17 Winter Vegetarian Recipes to Chase Away the Cold-Weather Blues

Summer produce may get all of the glory, but these weeknight recipes make winter vegetables exciting and bright.

Summer gets a lot of hype for its bounty of produce, but there’s something special, hopeful even, about cooking with winter vegetables. In the speedy recipes below, chard, cabbage, brussels sprouts, tubers and plenty of squash shine their brightest — so much so that you might not feel as eager for the arrival of spring as you once did.

1. Buttery Gochujang Tofu and Broccoli

Extra-firm tofu and broccoli florets get slicked with a smoky, spicy gochujang glaze in this flavorful recipe from Hetty Lui McKinnon. Butter and maple syrup temper the heat and lend a luxurious texture. Coating the tofu in cornstarch before pan-frying it creates a satisfying, lightly crunchy coating that absorbs the sauce like a sponge.

Recipe: Buttery Gochujang Tofu and Broccoli

2. Creamy Mushrooms and Gnocchi

Just one bite of Christian Reynoso’s gnocchi, bathed in a rich sauce of cremini mushrooms, cream, shallots and garlic, will chase away the gloominess of short, dark days. A peppery bite from arugula, added right at the end of the cooking process, ties everything together.

Recipe: Creamy Mushrooms and Gnocchi

3. Ras el Hanout Chickpea and Spinach Stew

Nargisse Benkabbou’s recipe is proof that if you have a well-stocked pantry, delicious meals are never too far behind. Canned chickpeas and tomato paste join ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend, to make this warming (and affordable) stew that tastes like the product of a whole afternoon’s simmering. A touch of acidity in the form of lemon, or a dollop of yogurt, is the final note in a symphony of flavors.

Recipe: Ras el Hanout Chickpea and Spinach Stew

4. Paneer Fried Rice

Give yourself just 25 minutes to get Zainab Shah’s paneer fried rice on the table, and you’ll thank yourself for not getting takeout. Like all fried rice recipes, this one is extremely forgiving, and it calls for frozen vegetables if you have them. (No need to thaw.) Thai green chiles give the dish a little kick, and scallions and cilantro add a fresh finish.

Recipe: Paneer Fried Rice

5. Vegetable Soup With Tamarind and Lemongrass

Tamarind and lemongrass awaken the senses in this cozy yet vibrant soup of root vegetables, greens and tofu. Yewande Komolafe uses radishes, a sweet potato and spinach here, but a heartier winter green like kale or chard would work well, too.

Recipe: Vegetable Soup With Tamarind and Lemongrass

6. Cheesy Cabbage Tteokbokki

Raw cabbage adds contrasting textures to Eric Kim’s otherwise pillowy, cheesy dish of saucy, stir-fried Korean rice cakes. Once the cabbage is showered over the top, the dish is covered to steam it ever so slightly, allowing the shredded ribbons to maintain plenty of crunch.

Recipe: Cheesy Cabbage Tteokbokki

7. Coconut-Ginger Soup With Greens

Yasmin Fahr’s one-pot recipe layers the aromatic flavors of ginger and turmeric with creamy coconut milk and handfuls of greens. And since thick soups are better than thin ones (sorry!), add half a cup of long-grain rice to make it delightfully goopy. It’s just the thing to make if you’re under the weather or need a little comfort, stat.

Recipe: Coconut-Ginger Soup With Greens

8. Kale and Squash Salad With Almond-Butter Vinaigrette

Kale and delicata squash may be seasonal superstars, but the real draw of this Ali Slagle salad has to be the dressing. Almond butter stands in for olive oil, contributing not only fat but also lots of savory nuttiness. Once whisked into the vinaigrette, the nut butter is practically unrecognizable. Your friends or family members will wonder aloud, between forkfuls of salad, what that delicious secret ingredient is.

Recipe: Kale and Squash Salad With Almond-Butter Vinaigrette

9. Butternut Squash Soup Pot Pie

Potpie on a weeknight may be a pipe dream, but Hetty’s streamlined soup is more than achievable. It has all the best parts of a potpie filling, with sweet peas, celery and carrots, as well as mashed white beans for heft and creaminess. While the soup is bubbling, bake a few squares of puff pastry for dipping.

Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup Pot Pie

10. Butternut Squash Congee With Chile Oil

Arguably the most beloved winter squash, butternut squash brings an earthy sweetness to any dish it graces. In this nontraditional but just as inviting take on congee, Hetty uses store-bought chile oil to balance the natural sugars of the squash. It’s easy and vegan, and it requires very few ingredients to boot.

Recipe: Butternut Squash Congee With Chile Oil

11. Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

Melissa Clark puts an unexpected — but welcome! — seasonal twist on the classic Caesar in this recipe. Brussels sprouts replace the standard romaine in two ways: First, half of the sprouts are roasted until crisp and browned, and then the remaining sprouts are thinly sliced. The combination of slightly caramelized bits and slaw-style shreds showcases all this vegetable has to offer.

Recipe: Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

12. Creamy Swiss Chard Pasta With Leeks, Tarragon and Lemon Zest

This pasta dish from Alexa Weibel may look energetic and green, but it is quite rich. Grated Parmesan and nutritional-yeast-spiked bread crumbs impart cheesiness, so you won’t want to skip the final garnish of herbs and citrus. “What a perfect midwinter pasta,” wrote one New York Times Cooking commenter. “Winter ingredients, but the tarragon and lemon taste like spring.”

Recipe: Creamy Swiss Chard Pasta With Leeks, Tarragon and Lemon Zest

13. Charred Cabbage and Lentil Soup

Deeply roasting cabbage to add to soup, rather than sautéing it down alongside other vegetables, lends unexpected textures and flavors to this satisfying meal. Ali pairs the thickly sliced and charred cabbage with simmered green or brown lentils for plenty of heft and protein.

Recipe: Charred Cabbage and Lentil Soup

14. Sheet-Pan Tofu and Brussels Sprouts With Hoisin-Tahini Sauce

Hetty employs two robust, versatile condiments — hoisin and tahini — when dressing simply roasted brussels sprouts and tofu to great effect in this recipe. And don’t stop there. The sauce would taste great served over charred broccoli or tossed with noodles. “You’re going to want to put it on everything!” wrote one New York Times Cooking commenter.

Recipe: Sheet-Pan Tofu and Brussels Sprouts With Hoisin-Tahini Sauce

15. Creamy Leek and Parsnip Soup

Don’t bat an eyelash if you don’t have broth hanging out in your fridge or pantry. You can still make this simple, silky soup from David Tanis without it. Just use water! It is far more important to focus on cooking the vegetables slowly to concentrate their flavor than it is to rely on a vegetable broth to do the work for you.

Recipe: Creamy Leek and Parsnip Soup

16. Creamed Kale Pizza

If you love creamed spinach, allow us to direct you to this cheesy creamed kale pizza. Ali seasons heavy cream with nutmeg, garlic and Parmesan for those familiar steakhouse flavors, but opts for curly kale, which holds up in the hot oven and crisps nicely at the edges.

Recipe: Creamed Kale Pizza

17. Soy-Braised Vegetable Jjim (Korean Vegetable Stew)

With one pot, 40 minutes and an assortment of starchy root vegetables, you can have this Kay Chun recipe, inspired by kalbi jjim, on the table for dinner. Braising the carrots, potatoes, squash, radishes and mushrooms in the oven, rather than on the stovetop, cooks them more gently, allowing the heat to be evenly distributed and requiring very little effort on your part.

Recipe: Soy-Braised Vegetable Jjim (Korean Vegetable Stew)

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