10 Easy Plant-Based Dinner Ideas That are Quick to Make

Eating your dinner is as important as eating your breakfast and lunch. In this post, we’ll share sour favorite plant-based dinner ideas so you can try.

Like any meal of the day, you need to eat dinner regularly to supply your body with energy and nutrients. 

Dinner is a meal that is often overlooked by people who aim to lose weight. Some do this because they believe eating dinner will make them gain weight.

However, that’s not how it works. Instead, skipping meals may even make you eat more and gain weight over time. 

Plant-based dinner ideas

A plant-based dinner focuses on foods primarily from plants such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and oils. You don’t necessarily have to be a vegetarian or vegan to have this kind of meal. 

Plant-based meals can provide protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals for optimal health. Plus, you get more fiber and phytonutrients from this kind of meal. 

A plant-based diet improves your gut health by absorbing more of the nutrients you can get from food.

It supports immune function, reduces inflammation, and can lower your cholesterol level, normalize your blood sugar level, and give a smooth bowel movement. 

If you’re wondering what you will prepare for dinner, here are 10 plant-based dinner ideas that we have for you:

1. Corn and Quinoa Chowder

Take your chowder to the next level. Enjoy this thick, creamy, hearty meal packed with toasted quinoa sauteed in oil, onion, pepper, garlic, parsley, thyme, corn kernels, and beans.

You also simmer in a creamy combination of flour, broth, and milk. Top it with grated cheese as garnish. This meal goes perfectly with freshly baked bread. 

Quinoa is labeled as a superfood. This is a plant-based food that has high biological value protein.

In other words, it’s a type of complete protein that has a rich supply of the essential amino acids needed for the repair and building of muscles. 

This dinner will give you approximately 321 calories, with 48 grams of carbohydrates, 12 grams protein, and 9 grams fat.

2. Cauliflower, caper, and lemon orzo

Here’s a delicious quick and easy dish made with a unique grain-like pasta made from barley called orzo.

Bake your cauliflowers seasoned with oil and your favorite seasonings. Then, cook your orzo the way you cook pasta.

Sautée your capers and garlic until golden, then add your cauliflower, lemon zest and juice, and vegetable stock.

Add in your cauliflowers and orzo when the stock boils. If ever you can’t find orzo, any kind of pasta will work. Bring out your creativity.

Cauliflower is rich in vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, and pantothenic acid. It’s part of cruciferous vegetables that contain phytonutrients that can help fight the development of cancer.

This dinner will give you approximately 224 calories, 38 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams protein, and 4 grams fat.

3. Shepherds pie

Imagine a warm and low-calorie vegan supper sautéed with porcini mushrooms, leeks, butternut squash, and carrots.

It also tastes great when combined in a herby tomato sauce, topped with crispy slices of potatoes. A delicious dish for a fine and simple dinner

This dinner will give you approximately 315 calories, with 43 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of protein, and 11 grams of fat.

4. Hummus, spinach, into and bell pepper wraps

If you want to do something with hummus, you might find this healthy meal delightful. You have hummus, spinach, and bell peppers nestled inside a crunchy flatbread wrap.

For the Mediterranean touch, add it with tomatoes, basil, and feta cheese. You can prepare this food ahead of time and store it in your fridge. 

Hummus is made from chickpeas. Several studies support the health benefits of hummus in weight control, glucose, and insulin response.

This dinner will give you approximately 300 calories, with 34 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams protein, and 12 grams fat.

5. Vegetarian pizza

Enjoy a night of cheesy pizza topped with black olives, ripe tomatoes, green bell peppers, and Portabella mushrooms! It’s easy to make, and you can have it whenever you feel like making one. 

A serving of this pizza will give you approximately 134 calories, with 14 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, and 6 grams fat.

6. Mushroom soup

Find comfort in this dish made with cream, garlic, and onions. This will serve as a pleasant meal starter before you dive into your main dish of the night.

This dinner will give you approximately 151 calories, with 7 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, and 11 grams fat.

7. Vegetable Lo Mein

If you want to prepare something yummy and quick, try this Chinese dish. This noodle dish can stand alone without any meat.

Just toss to crisp the bell peppers, then add some coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage. In the end, this is added to the cooked noodles sauced with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, water, sesame oil, and ginger. 

This dinner will give you approximately 280 calories, with 37 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, and 12 grams fat.

8. Vegetarian Burritos

Find a little happiness in a wrap of slow cooker vegetarian burritos. It’s loaded with rice, black beans, sweet corn, salsa, seasoned with chili powder to give a tasty spicy, sweet, and smokey combination.

This is served in flour tortillas with additional toppings.

This dinner will give you approximately 102 calories, with 18 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, and 2 grams fat.

9. Garlic Herb Potato Salad

Here’s a no-mayo potato salad that you’ll enjoy for dinner. This will be a perfect fresh herb-loaded side dish for your summer barbecues!

Use baby potatoes so you won’t have to slice it into dice. When you have these boiled potatoes, mix them in oil, vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, pepper, dill, parsley, and chives. 

This dinner will give you approximately 143 calories, with 17 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, and 7 grams fat.

10. Fresh Fruit Salad Bowl

A healthy and refreshing dessert is a lovely way to end dinner, right? Make a bowl of fresh salad with slices of pineapples, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, kiwis, and a cup of yogurt fruit salad dressing. 

Fruits are rich sources of essential nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and folate.

A diet rich in fruits can lower your risk for heart diseases such as heart attack and stroke, and it helps protects you from certain types of cancers. 

This dinner dessert will give you approximately 69 calories, with 14 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams protein, and 1 grams fat.

Note that each recipe’s nutrition information varies depending on serving size and brands or food products used.

Related: 9 Easy and Delicious Keto Dinner Ideas (Family-Friendly)

Takeaway

You can still have a complete and healthy kind of dinner sourced from plants. Add these to your meal plan and try them.

Whether you are a vegetarian, vegan, or simply just want some plant-based dinner ideas, eating a plant-based dinner meal is a healthy option. 

Most importantly, no matter how tired you are at the end of the day, do your best to not miss dinner!