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Home » Recipe Roundups » 25 Healthy Vegetarian Recipes

25 Healthy Vegetarian Recipes

Published: Oct 22, 2015 · Modified: Mar 29, 2025 by Cooking Chat · This post may contain affiliate links

Originally published for Food Day 2015, this roundup of 25 Healthy Vegetarian Recipes provides all kinds of tasty ideas for vegetarians as well as omnivores like me looking to eat more plant based meals. Do you have a favorite vegetarian dish? Let me know in the comments!
25 healthy vegetarian recipes for a tasty Food Day 2015 | cookingchatfood.comFood Day is coming up on October 24. Every year on this day, we are encouraged to eat healthy, real food, and promote food policies to produce healthier food options for all. This year’s theme is “Toward a greener diet”, focusing on the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet. I wanted to jump in and share some healthy recipes that fit this theme. In addition to this post, be sure to check out my Collards & Kale Cookbook for tasty recipes with healthy greens–there’s a Food Day special price available!

I reached out to some fellow bloggers and asked them to share some of their favorite plant centered recipes. In planning the post, I intended to include recipes that had modest portions of lean meat and fish along with veggies. However, the way I framed the request yield all meatless recipes. So to celebrate Food Day 2015, I give you this roundup of 25 Healthy Vegetarian Recipes.  After checking out the recipes, be sure to visit the Food Day website for more info on the day and find local events in your area.

We have dozens of vegetarian and vegan recipes here on Cooking Chat. We typically enjoy a few meatless meals each week here along with some meals that include some meat or fish. We eschew mass produced meat and go for fish that rate well for sustainability when we do go for them. In keeping with our approach, these healthy vegetarian recipes below can either stand on their own or be a healthy addition to a meal that includes meat or fish. If you have a healthy vegetarian recipe favorite, please let us know in the comments!

Salads

Tuscan Arugula Salad We have a few good salad recipes to choose from here on Cooking Chat. I gave the nod to this Tuscan Arugula salad to feature here, as I already had a kale salad from a fellow blogger.

Tuscan Arugula Salad for #FoodDay2015

Spinach Salad with Honey Tangerine Dressing A spinach salad needs a good dressing to be tasty as well as healthy, and Renee from Magnolia Days brings us just that in this spinach salad recipe.

Spinach Salad with Honey Tangerine Dressing

Vegan Christmas Kale Chopped Salad Dorothy from Shockingly Delicious showcases the nutritional and aesthetic benefits of combining red veggies like beets and radishes with super healthy kale.

Kale Chopped Salad from Shockingly Delicious

Soup, Stew & Chili

Cozy Irish Vegetable SoupA hearty and flavorful Irish vegetable soup packed with fresh vegetables and simple seasonings for a comforting, nourishing meal.

bowl of Irish vegetable soup shot from above.

 

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage & Sautéed Mushrooms This Cooking Chat recipe is simple yet elegant. Substantial enough to be a a meal, but can also be a nice starter for a dinner party.

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage and Sauteed Mushrooms is simple yet elegant.

Vegan Mushroom Pumpkin Chili Chili doesn’t have to have meat to be tasty, as demonstrated by this vegan chili recipe from A Palatable Pastime.

Potato Leek Soup with Roasted Broccoli Potato Leek Soup is good on it’s own, but the roasted broccoli topping makes it extra special. Be sure to try it this soup season! From here on Cooking Chat.

potato leek soup with roasted broccoli

Vegan Quinoa Chili This healthy chili from the Crumby Cupcake gets its protein from plant-based Gardein ground beef, and of course quinoa has tons of nutritional value!

one pan vegan quinoa chili from the Crumby Cupcake

Veggie Main Dishes

Linguine with Meatless Meat Sauce Tempeh (cultured soy protein) cooks up with mushrooms, onions, garlic and tomato for a hearty vegan pasta meal. Cooking Chat recipe.

Linguine with Meatless Meat Sauce. Vegan recipe from Cooking Chat.

Bulgur Stuffed Peppers The full recipe title for this one is “Piperies Yemistes me Pligouri”, a Greek recipe from Food Lust People Love.

 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Carbonera You probably think carbonera is going to have bacon, but not this tasty vegetarian alternative from A Kitchen Hoors Adventures.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Carbonara from A Kitchen Hoors Adventures

Kale and Butternut Curry Kale and butternut squash simmer with Indian spices and chickpeas for a flavorful vegan main dish. Another Cooking Chat recipe; came up with this while working on the Collards & Kale Cookbook.

Kale and Butternut Curry, a vegan recipe for #FoodDay2015

Quinoa Stuff Delicata Squash with Mushrooms, Cranberries and Pecans Trish from the Rhubarbians puts together a delicious vegan dish that could be a great option for Thanksgiving!

