Healthy Vegetarian Christmas Recipes

This healthy chocolate tart recipe is topped with homemade candied orange peel infused with cinnamon. You then add the cinnamon simple syrup to the chocolate filling. You can use store-bought candied orange peel and plain simple syrup in the filling to streamline the recipe.

For this slice-and-bake cookie recipe, we've knocked back the sugar a bit and used white whole-wheat flour for more flavor, fiber and nutrients. Keep a roll of the dough in the freezer so you can quickly bake a batch if company stops by.

This healthy, gluten-free dessert has everything--crisp-on-the-outside, gooey-inside meringue base, whipped cream, tart cranberry sauce and toasted nuts. Plus, you can make everything ahead of time, then simply assemble and serve.

This healthy cake recipe is like a pumpkin-flavored version of Boston cream pie. Rather than the traditional round shape, we use a 9-by-13 pan to make a four-layer rectangular cake that looks fun and provides more layers of creamy goodness.

A velvety, light custard surrounds ripe pears in this healthy pear pie recipe. Serve with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream.

Serve this vegetarian tart recipe as a main dish or in thinner slices for an appetizer or side dish. Since you'll be pleating the dough to create a rustic look, buy ready-to-roll pie crusts rather than prepared pie shells--you'll find them in the dairy section of your market with other ready-to-bake items or near the frozen desserts.

When shopping for this healthy salad recipe, be sure to pick up the right type of persimmons. The flat-bottomed Fuyus called for here are bright orange and have texture of an almost-ripe peach when ready to eat--perfect for salsas and salads, with or without the peel. Oval-shaped, darker orange and larger Hachiyas are only edible when almost liquid on the inside. The flesh is best used in baking or can be scooped out of the skin and eaten like custard. Underripe, they are off-puttingly tart.

This healthy recipe is a savory riff on the traditional brown-sugar-and-pecan-topped sweet potato casserole so often found on Thanksgiving tables. Crispy baby kale leaves make a stunning garnish, but any green or herb that suits you will look great, fried or not.

These little cute stacks are everything you want in a potato side dish: tender in the middle, devilishly crispy on the outside, and seasoned with sage and butter throughout. For best results, use a mandoline to slice the potatoes extra-thin.

Celeriac adds a bright celery-like flavor and lightens the texture in this healthy mashed potato casserole. The fried shallots are reminiscent of the crispy onions that top a green bean casserole.

The cheesy-seedy crust that tops this healthy cauliflower casserole recipe evokes "everything" bagels. Serve for the holidays or as a hearty side dish with roast chicken.

Whole roasted carrots make quite a statement on the dinner table when they're topped with a port wine-and-fig dressing. In this recipe, we like dried Calimyrna figs because they're a tad less sweet than Mission figs and taste slightly nutty as well.

Skip Grandma's mushroom-soup-drenched casserole this year and cook this fresher green bean side dish with a tangy shallot and walnut relish instead. If you can't find white balsamic vinegar, use apple-cider vinegar (instead of regular balsamic vinegar) instead.

For this healthy winter squash recipe, we roast grapes in a 450 degrees F oven for a bit to intensify their flavor. We pair them here with kabocha squash, but butternut or acorn would also work. Serve alongside a green salad and roasted chicken for a hearty dinner.

Kumquats add zesty citrus notes when chopped together with cranberries for this holiday relish. Serve for Thanksgiving with roast turkey or with almost any roasted meat, such as a pork roast or beef tenderloin.

This nonalcoholic punch recipe tastes like a cocktail but doesn't include a hangover. Perfect for the holidays or a brunch.

Skip eggnog in favor of this classic holiday cocktail recipe. We even sized it up for a thirsty group of revelers.

While gin lets the grapefruit shine through, this punch recipe also works with bourbon. Using the Angostura bitters is optional, but the cinnamon-clove flavor gives this drink a bit of holiday-appropriate spice.

This punch recipe is a good strong sipper, ideal for warming up on a cold day. As the ice melts, the drink mellows a bit and this punch actually gets better and better as the evening wears on.

For this bubbly punch recipe, try making a decorative ice ring: fill a Bundt pan halfway with water and set in the freezer for about an hour. Add fresh or frozen cranberries and rosemary sprigs to resemble holly. Fill the mold with water and freeze overnight.