Summer is the perfect time to enjoy fresh, flavorful, and healthy vegetarian meals. With an abundance of seasonal produce, it's easy to create dishes that are both satisfying and nourishing. Whether you're a committed vegetarian or simply looking to incorporate more plant-based meals into your diet, these recipes will inspire you to make the most of summer's bounty.
Vibrant Salads
Salads are a quintessential summer dish, offering endless possibilities for combining fresh vegetables, fruits, and plant-based proteins.
Epic Summer Salad
This salad is an assembly job of gorgeous ingredients, perfect for BBQs and buffets. It requires no cooking and can be served with lamb kebabs for an impressive summer feast.
Summer Couscous Salad
Capture the flavors of summer in this simple, hearty couscous salad. With fried halloumi, vine tomatoes, and courgettes, it's perfect for an al fresco lunch.
Mediterranean Lentil Salad
This salad is an easy and delicious vegetarian entree or side dish with Greek-inspired flavors. It's made with protein-packed lentils, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, feta cheese, and fresh herbs tossed in lemony oregano dressing. This make-ahead salad recipe is full of flavor and texture.
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Easy Edamame Salad
This vegan salad is quick, balanced, and filling. With edamame, quinoa, and peanuts, it's easily a complete meal on its own.
Tomato Salad with Chickpeas and Feta
Take the straightforward tomato salad up a notch with the help of Hetty Lui McKinnon. Here, she doctors the requisite tomatoes and basil with chickpeas and feta for heft, and a fragrant mixture of spiced nuts and seeds for a crunchy topping that amounts to savory sprinkles.
Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad
I love the mix of raw and roasted tomatoes in this summer salad.
Zucchini Salad
You’ve probably eaten roasted zucchini and grilled zucchini…but have you tried it raw?
Grilled and Roasted Vegetable Dishes
Grilling and roasting vegetables brings out their natural sweetness and adds a smoky char that's perfect for summer.
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Grilled Vegetables
These colorful skewers are an easy way to turn a variety of summer vegetables into a flavorful side dish.
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
Unlock the flavors of cauliflower with a red pepper, olive, and caper salsa, topped with almonds. Healthy and vegan, it makes a tasty light lunch or supper.
Best Summer Vegetable Recipes: Ratatouille
This ratatouille is one of our favorite summer vegetable recipes!
Ingredients:
- 1 medium-large eggplant, 1 pound, cut into ½-inch pieces
- Sea salt
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- 2 medium zucchini, 1 pound, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 pound tomatoes on the vine, 3 to 5, cut into ½-inch pieces
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Pinch cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, plus more torn basil for garnish
Instructions:
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- Place the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Place in the sink or over a large rimmed plate and set aside for 20 minutes to drain. Blot dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
- Add another 1 tablespoon olive oil and the zucchini to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender but not mushy. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and transfer to the bowl with the eggplant.
- Add another 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until softened. Stir in the garlic and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook for another 10 minutes, or until very tender. If the pan becomes dry, add more oil as needed.
- Stir the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil into the peppers and onions. Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and sugar and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes break down.
- Add the eggplant and zucchini back into the skillet along with the vinegar, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the ratatouille is thick. Stir in the basil and season to taste.
Baked Ratatouille & Goat’s Cheese
Transform ratatouille into a bake with a layer of cheese sauce and you won't look back. It makes a great late summer dish and delivers three of your 5-a-day
Summery Greens and Beans With Toasted Crumbs
Brimming with soft Swiss chard, just-tender green beans and hearty lima beans, this cassoulet-inspired meal from Rick A. Martínez is brothy, delicate and surprisingly deep in flavor given its pared back ingredient list.
Grilled Carrots
Yes, grilled carrots are a thing! They’re wonderfully sweet and smoky.
Roasted Green Beans
Green beans are at their sweetest and snappiest in late summer. This easy recipe is one of my go-to ways to cook them.
Burgers and Sandwiches
Vegetarian burgers and sandwiches are a great way to enjoy a hearty and satisfying meal.
Halloumi Burgers
These veggie halloumi burgers in brioche buns are perfect for the whole family. Serve as a quick and easy lunch - they're also great on camping holidays
Pulled BBQ Aubergine & Black Bean Burgers
Get the kids to help you prep the veg for these family-friendly burgers. Busy weeknights don't have to mean skipping out on a nourishing dinner.
Butternut Squash Burgers
Cook these meat-free burgers on the barbecue or griddle pan. They're easy to make and require very little prep work. A kick of chilli heightens the flavours
Fried Eggplant Sandwich
This fried eggplant sandwich is smoky, crispy, and layered with juicy tomato, fresh greens, and a spicy harissa mayo for a Mediterranean-inspired twist.
Veggie Hummus Sandwich
This veggie hummus sandwich is a simple, plant-based option to add into your weeknight dinner rotation. Warm, roasted sweet potato lends a hearty and comforting feel to this vegetarian recipe.
Pasta and Noodle Dishes
Pasta and noodle dishes are a versatile and comforting option for vegetarian summer meals.
Summer Pasta With Zucchini, Ricotta and Basil
It’s not really summer until you have too much zucchini, spilling out of your tote bag and collecting in your fridge. This simple and fresh pasta from David Tanis - which has more than 11000 five-star reviews - puts the season’s favorite squash to work.
One-Pot Ratatouille Pasta
This weeknight-friendly dish from Vivian Chan-Tam has all the flavors of ratatouille, but it’s faster and fresher. (Remy the Rat would be proud.) Cooking the eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and bell pepper in stages allows for maximum flavor and a variety of textures. It all comes together in one-pot, which means fewer dishes.
