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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.

Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Pesto & Shrimp

Noodle-Less Lasagna

Shrimp Pad Thai Salad

Sweet Potato Carbonara with Spinach & Mushrooms

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.

Vegan Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl with Creamy Green Sauce

In a vegan riff on green goddess dressing, cashews provide a creamy base with tons of flavor from herbs and apple-cider vinegar. Drizzle it all over this bowl of quinoa and roasted vegetables to make a satisfying vegan dinner or easy packable lunch that is ready in just 30 minutes.

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Tex-Mex Bento Box

Quesadillas make a quick and easy sandwich alternative. Even though they are often served hot, quesadillas also taste good cold or at room temperature. That makes them an ideal addition to this flavor-packed bento box, a collection of foods that you can meal-prep on the weekend for easy lunches at work or school.

Veggie Sushi Bento Box

A sushi-like wrap of veggies and ranch dressing packaged in a tortilla makes an appealing lunch that kids will love. The choice of vegetables in the filling is flexible, depending on your child's preferences and what you have on hand.

Mini Mezze Bento Box

Pita wedges and crudité with hummus make a satisfyingly simple lunch box. We round out this Mediterranean-inspired snack lunch with cheese and fruit. If your child likes olives, sprinkle some into the veggie dippers.

Broccoli Fried Rice

This easy stir-fry is a great healthy dinner for one. Make it your own by choosing between beef and chicken. Vegetarian? Skip the meat altogether, or sub in tofu.

Chicken Udon Bowl with Zucchini Noodles

Mix udon and zucchini noodles for a lower-carb noodle bowl that's full of flavor thanks to the finger-licking-good peanut sauce. Using leftover chicken will save you even more time on this quick dinner recipe--you can whip it up in about 10 minutes.

Prosciutto & Spinach Grilled Cheese

Make grilled cheese for one with this quick and easy recipe! This sandwich packs in a healthy dose of veggies plus a delicious flavor boost from sliced prosciutto (Italian ham).

Scrambled Eggs with Vegetables

This fridge-clean-out meal is the perfect way to use up whatever vegetables you have on hand. Chop up anything that's been left behind in your veggie drawer for this quick scramble that's the perfect healthy dinner for one.

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Cheese & Broccoli Almond-Flour Pizza

This gluten-free pizza crust is packed with protein, thanks to creamy Neufchâtel (reduced-fat cream cheese), mozzarella cheese and almond flour. We like our almond pizza crusts topped with veggies to round out the meal, but feel free to use your favorite toppings.

Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas & Spinach

Simmer eggs in a rich tomatoey cream sauce studded with chickpeas and silky spinach for a super-fast vegetarian dinner. Serve with a piece of crusty bread to soak up the sauce. Be sure to use heavy cream; a lower-fat option might curdle when mixed with acidic tomatoes.

Sweet Potato Pad Thai

Sweet potato "noodles" (spiralized sweet potatoes) are a nutritious, gluten-free alternative to starchy rice or wheat noodles. Look for them in the produce department of your supermarket. If you have a spiralizer, you can certainly make your own "swoodles" (start with 2 medium sweet potatoes).

Vegan Cauliflower Fried Rice

Substituting riced cauliflower for rice trims calories and carbs in this veggie-packed dish. Use the vibrant flavors of traditional fried rice--ginger, scallions and tamari--to create a low-carb fried rice version of the classic takeout meal.

Thai Spaghetti Squash with Peanut Sauce

This gluten-free, vegan version of peanut noodles has a high protein content thanks to edamame and peanut butter. Spaghetti squash turns delicately sweet when roasted, which pairs wonderfully with the Thai-inspired peanut sauce.

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Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

There's no pasta here, but this gluten-free and low-carb cauliflower "mac & cheese" is as comforting and creamy as your family's favorite cheesy dish.

Vegan Chili Mac

Raw cashews are the base of this velvety smooth sauce. (A high-speed blender will yield you the creamiest results.) Nutritional yeast and tomato paste provide rich umami flavor to this easy vegan dinner.

Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi

Give buttery shrimp scampi a healthy update with delicately sweet spaghetti squash. The parsley-flecked squash "noodles" slash calories, add fiber and leave this classic dish still plenty decadent.

Broccoli & Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Squash

This low-carb, gluten-free take on fettucine Alfredo is lower in calories than classic versions, and it provides protein and extra vegetables thanks to a spaghetti-squash base.

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Ditch the rice noodles and infuse spaghetti squash "noodles" with the sweet and tangy flavors of pad thai. This low-carb alternative isn't traditional, but you'll be surprised how well the delicate sweetness of the squash works in this Thai favorite.

Vegan Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Mushrooms & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Low-carb spaghetti squash stands in for wheat noodles in this updated twist on a classic pesto pasta dish. Cashews lend richness to the pesto, while nutritional yeast, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes contribute satisfying umami to this vegan dinner recipe.

No-Noodle Eggplant Lasagna

Satisfy your craving for cheesy, indulgent lasagna with this noodle-less version. Roasted eggplant slices stand in for noodles in this low-carb, gluten-free lasagna.