Every year I go on vacation with the same intention: to eat with joy and be happy! And as much as I enjoy it, after having eaten everything I want for the whole month of December, my body begs me to introduce healthy food, stat. Enter winter vegetarian recipes that are full of nutrients and the recommended amount of vegetables we need per day.
To help you (um, me) start your herbal reset, we scoured the internet to find some of the best recipes that put vegetables first but not skimp on flavor. They’re also easy to make and can easily feed a crowd if you’re still entertaining guests. We recommend a trip to the farmers market for the freshest seasonal produce for maximum flavor.
Read on for our top 13 healthy winter vegetarian recipes that will satisfy you.
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Why we love it: When Camille shared this recipe, the entire team audibly oohd and ahhed. This recipe swaps the ground beef for crumbled tofu, and she swears her kids and husband can’t tell the difference. After some experimentation, Camille has come up with the ultimate combination of vegetables, herbs and tomato sauce that are marinated together on the stove until everything reaches an incredibly satisfying fullness and, dare I say, meaty? Give it a try, it’s really good.
Ingredient of the hero: Tofu. It’s the best vegetarian ingredient for “crawling” something that shares the consistency of ground beef.
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it:
Ingredient of the hero:
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: This is the easiest soup to make – it’s basically a stew recipe – but it has so much flavor and has become a midweek dinner for me. The key to the city’s flavor lies in baking the cauliflower florets in olive oil first. This really intensifies the flavor and gives the potatoes the creaminess.
Ingredient of the hero: Pesto. It’s so easy to make yourself, and it’s worth it for the richness it adds to the soup.
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: If there’s one foodie who knows how to properly prepare home-cooked food, it’s Tieghan from Half Baked Harvest. This dish is an easy, delicious, and healthier way to enjoy a pasta night with four cheeses and sweet toasted garlic butter – what more could you want?
Ingredient of the hero: Roasted Garlic. Slowly roasted garlic loses its intense garlic flavor and takes on a soft sweetness instead. Don’t skip it!
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: This recipe is foolproof and packed with flavor. It’s also packed with nutrients, can be easily reheated, meets a wide variety of nutritional needs, and most importantly, is incredibly delicious. We recommend making a large serving on Sunday and freezing small portions for a quick, healthy lunch on the work day.
Ingredient of the hero: The toppings! They really are the key to this dish – avocados, cheese, coriander, green onions, limes, and tortilla chips are a must.
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: In our world, the fewer dishes the better, and all it takes is a big Dutch oven to cook everything. My only problem with most corn soups is that they can get too sweet at times, but this one is perfect with a strong balanced flavor that makes this a very warming dish.
Ingredient of the hero: Jalapeno. This really helps increase the heat factor and the acidity helps break through the sweetness.
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: Vegan and full of vegetables – this delicious low-carb recipe allows you to enjoy all of the convenience of fully-loaded nachos with a healthy spin. But most of all, it’s so damn delicious!
Ingredient of the hero: Cauliflower. This recipe swaps traditional nacho chips for cauliflower, making for a healthy, veg-laden dish with lots of flavor.
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: When our food editor Suruchi shared her mother’s Channa Masala recipe, we knew it was going to be special. This took four separate tries and seven phone calls to go through it with her mother and transcribe it into a largely reproducible recipe, and we’re so glad she did. This is a warm hug in a bowl and is full of protein thanks to the abundance of chickpeas. Serve with rice and you have a complete meal.
Ingredient of the hero: Tamarind. It adds the perfect amount of sweetness and tartness.
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: There is something about enchiladas that makes us keep coming back to learn more. It’s also the perfect weekday meal, as it cooks completely on a sheet pan in under an hour. Charred sweet corn, poblano peppers, and zucchini are tossed with salsa verde and then wrapped in tortillas. What more do you want?
Ingredient of the hero: Again, the toppings are key. Finish these light and healthy vegetarian enchiladas with avocado, lots of coriander, basil, and fresh lime.
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: If you are more of a plant based diet, add some lentils to your diet. Lentils contain tons of protein (1 cup contains 18 grams) and they’re full of iron, fiber, magnesium, and calcium. This soup has become a weekly meal at Camille’s house (even the kids love it). It gives you that “completely satisfied without feeling burdened” atmosphere that can be hard to come by.
Ingredient of the hero: Coconut milk. It adds creaminess without dairy products.
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: I’m a huge Shakshuka fan, but it can be intimidating at times. But don’t let its impressive appearance fool you, as this is a lot easier than you think. This recipe couldn’t be easier – just make sure you cook the eggs until the whites are barely set and still wobble. The eggs should be runny when you serve them for added impact when you cut them through. Oh, and have some bread ready (gluten free is good too) so you can dip it in the eggs and sauce – delicious!
Ingredient of the hero: The vegetable mix of the green goddess. Think zucchini, Swiss chard, and coriander with a squirt of lemon juice – that’s exactly what the doctor ordered.
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: All criteria are met here: simple, healthy, gluten-free, delicious … do we have to continue? Our love for sweet potatoes knows no bounds: We filled them with kale and chickpeas, mashed them, tossed them on the grill and drizzled them with feta and hot honey. However, this is probably one of our favorite methods, and the best part is that you can top it with anything you have in the pantry or refrigerator.
Ingredient of the hero: The butter and honey combination. This is the hack to make your roasted sweet potatoes the best ever. Heat some butter and honey in a large cast-iron pan, then fry the sweet potatoes with the cut side down so that they are caramelized by the brown butter, sweet and nutty. Yum!
Get the recipe here.
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Why we love it: I know what you’re thinking, these gnocchi look calming and delicious, but they’re too complicated to make. Not true. This is actually a simple gnocchi recipe, perfect for the person who thinks it’s not for them to make their own gnocchi. And it’s good for you too. You have sweet potatoes, you have a sage butter sauce, you have serious dreams of comfort food in a bowl to end a long day.
Ingredient of the hero: Broccoli raven. This nutritional powerhouse is blanched to tender, crispy perfection before it is thrown into the magic of this frying pan. Yummy.
Get the recipe here.
