Healthy Vegetable Main Dish Recipes

Find healthy, delicious vegetable main dish recipes including vegetable pasta, stir fry, stew and soup. Healthier recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Chicken Cutlets with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Rating: 4.92 stars
24
Though a chicken cutlet may be a chicken breast cut in half, this recipe shows how to make chicken cutlets with double the deliciousness. A jar of sun-dried tomatoes does double duty for this healthy dinner recipe. The flavorful oil they're packed in is used to sauté the chicken, and the tomatoes go into the cream sauce.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Skillet Caprese Chicken Casserole

This one-skillet dinner features the flavors of a summer caprese salad. Fresh tomatoes and basil are combined with chicken and pasta and cooked in a creamy sauce before being topped with a layer of melted mozzarella. A good-quality balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of fresh basil completes the dish.
By Carolyn Casner

Spinach & Mushroom Quiche

Rating: 4.5 stars
7
This healthy vegetarian quiche recipe is as simple as it gets. It's a quiche without the fussy crust! It's filled with sweet wild mushrooms and savory Gruyère cheese. Enjoy it for breakfast or brunch, or serve it with a light salad for lunch.
By Julia Levy

Quick King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Rating: 4.8 stars
7
Usually made by layering creamy chicken and tortillas (lasagna-style), this classic Tex-Mex chicken casserole gets speedier for an easy weeknight dinner when we mix everything together in a skillet, then pop the whole pan under the broiler to make the cheese topping gooey.
By Julia Levy

One-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

Rating: 4.63 stars
4
This one-pot pasta with tangy tomato-basil sauce is a simple, fast and easy weeknight dinner. All of your ingredients go into one pot, and with a bit of stirring and about 25 minutes of cook time, you'll have a healthy dinner the whole family will enjoy.
By Carolyn Casner

Chicken & Zucchini Casserole

Rating: 4.75 stars
7
This baked chicken and zucchini casserole is creamy, hearty and low-carb! The whole family will love this easy casserole, plus it's a great way to get the kids to eat their veggies (concealed in a delicious cheese sauce!).
By Adam Hickman

Zucchini, Corn & Egg Casserole

Rating: 5 stars
2
This healthy casserole is essentially a crustless quiche, brimming with fresh summer vegetables. Bake it up for an elegant summer brunch or a casual backyard barbecue.
By Hilary Meyer

Caprese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Rating: 4.75 stars
5
We've taken the key ingredients of the popular caprese salad--tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil--and piled them into portobello mushroom caps to make a delicious and satisfying vegetarian main dish.
By Carolyn Casner

Two-Bean Enchilada Casserole

Rating: 4.67 stars
2
This classic and comforting Mexican dish is easy to make on a busy weeknight.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

Rating: 5 stars
4
Mounding a classic Philly cheesesteak mixture in a colorful bell pepper and melting cheese on top is an easy way to skip the bread and cut the carbs.
By Carolyn Casner

Veggie & Hummus Sandwich

Rating: 4.92 stars
11
This mile-high vegetable and hummus sandwich makes the perfect heart-healthy vegetarian lunch to go. Mix it up with different flavors of hummus and different types of vegetables depending on your mood.
By Katie Webster

Vegetable Weight-Loss Soup

Rating: 4.46 stars
21
A big bowl of this veggie-packed minestrone will leave you satisfied for hours without consuming a lot of calories--plus it's an easy way to boost your vegetable servings for the day. Top with a dollop of pesto before devouring this delicious skinny vegetable soup.
By Hilary Meyer
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Inspiration and Ideas

35 Healthy Recipes with Vegetable Noodles

35 Healthy Recipes with Vegetable Noodles
With a spiralizer or vegetable peeler, you can create ribbons or strands of nutrient-packed veggies that are lower in calories than pasta.
18 Low-Carb Stuffed Vegetables for a Healthy and Filling Dinner

18 Low-Carb Stuffed Vegetables for a Healthy and Filling Dinner
Whether it’s peppers, zucchini or portobello mushrooms, these stuffed vegetables have no more than 15 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
10 Satisfying High-Protein Spinach Salad Recipes

