Are you a vegetarian in a rut or an omnivore just looking for some delicious meat-free meals? You’re in luck! I’ve got a whole bunch of delicious meatless dinners your whole family will love!
Happy 2025!
I hope y’all are safe and sound and that your year is off to a quiet start. No matter what you’ve decided to set as your New Year’s resolution (I have some ideas if you’re still struggling), you’re probably a bit more aware of what you’re putting into your body at the beginning of January than you are at most other times of the year. Perhaps you have set a food-related New Year’s resolution or maybe you just ate way too many cookies and not enough veggies throughout the month of December. Whatever the case may be, it’s good to have a reset every once in a while.
You can reset your eating habits in many ways, in January or any time. We all know unhealthy ways of focusing on what we are eating, but there are healthy things we can do to feel better too. One way that we can be more mindful about what we are eating that isn’t likely to end in a toxic, diet-culture spiral is to introduce a few more meatless dinners into your meal plans.
Of course, you don’t have to be in need of meatless dinners because you’re watching what you’re eating. You can be a vegetarian, someone who is looking for a small way to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, or a parent to young children who have decided to boycott meat of all kinds. Whatever your reason, I hope this list of meatless dinners is helpful to you whether you’re looking for pretty standard meals or meals that are a little unique.
All of these meatless dinners are tried and true winners in my house. A few words of warning before we get into it. These are not vegan recipes. We like butter and cheese too much in my house. I also don’t include the use of any meat substitutes in this list because my children are very skeptical of any food that has an apostrophe in the middle of it (looking at you Chick’n). Where I don’t have a link to a recipe, I’ve included my non-recipe below. You know I love a no-recipe recipe around here. Ready to cook some meatless dinners? Let’s go!
Meatless Dinners
Tomato soup
No one should be surprised to see tomato soup on a list of meatless dinners. But just because it’s not necessarily unique doesn’t mean it isn’t a great meatless dinner. It’s definitely my kids’ favorite meatless dinner. Heck, it’s their favorite dinner, period. So don’t discount this as a perfect meatless dinner to include in your rotation.
Do you know why I don’t fight the incessant requests for tomato soup for dinner? Because I can usually make it happen, no matter what my day looks like. If it’s been a terribly busy day, I can always open a can. My kids’ favorite canned variety is the Campbell’s Homestyle Harvest Tomato with Basil. We have basically tried them all and they like this one the best, so if you’re looking for a canned version, you might want to give this one a try.
If I have a little bit more time, I much prefer to make it from scratch. I am sodium-sensitive, so I like to be able to control how much salt is in the soup that I put in my body whenever I can. There are a ton of good tomato soup recipes out there, but I tend to toggle between two. First, is a simple tomato bisque recipe. The base recipe I use suggests you make haloumi cheese sticks, but I’ve never made them. I also make one that has orzo in it if we want something a little bit heartier.
My Top Tip
Whatever type of tomato soup, never forget the grilled cheese. It’s not optional. I like sourdough bread and thick slices of sharp cheddar best.
Frittata
Eggs are a great option to bulk up meatless dinners to make them super hearty and filling. Eggs are also great because they are a protein source that my kids will basically always eat. Sure you can just scramble up some eggs, but to make eggs a little more dinner-specific, why not try a frittata?
Frittatas can, of course, include meat. But my son’s favorite frittata is a meatless dinner, so I’m including frittatas on this list. If he isn’t asking for tomato soup for dinner, he’s usually asking for white pizza frittata. And I have to give it to him, it’s pretty delicious. It’s a frittata packed with cheese and Italian seasonings, topped with tomatoes and piled high with arugula. What’s not to love?
My Top Tip
A bonus of frittata is that it’s very easy to turn into an on-the-go dinner by making single-serve egg bites in a muffin tin. We often eat this delicious meatless meal on hockey nights – easy to eat in the car or the bleachers!
Pitas
If you’ve been around for any amount of time, you know I have a but if an obsession with pitas for dinner. I love them! And again, of course you can put meat in a pita, but I tend to prefer meatless pitas, so I’m including them on my list of meatless dinners.
Although I like a lot of meatless pitas, I have two specific varieties that I’m begging you to try. My very favorite pita is a BBQ ranch chickpea pita. It is so delicious. I could probably eat one each week and not get sick of it. I’ve always been a sucker for the BBQ ranch combo, but something about it in this particular iteration is just perfection. That’s it, it’s going on next week’s meal plan right now.
If you’re not into beans or you’re a monster who doesn’t like BBQ and ranch together, my other favorite pita concoction is a chipotle roasted cauliflower situation. It’s a totally different mix of flavors, but it works. Slightly spicy cauliflower, hummus, and feta just work together. If you have spice-averse kids, consider roasting some cauliflower without the spices. My spice-loving 5-year-old can take the spice, but his 2-year-old sister cannot.
My Top Tip
Try your hand at homemade pita if you feel up to it. The grocery store variety works fine, but you truly cannot beat homemade pita.
Zucchini meatballs
Meatballs of all shapes and sizes are winners in my house, so I’m happy to report that I could sneak a meatball dish into this list of meatless dinners. We have tried a fair few varieties of meatless meatballs, and I can confirm that these zucchini meatballs are the best.
First of all, they smell amazing while they’re cooking. You can’t help but be excited to eat them by the time they hit the plate. I’ve also always been surprised at how easy it is to get my children to eat them. Maybe they’re entranced by the smell so much that they forget they’re eating something green? They’re delicious as the recipe is written.