Quinoa stuffed delicata squash with mushrooms, cranberries and pecans from Rhubarbarians

Beet and Black Bean Burger I wouldn’t think to combine beets & black beans, let alone make a burger out of them, but this veggie burger recipe from Caroline’s Cooking looks good!

Beet and Black Bean Burger from Caroline's Cooking.

Linguine with Kale Pesto I couldn’t let this health vegetarian recipes post go by without sharing a pesto recipe! Fans of my traditional basil pesto like the kale version just as much. Toss with with linguine for a simple, healthy vegetarian meal.

linguine with kale pesto for a delicious way to get a healthy green on your plate | cookingchatfood.com

Sides

Healthy Garlic Kale and Mushroom Stir Fry I love finding new ways to get nutrient dense kale on our table, so this one from Food Done Light is definitely something I will try soon.

Healthy Garlic Kale Mushroom Stir Fry from Food Done Light

Butter Braised Radish over Little Gems Radishes get braised in butter then served over “little gem” lettuce, for a tasty side dish. Recipe from Culinary Adventures with Camilla — she served it as an Easter side, perhaps you could include it at the Thanksgiving table?

Sweet Potatoes with Cumin Sage Butter One of my favorite sides! Cumin and sage combine for a tasty butter to give great flavor to sweet potatoes. I like to serve it with pork or turkey.

sweet potatoes with cumin sage butter is one of my favorite sides!

Asparagus & Mushroom Sauté A flavorful way to enjoy asparagus, sautéed with garlic and mushrooms! From Whole Food Real Families.

Olive Oil and Sea Salt Roasted Potato Rounds These roasted potato rounds from Recipe for Perfection make a nice healthy alternative to potato chips or french fries.

Olive Oil and Sea Salt Crispy Roasted Potato Rounds

Smoothies

Avocado Mango Smoothie There is tropical taste to this healthy smoothie from Having Fun While Saving. 

Avocado Mango Smoothie for #FoodDay2015, from Having Fun While Saving

Peanut Butter Jelly Smoothie Kids love a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so why not serve that flavor with some real fresh fruits in a smoothie? Good idea from Meal Planning Magic. You won’t find Cooking Chat recipes with peanut butter due to a food allergy here, but I bet this would taste good with soynut butter, too.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Taylor@Food Faith Fitness

    October 23, 2015 at 7:11 am

    What an awesome list of healthy recipes! I can’t wait to try them!

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      October 23, 2015 at 3:58 pm

      Thanks Taylor! It’s going to be hard to decide what to try first.

      Reply
  2. Shashi at RunninSrilankan

    October 23, 2015 at 7:23 am

    Such a delicious collection here – such lovely combos of flavors! I love persimmon so that salad sounds wonderful – and I simply adore a beet and black bean burger!

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      October 23, 2015 at 3:56 pm

      Thanks Shashi, I did manage to find a lot of creative recipes!

      Reply
  3. allie @ Through Her Looking Glass

    October 23, 2015 at 11:36 am

    What a lovely assortment of vegetarian dishes. Your Linguine with Kale Pesto looks extra delicious, David! The Quinoa Stuffed Squash is such a beautiful presentation. We have meatless days around here too and it’s a nice change of pace. Have a great weekend!

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      October 23, 2015 at 3:57 pm

      Thanks Allie, you have a good weekend too.

      Reply
  4. Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious

    October 25, 2015 at 11:33 pm

    Wonderful collection of recipes for Meatless Monday and every other day! Looking forward to working my way through these. Pinning!

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      October 26, 2015 at 5:04 am

      thanks for sharing, Dorothy!

      Reply
  5. Sandra from saltsole.com

    November 02, 2015 at 5:08 am

    These recipes look amazing! I am going to start with the LINGUINE WITH KALE PESTO, it looks delicious!…and then work my way through the other recipes 🙂

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      November 02, 2015 at 5:55 am

      Thanks Sandra! That linguine with kale pesto is a favorite here.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. #FoodDay2015 Reflections and Links | David B. Crowley says:
    October 24, 2015 at 7:38 am

    […] & Kale: 20 recipes that will have you loving your greens. I also posted a recipe roundup, 25 Healthy Vegetarian Recipes, tying into today’s Food Day theme “toward a greener […]

    Reply
  2. Ziti with Kale Pesto and Roasted Broccoli #ItalianFWT | Cooking Chat says:
    November 7, 2015 at 7:20 am

    […] on this description, I thought it might pair well with pesto. Seeing as I was making this dish on Food Day 2015, I thought some healthy kale pesto would be appropriate. I would add some roasted broccoli to the […]

    Reply

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Hi there! I'm David. I love creating tasty, (mostly) healthy recipes, finding great wine pairings, and sharing good food with family and friends. learn more about me!

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