10 Delicious Dinners That Help You Load Up on Vegetables

Dinners that will have you loading up on vegetables.

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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Published January 08, 2026
Italian wedding soup in a bowl with vegetables and meatballs

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

When it comes to healthy eating, I’m a firm believer in adding, not subtracting—meaning incorporating more vegetables without cutting out meat. The following 10 recipes help me do exactly that. They include weeknight-friendly sheet pan dinners, where oven-roasted veggies like broccoli rabe, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and cherry tomatoes shine just as brightly as the pork tenderloin or chicken. We’ve also got hearty, vegetable-leaning soups that make full meals in a bowl, including an Italian American wedding soup and a cheesy Alpine savoy cabbage soup with French onion vibes. Trust us, with these vegetable-forward dinner recipes, adding more veggies to your diet is easier than ever.

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  • Broccoli Romanesco Pasta

    A bowl of pasta with Romanesco broccoli being sprinkled with grated cheese by a hand

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    With its spiky clusters of tightly packed conical florets, broccoli romanesco looks every bit like the striking chartreuse cousin of cauliflower. Like other brassicas, it pairs beautifully with pasta, especially when enriched with anchovies and tomato paste. In this interpretation of the late Gina DePalma’s recipe, whole wheat or farro-based pasta adds rustic texture and deeper flavor, making for a heartier, more satisfying dish.

  • Italian American Wedding Soup

    Italian wedding soup in a bowl with vegetables and meatballs

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    What this Americanized meatball version of the traditional meat-laden Italian wedding soup lacks in rustic opulence, it more than makes up for in convenience-to-flavor payoff. It delivers a seriously delicious, comforting one-bowl meal. The soup combines rich homemade chicken stock, lightly sautéed vegetables, tender meatballs seasoned with herbs, cheese, and plenty of garlic, hearty leafy greens, pasta, and a generous shower of Parmigiano-Reggiano to finish. It’s the perfect, soul-satisfying soup to warm you up on a chilly night.

  • Sheet-Pan Chicken and Asparagus With Olive-Yogurt Sauce

    A plated dish with roasted chicken thighs, asparagus, and a creamy sauce

    Serious Eats/ Amanda Suarez

    This recipe proves that, with a thoughtful approach, a two-sauce dish is no big deal and can turn a simple sheet-pan meal into something dinner-guest-worthy. It takes only a relatively short blast of super-high heat for olive-oil-dressed chicken thighs and asparagus to deeply roast—just enough time to whip up an easy olive-yogurt sauce and shave some fennel for the salad. A second sauce made from pan drippings, olive oil, and lemon juice doubles as the salad dressing.

  • Seupa Vapellenentse (Savoy Cabbage Soup)

    Serious Eats / Niedle Creative

    While Seupa Vapellenentse definitely gives off French onion soup vibes, the balance of sweet, tender, savory cabbage, nutty rye, porky pancetta, and tangy fontina in this hearty, layered brothy casserole mirrors the rich, earthy flavors of the Italian Alps. Drying the rye bread low and slow creates a sturdy, crisp texture that holds up to the broth, soaking up all that sweet, cabbage-infused flavor without getting soggy.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Sheet-Pan Root Vegetable Gratin

    A serving of root vegetable gratin on a plate with a fork garnished with herbs and set on a red background

    Serious Eats / Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Styling: Abby Armstrong

    Baking gratin in a sheet pan exposes more surface area to direct oven heat, maximizing browning and creating a higher crust-to-cream ratio. The result is plenty of crispy, cheesy sections to go around, so no one has to fight over the corner pieces. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of root vegetables, it’s hard not to immediately dig into all this hot, creamy, cheesy vegetable deliciousness.

  • Dolma (Rice-and-Meat Stuffed Vegetables)

    Overhead view of dolma

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Sweet bell peppers make an ideal vessel for these Armenian-style dolmas, stuffed with a mixture of rice, ground lamb or beef, aromatics, and spices, then braised in a savory, tangy tomato broth. Using par-cooked rice and adding a pinch of baking soda to the meat helps keep it juicy and tender while shortening the cook time so the peppers don’t turn overly soft. A dollop of cool yogurt adds a tangy, refreshing counterpoint to finish the dish.

  • Pasta al Sugo Finto (Pasta With Tuscan Vegetable Ragù) Recipe

    20210307-sugo-finto-tim-chin
    Tim Chin

    A hearty vegetable soffritto, flavored with fresh woodsy herbs, garlic, and red wine, is the star of this “fake” or meatless Tuscan ragù. To achieve that perfect meaty ragù texture, hand-dice the vegetables into small, uniform pieces so they cook evenly and keep their shape. Tomato passata creates a sauce with ideal pasta-coating consistency, while a final drizzle of olive oil adds richness and grassy, peppery notes.

  • Sheet-Pan Pork Tenderloin With Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli

    Overhead view of sheet pan dinner

    Serious Eats / Two Bites

    Thirty minutes is all it takes to pull off this flavor-packed dinner of tender, juicy pork tenderloin, caramelized sweet potatoes, and lightly charred broccoli—with minimal cleanup to boot. Start by roasting the sweet potatoes in a ripping-hot sheet pan so they have plenty of time to brown. Nestling the pork tenderloin between the vegetables protects it from overcooking and lets the seasoned porky juices flavor the sweet potatoes and broccoli.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below

  • Lasagna Alla Norma (Lasagna With Eggplant, Tomato, and Cheese)

    Side view of lasagna all norma

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This mashup of eggplant parm and pasta alla norma speaks to fans of both and is easily one of the freshest-tasting, most vegetable-forward lasagnas you can make. Because the eggplant is fried but not breaded, its silky, supple texture melds beautifully with the simple tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, ricotta salata, pasta, and fragrant basil.

  • Sheet-Pan Gnocchi With Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

    A plate of gnocchi with roasted vegetables and cheese, next to a sheet pan with more of the dish

    Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

    Refrigerated packaged gnocchi is the hero ingredient in this minimal-prep recipe. With no boiling required, the gnocchi cooks right on the sheet pan alongside the sausage, developing a golden, crisp exterior and tender interior. Adding the broccoli rabe and cherry tomatoes in stages ensures everything cooks to perfection, while red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, garlic, and lemon add layers of flavor.

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