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30 Days of Vegetarian Recipes

30 Days of Vegetarian Recipes

By Food & Wine

Updated December 18, 2019

© Con Poulos

Whether you already participate in #meatlessmonday or not, we have a whole new challenge for you: an entire month of vegetarian eating. We've gathered our 30 most inventive and tastiest vegetarian recipes for you to enjoy. With innovative dishes like baharat-spiced eggplant with hazelnuts, cherries and tarragon and green eggs with whipped goat cheese and grilled kale, you won't even notice the absence of meat. For those of you who already adhere to a vegetarian diet, consider this list a way to introduce new flavors (think urfa, garam masala, kombu tsuyu and more), ingredients (kohlrabi, anyone?) and techniques into your repertoire. —Morgan Goldberg

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Day 1: Grilled Asparagus Pizzas with Gremolata

© Ingalls Photography

We love this pizza topped with green asparagus and fresh mozzarella. The heat of the grill can wilt the freshest toppings, so Daniele Uditi of Pizzana in Los Angeles spoons something bright—a blend of fresh herbs, crushed red pepper and garlic—over the pizza once it comes off the grate.

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Day 2: Roasted Veggie Burgers with Carrot Ketchup

© John Kernick

Chef Edward Lee of Louisville’s Whiskey Dry isn’t a big fan of the standard veggie burger. Instead of creating a ground patty of beans, grains and vegetables that replicates the look and texture of meat, Lee serves this gorgeous ratatouille-inspired “burger” of colorful roasted vegetables layered with melty cheese. “It looks like a slice of a rainbow,” he says.

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Day 3: Vegetarian Black Bean Chili with Ancho and Orange

© Christina Holmes

This vegetarian chili from TV chef Ellie Krieger starts with canned black beans, so it’s super easy to make. A hit of fresh orange adds a warm, sweet note to the rich spices. You can also throw this together in under an hour, which is a total win in our book.

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Day 4: No-Bake Vegetarian Enchiladas

The recipe here is based on a dish created by Los Angeles chef Josef Centeno’s great-grandmother, who raised 12 kids. Because meat was expensive, she often made enchiladas using only vegetables, like carrots and potatoes. For his enchiladas, Centeno makes a sofrito, cooking carrots low and slow in olive oil with garlic and tomatoes.

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Day 5: Green and Wax Bean Salad

Abby Hocking / Food & Wine

During the summer, Ava Genes’s chef Joshua McFadden makes this simple, colorful salad constantly. He also changes it up often: You can grill the beans for a little smoke or toss in some pickled ones, mix up the type of olive you use or add a medley of different basils from the market (Thai, opal, lemon or Italian). The possibilities are endless.

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Day 6: Baharat-Spiced Eggplant with Hazelnuts, Cherries and Tarragon

Bobby Fisher

F&W Best New Chefs 2017 Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson, of L.A.’s Kismet, brine eggplant before coating it in a fragrant spice mix and pan-frying. They create a magical plate of that eggplant along with pickled onions, sweet cherries, toasted hazelnuts, creamy lebneh and herbs. This is a vegetable dish that can stand alone as a main.

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Day 7: Vegetarian Butter Tofu

Soft tofu, which is similar to the Indian cheese paneer, makes for a vegetarian-friendly variation on the traditional Indian butter chicken recipe. This meatless main course dish features a delightfully spiced tomato cream sauce and can be created in just 35 minutes, which is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.

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Day 8: Buckwheat Soba Tiger Salad

Abby Hocking / Food & Wine

F&W Best New Chef 2017 Peter Cho, of Han Oak in Portland, Oregon, is a master at riffing on Asian classics. This dish is a combination of three of his favorite plates (tiger vegetable salad, warm spicy tofu and the pork zha jjang hand-pulled noodles) from New York City's Xi’an Famous Foods.

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Day 9: Greens Pasta Salad

© Con Poulos

Justin Chapple set out to improve pasta salad, which is often bland, thick and laden with mayonnaise. Here, he dresses pasta with a tangy and creamy mix of buttermilk, vinegar and mayo, then mixes in plenty of greens to add a fresh, bright flavor. It’s the best pasta salad ever.

