I’m not vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, or strictly vegetarian—but when it comes to dinner, I almost always lean that way. There’s something satisfying about building a meal around plants—it feels creative, colorful, and just a little bit adventurous.
When figuring out dinner, it’s fun to pull cookbooks, including vegetarian wonders like Sundays Moosewood Restaurant, off the shelf and flip through dog-eared pages in search of the perfect recipe. But let’s be honest: what starts as a quick five-minute browse can easily spiral into an hour-long deep dive. And on a busy weeknight, time isn’t exactly an ingredient I have in abundance. So like most of us, when I need inspiration in a hurry, I turn to the internet—hoping for that magical combination of simple, satisfying, and just different enough to keep dinner interesting.
Which is which?
Vegetarian- While vegetarian diets vary, in general it relates to a diet in which meat products and other products derived from animal use and slaughter are avoided. Common types include Lacto-Vegetarian, Ovo-Vegetarian, and Pescatarian.
Vegan- A vegan diet is one in which no food derived from animals or other animal products is consumed. As a result, a vegan diet is based on a wide variety of plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and plant-based oils and spices for flavor. Strict vegans avoid all meat, dairy, eggs, and honey.
Whole Plant Food Diet
This diet emphasizes nutrient-dense, unrefined plant foods—vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. It uses few animal products or highly processed foods.
Although the science behind foods that mimic the texture of meat is undeniably fascinating, that’s not usually what I’m after. When I’m searching for a recipe, I want something creative, flavorful, and realistically doable - dishes built from ingredients I probably already have in my fridge or pantry.
Over the years, I’ve curated a trusted collection of vegetarian recipe resources that deliver on taste and simplicity. While many of them offer everything from smoothies to sweets, I head straight for the savory section. If you’re looking to refresh your dinner rotation, you just might discover your next go-to favorite among them.
Love and Lemons
This blog highlights cooking with seasonal fruits and vegetables. It is connected to three cookbooks of the same ilk. Memorable recipes included tofu sofritas and lentil soup. The recipes include equipment lists and storage hints and are written in easy-to-follow numbered steps. Some recipes also include a listing of how each ingredient contributes to the overall dish. For example, in the sofritas, “Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce – They add smoky, tangy flavor and amp up the jalapeño’s heat.” This is helpful when seeking a substitute or leaving an ingredient out completely.
Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
No monkeying around here, this blog written by a mother-daughter team provides recipes based on a Whole Plant Food diet. Some recipes recreate comfort food to be plant-friendly. In this regard, they can be a bit more complicated and nuanced. Recipes offer “tips for success” and “pantry products” to provide more information about ingredients. This makes the cooking a true culinary learning opportunity. Careful recipe reading is required as they are written with lots of detail. While the lentil stew and another tested recipe, Low Fat Kale and Bean skillet, were straightforward, this site also contains recipes that work to mimic “the real thing.” This was the case with Vegan Fillet-O-Fish Sandwich. A mixture of chickpeas and hearts of palm worked to take on fish texture. Seasonings including “Old Bay” captured the flavor profile of a traditional fillet o fish.
Minimalist Baker
While the title of this blog might be a misnomer, it’ worth checking out. While it is not exclusively a vegetarian blog, when I search by key ingredients, it frequently pops up. This blog lets you filter by categories that include season, special diet, cuisine, recipe type, and ingredient. All the recipes are coded to inform you of its characteristics. For example, the Sweet Potato Chickpea Buddha Bowl was GF, VG, V, DF, and NS. This meant gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, and naturally sweetened. Clear and enticing photos accompany recipes and help a novice cook follow along, but only careful reading will lead to success. Other hits were Lentil Meatballs and Vegan Cheesy Pizza Beans. I am eager to try Vegan Sesame Noodles with Crispy Tofu and Crispy Kimchi Rice Fritters.
Well-Plated
Well-Plated provides easy, affordable recipes that cooks of any skill level can successfully produce. The blog aims to give wholesome food using everyday ingredients.
I appreciated the numerous serving and storing tips for Vegan Enchiladas. While the entrée was quite tasty, it wasn’t the simplest to make. It required enchilada sauce and pureed tofu. More straightforward was General Tso Tofu, a one pot meal. The steps are delineated well and like many of the other sites, information regarding ingredients helps you understand their function and importance.
Cookie and Kate
All the recipes on this site are vegetarian. Kate is the cook and author of the site. Not that it’s important, but Cookie pays homage to her canine companion of 14 years who passed away in 2023. Kate is also the author of Love Real Food. Categories on this blog are by meal. Her recipes are easy to follow and give helpful commentary. For example, for lentil burgers, she writes “the consistency of chunky hummus (err on the side of caution here).” Recipes provide dietary alternatives to make something gluten-free or egg-free.
I would be remiss to not include some other good resources including Fool Proof Living and Loving It Vegan. Like the others, these blogs get people cooking and feature many of the same attributes.
If you follow a vegetarian diet and even if you don’t, I encourage you to check out all these sites. You are bound to gain some inspiration. The Chopping Block is also a great resource. See how mushrooms can be a great meat-free alternative in The Mighty Mushroom on Tuesday, April 7 at 6pm, or improve your use of vegetables with Crave Worthy Vegetables on Monday, April 27 at 6pm. Just filter the class calendar by either vegetarian or vegan to see all of these classes!