Zucchini Tofu Udon
In this quick stir-fried noodle dish from Hetty Lui McKinnon, a buttery sauce built on punchy fuyu, or fermented tofu, enrobes softened zucchini and chewy udon. A generous amount of black pepper is mixed in as well for flavors that recall cacio e pepe.
One-Pan Zucchini-Pesto Orzo
Make the best of homemade or store-bought pesto with Melissa Clark’s quick and summery one-pan meal loaded with zucchini and onions. Before serving, a Caprese-like mix of marinated mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and fresh mint is stirred in. It’s herby, garlicky, cheesy goodness in a bowl.
Pasta With Green Beans and Almond Gremolata
Come late summer, celery starts popping up in farmers’ markets everywhere - and it deserves its moment in the spotlight. In this recipe, Colu Henry uses celery leaves, as well as sliced almonds, in a unique take on gremolata, a fresh herb condiment traditionally made with Italian parsley. The bright mixture is used to top a simple buttered pasta with snappy green beans and grated cheese.
Spaghetti puttanesca with red beans & spinach
Get four of your 5-a-day with this healthy vegan puttanesca. With spaghetti, kidney beans, tomatoes, olives and spinach, it's quick, easy and full of nutrients
Creamy Corn Pasta
No cream here!
Cherry Tomato Pasta
This easy, elegant pasta is a cherry tomato party!
Green Pasta
This creamy Green Pasta is a go-to for busy weeknights. It comes together in just 20 minutes and packs in leafy greens and plant protein thanks to a velvety spinach sauce made with silken tofu. Blend the sauce while the pasta cooks, or prep it ahead for an even quicker meal.
5-Ingredient Tahini Pasta
This 5-Ingredient Tahini Pasta is a weeknight dinner hero! Just toss your favorite pasta with vibrant spinach and a simple homemade lemon tahini pasta sauce for a delicious, family-friendly meal in under 30 minutes. A quick, plant-based recipe with simple ingredients and bold, Mediterranean-inspired flavors.
Pasta Primavera
Quick and easy Italian-inspired comfort food! A colorful medley of fresh veggies meets a luscious, dairy-free lemon cream sauce in this plant-based Pasta Primavera. Quick to prepare and bursting with fresh flavors, it's an ideal dish for both casual dinners and special occasions.
Brussels Sprouts Orzo
Hello, Mediterranean-inspired comfort food! Brussels Sprouts Orzo is a quick and easy vegetarian dinner inspired by the flavors of the Mediterranean.
Thai peanut noodles
One of the speediest vegetarian dinners out there! These Asian-inspired Thai peanut noodles are tossed with greens and protein-rich edamame beans.
Soups and Stews
Soups and stews can be enjoyed year-round, and summer is no exception. Lighter, vegetable-based soups are perfect for warm weather.
Basic Corn Chowder
“Boiling the cobs is what distinguishes this chowder from others, it makes for a nice milky-like broth,” wrote one reader about Mark Bittman’s 30-minute recipe. Think of this classic recipe as a canvas: Replace the potato with rice and the cream with coconut milk and add curry powder and ginger; or add chili powder, lime juice, cilantro and sour cream and top with corn tortilla chips.
Chilled Zucchini Soup With Lemon and Basil
Put away the pots and pull out the blender for this meal from Hetty Lui McKinnon. Not only is it cooling and no-cook, but also it’s vegan. Cashews add creaminess and body, and plenty of garlic, miso, citrus and fresh herbs punch up zucchini’s gentle flavors.
Abdoogh Khiar (Chilled Buttermilk Cucumber Soup)
Tangy buttermilk and creamy yogurt team up in this supremely slurpable Iranian cold soup from Naz Deravian. The dairy is blended until frothy before cucumbers, raisins, walnuts, and fresh and dried herbs are added in. Lavash is tucked in at the last minute, and, to keep it at just the right chilly temperature, ice cubes are tossed in just before serving. “All nine dinner party attendees agreed that this cool, flavorful soup is a perfect summer treat,” wrote one reader in the comments.
White Beans and Greens
White Beans and Greens has to be one of the best 30-minute meals out there. Best part: you only need one pan to make it. Use any type of white bean you have on hand-great northern, cannellini, and navy beans all work well. You'll simmer the beans, kale, tomato paste, broth, and cheese all in one skillet. Then, I like to serve it with toasted bread for dipping.
Summery orzo soup
Create this soup using our pre-prepared roasted summer vegetable traybake alongside orzo and feta. It's a great way to serve up a quick, summery dish
Simple and comforting Miso Noodle Soup
Simple and comforting Miso Noodle Soup is a 20-minute lunch or dinner cooked in one pot (so cleanup is really easy, too). Shiitake mushrooms add so much flavor and texture to this vegetarian version of Japanese-inspired miso soup. This balanced rice noodle soup comes together in just 15 minutes and is perfect for meal prepping ahead of time.
Other Delicious Vegetarian Options
Hummus flatbread pizzas with roasted veg
Top quick-to-make flatbreads with wholesome creamy hummus, olives and plenty of char-roasted veg to make a healthy, easy and filling lunch
Giant couscous salad with charred veg & tangy pesto
The beetroot here is rich in folate, iron, manganese and potassium and a chemical called betalain, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Beetroot is also rich in nitrates, which may help lower blood pressure and improve athletic performance
Summer veg tostadas
Whip up these colourful veggie tostadas in just 30 minutes. Packed with summer veg, they make a flavourful, healthy and low-calorie midweek meal
Veggie rainbow picnic pie
Packed with veggies, feta and egg, this vegetarian pastry is part tortilla, part pie. Bursting with summer colours, it'll provide the wow factor at any picnic
Peanut & coconut curry
Make this veggie curry using our pre-prepared roasted summer veg traybake, plus chickpeas, spinach and peanuts. For a meat-based curry, simply add chicken
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