21 Vegetarian Dinner Recipes to Enjoy All Summer Long (2024)

30 Vegetarian Comfort Food Recipes for a Cozy, Plant-Based Dinner

California Style Veggie Burgers

While meat-free burgers have had quite the upgrade in recent years, if you want to make your own, this recipe combines bulgur, pinto beans, and other protein-rich ingredients into a near-perfect vegetarian patty. If you want to keep the Cali-style going, top with avocado and sprouts.

Roasted Cherry Tomato Clafoutis

This frittata-meets-souffle recipe gets its richness from coconut milk and Manchego cheese. Cherry tomatoes are roasted with garlic, thyme, and olive oil before being added to an egg mixture and baked until golden brown. Serve with a green salad for a delicious summer dinner.

Rice Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Feta

What’s not to love about this Greek-inspired salad? Long-grain brown rice is sautéed with chopped onions and garlic before being mixed with small heirloom tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, crumbled feta cheese, and a combination of fresh mint and parsley leaves. It's the perfect accompaniment to grilled vegetable burgers for a light and healthy summer meal.

Sweet Corn, Zucchini, and Tomatoes with Bulgur

Three of the season's MVPs star in this healthy grain salad that we want to eat from June through September. Zucchini, fresh corn kernels, and plump beefsteak tomatoes are sautéed, then combined with bulgur and arugula for a crowd-friendly summer starter.

Pinto Bean Burgers

Many vegetarians struggle with getting enough protein in their diets. Luckily, this meat-free burger recipe bulks up the grams with toasted almonds, panko, roasted red peppers and feta. If you’re not a fan of pinto beans, no worries—any can of beans will do—just make sure to drain the added water.

Whole Grilled Eggplant with Rice Pilaf

Try this new technique for preparing eggplant. It's charred on a grill until extra crispy on the outside and super tender on the inside. Next, it's filled with a hearty pilaf made with the duo of broken spaghetti and long-grain white rice. The whole dish is topped with an easy lemon tahini sauce and pomegranate molasses.

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauté

This is not your usual spaghetti and red sauce. It's made with three pints of fresh cherry tomatoes (choose a variety of colors for vibrancy), fresh ricotta cheese, and plenty of grated Parmesan cheese.

Cheese-Stuffed Portobello Burger

Bored of packaged veggie burgers? Upgrade your meatless Monday with these indulgent burgers made from large portobello mushrooms. They are grilled and the centers are filled with slices of provolone cheese before being layered on brioche buns with arugula and a homemade Garlic-Vinegar Mayonnaise.

Ravioli with Roasted Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Capers

Looking for a way to upgrade store-bought cheese ravioli? We've got you covered with this vegetarian summer dinner recipe that features plenty of seasonal produce, fresh basil, and, of course, Parmesan.

Grilled Vegetable Pizzas

Much as we love ordering pizza from a local joint, sometimes it's fun to make it at home. And for a vegetarian summer dinner, we can't picture anything more apt than these grilled flatbread pizzas topped with a colorful assortment of vegetables such as shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, lacinato kale, and red onion.

Corn, Tomato, and Zucchini Galette

For an easy, breezy vegetarian dinner for summer, we can't think of anything more appealing than a savory galette. This free-form savory pie is filled with thinly sliced zucchini, fresh corn kernels, roasted tomatoes, and a decadent cheese sauce.

Tomato-Eggplant Gnocchi

Get dinner on the table in 35 minutes with this quick vegetarian dinner that couldn't be more satisfying for summer, thanks to a zingy combination of sautéed eggplant and tomatoes, plus uber-creamy ricotta cheese.

Grilled Vegetables and White-Bean Fattoush

This easy-going presentation of grilled red onions and bell peppers, cannellini beans, and pita bread is a hearty and healthy vegetarian dinner recipe that you can enjoy all summer long.

Cilantro Rice Bowl with Poached Eggs and Greens

Plan ahead to make this tasty and healthy vegetarian bowl. It only requires 30 minutes of prep work but you need to allow time for letting the flavors of the pepper vinaigrette evolve. It's drizzled over a bowl of white rice, watercress, poached eggs, and radishes.

Vegetarian BLT with Roasted Shiitake Mushrooms

This bacon-free twist on a BLT has plenty of meatiness thanks to umami-rich shiitake mushrooms, which are layered on sourdough bread with all the fixings—mayonnaise, tomato slices, and fresh arugula.

Mushroom Tacos with Charred-Corn Salsa

Short on time for dinner tonight? We've got you covered with these 35-minute handheld bites for taco Tuesday. Portobello mushrooms are sliced into planks and grilled along with corn on the cob. Once charred, the kernels are cut off the cob and are tucked into corn tortillas with the mushrooms. Top with chipotle sour cream and the juice and zest of fresh lime.

Tofu with Ginger-Cilantro Sauce

Throw out any preconceived notions of tofu being bland or boring with this flavorful grilled preparation that's just right for summer. Sliced extra firm tofu is given the green treatment with a punchy sauce made from fresh cilantro, chopped jalapeño peppers, fresh grated ginger, scallions, and lime juice.

Pressure-Cooker Corn Risotto

Make use of this speedy appliance for the ultimate summer vegetarian dinner—creamy risotto with sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and Parmesan cheese.

Grilled-Eggplant Parmesan

Instead of breading and frying eggplant, we took a lighter, more seasonal approach to this Italian-American staple by grilling sliced eggplant and tomatoes and then layering them with fresh mozzarella cheese and sliced basil.

Blistered Green-Bean and Corn Frittata

Craving breakfast for dinner? How about this family-friendly summery frittata that's jam-packed with healthy seasonal vegetables?

Zucchini and Caramelized-Onion Pizza

Take store-bought pizza dough on a Mediterranean spin with thinly sliced zucchini and caramelized onions, crumbled feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and fresh mint.