Healthy Vegetarian Bean Recipes

This salad is a helpful tool for weight loss because it provides a good balance of fiber, protein and healthy fats from loads of veggies and beans, all tossed in a tangy apple-cider vinaigrette. To meal-prep these for lunch throughout the week, pack the dressing and the salad separately and make sure your veggies are throughly dried before packing them together.

This dessert hummus is an unexpectedly delightful treat that still packs the protein and fiber punch of traditional hummus. Try dipping banana and apple slices, pretzels, strawberries or graham crackers in this sweet, chocolaty spread.

Fresh veggies with dip, juicy fruit and even a sweet treat make up this easy-to-make picnic dinner that's great for packing up or enjoying at home. Plus, this combo excludes the most common allergens and food intolerances (it's free from dairy, eggs, soy, nuts and gluten) so just about everyone should be able to enjoy it without worrying.

This Mediterranean-inspired vegan picnic dinner features traditional fare like tabbouleh, hummus, olives and fresh fruit and vegetables. It's perfect to pack and take along or even to serve as an easy, healthy meal at home.

Adding baking soda to the soaking liquid for chickpeas tenderizes their skins, yielding extra-creamy hummus. Recipe by Chef/Farmer Stacey Givens of The Side Yard Farm & Kitchen, Portland, OR.

A savory topping of feta cheese, hummus, and sweet bell pepper make this super-easy, tasty crispbread snack a perfect munch for the long, warm days of summer.

This quick 3-ingredient dinner takes advantage of foods you can keep stocked in your fridge and pantry for a fast, healthy meal the whole family will love. Want to kick it up a notch? Use a frozen vegetable blend that has added seasoning for extra flavor (just watch the sodium).

Zesty Greek salad packed with tomatoes, cucumber and olives--plus chickpeas for a protein punch--gets tucked into a whole-wheat wrap for a healthy vegan lunch that's easy to pack for work. It's so flavorful and satisfying, you won't miss the feta!

This super-quick vegetable side dish comes together in no time. Fresh snap peas need only a few minutes in a hot skillet-just enough time to whip up a simple soy-ginger glaze.

Creamy avocado, salty feta cheese and sweet-bitter caramelized lemon slices make this vegetarian bean salad recipe a standout. Using different colors, sizes and shapes of beans makes this salad extra special. But any bean that interests you, even canned, will work.

You can use most types of barley for this veggie-loaded grain salad--hulled, pearled (which will cook the quickest) or hull-less. Serve this salad as a side for grilled chicken, topped with grilled shrimp or as an impressive potluck dish.

Your co-workers will be jealous when you pull out this healthy lunch of roasted veggies and brown rice. Put together 4 lunches when you have time and you will have packable lunches (or ready-to-eat dinners) for several days--just grab a container on your way out the door in the morning.

Mixing mashed canned beans with whole beans and seasonings makes an incredibly simple taco filling from your pantry. Top these speedy 5-ingredient tacos with lettuce, tomato and salsa or any of your favorite taco toppings.

Cooked couscous and canned chickpeas come together in this quick lunch salad. The basil vinaigrette makes it taste anything but basic! When in season, we recommend adding fresh chopped tomatoes for a spin on tabbouleh.

Instead of cooking pasta in a huge pot of water, here we use just 3 1/2 cups for this one-pot pasta recipe. When the pasta is al dente, most of the water has evaporated and the bit that's left is thickened with the starch that cooks off the pasta. With just a few add-ins like lemon and Parmesan cheese you have a delicious silky sauce. Want to use up your veggie stash in the freezer? Swap in 8 ounces frozen spinach for fresh.

Our spin on the traditional Venetian risotto swaps in cauliflower rice for arborio rice in this healthy vegetable side dish. Spring peas and Parmesan cheese keep the rest of the dish classic.

Make a crowd favorite even better with this nachos upgrade that uses sweet potato tots instead of classic tortilla chips for nachos that are a little sweet, a little crisp and pack in tons of flavor.

Fresh basil and green peas give this healthy mac and cheese recipe a pretty green hue. We like the buttery, nutty flavor of fontina, but provolone, Gruyère or Gouda could be used as a substitute.

Like many Ethiopian dishes, this green bean side dish recipe has endless variations depending on who's cooking it. Green beans are always the star, most often along with carrots and rosemary, though it can also be served with potatoes or cabbage.

Red lentils get plenty of heat from berbere spice in this Ethiopian recipe. You can balance the heat by stirring in some chopped tomato before serving. Serve as a satisfying vegan side dish along with other traditional recipes, such as kinche (cracked wheat) and fossolia (Ethiopian-style green beans). And don't forget injera, a traditional crêpe-like bread common in Ethiopia. Look for berbere in specialty grocery stores or online.