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Day 10: Green Eggs with Whipped Goat Cheese and Grilled Kale

Bobby Fisher

F&W Best New Chef 2017 Jay Blackinton, of Hogstone’s Wood Oven on Orcas Island, Washington, takes just a few humble ingredients and turns them into a magical dish. Case in point: this “green” egg, which is soft-boiled and dusted in dried kale, then served on creamy arugula-laced goat cheese and surrounded by crispy grilled kale. It looks like a nest—and tastes like heaven.

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Day 11: Spinach-Sprout Salad with Coconut Ranch

John Kernick

Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple uses vegan coconut yogurt as the base for a terrific healthy version of ranch dressing. It’s wildly versatile but also especially tasty on this super crunchy sprout-packed salad. We can almost guarantee this will become your new go-to salad when you have a sudden craving for greens.

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Day 12: Summer Squash Gratin

John Kernick

Food & Wine’s Laura Rege puts abundant summer squash and zucchini to good use in this beautiful and very simple gratin, which gets fantastic flavor from white wine, leeks and Gruyère cheese. Its gorgeous, flower-like design makes it a perfect entertaining dish that will undoubtedly impress guests before they even try it.

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Day 13: Green-Market Tacos with Corn Crema

© Con Poulos

Here, we toss sweet summer corn and raw green and yellow wax beans in a creamy, tangy mix of yogurt, feta, olive oil and cilantro to use as the filling for tortillas. It's a great vegetarian meal on a hot day because there's no cooking involved. Just be sure to get the freshest corn and beans you can find.

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Day 14: Smoky Vegetarian Beet Reubens

With this sandwich, chef Todd Ginsberg proves that vegetarian versions of classic meat dishes can sometimes be just as delicious. Here, in place of the pastrami, Ginsberg sprinkles roasted beet slices with smoked salt, then serves them on buttered rye toast with all the traditional condiments, like sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese and homemade Russian dressing.

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Day 15: Marinated Feta with Nectarine and Tomato Fattoush

CON POULOS

This recipe from Food & Wine's Justin Chapple is a fun riff on fattoush, the classic Middle Eastern bread salad. Chapple covers feta in olive oil and coriander seeds, then uses the marinade to dress nectarines, tomatoes and pita chips. It's a refreshing, vegetarian snack that is perfect for a warm afternoon.

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Day 16: Spinach Shakshuka

© Con Poulos

Instead of making shakshuka with red tomatoes, as is customary, Portland, Oregon, chef Jenn Louis opts to make hers with a mix of Malabar spinach and tomatillos, along with jalapeños, cilantro and spices. The result is a bright, tangy and spicy brunch dish that’s ideal with slabs of rich, toasty challah.

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Day 17: Quinoa with Spinach and Roasted Almonds

© Eva Kolenko

We make this evergreen quinoa salad all year long. It’s so simple and quick (it comes together in just 40 minutes) that it’s ideal for a vegetarian lunch or dinner when you're tight for time. The chopped almonds add fantastic crunch and a nice hit of protein, so you'll feel full and satisfied.

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Day 18: Double Drive-Thru Veggie Burgers

DAVID CICCONI

Vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli is famous for her deliciously charred veggie burgers. For a “special sauce,” she swaps out mayo for silken-tofu mayonnaise to make a tangy-sweet vegan take on Thousand Island dressing. If you're not looking to go the vegan route with your fixings, you can totally use Thousand Island dressing.

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Day 19: Asparagus-and-Zucchini Frittata

© John Kernick

Vegetarian brunch dishes can be a challenge with all that bacon out there. Chef Chris Behr of the Rome Sustainable Food Project makes a versatile frittata with crisp spring vegetables that can be eaten warm or at room temperature. Serve for brunch with an accompanying platter of crusty bread, fresh fruit and cheese, or for lunch with a green salad.

