Low-Calorie Vegetarian Recipes

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.

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.

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.

This spinach pie-inspired calzone is stuffed with the traditional spanakopita filling, but is made with prepared pizza dough so it's much easier than making pies with phyllo. Serve this easy calzone recipe for a weeknight dinner, or slice them and serve as part of a casual party spread.

In this genius carb swap recipe, we take all the flavors of the Greek spinach pie, spanakopita, and put it on a low-carb roasted cauliflower steak. Plus, because you don't have to deal with the fussy layers of phyllo, it's perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.

These stuffed bell peppers have a filling inspired by the Greek spinach pie, spanakopita, but you don't have to worry about working with phyllo, so they're great for an easy vegetarian dinner.

These grilled cheese sandwiches give you all the flavors of the Greek spinach pie, spanakopita, without dealing with fussy layers of phyllo--perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. The creamy flavor-packed filling works well in more than just a sandwich: try it in a calzone or on top of a roasted cauliflower steak too.

In this vegetarian riff on a popular Indian dish, we swap in cauliflower and chickpeas for the chicken in tikka masala. The cauliflower's nooks and crannies are particularly good at soaking up all the intense flavors of the sauce. Serve over rice for an easy healthy dinner that's ready in just 20 minutes.

This pavlova is a great way to show off fruit that's at its peak, plus it's super-adaptable. The easy-to-make meringue, which is crisp outside and marshmallow-like inside, can be topped with any assortment of stone fruits and berries that are ripe and ready. Bonus points for the fact that this impressive summer dessert requires just 25 minutes of active prep time.

The roasted pepper and corn salsa that tops this gorgeous tomato salad has a kick from the tart sherry vinegar and moderately spicy and fruity Aleppo pepper. Red-wine vinegar and ground ancho chile are good alternatives. Grill some chicken, fish or other protein along with the corn for an easy summer dinner.

The only difference between sorbet and sherbet is that the latter has a bit of dairy. In the case of this easy summer dessert, sweetened condensed milk adds sweetness plus a touch of creaminess.

If Mexican street corn took a trip to Genoa, it might come back slathered in pesto butter like this grilled corn on the cob recipe. This Italian flair works because the flavors of basil and Parmesan have a natural affinity with corn.

Haricots verts are thinner than regular green beans, but you can use any bean with an edible pod (ask the vendor at your local farmers' market) in their place in this easy side dish recipe. Serve this healthy 3-bean salad with grilled chicken or fish for a satisfying summer meal.

Serve these crispy zucchini fritters with creamy dill-yogurt sauce during the summer when zucchinis are abundant at the farmers' market (or in your backyard garden). The key to the best fritters is moisture management. Zucchini is primarily made up of water, so this recipe starts with a two-step process of salting and squeezing the vegetable to remove as much of that water as possible. Once that simple step is done, this easy healthy recipe comes together in a snap.