long, straight zucchini for this dish, which are easier to hollow out for stuffing.

Turkey Sausage & Zucchini Lasagna

In this veggie-heavy lasagna recipe, zucchini slices fill in for some of the noodle layers, trimming carbs without sacrificing flavor.

Turkey Enchilada Poblano Peppers

In this healthy take on a turkey enchilada recipe, we stuff everything into a roasted poblano pepper shell rather than tortillas to pack an extra serving of veggies into this meal. If you can't find poblano peppers, you can substitute green bell peppers instead.

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Trapanese Pesto Pasta & Zoodles with Salmon

Trapanese pesto is the Sicilian version of the sauce that uses tomatoes and almonds instead of pine nuts. This savory pesto sauce coats low-carb zucchini noodles and heart-healthy seared salmon to create an absolutely delicious pasta dinner.

Tofu & Snow Pea Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

A fast dinner recipe perfect for busy weeknights, this easy stir-fry recipe will quickly become a favorite. To save time, use precooked rice or cook rice a day ahead.

Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Spinach & Macadamia Nut Salad

This hearty spinach salad makes the most of your spice cabinet, with chili-paprika rubbed pork and a quick coriander-lime dressing. Creamy and decadent macadamia nuts are a great source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.

Shrimp Bruschetta

Turn a few cooked shrimp into a satisfying and quick lunch with this easy open-face sandwich recipe, reminiscent of a bruschetta recipe. Try it with leftover shrimp cocktail or pick up precooked shrimp at the seafood counter.

Seared Sesame-Tuna Bowls

This tuna bowl is quite an easy recipe you'll want to make again and again. Black sesame seeds make this dish look dramatic because they provide contrast against the fish, but if you can't find toasted black sesame seeds, you can use toasted white sesame seeds. The flavor will be the same.

Roasted Veggies & Hummus Sandwich

Spruce up your sandwich game with a medley of roasted veggies. For extra vegetables throughout the week, roast a whole sheet pan in Step 1, then add the cooked veggies to salads, sandwiches, and pasta dishes, or serve them as a side dish.

Rainbow Chard Spanish Tortilla

Don't toss those stems! Rainbow chard is sold in bunches with a mix of yellow, pink, and pale green stems that add a pop of color, a bit of crunch, and an extra dose of fiber.

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Lemon Chicken & Rice

This easy Persian-inspired chicken and rice dish has a beautiful golden color and a wonderful fragrance. If you have saffron in the cupboard, do add that optional pinch; just a little will enhance the flavor and aroma of the dish.

Lamb-Stuffed Eggplant

This Middle-Eastern-inspired dish uses just a small amount of lamb to stuff the eggplant, which keeps the saturated fat in check. It calls for cooked brown rice, which you can prepare up to a day ahead. Save time by using instant brown rice, which cooks in under 10 minutes.

Jambalaya Stuffed Peppers

In this healthy stuffed peppers recipe, a delicious jambalaya filling of chicken and Cajun spices gets baked inside of bell peppers. Traditional jambalaya is made with green bell peppers, but you can use green, yellow, or orange peppers (or a mix) for this dish. Look for bell peppers with even bottoms, so that they stand upright on their own.

Eggplant Tortilla Casserole

This layered casserole is inspired by classic cheese enchiladas, minus the fuss of rolling and stuffing individual tortillas. You'd never guess that within this comforting Tex-Mex casserole hides a layer of thinly sliced eggplant. The thin slices become tender when roasted and add a subtle savory note.

Chicken-Spaghetti Squash Bake

In this version of a chicken-and-broccoli casserole, spaghetti squash takes on a creamy texture when baked with cream of mushroom soup.

Chicken & Vegetable Penne with Parsley-Walnut Pesto

Homemade pesto may seem daunting, but in this quick pasta recipe you can make a simple sauce in minutes while the pasta water comes to a boil. You can substitute frozen green beans and cauliflower for fresh; in Step 4, cook the frozen vegetables according to package directions before tossing with the pasta and pesto.