30+ Healthy Vegetable Recipes – Main Dishes, Sides and More!
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Get out of the meal planning blues and jump into these incredibly tasty + healthy vegetable recipes. Veggies don’t have to be bland, boring or raw to be healthy… instead load them up with savory plant based sauces and seasonings perfect for any event. I’m sharing my fav easy vegetable side dishes, main dishes and smoothies.
Eating more plants has never been easier or more delicious- trust me!
Easy Vegetable Side Dishes
Compliment your next meal flawlessly with these healthy vegetable recipes. They may be categorized as side dishes yet don’t be surprised if they steal the whole show!
Roasted Brussels sprouts are my favorite vegetable of all time. It started as a kid when I would pretend they were Barbie doll sized cabbages and play with them. Over the years, I have come to prefer my sprouts blackened to perfection and tossed with walnuts and maple syrup.
I grew up on roasted cabbage so it’s a staple in my St. Patrick’s Day celebrations with my family. Enjoy this simple yet comforting recipe and start a plant based tradition with your family, too!
Whether you need a great side dish or a fun appetizer, these baked potato wedges are delightful. They come out perfectly crispy with just the right amount of seasoning.
It’s pretty hard to top a juicy, garden fresh, still-warm-from-the-sun tomato, but this comes pretty close. Creamy avocado stands in for cheese in my Avocado Caprese Salad. We don’t think you’ll miss it.
This is my plant-powered take on a classic recipe. It is lighter, brighter, and not weighed down by mayo. Serve as-is for a wonderful side dish or double and enjoy as the main event.
This stuffed portobello mushroom recipe is easy enough for a delicious weeknight dinner and unique enough for your next dinner party. Mediterranean-inspired flavors pop in these beautiful mushroom caps.
I’ve never been a fan of chicken wings—yet I love the spicy-hot flavor! I was so excited when I got this plant-based recipe to work. Welcome to the world of Cauliflower Buffalo Wings!
This colorful salad is as full of flavor as it is color. Your skin will be glowing after incorporating this dish into your lunch routine, and Mediterranean inspired classic!
Healthy Vegetable Main Dishes
Who knew you could literally fill up on vegetables?! The following healthy vegetable recipes feature plant based ingredients to fuel and delight you. Which one has you running to the kitchen?
I’m a huge fan of swapping traditional pasta for veggie noodles in this mediterranean recipe. And this one is no different! Spaghetti squash is very mild and has a great texture that can hold up to sauces and toppings like a champ.
The hemp sauce makes this dish and brings the roasted veggies to a whole other level! Feel free to swap in other veggies to match your preferences, but this combo of onions, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, and kale is a real winner.
Mmmm…vegetable barley soup! You don’t have to wait for the weather to turn cold to simmer up a pot of this tasty vegetarian classic. It’s full of flavor, veggies, and love to fill your belly!
Say hello to summer with these Hawaiian-fusion teriyaki veggie bowl! Roasted vegetables over coconut rice make for a quick and nutrient dense meal that the whole family will love.
This gazpacho soup recipe is made entirely of raw vegetables. And, of course, we had to add 2 cups of leafy greens—in this case, romaine, which is packed with vitamins A and K. These 2 vitamins are great for heart health.
This super delicious, easy dinner can be jazzed up however you like, or eaten as is for a filling dinner. Double the recipe and hello leftovers!
Full of flavor and super creamy, this dish will leave you satisfied. Instead of heavy creams and a night full of stomach cramps, this potato curry is 100% dairy free.
When I created this vegan taco recipe, it just felt like it had an Austin flair going on, so I named it after that city. Austin, Texas, is one of my favorite cities, thanks to the great music, the variety of healthy foods available, its natural landscape, and the fact that my awesome aunt and uncle live there.
This healing, cleansing blended vegetable soup recipe helps to alkalize the body and bring it back into balance, especially if you’ve been eating too much sugar and/or processed foods. Add collagen powder for a protein boost without altering the flavor or texture.
A soothing soup can help your body heal in a variety of ways. This vegetable noodle soup recipe is great to make the moment you feel under the weather, or make at the beginning of cold and flu season, then freeze to have on hand when you need it.
This Veggie Bowl recipe is super fresh, nutrient-dense and bursting with flavors! The rice can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator to speed up the process. Recipe yields 1 meal-sized bowl.
