Vegetarian
6951 recipes found
Lemon Soufflé French Toast
Like a cross between bread pudding and a fancy soufflé, this golden, puffed French toast casserole makes for the most elegant of brunch dishes. Baking the challah slices before soaking gives a rich, toasty flavor and helps dry them out, allowing them to absorb maximum custard. Lemon zest and orange liqueur give this a deep citrus flavor that’s punctuated with nutmeg and a burnt sugar topping. Serve it on its own or with fruit on the side. And while this nicely sweetened breakfast doesn’t need any syrup or extra sugar, a squeeze of lemon adds just the right tang.
Brown Sugar Sheet-Pan French Toast
With a cracking, caramelized brown sugar crust topping and soft, custardy slices of challah, this sheet-pan French toast is sweet perfection all by itself, without the need for maple syrup or powdered sugar. Baking it on a sheet pan eliminates the need to stand at the stove, pan-frying slices in batches. And while the oven is on, it’s easy to throw in a pan of bacon as well. If you can plan ahead, it’s best to start this the night before; the longer the challah soaks in the cinnamon-scented egg mixture, the better and more cakelike the result.
Rice Pilaf
A fragrant, fluffy buttery rice pilaf is pure comfort. The word pilaf generally refers to a rice dish in which the grains are toasted in a fat like butter, ghee or oil before being cooked in broth or other liquid, and the dish’s many iterations span the globe from Central and South Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe to the Caribbean. (Other grains like barley and bulgur, and noodles such as vermicelli or orzo – see Tip – can also be included.) In this simple version, onion and garlic are cooked in butter, which is then used to toast long-grain basmati rice until nutty and gently seasoned. The process of first rinsing the rice, then toasting in fat, prevents clumping. The amount of added liquid may vary slightly depending on the brand of rice, but do cut down on the salt if using a salted broth. With this base, you can get as creative as you like and add a variety of vegetables, herbs, spices, chopped nuts, dried fruit, ground meat or even shrimp. Or serve as is alongside chicken, fish or vegetables.
Chile Crisp Fried Rice With Tofu and Edamame
Chile crisp delivers spice, yes, but also carries impressive capabilities as a flavor base in weeknight cooking. The seasoned, textured oil can also be used strategically to fry foods. Most chile crisps on the market come loaded with aromatics such as garlic, ginger, fermented black soybeans, star anise, cinnamon and a host of other spices. Just a spoonful can deliver intense flavor with minimal effort. This hearty fried rice is vegan and comes with plenty of plant-based protein: The crumbled tofu offers the bouncy texture and hearty bite of egg, and the protein-rich edamame offer a hint of sweetness and nuttiness. If you don’t have edamame in the freezer, you could use frozen peas, corn or mixed vegetables.
Arrabbiata Sauce
Like marinara’s fiery cousin, this classic tomato sauce comes together in about 30 minutes with just canned tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and crushed red pepper. Arrabbiata, which means angry in Italian, nods to the sauce’s spicy nature, but the aggressiveness of your sauce is up to you: Start with 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper for a noticeable tingle in the back of your throat, or double up for additional intensity. (One word of caution: It’s hard to reverse a sauce that is too spicy, so start small, then hit it with additional heat at the end, if desired.) Though dried chiles or crushed red pepper are traditional, feel free to experiment with what you’ve got and what you like: Any combination of fiery elements in the form of dried chile flakes, dried whole chiles, fresh chiles, chopped jarred Calabrian chiles, chile sauce or chile pastes (gochujang, Sriracha) liven up this elemental tomato sauce.
French Potato Salad
In this straightforward, old-fashioned French potato salad with chives and tarragon, medium waxy potatoes are boiled and peeled while still warm, so they best absorb the flavors. They’re then thickly sliced and splashed with an easy vinaigrette. A generous dribble of fruity extra-virgin olive oil is customary – don’t skimp on it.
Spanakorizo With Jammy Eggs
Bright and soulful, spanakorizo is a beloved Greek dish, with a name that reflects its combination of two key ingredients: spinach and rice. This version is fairly traditional in its essence, relying upon rice, spinach, lemon and herbs, but includes some flourishes. Though the addition of the jammy egg is not traditional, it injects a sunny burst of color, as well as added protein. For ease, this recipe calls for baby spinach (or chopped mature spinach), but frozen spinach can also be used (simply thaw it and squeeze out the water), or try a hardy green like chard or kale. A whole bunch of scallions delivers a richly aromatic base for the rice. Basmati is used here for its quick cooking time and light finish, but if you would like to use more traditional medium-grain rice, simply add an extra ½ cup of stock (2 cups total). As with any recipe, the timing is a guideline, but you should use your senses: Check your rice at the 15-minute mark, as some brands of rice will cook quicker than others.
