10 Vegetarian Dinner Recipes That Celebrate Spring

Featuring the best of what's in season, including the sweetest, snappiest peas, tender, vibrant asparagus, fresh herbs, and more.

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and pastry chef. She has also curated and written numerous recipe roundups for Serious Eats.
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Updated May 04, 2025
Pot of shakshuka on grey stone surface, with coffee cup, and side of pita.

Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

While I might not experience the changing of the seasons quite as acutely living in San Francisco, where our idea of "cold" is 48 degrees, I, too, am ready to shed the cozy sweaters and ditch rib-sticking winter stews. With April comes slightly warmer weather, later sunsets (thanks, Daylight Saving Time), and a new crop of bright, vibrant spring vegetables at farmers' markets and grocery stores—all of which get me excited to cook more vegetarian meals, like the ones I've curated for this roundup.

These recipes take full advantage of what's in season—such as a pasta primavera that actually showcases spring vegetables like sugar snap and English peas, fava beans, and asparagus, and a spectacularly vibrant green shakshuka made with lots of fresh spinach and herbs. Most of these dinners come together in under an hour and some in as little as 30 minutes, so you can get dinner on the table faster and sit down to a flavorful, satisfying meal at the end of a busy day.

  • Pasta Primavera (Pasta With Spring Vegetables)

    Pasta Primavera served inside a dish, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper, and served with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

    Serious Eats

    While pasta primavera appears year-round on many popular chain restaurant menus—it's about as ubiquitous as Caesar salad—there's typically nothing "spring-like" about the vegetables. The same can't be said about our easy and delicious version of the traditional springtime classic, which is virtually bursting with vibrant green color. We combine tender blanched fava beans, English peas, asparagus, snap peas, and broccolini with a light, lemony crème fraîche–based sauce that complements the natural sweetness of the vegetables and lets their bright flavors shine through.

  • Green Shakshuka

    Pot of shakshuka on grey stone surface, with coffee cup, and side of pita.

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    Our riff on the North African one-pan classic is made with a green sauce packed with fresh herbs, spinach, and spices that's an ideal counterpoint to rich, runny eggs. Blanching the herbs and spinach in a baking soda solution preserves their gorgeously vibrant hue and makes it easier to blend into a creamy, velvety sauce. The dish is ready in about 30 minutes, so it's a perfect dinner to make on a busy weeknight—served with lots of crusty bread for dipping.

  • Upside Down Sheet-Pan Asparagus Tart

    Overhead view of serving asparagus tart

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    This attractive savory tart comes courtesy of recipe developer Melissa Gray, who came up with a simply ingenious method of cooking the asparagus underneath puff pastry. While the pastry bakes to a flaky golden brown, trapped steam renders the slender spears perfectly tender and juicy as creamy goat cheese melts around them. Everything comes together, including prep and unattended baking time, in under an hour so you can easily make this for a weeknight supper.

  • Vegan Chickpea Cakes with Mashed Avocado

    Overhead view of vegan chickpea cakes

    Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

    Loaded with tons of fresh parsley, mint, and cilantro and coated in crispy breadcrumbs, these vegan chickpea patties have all the flavors and vibes of falafel without deep-frying. Leaving some of the chickpeas whole provides a nice textural contrast in the filling, while bright, creamy smashed avocado adds richness. Serve them with a side of tossed greens to round out the meal.

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  • Grilled Whole Cauliflower

    Side view of whole head of roasted cauliflower

    Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

    How do you turn a head of cauliflower into a flavorful vegetarian main? Grill it of course! But before you set your cauliflower heads on the grill, give them a good long soak in salted water to ensure they're seasoned all the way down to the core, then cook them over indirect heat with the grill cover on so the cauliflower becomes tender without burning the outside. Slather on a teriyaki glaze for a savory finish.

  • Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

    Mushroom and asparagus risotto plated in a shallow dish.

    Serious Eats / Mateja Zvirotic Andrijanic

    Although this recipe calls for chicken stock, you can easily swap it out for vegetable stock to make this completely vegetarian. Fresh asparagus added towards the end of cooking provides a pop of color and bright vegetal flavor that balances out the deeply mushroom-y risotto—a combination of fresh sautéed mushrooms and dry mushroom-infused stock—and extra umami from the soy sauce, miso, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

  • Charred Broccoli With Taleggio Cheese Sauce and Gremolata

    Overhead view of charred broccoli with taleggio cheese sauce

    Serious Eats / Jen Causey

    For a satisfying vegetarian main that can hold its own to a steak entrée and feel just as indulgent, we give broccoli the steak treatment, charring fat filet-like pieces until tender and pairing it with a luxurious Taleggio cheese sauce. A simple gremolata cleverly made from broccoli scraps adds zesty fresh flavor and acidity to balance out Taleggio's richness. This might just become your favorite version of cheesy broccoli.

  • Stir-Fried Cucumbers With Trumpet Mushrooms

    Overhead view of wok stir-fried cucumbers and trumpet mushrooms

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Though this vegetarian stir-fry is quick and simple, it's far from basic. Cucumbers, salted and drained first to prevent them from turning mushy, become tender, succulent, and fruity in the blazing heat of a wok and infused with smoky wok hei with the aid of a blowtorch. Hard-seared meaty king trumpet mushrooms and funky, salty, and spicy fermented bean curd add umami and layers of flavor.

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  • Sheet-Pan Spiced Cauliflower and Tofu With Ginger Yogurt

    bowl of sheet pan cauliflower and tofu with yogurt sauce

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Sheet-pan dinners are made for weeknight meals—quick to prep and requiring minimal cleanup. This recipe for roasted spiced cauliflower and tofu comes together in under an hour, much of it hands-off cooking time. Ginger-yogurt and an onion-herb salad round out the dish for a flavorful and satisfying meal.

  • Eggplant Rice Bowl (Donburi)

    Closeup of Japanese rice bowl with eggplant, pickled cucumbers, and vegetables

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Sweet and savory braised eggplant is the star component in this easy one-bowl meal that's layered with textures and flavors. Quick-pickled cucumber provides a refreshing crunch, while dried shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, and miso add depth and richness to the eggplant and stir-fried vegetables. A few store-brought Japanese garnishes give the assembled rice bowl an additional boost of color and umami.

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