It’s not a hard task to find vegan-friendly dinner ideas if you know where to search for them. Here we share the most delicious recipes that you can use to prepare your everyday dinners. These vegetarian dinner ideas are hearty and healthy. They are diverse in their ingredient combination and taste incredibly delicious.
Some of the recipes are originally meat-based but we have replaced meat with your favorite vegetables, grains and legumes. Save these recipes to try and share with your vegetarian fiends.
1. Vegetarian Lasagna
You can make lasagna not only with beef but also with vegetarian-friendly ingredients such as mushrooms. This light dinner idea is great for true vegetarians looking for tasty recipes. You can even prepare it in advance and bake it later. All you need is mushrooms, olive oil, lasagna noodles, pasta sauce, spinach, curd cottage cheese, shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan, your favorite seasonings for lasagna and walnuts for topping.
It helps that this recipe is easy to make, so it makes a lovely weeknight dinner and is full of nourishment. Besides, lasagna is indeed enjoyable as a meal anytime you can get your hands on it!
2. Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
A healthy and nutritious version of a vegetarian enchilada looks like this: steamed and creamy sweet potatoes stuffed with black beans and topped with mild tomato sauce, feta cheese, and fresh herbs. Feel free to add the seasonings you usually prefer to add with sweet potato and beans. You can even replace the tomato sauce with mild salsa verde sauce or green chile sauce according to your preference.
These enchiladas are as delicious as they look! They’re nutritious and have a great mouthfeel, with the veggie flavors shining through to provide some well-deserved culinary delight.
3. Mushroom Stroganoff with Broccoli
Another light and easy dinner idea for vegetarians is the following mushroom stroganoff with broccoli. It’ll take you 15-20 mins of preparation. You can serve it with rice or noodles. To make this dish you need meaty simmered mushrooms, roasted broccoli, green peas, onion, garlic, herbs, seasonings, and creamy sauce made of sour cream, Dijon mustard, and vegetable broth. Sprinkle some dried crushed chili over it.
While this offers the goodness of vegan food, it doesn’t take away from the texture and feel of the classic stroganoff. The mushrooms provide excellent texture and mouthfeel for your recipe.
4. Sundried Tomato Pasta
If you are tired of the traditional tomato pasta then try this. It’s a low-oil and low-fat vegetarian dinner idea to prepare in 20 minutes. Make a creamy and thick blend by mixing walnuts, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, some water, a pinch of salt and red pepper flakes, and parmesan cheese sundried tomatoes in oil. Add it to the cooked pasta, add some pasta water, top with fresh basil.
One of the lovely things about this recipe is that even though it’s low-fat and oil-free, it’s really rich in flavors and texture.
5. Chickpea Veggie Stew
Want something warm and cozy this evening? What about a chickpea veggie stew? Here we share a great recipe for a quick 15 min dinner idea. It’s made of canned chickpeas, green beans, potatoes, and carrots. Flavor all with onion, garlic, dried tomatoes, salt, pepper and add some water to stew. Top with freshly chopped parsley and serve with rice or noodles.
If you want a more pronounced or zesty flavor, I’ve noticed that adding a little bit of Indian chaat masala as a garnish goes a long way. Mix it up well with the dish and the masala flavors just pop out along with the recipe’s goodness.
6. Tomato Tofu Noodle Soup
You’ll appreciate the rich taste of this soup if you are looking for a meal idea inspired by Asian cuisine. It’s a tomato noodle tofu soup that requires fried tofu, noodles of your choice, mushrooms, tomato sauce, garlic, seasonings like salt, pepper, turmeric powder, soy sauce, ginger. Add sesame seeds and scallions before serving. It’s a hearty and satisfying soup to have for dinner.
Its taste and goodness aside, I love how vibrant this recipe looks. The visual sense is as much a part of a great meal experience as the taste buds!
7. Greek Chickpeas Recipe from Trader Joe’s
We have found a delicious vegetarian dinner idea from the Trader Joe’s menu. It’s a quick and effortless chickpeas recipe in a Greek style. Roast or fry canned chickpeas until brown and crispy. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin powder, lemon juice, parsley and any other seasoning you like. Serve with grilled brussel sprouts, fresh avocado and cooked white rice or quinoa.
It’s pretty straightforward, yet it’s full of nutrition and flavor. It’s filling and has a great texture, and all of these are great qualities for a lovely weeknight meal!
8. Lentil Tacos
A meatless taco is all you may need for today’s dinner. Lentil often comes to replace meat in vegetarian recipes. So, you can’t go wrong with lentil tacos. For this, you need tortillas, French lentils, corn kernels, black beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sliced chiles, vegetable broth or water, garlic, celery and taco seasoning. If you like, you can substitute tortillas with lettuce leaves as wraps.
The fresh and flavorful vegan taco is quite a treat. Its fresh and flavorful approach is a great way to go about your dinner and brings nourishment to your meals.
9. Pan Fried Eggplant with Cheese
A new eggplant recipe is here to save your vegetarian dinner this weeknight. It’s a cheesy pan-fried eggplant meal that requires layers of eggplants, eggs, breadcrumbs, flour, marinara, fresh basil, lots of parmesan and mozzarella. Use salt, pepper, dried oregano, basil to season the layers of the eggplant. First fry the eggplant slices then assemble all by the following sequence; eggplant slice, marinara sauce, parmesan, fresh basil. Top with mozzarella.
The combined texture of eggplant and mozzarella cheese is a delight. The mouthfeel is nothing short of amazing and the overall flavors are wholesome and loveable.
10. Spring Salad for Dinner
Sometimes all you need after a tough day is a refreshing salad. Fresh vegetables packed with well-balanced flavors are here with all their appetizing juiciness. You need sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion, lettuce, parsley, herbs, your favorite greens and seasonings. Sprinkle extra virgin olive oil, combine all well and add some white sauce. Enjoy with your favorite vegan snacks.
The different elements of this salad come together for an nutritious meal, adding a good amount of fiber and other essentials to your diet. The fresh veggies really add a new dimension to the texture and flavors.
11. Fried Rice with Veggies
This 20 min dinner recipe is all about fluffy rice, eggs, vegetables of your choice, chili garlic sauce and soy sauce. You can add carrots, green peas, broccoli, corn, bell pepper, mushroom, zucchini or any other crunchy vegetable according to your preference. If you like, you can add hot sauce or sriracha. Top with chives or green onions before serving.
I love how it’s easy and quick to prepare. And well, it’s fried rice! That’s always a good choice for dinner, or well, any meal.
12. Vegetarian Enchiladas Rojas
The best part about Mexican inspired dishes is that they are packed with lots of veggies, grains and beans and they are both vegan-friendly and very nutritious. You can often replace meat with vegetables and grains. Here comes another good dinner idea for you. It’s made of cooked black beans, veggies, chipotle peppers wrapped in tortillas and topped with melting cheese.
It’s flavorful and a treat for the tastebuds. The enchiladas submerged in sauce look appetizing and that dollop of sour cream sitting on top of the food looks like it’s waiting to be paired for culinary goodness!