30 High-Fiber Vegetarian Dinners You'll Want to Make Tonight
Eating more fiber each day can help you reduce your risk for diabetes and heart disease, relieve constipation and even extend your life—plus, it can help you feel fuller for longer. These meals contain at least six grams per serving (that's 20% of your suggested daily needs) for a deliciously healthy and satisfying meal. Recipes like our Spring Vegetable Minestra with Mint & Basil Pistou and Quinoa Avocado Salad with Buttermilk Dressing are tasty ways to end the day.
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Lemony Lentil & Chard Soup
This satisfying lemony bowlful was inspired by the lentil soup served at the now-closed Lebanese restaurant La Shish in West Bloomfield, Michigan. It keeps well but will thicken, so you may want to thin it with a bit of water or broth when reheating. Serve with warm whole-wheat pita.
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Chickpea Pasta with Mushrooms & Kale
Loading up your pasta with vegetables like the kale and mushrooms here is not only delicious, it also makes the meal more satisfying.
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Southwest Chopped Salad with Tomatillo Dressing
Jicama is the crunchy, sweet tuberous root of a legume native to Central America. If you love it in this salad, try including sticks of it with your next crudités spread.
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Massaged Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Beans
Loaded with roasted sweet potatoes and shallots, black beans, quinoa, feta and pepitas, this salad makes for a satisfying meatless meal. Not only does massaging the kale tenderize it, it also helps the greens absorb more of the bright dressing.
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Spring Vegetable Minestra with Mint & Basil Pistou
If you don't already stash Parmesan rinds in your freezer, look for them at a supermarket with a specialty cheese section—ask for them if they're not prepackaged. You'll need six to eight rinds.
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Quinoa Avocado Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
Persimmons add sweetness to this tossed green salad that sports a healthy salad dressing. A sprinkling of crispy fried quinoa adds unexpected crunch, putting the salad over the top in the best way.
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Use-It-Up Vegetable Soup
For the best results, choose one "star" vegetable and no more than 3 supporting ones to prevent the flavors from getting muddy—go green with a mixture of broccoli stems, cauliflower leaves and core, wilted kale and spinach, or get a beta carotene boost with leftover winter squash, wrinkly carrots and a parsnip. The addition of potato (perhaps an old one that's growing roots?) and a scoop of oats give the soup a luxurious mouthfeel without cream, while lemon juice brightens the flavor.
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Cheesy Marinara Beans
This ooey-gooey dish has baked-pasta vibes but features protein-packed beans instead of noodles. Look for dried corona beans, a larger, creamy white bean, at natural-foods stores or online. Cannellini are a good substitute. Serve with a green salad and toasted baguette.
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Smothered Black Soybean Burgers
These flavor-packed burgers get tang from kimchi, umami from soy or fish sauce and heat from gochugaru. Topped with caramelized onions and slaw, they're super-satisfying.
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Cajun-Spiced Tofu Tostadas with Beet Crema
Crumbled tofu spiced up with Cajun seasoning is layered onto these tostadas with a juicy mango slaw. A dollop of sour cream zhuzhed up with beet and lime adds even more flavor. Look for precooked beets in the produce department of your grocery store.
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Orange-Mint Freekeh Salad with Lima Beans
This salad is loaded with colorful produce: fresh mint, snap peas, radishes and oranges. For pretty snap pea slices, cut them into long, thin strips.
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Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchiladas
A crisp, citrusy slaw contrasts nicely with the enchiladas' creamy squash filling.
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Red Lentil Soup with Saffron
This hearty red lentil soup uses spices common in Persian cuisine: turmeric, cumin and saffron. Enjoy it with a warm baguette or steamed rice.
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Winter Vegetable Mulligatawny Soup
Our meatless version of the Indian-inspired British colonial soup includes parsnip and squash to keep it hearty and satisfying.