Jackfruit Tacos
When ripe, jackfruit is sweet and golden. But unripe, it’s almost a blank canvas, game to take on whatever seasonings you throw its way. Sturdy enough to hold up in the heat of a pan, it has a satisfying chew that makes it an excellent filling for tacos. In this recipe from the poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil, skinny strips of young jackfruit soak up an earthy marinade before a turn in the skillet — keep a close eye on the stove, to be sure it doesn’t dry out; you want it saucy — then get folded, still dripping, into warm tortillas. A heaping of raw carrots and cucumber gives you a little crunch, and a spoonful of sour cream brings a rich finish. (If using fresh unripe jackfruit instead of canned, wear gloves and rub your knife with oil before chopping, because the sap is very sticky, and boil the flesh until tender. Note that the sap contains latex, so those allergic to it would do best to avoid eating the fruit.)
Creamy Asparagus Pasta With Peas and Mint
Sautéing asparagus in butter mellows it, bringing out its sweetness. Mixed with peas, mint, Parmesan and cream, it makes the foundation of a rich pasta dish with primavera vibes, but easier, faster and brighter, thanks to some grated lemon zest folded in at the end. If you can’t get good asparagus, feel free to substitute other quick cooking vegetables, like zucchini, corn or mushrooms. This delightful cream sauce is highly adaptable.
Lentil Tomato Soup
This tomato soup recipe elevates the beloved classic with the use of brown butter and protein-packed lentils, which make this soup even more satiating than other versions. The nutty brown butter brings depth and highlights the sweetness of the tomatoes. The milk solids present in the butter caramelize as the butter cooks, resulting in its characteristic taste. By introducing heavy cream — therefore more milk solids — to the butter browning process, the final result is a fortified brown butter that will bring more richness and depth to the tomato soup. Serve with crusty sourdough toast or grilled cheese, tomato soup’s soulmate.
Miso-Chile Asparagus With Tofu
Broiling asparagus gives it a charred exterior but still keeps the vegetables soft and sweet within. Here, the stalks share a pan with cubed tofu, and everything is glazed with a pungent miso sauce spiked with mirin, rice vinegar and a good hit of chile. Served over rice or noodles, it makes a salty, spicy and deeply flavored meal that’s ready in less than half an hour.
Pan-Seared Asparagus With Cashews
In this speedy, springy dish, a crunchy mix of nuts, seeds and coconut flakes gives seared asparagus plenty of texture, while a squeeze of lime and handful of fresh herbs add brightness right at the end. This makes a hearty side dish for simple roasted fish or chicken, or it can be a light meal when served over rice or alongside a fried or soft-cooked egg, the yolk turning into a glossy sauce that coats the stalks.
Garlicky Alfredo Beans
This five-ingredient recipe transforms canned beans into a no-fuss, comforting meal that’s easy to whip together at the end of a long day. The beans are doused in a creamy, garlic-infused sauce that’s inspired by Alfredo, and topped with crunchy garlic chips. Choosing the right beans for this recipe might feel intimidating, but the most important thing to remember is texture. Beans that hold their shape and won’t immediately disappear in the sauce are ideal: butter (or lima), Great Northern or garbanzo beans will make great contenders for this recipe. When pan-frying the sliced garlic into chips, you’ll want to mix attentively for the best results, since the delicate garlic chips can burn very easily. Crunchy and flavorful, they’re worth the effort.
Mushroom Queso Fundido
Sizzling and gooey, queso fundido topped with chorizo is a staple on Mexican restaurant menus across the country. But the dish likely stems from home cooks along North Mexico and South Texas. Depending on where you go, different cheeses like Monterey Jack, Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheeses are used. Bricia Lopez, an author of “Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling (Abrams, 2023)” and “Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico” (Abrams Books, 2019), and an owner at Guelaguetza, in Los Angeles, was inspired by the salsa de queso and quesillo she grew up eating at her family’s restaurant to create her version of queso fundido, which uses the Oaxaca cheese to create a great cheese pull. She also tops it with mushrooms and epazote (see Tip), a fresh herb she grew up eating with cheese.
Mushroom Smash Burgers
Instead of mixing together a bunch of ingredients to make a just-okay veggie burger, smash portobello mushroom caps with a heavy skillet while cooking until they’re thin but dense with savoriness, then dress them with melted cheese, tuck them into a bun and top them with classic fixings. Cooking mushrooms this way forces the water out of their spongy bodies, turning them into something meaty and satisfying. Because they’re so thin, you’ll want to stack two mushrooms per bun. You can also use other large mushrooms, like oyster or maitake.
