Healthy Recipes Healthy Lifestyle Diets Vegetarian Recipes 18 Heart-Healthy Vegetarian Dinners to Help Reduce Inflammation By Dillon Evans Dillon Evans Dillon Evans fell in love with cooking at a very young age. He remembers the novel experiences of microwaving a bowl of oatmeal without his parents' permission and asking to make his mother's morning pot of coffee. These moments became catalysts for his interest in cooking and baking. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on February 13, 2024 Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is nutrition editor for EatingWell. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition to EatingWell, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Real Simple, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and MyRecipes. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Joseph Wanek These flavorful and nutritious vegetarian dinners are a great way to support your heart health. Each meal is made low in sodium and saturated fats to align with a heart-healthy eating pattern. Plus, to help combat pesky symptoms of inflammation like digestive issues, muscle aches and joint stiffness, these tasty dishes are packed with foods that have anti-inflammatory properties. This includes a variety of deep-orange and dark-green vegetables, legumes, whole grains and healthy fats. You’ll be making healthy and delicious recipes like our Chickpea Pasta with Mushrooms & Kale and Veggie Fajitas Recipe on repeat once you try them. 01 of 18 Red Lentil Soup with Saffron Jacob Fox This hearty red lentil soup uses spices common in Persian cuisine: turmeric, cumin and saffron. Enjoy it with a warm baguette or steamed rice. View Recipe 02 of 18 One-Pot White Bean, Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo with Lemon & Feta Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless This one-pot pasta dish with white beans, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes is lively and vibrant and leaves you with an easy cleanup. Toasting the orzo before adding the broth adds another layer of flavor. Another dark leafy green like chopped kale or Swiss chard can stand in for the spinach, but may take longer to wilt in the pan. If you use a sturdier green, add it to the pan during the last 5 minutes of cooking time. View Recipe 03 of 18 Mushroom & Tofu Stir-Fry This tofu veggie stir-fry is quick and easy, making it a great go-to weeknight meal. Baked tofu has a firm, toothsome texture that crisps well in a hot pan. You can find it in flavors like teriyaki and sesame, both of which are delicious here. Or opt for a smoked version, which has the same texture with a more robust flavor. Serve over brown rice. View Recipe 04 of 18 Eat-the-Rainbow Vegetable Soup Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall , Prop Stylist: Shell Royster This vibrant and wholesome soup recipe helps support your well-being. It’s packed with a variety of colorful vegetables, like tomatoes, which contain lycopene, a phytochemical that may help reduce inflammation. The base of the soup is prepped ahead of time and stored in separate containers. Simply add the broth and heat it in the microwave when you’re ready to eat. If you don’t wish to travel with vegetable broth or don’t have access to a microwave, you can use reduced-sodium bouillon instead and just add hot water. View Recipe 05 of 18 Meal-Prep Roasted Vegetable Bowls with Pesto Your co-workers will be jealous when you pull out this healthy lunch of roasted veggies and brown rice. Put together 4 lunches when you have time and you will have packable lunches (or ready-to-eat dinners) for several days--just grab a container on your way out the door in the morning. View Recipe 06 of 18 Ash-eh Reshteh (Persian Bean & Pasta Soup) Photographer: Grant Webster, Food Stylist: Addelyn Evans, Prop Stylist: Gabe Greco Ash-eh reshteh is a hearty bean and noodle soup that’s packed with fresh herbs. The vegetarian soup is often made for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, but it’s delicious any time. View Recipe 07 of 18 Veggie Fajitas Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Joseph Wanek These veggie fajitas are packed with sweet bell pepper and red onion. Creamy avocado and warm tortillas complete the meal. The veggies alone make a great meal-prep recipe to have on hand. Serve them over rice, or heat them up over tortilla chips topped with melting cheese. To get a little char on your tortillas, place them over a medium gas flame and cook until darkened in spots, flipping once. Place on a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep warm. View Recipe 08 of 18 Three Sisters Stew Nate Lemuel This Three Sisters Stew recipe is easy to make, nutritious and delicious. The Three Sisters are corn, beans and squash, which have been planted together for centuries by Native peoples and have spiritual significance for some. In New Mexico, it is often said that a healthy environment means a healthy culture, which leads to healthy people, and the way these vegetables grow in the garden exemplifies this notion of interconnectedness. The beans climb the cornstalks, the squash leaves shade the soil, limiting weed growth, and the beans fix nitrogen into the soil as well as help stabilize the cornstalks. This stew is perfect for a cold winter day, and wonderful as an encore the next day if you have any leftovers. This recipe is part of our spotlight, There's a Movement to Revitalize Indigenous Cuisines and Knowledge—Here's Why That Matters. View Recipe 09 of 18 Vegetarian Sliders with Black Beans, Chard & Poblanos Ellen Silverman These vegetarian sliders are filling, flavorful and make for a great protein-packed main dish. Take your time patting the beans dry: it keeps the sliders from falling apart. You can make 8 larger patties, to fit regular-size buns, but try to keep them about 1/2 inch thick so they'll heat through under the broiler without burning. View Recipe 10 of 18 Vegan Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl with Creamy Green Sauce In a vegan riff on green goddess dressing, cashews provide a creamy base with tons of flavor from herbs and apple-cider vinegar. Drizzle it all over this bowl of quinoa and roasted vegetables to make a satisfying vegan dinner or easy packable lunch that is ready in just 30 minutes. View Recipe 11 of 18 Vegan Mushroom Bolognese This Bolognese sauce recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. We swap out the beef and pork for button mushrooms to keep this traditional comfort food vegan yet weighty with umami flavor. And while some recipes call for red wine, this recipe sticks with Hazan's white wine selection. View Recipe 12 of 18 Black Beans & Avocado on Quinoa The Chicago Diner Healthy fats, plant protein, vitamins and minerals are just some of the benefits to this delicious vegetarian main dish. View Recipe 13 of 18 Lentil Sloppy Joes This simple recipe for slow-cooked sloppy joes is perfect for vegetarians as the traditional beef is replaced with heart-healthy lentils. View Recipe 14 of 18 Rainbow Grain Bowl with Cashew Sauce This vibrant bowl is packed with nutrients to keep you full for hours. Look for precooked lentils in the refrigerated section of the produce department. View Recipe 15 of 18 Stuffed Sweet Potato with Hummus Dressing Hearty yet simple to prepare, this stuffed sweet potato with black beans, kale and hummus dressing is a fantastic 5-ingredient lunch for one! View Recipe 16 of 18 Pressure-Cooker Grain Bowl Whip up this healthy vegetarian grain bowl with ease in your Instant Pot. Pressure-cooking the sweet potato is faster and yields the perfect texture. A drizzle of homemade spicy dressing takes this easy dinner to the next level. View Recipe 17 of 18 Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Bolognese Beans stand in place of ground beef in this hearty vegetarian sauce that's ready when you are—thanks to the crock pot. The prep is quick and easy to do in the morning before heading off to work. When you get home, just cook up some whole-wheat pasta to serve it over and dinner is ready. If you have leftovers, freeze them for an easy meal another day. View Recipe 18 of 18 Bean Burgers with Spicy Guacamole These bean burgers will even please carnivores. The cornmeal coating gives a pleasant crunch and smoked paprika, cumin, cilantro and guacamole add Southwestern flavor. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit