Vegetarian Whole-Grain Recipes

These tender pumpkin-oatmeal cookies have the perfect amount of sweetness from brown sugar and raisins and a slightly nutty flavor from almond butter. Enjoy them as an after-school snack or a healthy dessert. Several testers also said they'd love to eat them with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Chipotle chiles, black beans and pepper Jack cheese give a flavorful boost to this zippy vegetarian dinner. We've sped things up by steaming the peppers and using quick-cooking quinoa. We like the look of tri-colored quinoa, but any quinoa you have on hand will work. If possible, choose peppers that will stand upright.

Apple crisp in your Instant Pot?! Yes, you can! This easy Instant-Pot apple crisp has a nice balance of flavors from lemon zest and juice, brown sugar and sweet Honeycrisp apples. The whole-wheat flour and pecans add texture to the topping, which remains moist and delicious as it melds with the other flavors. To keep the texture from getting mushy, be sure not to cut the apple pieces too small. One-inch cubes will do the trick!

Apples lend their sweet-tart flavor to this warm and comforting apple coffee cake. The nutty oat and pecan filling in the middle of the cake also acts as a crispy topping that's drizzled with a sweet vanilla glaze.

If you like zucchini bread, you'll love these moist zucchini cookies with melted chunks of dark chocolate. We love the pieces of chocolate you get by chopping your own, but chocolate chips will work well too.

Bitter radicchio is a strong foil for sweet-tart apricots and maple vinaigrette in this go-with-anything quinoa salad.

Overnight oats can simplify your morning routine while still providing a hearty, nutritious breakfast. You can prepare this in a 2-cup mason jar or other to-go container if you usually transport your breakfast.

These vegetarian stuffed zucchinis are perfectly tender and fresh with the flavors of the Mediterranean. Olives and feta cheese deliver a nice salty bite, while quinoa adds a nutty flavor, along with protein and fiber.

Lots of local ingredients show up on the menu at Tom Hanson's Duluth Grill in Duluth, Minnesota, like the wild rice in these rice patties, harvested by Bruce Savage of nearby Spirit Lake Farms.

This quick toasted oats recipe is a lower-sugar alternative to granola. Serve it on top of yogurt with sliced fresh or frozen berries. You can double the recipe easily--just be sure to use a large skillet.

This hearty vegan dish gets its earthy flavor from cumin and brown rice. If you can handle extra heat, try doubling the crushed red pepper for a bigger punch of flavor.

This one-pot dinner is like a deconstructed burrito bowl--especially when topped with salsa, sliced avocado or a dollop of Greek yogurt for a cool, creamy accent. You can also enjoy it as a meal on its own, or as a vegetarian taco or burrito filling or a side dish on taco night.

Buckwheat lends an earthy edge to this tender dough, which can be used in savory or sweet applications. See some recipe ideas below.

These hearty veggie burgers have a touch of grated red beet as a nod to beef. Pile on your favorite toppings or skip the bun and serve with a big salad.

Once you make this super-nutty, not-too-sweet granola, courtesy of Chris Johnson, father of EatingWell's social media editor Sophie Johnson, you'll never go back to store-bought. Nuts, seeds, coconut, dried fruit, Rice Krispies--this easy granola recipe has it all. Feel free to mix and match your favorite add-ins based on what's in your kitchen.

This sophisticated beet burger recipe tastes like a veggie patty from a restaurant. Maybe that's because Dave Horner, the food service chief in Vermont's Chittenden East school district who created it, taught at the New England Culinary Institute before cooking for the kids.

The folks who promote California strawberries sponsored a national cook-off for kids and challenged them to come up with a quick creative recipe. A 12-year-old from Maryland took the prize for this grain salad, which the cook-off judge, a former MasterChef Junior winner himself, proclaimed easy, healthy and, of course most important, delicious.

Black beans, black rice and black sesame seeds all contain anthocyanins, potent antioxidant compounds that have been shown to reduce inflammation. So "forbidden" rice isn't just striking, it's also a serious nutrition upgrade. Simmering it in coconut milk adds rich aroma and flavor.

This dreamy vegan baked oatmeal is full of tropical flavors from coconut and pineapple, and it couldn't be easier to make. It's a satisfying family breakfast but also feels special enough for a Sunday brunch with company.

This kitchen-sink of a vegetarian dish was most likely invented in Egypt in the mid-1800s when Cairo was a major multicultural trade port, which could explain the similarities to Italian spaghetti as well as the Indian rice-and-lentil comfort food khichdi. Three toppings--a spicy tomato sauce (shatta), crispy onions and a garlicky vinegar (dakka)--are added to the koshari before serving, but in Cairo most people like them in separate bowls so they can season their bites one at a time. (Recipe adapted from Zooba Restaurant.)