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Jackfruit Barbacoa Burrito Bowls
Jackfruit, a tropical fruit with a dense, chewy texture, is a blank canvas that takes on flavors well. In these vegan burrito bowls, the jackfruit is simmered in a warm and spicy chile sauce that's so good you'll never know you're eating a plant-based protein instead of pork or beef.
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Easy Pea & Spinach Carbonara
Fresh pasta cooks up faster than dried, making it a must-have for fast weeknight dinners like this luscious yet healthy meal. Eggs are the base of the creamy sauce. They don't get fully cooked, so use pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs if you prefer.
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White Bean Soup with Pasta
We use mirepoix—a combination of onion, celery and carrots—to flavor this soup. Keep a store-bought bag of the mixture in your freezer to ensure you always have some on hand without worrying about it going bad.
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Cauliflower Fajita Skillet
Thinly sliced cauliflower florets mimic the signature shape of fajita meat in this dish. We cook it in a cast-iron skillet for that tableside sizzle you'd get at a restaurant.
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White Bean & Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi
Sun-dried tomatoes are the star of this recipe— providing texture and umami. Combined with the spinach, they make this dish a great source of vitamins C and K.
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Skillet Mac & Cheese with Zucchini & Pimiento
Sweet and mild pimiento peppers add a little zest to this skillet mac and cheese, while zucchini boosts the veggie count. Here we boil the pasta a little less than usual, until just shy of al dente, so it doesn't overcook in the oven.
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Spaghetti with Rosemary & Lemon
This recipe, adapted from Eat Better, Feel Better, proves that pasta doesn't have to be complicated to be luscious. This dish is very simple but flavorful, so even a smaller portion makes a nice, light meal when paired with a big green salad. You could also add bits of cooked asparagus, broccoli, zucchini—even shrimp if you're not going for a meatless main. Recipe courtesy of EAT BETTER, FEEL BETTER by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2021. Published by Rodale Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
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Kale & Lentil Stew with Mashed Potatoes
Fire-roasted tomatoes add slightly smoky flavor to red lentils. The addition of mashed potatoes gives this an upside-down shepherd's pie feel.
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Quinoa-Black Bean Salad
Enjoy this quinoa and black bean salad as a delicious and quick vegetarian main dish or as a side for grilled chicken or steak. And don't forget the leftovers! They make an easy lunch on the go.
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Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta
If you've ever wanted to make a meal out of warm spinach and artichoke dip, this creamy pasta is for you. And here's what's almost as good as the flavor of this comforting dish: the fact that this healthy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare.
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Creamy Spinach Pasta with White Beans
Here, we whir up fresh spinach and kale with cream cheese and Gruyère for the luscious sauce that highlights this rich pasta dish. Paired with beans, it makes a filling vegetarian meal.
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Quinoa, Avocado & Chickpea Salad over Mixed Greens
Protein-rich quinoa and chickpeas add staying power to this zesty and healthy salad recipe.
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Grilled Eggplant & Tomato Pasta
The combination of slightly smoky grilled eggplant and sweet tomatoes is delightful. The eggplant-tomato mixture served over whole-wheat pasta with fresh basil and a bit of salty cheese makes an easy, healthy weeknight dinner.
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Tex-Mex Pasta Salad
A light and creamy green-salsa dressing highlights this easy pasta salad with Southwestern flavors.
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Cilantro Bean Burgers with Creamy Avocado-Lime Slaw
Lighten up your burger! Bean patties have less saturated fat and more fiber than beef patties. They're also cheaper and easier to cook indoors--and we promise they're just as satisfying, especially with the mouthwatering creamy slaw on top.
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Crispy Chickpea Grain Bowl with Lemon Vinaigrette
Our favorite part of these vegetarian grain bowls is the tangy lemon vinaigrette, which ties together a satisfying combo of quinoa, toasted pumpkin seeds, and roasted chickpeas and kale. Whip them up for easy meal-prep lunches or a healthy and satisfying dinner.