5 Meatless Weeknight Dinners for National Vegetarian Month

Cut back on your meat intake this week with five healthy, hearty, and yummy vegetarian meals.
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Monday: Rach's Vegetarian Meatballs with Red Sauce

Spicy Meatless Meatballs with Fire-Roasted Red Sauce

Hazelnuts, cauliflower, and bread crumbs come together to make these herby meatless meatballs that you'll devour immediately—especially when paired with the homemade  fire-roasted tomato sauce.

Recipe: Try Rach's Vegetarian Meatballs with Red Sauce 

Tuesday: Black Bean, Papaya & Goat Cheese Tacos

black bean papaya goat cheese tacos

Zesty black beans with juicy papaya and crumbled goat cheese, enveloped in a toasty, grilled corn tortilla? Pure vegetarian perfection.

Recipe: Try our Black Bean, Papaya & Goat Cheese Tacos

Wednesday: Rach's Ratatouille with Oven-Poached Eggs

ratatouille with oven poached eggs

This recipe requires a lot of slicing and dicing, but the prep will be 100% worth it. With the addition of the extra easy oven-poached eggs, it's 100% filling, too.

Recipe: Try Rach's Ratatouille with Oven-Poached Eggs

Thursday: Crispy Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Arugula

crispy gnocchi with mushrooms arugula

Leftover gnocchi gets a makeover when it's pan-seared and tossed like a salad. But really, it's still just delicious carb-loaded pasta.

Recipe: Try our Crispy Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Arugula

Friday: The Best-Ever Veggie Burger

The Best-Ever Veggie Burger

This burger is a meatless miracle! It's chock-full of walnuts, lentils, farro, and mashed sweet potato—but the real magic is in the toppings.

Recipe: Try our Best-Ever Veggie Burger

Shopping List

For the vegetarian meatballs with red sauce:

  • 3/4 cup skinned hazelnuts or sliced almonds
  • 4 cups (two 12-oz. bags) mixed frozen riced broccoli and cauliflower or 4 cups leftover cooked broccoli and/or cauliflower
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 1/2 to 2/3 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 large cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp. fresh thyme or 1 tsp. (1/3 palmful) dried thyme
  • 2 tsp. fresh lemon zest or 1/2 tsp. dried lemon zest
  • 1 tsp. (1/3 palmful) ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. (1/3 palmful) crushed red pepper
  • Cooking spray for spraying, or olive or canola oil for brushing
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 small onion
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  • 1 can (about 14 oz.) crushed or diced fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
  • Hot sauce (such as Sriracha or Chipotle Tabasco)

For the black bean, papaya & goat cheese tacos:

  • 2 cups papaya
  • 1/3 cup red onion
  • 3 tbsp. fresh cilantro
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 12 (6-inch) corn or flour tortillas
  • 3 cups shredded red cabbage
  • 3 cups Tex-Mex black beans
  • 4 oz. soft goat cheese

For the ratatouille with oven-poached eggs:

  • 1 firm medium eggplant
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 medium zucchini
  • About 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 sweet red Italian frying peppers, red field peppers (large rectangular sweet peppers), or red bell peppers
  • 1 package (1 qt.) Capri or cocktail tomatoes
  • 1 large onion
  • 1/4 cup mixed fresh herbs (such as rosemary, thyme, tarragon, and parsley)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 fresh red finger chile pepper or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 8 large Araucana eggs or other organic eggs
  • Crusty baguette

For the crispy gnocchi with mushrooms & arugula:

  • 1 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 12 oz. sliced mixed mushrooms
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 tsp. each fresh rosemary and sage
  • 3 tbsp. butter
  • 16 oz. refrigerated gnocchi
  • 1 1/2 cups baby arugula
  • Shredded Parmesan

For the best-ever veggie burger: