30 Meatless Main Dish Recipes
Mexican Sweet Potato-Veggie Medley [1]
Create a meatless main dish in minutes by sauteeing sweet potatoes, then adding canned corn and black beans. Top with a chipotle-flavor sour cream, avocado slices and fresh cilantro.
Linguine in Fresh Tomato Sauce With Garlic-Basil Toast [5]
Kalamata olives add flavor to the homemade tomato sauce in this vegetarian pasta meal. And it's ready in 20 minutes!
Grilled Portobellos [9]
This simple, flavorful recipe comes from reader Doug Heiken of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. It's a quick, easy recipe to throw together if you have a vegetarian at a cookout.
Grilled Portobellos [10]
Squash and Tomato Bake [13]
Summer squash adds texture to this easy dish, which combines stewed tomatoes with paprika, garlic, basil and pepper, as well as some melty mozzarella and Parmesan.
Sweet Corn Pizza [17]
Corn adds sweet flavor and crisp texture to this easy pizza. The pesto practically melts into the warm crust for a flavor-packed base.
Sweet Corn Pizza [18]
Crisp Portobello Mushroom and Spring Carrot Salad [21]
Goat cheese and chives top golden skillet-cooked mushrooms and cooked carrots in this recipe from Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe in Chicago. Homemade honey-mustard vinaigrette adds a pleasing tang.
Baby Spinach Salad [25]
This hearty vegetarian salad teams up greens with grains, topped with a yogurt-mint dressing. Serve it alongside a bowl of soup or a warm-from-the-oven loaf of whole-wheat bread.
Heirloom Tomato and Onion Quiche [29]
This dish is perfect for a brunch or light dinner with a mixed-greens salad. The recipe was developed for heirloom tomatoes such as Cherokee Purple or Brandywine, but if those aren't available, use whatever kind of tomatoes you like. Drain sliced tomatoes on a paper towel before adding them to the quiche, and they won't release as much water.
Curried Lentil Soup [33]
Karen Scott from Park Forest, Illinois, fell in love with this spiced specialty when her daughter, Sandy Rutkowski, served her a bowl. "I thought it was out of this world," Karen says. Curry powder and fresh ginger add spicy flavor to the lentils.
Curried Lentil Soup [34]
Roesti [37]
The New Glarus Hotel in New Glarus, Wisconsin, serves up a taste of Switzerland with this potato cake -- pure comfort food made from just five ingredients.
Roesti [38]
French Spaghetti [41]
Layers of creamy white and tomato-mushroom sauces crown this meatless noodle dish.
French Spaghetti [42]
Deli-Style Tortellini Salad [45]
Mustard-herb vinaigrette dresses cheese-filled tortellini, chopped broccoli, carrots and sweet peppers in our version of this deli classic.
Apple Bagel Sandwiches with Pumpkin Cream Cheese [49]
We created Apple Bagel Sandwiches with Pumpkin Cream Cheese in honor of Illinois, which grows 80 percent of the pumpkins processed in the United States. They're a good option for a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast. Or try them as a meatless sandwich any time of day. We also like the added crunch of the nuts.
Italian Rice Salad [53]
Italian Rice Salad includes fragrant, nutty-tasting brown basmati rice, bell peppers in a variety of colors, red onions and plenty of garlic. "It's kind of soft, kind of crunchy, a little sweet and a little tangy," says Ohio cooking school expert Bev Schaffer, who gave us the recipe.
Italian Rice Salad [54]
Fresh Veggie Pizza [57]
This pizza is packed full of vegetables: zucchini or yellow summer squash, sweet peppers, fresh mushrooms, green onions and more. If you have kids, have them help make this with their favorite vegetables.
Fresh Veggie Pizza [58]
Eggs Goldenrod [61]
This dish is terrific for brunch or a light supper. The hard-cooked eggs are simmered in a delicate white sauce that's ladled over warm biscuits.
Eggs Goldenrod [62]
Greek Pasta Salad [65]
Toss pasta with fresh herbs, vegetables, feta cheese and olives for this Mediterranean-influenced salad.
Greek Pasta Salad [66]
Cheesy Multigrain Spaghetti Casserole [69]
Extra-firm tofu provides protein in this meatless main dish. Whole-grain pasta adds flavor and nutrition.
Veggie Cheese Chowder [73]
This easy soup combines colorful veggies—corn, chopped green or red sweet pepper and sliced celery—with cream and three types of cheese products for a pretty, flavorful dish.
Creamy Artichoke Lasagna [77]
The classic lasagna cheeses -- ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella -- give this one-dish meal its trademark gooey texture. The recipe also calls for some nontraditional lasagna ingredients, such as fresh artichokes.
Army and Lou's Macaroni and Cheese [81]
Here's a real crowd-pleaser: a creamy mac and cheese recipe using three kinds of cheese. It's from Army and Lou's restaurant in Chicago.
Roasted Cherry Tomato Chutney on Squash [85]
Annie France of Mission, Kansas, invented this beautiful summer dish. Juicy cherry tomatoes are roasted and served over spaghetti squash with herbs and mozzarella balls. Annie says she serves it as a side dish, but we think it would make a fantastic meatless main.
Wheat Berry Waldorf Salad [89]
Apples, dried cranberries and grapes meet crunchy celery and wheat berries in this colorful salad tossed with apple-cinnamon dressing.
Rigatoni with Spinach, Walnuts, Sweet Potatoes and Goat Cheese [93]
This recipe, from the Chopping Block cooking school in Chicago, is a fast-fix mixture of pasta, goat cheese and vegetables. Serve with Italian bread.
Rigatoni with Spinach, Walnuts, Sweet Potatoes and Goat Cheese [94]
Pasta Frittata [97]
Diners at Ina's in Chicago get a giant, Parmesan-sprinkled wedge of this baked frittata served with sauteed tomatoes. We like it with a marinaralike sauce, too.
Spinach Frittata, with only five ingredients, is a quick-and-easy meal that's ready in just 20 minutes.
Pasta Frittata [98]
Spinach Frittata [99]
Pea and Mint Pesto [102]
Fresh mint and sweet peas shine in this bright, versatile pesto. We love it as a dip, sandwich spread and pasta sauce (thinned with a little water), but we suspect that you’ll find even more ways to use it for a burst of early-summer flavor.
Pea and Mint Pesto [103]
Tomato Vodka Cream Pasta Sauce with Fettuccine [106]
This is a versatile recipe that's delicious over any type of pasta. A classic tomato sauce gets extra flavor from 2 tablespoons of vodka and smoothness from whipped cream. You can leave out the vodka, though, if you like, and experiment with different flavors of canned stewed tomatoes.
Fusilli Primavera [110]
This recipe tosses fun curly pasta with spring vegetables ("primavera"). We added almonds and a hint of cheese for a colorful stir-fry dish with crunch.
Fusilli Primavera [111]
Spiced Pumpkin Bisque [114]
The Inn at Irish Hollow in Galena, Illinois, serves this creamy, curried soup throughout the fall and winter. You can make your own crème fraîche for the garnish, or use purchased crème fraiche or sour cream.
Spiced Pumpkin Bisque [115]
Fresh Tomato and Arugula Pasta [118]
Arugula is a spicy little green that gives this fresh tomato pasta a peppery bite. For a more mellow flavor, use spinach instead of arugula.