This veggie bowl recipe is simple, delicious, and has the perfect sauce. Great for those left over veggies in the fridge that need to be used.
Ramen, the staple food of college students, moves to the head of the class thanks to a plant-based overhaul. Load up this Simple Vegetarian Ramen with your favorite veggies and enjoy!
Enjoy this Loaded Sweet Potato recipe that is filling and helps balance your blood sugar. It’s also packed with vitamin A, B vitamins, potassium and fiber. They provide the perfect base for this delicious kale slaw, which is teeming with nutrients that help stimulate digestion and absorption.
This refreshing noodle salad is a great light lunch or yummy side for dinner. Take it to the beach and enjoy at sunset for the ultimate summer night.
Instant Noodles, meet Instant Zoodles! This healthy melange of veggies is great for work or a quick dinner. It’s also crazy delicious + incredibly nourishing.
This nourishing, simple carrot ginger soup is full of love for the tummy. The ginger and cumin bring warmth to the digestive system, while the garlic and onion gently assist liver detoxification. The carrots bring nutrient-dense deliciousness! Feel free to add extra broth or coconut milk to reach your desired consistency.
Eat the rainbow with this plant protein veggie wrap. It’s got crunch, creaminess and flavor. Plus, you can wrap it however you want!
Sweet potatoes are one of the healthiest foods you can add to your diet. We’re always looking for ways to serve them in an exciting way and this vegan taco salad is perfection. Each healthy bite is full of mouthwatering flavor. It definitely hits the spot when you’re craving Mexican flavors.
Drinkable Vegetable Smoothies
You should know by now I am a smoothie lover. Yet I don’t need that smoothie to be completely fruit heavy or sweet to enjoy it; vegetables make great additions to smoothies! Check out these healthy vegetable smoothie recipes below and let me know which one you’re going to try.
Whip up this fruit and vegetable smoothie to start your day with plant powered nutrients. Perfect as a nutrient-packed breakfast, or a refreshing mid-morning pick me up!
Made with alkaline leafy greens, cucumber, parsley, and fresh squeezed lime juice, these balancing smoothie cubes are an easy way to boost your body’s intake of nutrient-dense plants. Drop into any smoothie to up the nutrition levels and leafy green goodness to your day.
This celery smoothie recipe has a different flare to it. I’m kinda known for making “hardcore” smoothies, yet I promise this has a refreshing flavor! If you like black licorice (which I do), then this recipe will be an even bigger win for you.
Healthy Vegetable Recipes FAQs
All of them! But seriously, a variety of vegetables is the healthiest. Kale is amazing, yet if you only eat kale, you’ll miss out on a lot of great nutrients from other vegetables. The best plan is to make your plate as colorful as possible with a mix of leafy greens, squash, peppers, root vegetables and more. Choose seasonal options for the most nutrient dense. And if you find that you don’t like a vegetable prepared one way, try it a different way next time! It took me a while to love Brussels sprouts, yet now I can’t get enough of them.
My fav way to cook a bunch of vegetables is to chop them up, place on a baking tray lined with parchment with a healthy oil of your choice, then bake at 350°F for at least 20 minutes. Then mix them around with a spatula and if they aren’t toasted through, add a bit more time. Feel free to toss with the seasoning of your choice before serving, or prepare a dipping sauce while the veggies bake.
Seasoning! I find almost ANY vegetable can be tasty if I find the right seasonings to add to it. And I’m not just talking salt and pepper (though those are great to start!). Italian seasoning, Greek seasoning, a good taco seasoning blend, or a great sauce can make your vegetables much more palatable and dare I say enjoyable?!
Best Sauces for Vegetables
If you noticed in the recipes above, I’m not just eating plain vegetables. The sauce, dressing or spice blend you pair with your veggies is just as important! So try these out on your next creation and fall in love with my healthy vegetable recipes.
How to Eat More Veggies
A few years ago I decided I needed an easier way to use more vegetables in my diet. I liked to meal plan yet grew exhausted of going through multiple cookbooks + websites each week just for 7 days worth of meals. So I created my own meal planner! Yep, Rawk the Year was created by me, for me (and my family).
If you’d like to see plant based meal planning in action, check out these FREE meal plans: shopping lists, recipes and calendar included to take out all the guesswork. Healthy vegetable recipes have never been so easy to enjoy!
Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan
