30 Days of Vegetarian Recipes (2024)

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 Oyster Mushroom Tamales with Mole Encacahuatado and Vegetarian Kofta Pitas with Plant-Based Meat and Yogurt-Tahini Sauce, you won't even notice the absence of meat. For those of you who already adhere to a vegetarian lifestyle, 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

We love this pizza topped with green asparagus and fresh mozzarella. The heat of the grill can wilt the freshest toppings, so pizzaiolo 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

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

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: Aloo Matar (Indian Potato and Green Pea Curry)

A blend of fresh ginger, garlic, and jalapeño chile forms the aromatic base for this vegetarian curry from chef Chintan Pandya of New York's Dhamaka. Studded with russet potatoes and sweet green peas, this Aloo Matar is rich and satisfying, with a touch of warm ghee stirred in just before serving.

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Day 6: Corn Husk-Grilled Goat Cheese with Corn Relish and Honey

For this delightful recipe, cookbook author Andrea Slonecker grills goat cheese-filled corn husks alongside ears of corn. She then makes a relish with the charred corn kernels, scallions, chile, lime juice, cilantro, and basil, which she serves atop the corn husk parcels with a drizzle of honey.

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Day 7: Oliaigua (Menorcan Vegetable Soup) with Fig Jam–Topped Toast

The name for this simple soup of gently stewed onions, tomatoes, and peppers comes from the Catalan words oli (oil) and aigua (water). The soup can be served warm or chilled, and is customarily eaten with bread, which is topped here with figat (fig jam).

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Day 8: Buckwheat Soba Tiger Salad

2017 F&W Best New Chef Peter Cho 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

This pasta salad is dressed with a tangy, creamy mix of buttermilk, vinegar, and mayo, then mixed with plenty of greens to add a fresh, bright flavor. It's the best pasta salad ever.

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Day 10: Egg Bhurji (Spiced Indian Scrambled Eggs)

Take just a few extra minutes, and plain scrambled eggs are transformed into this vibrant eggs bhurji breakfast, flavored with onions, chiles, ginger, tomatoes, and spices. A squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of cilantro add a final dose of brightness. It's delicious enjoyed with roti or paratha, or served with toast.

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Day 11: Spinach-Sprout Salad with Coconut Ranch

F&W Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple uses vegan coconut yogurt as the base for a terrific 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

We put 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: Oyster Mushroom Tamales with Mole Encacahuatado

Recipe developer Paola Briseño González roasts oyster mushrooms, concentrating their flavor, for a hearty vegetarian tamale filling. Paired with velvety, intensely aromatic, and deeply savory peanut mole, or mole encacahuatado, these tamales satisfy everyone at the table.

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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 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: sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese, and homemade Russian dressing.

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Day 15: Marinated Feta with Nectarine and Tomato Fattoush

This recipe from F&W Culinary Director at Large 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's perfect for a warm afternoon.

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Day 16: Spinach Shakshuka

Instead of making shakshuka with red tomatoes, as is customary, 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: Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa Salad

To create a terrific vegetarian main course, chef Michael Symon tosses quinoa with arugula, apple, raisins, and fresh herbs, then spoons the salad into a halved baked squash.

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Day 18: Double Drive-Thru Veggie Burgers

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 standard Thousand Island dressing.

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Day 19: Asparagus and Zucchini Frittata

Chef Chris Behr 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

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

In this brilliant recipe, eggplant is roasted, instead of breaded and fried, for a fresh, lighter take on eggplant Parmesan. In place of regular mozzarella, opt for gooey smoked scamorza cheese, which pairs beautifully with the creamy eggplant.

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Day 22: Whole-Roasted Kohlrabi

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 recipe is an ideal vegetarian side to accompany any big meal or a great roasted veggie snack.

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Day 23: Beefsteak Tomato and Burrata Salad with Olive Streusel

The crunchy, savory kalamata olive streusel that tops this salad from chefs 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

Tangy lebneh is an excellent match with the sweet roasted carrots in this fantastic 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: Mushroom Dumplings in Toasted Ginger and Garlic Broth

Make-ahead mushroom duxelles creates a rich filling for these tender, satisfying dumplings. The broth, infused with toasted ginger and garlic, gets an extra layer of rich mushroom flavor from dried white flower shiitake mushrooms, which have a bolder flavor than regular dried shiitakes.

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Day 26: Vada Pav (Potato Fritter Sandwich)

This sandwich is a vegetarian's dream. Vada pav, one of Mumbai's most popular street foods, is a potato fritter the size of a baseball stuffed into a flaky white bun, smeared with coconut and spicy green chile chutneys, and then squished until it's small enough to fit into your mouth.

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Day 27: Erbazzone Reggiano (Emilian Spinach and Cheese Pie)

Flavorful and filling with a light, almost cracker-like crust, this rustic spinach pie relies on simple ingredients for an impressive finish. Because the spinach gently steams within the crust, it retains its fresh, verdant flavor even after cooking.

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Day 28: Miss Kim's Fried Tofu

2021 F&W Best New Chef Ji Hye Kim tosses deep-fried crispy tofu in a flavorful salty-sweet brown sugar glaze amped up with a handful of powerhouse ingredients, including Korean soy sauce (made exclusively from fermented soy beans), gochugaru (Korean red chile flakes), and ginger. Garnished with sesame seeds and scallions, the glazed fried tofu is a festive appetizer or can be paired with kimchi and rice for a vegetarian meal.

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Day 29: Vegetarian Kofta Pitas with Plant-Based Meat and Yogurt-Tahini Sauce

Crispy lamb patties stuffed into pita have been pleasing eaters from the Mediterranean to the Middle East for centuries. This version trades lamb for plant-based "beef," seasoned with tangy pomegranate molasses, fresh mint, and hot paprika to evoke the flavors of the classic. A tangle of tart, sumac-tinted onions and a drizzle of tahini-laced yogurt sauce make these vegetarian pitas a hearty and flavorful meal.

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Day 30: Snap Pea-Radish Salad with Herbed Yogurt

The herbed yogurt in this dish from 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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