10 Satisfying High-Protein Spinach Salad Recipes
18 Vegetarian Stuffed Vegetables for a Healthy and Delicious Dinner

18 Vegetarian Stuffed Vegetables for a Healthy and Delicious Dinner
Healthy Noodle-Less Lasagna Recipes

Healthy Noodle-Less Lasagna Recipes
Creamy Mushroom, Chicken & Asparagus Bake

Creamy Mushroom, Chicken & Asparagus Bake
Rating: Unrated
2

Spinach, Feta & Rice Casserole

Rating: 4.5 stars
2

This one-pan recipe is the casserole version of spanakopita! It's hearty enough to enjoy as a vegetarian lunch or dinner, yet versatile enough to serve alongside just about any protein. To make it extra creamy, top each serving with a dollop of sour cream.

All Healthy Vegetable Main Dish Recipes

White Bean & Veggie Salad

Rating: 4.83 stars
5
This meatless main-dish salad combines creamy, satisfying white beans and avocado. Try mixing it up with different seasonal vegetables.
By Katie Webster

American Goulash

Rating: 4.73 stars
7
American goulash, also known as old-fashioned goulash, is the perfect economical family meal. The pasta cooks right in the sauce, so this satisfying dish can cook in just one pot.
By Carolyn Casner

20-Minute Creamy Italian Chicken Skillet

Rating: 4.71 stars
6
Chicken cutlets cook quickly and are highlighted with a creamy sauce made with tomatoes, zucchini and Italian seasoning. This recipe is sure to become a new weeknight favorite the whole family will love. Serve it with whole-wheat pasta or rice to make it a meal.
By Carolyn Casner

Easy Loaded Baked Omelet Muffins

Rating: 4.6 stars
8
Protein-packed omelet muffins, or baked mini omelets, are a perfect breakfast for busy mornings. Make a batch ahead and freeze for the days when you don't have time for your typical bowl of oatmeal. You can also serve these fresh with fruit salad for a simple weekend brunch.
By Carolyn Casner

Greek Turkey Burgers with Spinach, Feta & Tzatziki

Rating: 5 stars
12
Creamy tzatziki and crisp sliced cucumber add a refreshing twist to this easy Greek-inspired burger recipe loaded with feta, spinach and Mediterranean spices. No tzatziki? No problem! Make your own at home by combining plain Greek yogurt with a squeeze of lemon, dill and finely chopped cucumber.
By Hilary Meyer

Sheet-Pan Caprese Pizza

This light and flavorful caprese pizza is ready when the tomatoes are just heated through and the mozzarella cheese is slightly melted. If you want a little more on this pizza, it'd be delicious with a few slices of prosciutto. Chef tip: let your dough come up to room temperature before you stretch it--it'll make it much easier to work with.
By Emily Nabors Hall

Greek Chicken with Roasted Spring Vegetables & Lemon Vinaigrette

Rating: 4.7 stars
10
This Greek-inspired chicken and vegetable sheet-pan meal is bursting with flavor. The chicken is coated in a mayonnaise and bread crumb mixture, roasted alongside asparagus, cremini mushrooms and grape tomatoes and then served with a lemon-feta vinaigrette.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Chickpea, Artichoke & Avocado Salad with Apple-Cider Dressing

Rating: 4.75 stars
3
This delicious 400-calorie salad is a helpful tool for weight loss because it provides a good balance of fiber, protein and healthy fats from loads of veggies and beans, all tossed in a tangy apple-cider vinaigrette. To meal-prep these for lunch throughout the week, pack the dressing and the salad separately and make sure your veggies are thoroughly dried before packing them together.
By Hilary Meyer

Skillet Lemon Chicken with Spinach

Rating: 4.57 stars
6
This simple, ultra-quick chicken dinner--packed with spinach and peppers--is delicious on its own or served over brown rice or your favorite pasta.
By Carolyn Casner

Vegan Superfood Grain Bowls

Rating: 4.8 stars
3
This nutrient-packed grain bowl recipe comes together in 15 minutes with the help of a few convenience-food shortcuts like prewashed baby kale, microwavable quinoa and precooked beets. Pack these ahead to keep on hand for easy meal-prep lunches or dinners on busy nights.
By Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.

