© Photo by Minimalist Baker
Are you seeking some unique and amazingly-delicious plant-based dinner recipes with tons of fresh veggies and bold, flavorful spices?
Especially if you’re new to a plant-based diet, you may find that it’s sometimes difficult to construct a balanced plate without meat sitting front and center. However, sometimes all it takes is spinning your typical “fall-back” recipes into new and improved plant-forward creations!
In order to eat a diet that supports optimal health and increased vitality, it's helpful to expand your palate beyond the types of ingredients you normally reach for, giving your body variety and your taste buds something brand new! Luckily, this is exactly what you’ll find in the following plant-based dinner recipes.
These recipes are great for creating a simple plant-based menu for easy weeknight meals, or even a meal plan for an extra-special event. Though all of these recipes can be made conveniently in just around 30 minutes, they work fabulously-well as the main entrees for a dinner party. Plus, feel free to invite over your non-vegan friends; I guarantee they’ll find these meals just as flavor-packed and exciting as you do!
Ready for some new inspiration with the following quick and easy plant-based recipes? Let's get into it...
1. Crispy Vegan Miso Chickpea Bowls
© Photo by Minimalist Baker
This hearty recipe has a deliciously-crunchy, salty taste from the roasted chickpeas – and is both naturally sweet and incredibly savory at the same time. The recipe is surprisingly quick and easy to make while being quite filling and satisfying. Plus, if you’ve never roasted chickpeas before, it’s an awesome way to get quality plant-based protein into your diet – with big, bold taste.
Not to mention that in this recipe, you coat the chickpeas in a mesmerizing sauce of maple syrup, chili garlic sauce, oil, miso paste and red pepper flakes, so you get a lightly sweet, blissfully spicy flavor. Once you toss the chickpeas in the sauce, you simply bake them for 20-25 minutes until they’re a nice golden brown color! Perfection.
Once your crunchy, roasted chickpeas are done, simply add them to the top of your complex carb of choice, whether it be brown rice, rice noodles, quinoa, etc. If you’re going low-carb or keto, you could also sub in cauliflower rice or even zucchini noodles. There’s so many complementary options!
Before serving this dish, top it with your favorite raw or cooked veggies, roasted peanuts or cashews, fresh cilantro or parsley, and a squeeze of lime. With 459 calories, 9.9g of protein, 8.8g of fiber, 19.1g of healthy fats and 64g of healthy carbs, it’s a well-balanced, tasty vegan meal.
Get this Crispy Vegan Miso Chickpea Bowl Recipe here.
2. Vegan Minestrone Soup
© Photo by From My Bowl
Next, this soul-warming minestrone veggie soup is a great plant-based dinner recipe that’s quick and easy, with only 10 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cook time. It’s the perfect one-pot meal for busy weeknights, or to make during meal prep and store in the freezer for lightning-fast future dinners.
The best part about this recipe is that it’s jam-packed with nutritious veggies and works great with any particular leftovers you have in your fridge. In the recipe, they use onion, garlic, celery, carrots, diced tomatoes, and green beans – giving you a ton of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and inflammation-fighting antioxidants. But feel free to use any veggies you have on hand!
In addition, the soup includes red kidney beans, which pack almost 9g of protein and 6.4g of fiber in every 3.5 ounce serving. Along with being chock-full of essential vitamins and minerals, kidney beans have also been shown to be beneficial for healthy blood sugar levels among and support colon health.
You can make this plant-based recipe in the instant pot or in a regular pan on the stove – the choice is yours! If you desire to make it on a stovetop, simply follow steps 1 and 2 in the recipe below, but using a pot instead. Then, add the beans and green beans and bring it to a boil. Finally, add the uncooked pasta and simmer until tender – then dig in!
Get this Vegan Minestrone Soup Recipe here.
3. Veggie Taco Bowls
© Photo by Peas and Crayons
This next recipe is perfect for any simple plant-based menu, and intensely satisfies your cravings for Mexican fare! If you didn’t think you could sink your teeth into a juicy, “meat-filled” taco bowl as a plant-based eater, think again! In this recipe, the meat comes from a savory mix of walnuts and cauliflower drenched in spices –and has such a heartiness of taste that you won’t even miss the actual ground beef!
This meal is also incredibly versatile; Once you make the meat, rice, black bean salsa and pico de gallo, you can use it in the taco bowl and also for various other meals – like regular tacos, nachos or quesadillas. If you’re following a low-carb or keto diet, you could also switch out the rice with cauliflower rice and leave out the corn and beans – there are so many options!
The best part about this plant-based dinner recipe is the fresh, garden-picked flavor from chopped fresh cilantro, fresh guacamole, lettuce, corn and optional chopped fresh tomatoes and jalepeno as a topper. Plus, the spices in the faux meat provide big and bold taste (like cumin, garlic powder and cayenne pepper), while being ultra-good for your health.
Enjoy this simple yet delicious recipe on “Taco Tuesday” or any other night of the week!
Get this Veggie Taco Bowl Recipe here.
4. Vegan Chickpea & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
© Photo by Cupful of Kale
Next, these amazing, truly-flavorful stuffed peppers make the perfect quick weeknight dinner, or are also wonderful if you’re having company over – as they’re both extremely tasty and quite beautiful to display. If you’re unfamiliar with harissa, it’s an African paste made from chilies, garlic, pepper and spices – which gives it a nice kick! If you like your meals spicy, the flavor combo in this recipe is divine! You can even save time by getting the harissa pre-made instead of making your own.
Though this recipe looks like something that should be on display at a fancy dinner party, you can prep the whole thing in just 10 minutes, and the cook time is only 30 minutes – so it’s totally manageable. With only 247 calories, 9g of protein, 8g of healthy fat, 40g of healthy carbs, and 8g of fiber, it’s a healthy meal for your clean, plant-based diet and lifestyle.
Get this Vegan Chickpea & Quinoa Stuffed Pepper Recipe here.
5. Vegan Kale Salad with Crispy Chickpeas
© Photo by Minimalist Baker
Finally, are you craving the perfect salad to add to your simple, plant-based menu this week? Well, you found it, as this highly-nutritious recipe has sky-high taste! This garlicky kale salad with crispy chickpeas is a restaurant-quality meal you can make in the comfort of your home in just 30 minutes.
In this eye-catching recipe, a creamy roasted garlic tahini dressing pairs nicely with fresh, crisp kale leaves, and crispy tandoori roasted chickpeas. It’s truly a “flavor explosion” and a plant-based dinner recipe you’ll love.
As you’re probably aware (after all the hype), kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods there is, and is loaded with amazing antioxidants. When consumed as apart of a well-balance plant-forward diet, kale can also support heart health.
Despite the many benefits, many people stay away from kale in salads because they can’t get past the dense, thick leaves or slightly bitter taste. However, by rubbing some olive oil and lemon into the leaves before you add the dressing, you soften up the kale and take away any toughness. You literally can’t go wrong, and you’ll savor every bite!
Get this Vegan Kale Salad Recipe with Crispy Chickpeas here.
Ready to make these yummy plant-based dinner recipes?! Let us know what you’re going to whip up first in the comments, below! For more amazing, extremely-tasty recipes for your clean and healthy diet, visit the 310 Nutrition Blog, here!