Creamy, Spicy Tomato Beans and Greens
This weeknight wonder is for those who delight in turning a modest can of beans into a spectacular dinner. Inspired by the flavors of red pesto, this recipe calls for simmering cannellini beans with staple ingredients like onion, garlic, crushed red pepper, tomato paste and heavy cream, as well as sun-dried tomatoes and salty Pecorino, until the results taste complex and rich. Top the beans with a lemony arugula salad that is peppered with fried bread crumbs for a dish that is crunchy, chewy, crispy and creamy in every bite.
Roasted Chickpeas
Roasted chickpeas are a pleasantly crisp-on-the-outside, slightly chewy-on-the-inside addition to salads, noodles, creamy soups and grain bowls. Rub the chickpeas vigorously in a dish towel not once but twice to ensure that they’re completely dry before sliding them into the oven, and do your best to remove all the skins that fall off in the process. While this may seem fussy, it’s the secret to achieving the crispiest results. To make these chickpeas your own, rummage your spice cabinet and swap the smoked paprika for za'atar, chili powder, garam masala, herbes de Provence or anything else that sounds good.
Brown Butter Bucatini With Charred Cabbage
Charred cabbage brings a complex combination of flavors, from savory to bitter to sweet, to this simple but satisfying weeknight pasta. As it cooks, the cabbage also turns silky, clinging to the bucatini like the most delicious of frills. The pecans play off the natural nutty notes of the charred cabbage and brown butter. Like cacio e pepe or other pastas that fuse melted cheese with pasta water, this dish tightens up quickly, so make sure to have plenty of pasta water on hand to loosen it as needed.
Matzo Pizza
A staple during Passover, this easy snack combines a crunchy, cracker-like crust and gooey, cheesy topping spiked with optional red-pepper flakes for a fiery bite. Feel free to add your favorite pizza toppings: Olives, anchovies, dried oregano and sliced garlic and onions can all be layered on top of the cheese before baking.
Bhaji Sliders
These spicy, hearty sandwiches are a simplified, quick take on pav bhaji, a popular Mumbai street food that is a celebration of humble vegetables — pav means bread in Hindi and bhaji means vegetables. Potatoes and cauliflower make the backbone of this hefty, generously spiced vegetarian main. Peas balance with sweetness. And although 4 tablespoons may seem like a lot of butter, in the end it’s vital to the characteristic texture of the dish: rich, glorious sloppiness. Served on a mini bun, the basic ingredients rise to the occasion and make for a fun and satisfying, albeit messy, slider.
Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas With Mole Verde
Mole verde is one of the seven famous moles from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. There are an almost infinite number of variations on this classic mole — the type of ingredients, the method of preparation, the length of time cooked and what is served with it. But what they have in common is their shade of green, from raw moles that are bright emerald green to the long simmered, charred vegetable mole that has a deep olive hue. This version gets its bright color from the spinach and cilantro, and its tang from the tomatillos with a little heat from the poblanos. It’s served topped with roasted broccoli and chickpeas for a vibrant vegan dinner but would complement a roasted chicken just as easily.
Spinach Gomaae
A nutty, savory-sweet sesame dressing coats spinach in this Japanese dish, horenso no gomaae. It comprises four impactful ingredients that taste especially great with a bowl of white rice or as part of a breakfast spread with soup and salmon. Gomaae, pronounced go-MAH-ae, means sesame sauce and is more than just a recipe: Toasted sesame seeds, ground to a tan powder and simply mixed with soy sauce and sugar, are an excellent flavor canvas for spinach and beyond. You can swap in any vegetable, really, but sprightly, crunchy ones like lightly boiled green beans, sugar snap peas and broccoli shine with this application.
Braised Broccoli Pasta
By creating a sauce from just broccoli, onions, olive oil and starchy pasta water, this recipe feels Italian in spirit but embraces an unexpected technique. Pulverize onion, broccoli and garlic in a food processor, then cook it in hot oil, much like sofrito, extracting as much flavor as possible. Add stock, orecchiette and broccoli florets, then watch the mixture go from soup, to stew, to saucy pasta. For best results, stick to the ingredients, measurements and temperatures listed in the recipe: Use a different pasta shape, and it will likely overcook; increase the amount of orecchiette, and there won’t be enough liquid; increase the heat and the liquid will evaporate before the pasta cooks through. But with attention, this recipe will yield a glossy pasta that makes cheap, accessible ingredients taste positively lush.
Roasted Spring Vegetables
Come spring, there are a number of long, slender, green vegetables that happen to cook at the same rate, so roast a variety together on a single sheet pan for a special side dish that takes as much effort as your default green beans. The scallions add a bittersweet onion-y flavor, although you could use green garlic, ramps or spring onions instead. Serve anytime you need a side of green vegetables — like with baked fish or a creamy pasta — or turn the combination into a big salad with lettuces and a mustard vinaigrette.