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Day 20: Knife-and-Fork Grilled Cheese with Honey

© Con Poulos

Chef Chris Cosentino proves here that you can elevate the humble grilled cheese sandwich into something magical with just a few tweaks. His buttery, crisp version is filled with luscious Taleggio cheese, then drizzled with honey and sprinkled with flaky salt and coarsely ground black pepper. It’s so simple, but also jaw-droppingly good.

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Day 21: Spicy Eggplant Gratin

© John Kernick

In this brilliant recipe, eggplant is roasted, instead of breaded and fried, for this fresh, lighter take on eggplant Parm. In place of regular mozzarella, opt for gooey smoked scamorza cheese, which pairs perfectly with the creamy eggplant. We never thought there would be a good replacement for eggplant Parm, but there is a first time for everything.

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Day 22: Whole-Roasted Kohlrabi

© Con Poulos

Kohlrabi is a cruciferous vegetable, but Tel Aviv chef Asaf Doktor’s roasted version tastes inexplicably—yet deliciously—like an unctuous artichoke heart. If you've never had kohlrabi before, this is definitely the time to try it. This roasted version is an ideal vegetarian side to accompany any big meal or for a roasted veggie snack.

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Day 23: Beefsteak Tomato and Burrata Salad with Olive Streusel

ABBY HOCKING

The crunchy, savory kalamata olive streusel that tops this salad from Bryan and Michael Voltaggio is our new condiment obsession. Toss it in your next kale salad, sprinkle over roasted root vegetables or use it to garnish steamed grains. If you can’t find good beefsteak tomatoes for this dish, use the best greenhouse tomatoes you can get your hands on.

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Day 24: Roasted Carrots with Lebneh, Urfa, Pickled Shallots and Lime

© John Kernick

Tangy lebneh is an excellent match with the sweet roasted carrots in this great recipe from Georgia chef Hugh Acheson. It’s worth making the quick pickled shallots, too, for extra flavor. We would gladly eat these tasty carrots as our main dish or on the side of a hearty salad.

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Day 25: Cabbage, Watercress and Pine Nut Dumplings

This delicious dumpling recipe comes to us from chef David Chang of the Momofuku empire. Be sure to chop the filling for these vegetarian dumplings with a knife; they become too wet and pasty in a food processor. We liked the dumplings boiled in water, but they're also delicious cooked in a steamer.

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Day 26: Yellow Lentil Dal with Tofu

© Eva Kolenko

Here, we amp up boldly spiced lentil dal with soft tofu, making it into a substantial, vegetarian meal. It takes under an hour to create from start to finish, which is definitely a weeknight dinner plus. With the use of coriander and cumin, the flavors won't taste like a last-minute effort.

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Day 27: Savory Leek and Greens Hand Pies

Greg DuPree

Using a blend of greens creates a slightly bitter green filling with sweet notes from the sautéed aliums. Lean on store-bought dough from your grocer’s deli to crank out these savory hand pies quickly.

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Day 28: Beet-and-Quinoa Salad

© Abby Hocking

This insanely easy salad from Julie Pointer Adams, author of the book Wabi-Sabi Welcome, is all about the beets. Double the recipe and make enough to last for the week—the beets hold up nicely and the plump raisins absorb the olive oil, making for a delicious, no-fuss work lunch.

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Day 29: Mushroom Frankies with Cilantro Chutney

© Marcus Nilsson

Frankies, a Mumbai-style wrap created during the British rule of India, involve griddling a roti with a little eggwash to create a thicker bread ideal for holding a rich, saucy filling. At Pondicheri in New York City, chef Anita Jaisinghani swaps the typical chicken tikka masala version for this equally satisfying vegetarian wrap with mushrooms, sweet potato and a bright cilantro chutney.

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Day 30: Snap Pea-Radish Salad with Herbed Yogurt

© Con Poulos

The herbed yogurt in this dish from Portland, Oregon chef Joshua McFadden is our new summer staple. Mix up the herbs (we like tarragon, dill and cilantro in here, too) or add in some minced shallot or chopped pickled ramps leftover from spring. The recipe is incredibly versatile—any peak-season summer produce will work.

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