Healthy Vegetarian Whole-Grain Recipes

Protein-packed quinoa pairs with creamy avocado in this refreshing grain salad. It's the perfect make-ahead side dish to bring on a picnic or take to a potluck. Or pack it for lunch or enjoy it as a light dinner.

Choose sweet or tart cherries for this fruit-forward dessert. Look for both in late summer, when cherries are at their peak.

Never skip breakfast again: keep these coconut and date breakfast bites in the fridge or freezer, and you'll always have a grab-and-go option for busy mornings.

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.

Buckwheat flour gives these whole-grain crepes a nutty flavor and makes this dessert naturally gluten-free. Stuffed with lightly spiced, cooked rhubarb and fresh strawberries, the crepes are a head-turner when they get a drizzle of white chocolate sauce.

These one-bowl, no-bake energy squares ensure a quick way to refuel during long meetings, tough workouts or that mid-afternoon energy slump. Feel free to swap the blueberries for your favorite dried fruit and the pistachios for your favorite nut--but keep the maple syrup as is; we found using less than 1/2 cup resulted in crumbly bars.

Consider this easy gluten-free fruit tart recipe your year-round secret dessert weapon. It serves a crowd, making it perfect for entertaining. Here we top it with summer stone fruit and berries, but try sliced persimmons and pomegranate seeds in the fall or citrus suprêmes come winter.

Star Wars fans, this is the cookie for you. These fun and festive "Wookiee" cookies are perfect for a theme party or movie viewing. Almond slivers are arranged over melted chocolate to look like Chewbacca's belt.

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.

Beet juice gives this classic Italian vegetarian risotto recipe a gorgeous (millennial) pink hue. Look for bottled beet juice with other juices at well-stocked supermarkets or juice some of your own. Just be sure to wear gloves!

Almond butter and coconut oil melt together to bind these stovetop cookies without using any eggs. To take the flavor to the next level, try subbing in your favorite nut butter.

Fermentation gives injera an airy, bubbly texture and a slightly sour taste, which is key to the flavor. Serve with Ethiopian messer wot, doro alicha, gomen and/or fossolia.

This Ethiopian buttery grain porridge recipe is often served for breakfast, but you can also top it with other dishes like messer wot (spiced lentils) or gomen (Ethiopian-spiced collards) for lunch or dinner and eat it in place of the traditional flatbread, injera.

After a good charring in the skillet, kale stems add a tender-crisp bite and touch of smokiness to this healthy vegetarian kale salad. Feel free to use this healthy recipe as a guide; swap out the farro for any whole grain or the squash for any roasting vegetable, such as cauliflower.

The ingredients in this vegan grain bowl recipe can be prepped ahead for an easy lunch to pack for work. The tangy citrus dressing is a refreshing flavor with the sweet caramel of the roasted sheet-pan veggies.

Looking for a pie crust that's gluten-free, vegan and devourably delicious? This is the only recipe you'll need. Chewy pecans and crisp oats combine in the food processor with coconut oil and maple syrup for an easy-to-prepare pie crust (no rolling necessary!) that's packed with flavor and reminiscent of classic shortbread.

Next time you're craving Chinese takeout, make this veggie-packed fried rice recipe in about the same time instead. Tofu and eggs give this vegetarian fried rice staying power from protein, and brown rice boosts fiber.

We gave no-bake cookies a healthy makeover, bumping up the peanut butter and cutting back on added sugar and butter. The result is a chewy, peanut buttery, oat-packed delicious cookie. It's easy to whip up a batch of these--only a few simple ingredients are needed to make these chewy peanut butter cookies and there's no baking required.

Here's your new cookie jar staple. This recipe for classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies gets a healthy boost with whole-wheat flour and uses less sugar and butter than traditional recipes. Don't hesitate to make a double batch--they're so satisfying they'll be gone fast.

Our classic oatmeal cookie recipe gets a flavor twist with coconut, white chocolate chips (which have a more delicate flavor than milk or dark chocolate) and tart dried cranberries. The result is a chewy, sweet treat that's sure to leave you coming back for more.