Lobster & Corn Chowder

Rating: 5 stars
1
The trick to making this healthy lobster chowder recipe have tons of rich flavor is to start with great fish stock. (The best is often in the freezer case at the supermarket.) Then cook the lobsters in the stock to intensify its flavor. There is no flour added in this healthy soup, so it's lighter than a typical creamy chowder--plus it's gluten-free.
By Kathy Gunst

Broccoli & Cauliflower Casserole

This cheesy, creamy broccoli and cauliflower casserole carries the perfect amount of sauce to enhance the flavors of the veggies without covering them up. A crunchy, buttery topping adds texture to this easy casserole that will be loved by children and adults alike.
By Julia Levy

Ground Beef & Pasta Skillet

Rating: 4.67 stars
9
Sneak extra vegetables into your child's day (and yours too!) with this easy one-skillet pasta recipe. Finely chop mushrooms to resemble the texture of ground beef and stir them into a classic meat sauce for an extra-healthy twist on a dinnertime favorite.
By Carolyn Casner

Easy Salmon Cakes with Arugula Salad

Rating: 5 stars
1
After making the salmon cakes, we firm them up for 5 minutes in the freezer before cooking so they don't fall apart when they hit the hot oil. You can also make these salmon cakes with canned salmon to make them pantry- and budget-friendly.
By Adam Dolge

Cabbage Roll Casserole

This casserole has all the elements of cabbage rolls—ground beef, onion and rice cooked in tomato sauce—and skips the fuss of rolling. The cabbage is chopped instead and layered with the saucy filling, then topped with cheese, for a satisfying and easy casserole. Feel free to substitute other ground meats, such as turkey, for the ground beef—this recipe would also be great with a vegetarian meat substitute.
By Carolyn Casner

Chicken Enchilada-Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Rating: 4.58 stars
17
This healthy 5-ingredient spaghetti squash recipe is a satisfying low-carb alternative to taco night. If you have leftover cooked chicken on hand, skip Step 2 and stir 2 1/2 cups into the filling. Look for an enchilada sauce with less than 300 mg of sodium per serving, such as Hatch brand.
By Breana Killeen

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Summer Corn Salad

Chicken thighs are easy on the budget and great for grilling because they stay moist in the heat. Here, they are paired with a fresh corn and tomato salad for a simple summer dinner. When grilling skin-on chicken thighs, watch for flare-ups. Move the chicken away from the flames and reduce heat, if necessary, to keep it from charring.
By Carolyn Casner

Hasselback Caprese Chicken

Rating: 4.58 stars
11
Using the hasselback technique (cutting crosswise slits every half-inch along the chicken breast) cooks the chicken faster and ensures you get a burst of flavorful gooey filling with each bite. This quick one-pan high-protein and veggie-packed dinner is easy to make and the whole family will love it.
By Carolyn Casner

Chickpea Curry (Chhole)

Rating: 4.54 stars
31
Made with convenient canned beans, this quick and healthy Indian recipe is an authentic chickpea curry that you can make in minutes. If you want an additional vegetable, stir in some roasted cauliflower florets. Serve with brown basmati rice or warm naan.
By Shefaly Ravula & Amee Meghani

Salmon with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Sun-dried tomatoes do double duty in this easy weeknight dinner—we use the flavorful oil they're packed in to sauté shallots and use the actual tomatoes in the creamy sauce. Served with perfectly cooked salmon, you really can't go wrong with this recipe.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Green Chile Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Rating: 5 stars
1
Prepare this dish the night ahead of time so all you have to do is pop it in the oven for an easy and delicious dinner.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Mediterranean Chickpea Quinoa Bowl

Rating: 4.64 stars
10
Quinoa and chickpeas pack this vegetarian grain bowl with plenty of plant-based protein. Whip up a batch of these Mediterranean meals and pack in containers with lids to stash in the fridge for easy, healthy grab & go lunches all week long.
By Carolyn Casner

Tomato-Parmesan Mini Quiches

Rating: 4 stars
4
These individual mini quiches are a fun take on a traditional quiche. Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen for an easy breakfast later in the week.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajitas

Rating: 5 stars
13
One sheet pan is all you'll need to whip up these zesty chicken fajitas. They're quick and easy to make and cleanup is even faster!
By Carolyn Casner
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