My Top Tip
Don’t skip the optional ricotta. Just a small dollop of that creamy goodness sends these meatballs over the top. I can’t get enough of them.
Sheet pan gnocchi
I love a good sheet pan meal. They are on regular rotation in my house because they’re the ultimate clean out the fridge meal. I typically just throw whatever I have in my fridge on a sheet pan, toss it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, throw it all in the oven at 400°F and dinner is served. My kids are especially excited for sheet pan dinner night when it’s a meatless experience, and I’ve found two key ingredients to making a successful meatless sheet pan dinner are gnocchi and parmesan cheese.
Jessica at How Sweet Eats turned me on to using gnocchi in my sheet pan meals. Without her, I probably never would have thrown pre-made gnocchi onto a sheet pan. But man is it good! I’ve found that it really makes a meatless sheet pan meal feel more like a whole dinner rather than a side dish. It doesn’t hurt that my kids love gnocchi every which way I’ve served it to them.
My Top Tip
One of my top kid food tips period is to introduce a new food with gnocchi. They’re way more likely to try Brussels sprouts, for example, if they’re mixed in with gnocchi and covered with what my kids call sprinkle cheese!
Black bean burgers
My husband is not a huge fan of black beans. He would never choose a dish that contains black beans if he had another option available to him. I still sneak black beans into our dinners here and there, though, because my kids and I like them and they’re a good source of protein. I usually here a bit of a gripe as he’s eating (or picking around) the beans. That doesn’t happen when I make black bean burgers. They are so good!
I originally turned him onto black bean burgers with an old recipe from Cooking Light magazine (may she rest in peace). I could kick myself for not saving it because it was so so good! I’ve tried a lot of different black bean burger recipes since then, and the second best one I’ve tried is from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
My Top Tip
Just make sure you use BBQ sauce in the patty. The slight hint of sweet smoke you get from the BBQ sauce is crucial.
Pizza
We love pizza in my house. Heck, we even had pizza for Christmas Day dinner this year. When I don’t know what to make, I often make pizza. It’s easy to forget though, so sometimes you need a reminder that it’s a terrific meatless dinner option.
If you have small kids, just a little sauce and cheese on pizza dough will be a crowd please, but there are so many other meatless topping combinations that shouldn’t be missed. Of course, pizza is a wonderful vehicle for consuming your veggies, but don’t forget that you can get a little fancier with combinations like butternut squash and sage or pepperoni chickpeas and cheese.
My Top Tip
My preference is to make my own dough when I have the time, but there is no shame in buying a dough ball at the grocery store or even using tortillas or French bread if you’re really in a pinch! In my experience, people like pizza however they can get it!
Pesto pie
When I polled my family for their favorite meatless dinners to include in this list, my son’s first suggestion was pesto pie. When the basil is plentiful in the summer, he requests it weekly. And I’m happy to oblige because it’s delicious and a great use of pesto.
Now I will warn you, this one is a little more time-intensive than most of the other ideas on this list. That’s especially true if you’re going to make your own pesto too. But let me tell you, it’s worth it. It makes a huge amount (a full spring form pan’s worth), and it’s very rich, so you don’t need a huge piece to fill your belly.
My Top Tip
If you’re not into making your own pesto, don’t fret – I’ve made it with jarred pesto with equal success!
Lasagna roll-ups
Another recipe my son insisted I include on this list of meatless dinners is his favorite lasagna roll-ups. Like most kids (and really people if we’re being honest), he loves anything that combines pasta with cheese and red sauce. He’s down with plain old spaghetti, he loves baked ziti, but his favorite way to combine these three magical ingredients is in lasagna roll-ups. He’s been known to eat thirds and his sister isn’t far behind.
I love this version in particular because it uses cottage cheese in the filling, which is super high in protein. No one wakes up hangry after a dinner of these lasagna roll-ups. Moms everywhere rejoice!
My Top Tip
If your kids don’t inspect their food for the slightest hint of green, try chopping up frozen spinach super tiny and adding it to the filling. It’s a great way to boost the nutrients in this dish if you can sneak it past!
Spinach enchiladas
Up until my late 20s, the only enchiladas I had ever made (or eaten!) were of the chicken variety. One night about a decade ago, my husband (then-boyfriend) invited a friend of his over for dinner who happened to be a vegetarian. I wasn’t used to cooking for non-meat eaters, so I did a deep dive down the vegetarian recipe rabbit role on the internet. After copious research, I found a recipe for spinach enchiladas that sounded tasty and easy to accomplish on a weeknight after a busy day at work as a junior associate at a law firm (think long days). I broke my cardinal rule of entertaining and made them for the first time for our vegetarian friend and I haven’t looked back since!
My Top Tip
The recipe calls for a filling made predominantly of spinach and cheese, but I’ve riffed in the past and added corn and/or beans to bulk it up a bit. All of the versions I’ve tried have worked well, so feel free to get creative and add whatever else to the filling that sounds good to you!
Other posts
Do you like food? Good, me too! Check out some of my other food-centric posts:
These are the best of the best, but I have so many more delicious meatless dinners in my typical rotation. Please let me know if you’d like a part 2. If I’m missing your favorite meatless dinner, please stick it in the comments below or over on Instagram @sarainseason so we can all bulk up our meatless dinner repertoires!