14 Comforting Winter Flexitarian Recipes for More Vegetable-Forward Meals

Having grown up appreciating the value of eating the whole animal—whether it was a pig or a fish, we always ate it head to tail—I know I’m not likely to abandon eating meat and seafood anytime soon. Frankly, being a carnivore is practically in my DNA, and the idea of never sinking my teeth into a perfectly grilled piece of crispy pork belly makes me rather sad. But I still like to enjoy animal protein in moderation by incorporating more veggie-forward meals and plant-based ingredients into my diet—what some like to call being a flexitarian.

Whether you’re only going meatless a few days a week or eat mainly vegetarian while occasionally enjoying a steak or barbecue ribs, we’ve come up with 14 deliciously satiating and warming recipes to make going flexitarian an easy endeavor. Most are vegetarian or vegan, like our farrotto, lasagna alla Norma, chili, and udon noodle soup, while a couple combine meat with a nutrient-dense legume, such as our lentils with sausage or our Italian chickpea and pork rib stew. Feel free to modify these recipes however you like—top your udon with an egg or your veggie burger with melty cheese, swap in plant-based sausages and vegetable broth, or swirl in some creamy Greek yogurt. Being flexible is the name of the game.

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Who doesn’t love a creamy, savory pot pie on a cold winter’s night? This vegetarian version is packed with umami-rich ingredients like mushrooms, carrots, parsnips, pearl onions, and fresh thyme, topped with crispy, buttery store-bought puff pastry. It’s so deeply satisfying, you won’t even miss the chicken.

Get Recipe: Vegetarian Mushroom Pot Pie

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Although panang curry is famously made with beef, here we swapped in winter squash for a plant-based version. The thick, ultra-rich sauce—made from coconut cream and peanutty panang curry paste—clings to the kabocha squash, transforming it into a warm, comforting dish that’s best served with lots of steamed rice.

Get Recipe: Winter Squash Panang Curry

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This risotto alternative made with farro is higher in protein and fiber than ordinary white short-grain rice, so not only is it delicious, but it’s also nutrient-dense and satiating. Aside from roasting the butternut squash to enhance its sweetness, the farrotto is done in one pan—making it super easy to whip up for a weeknight meal.

Get Recipe: Butternut Squash and Kale Farrotto

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In this iteration of farrotto, we pair woodsy mushrooms with tangy sun-dried tomatoes to amplify the earthiness and savory appeal of the ancient grain. Like our butternut squash version, it has a nutty flavor, a wonderfully creamy consistency, and a nice chewy texture. Serve it with a healthy dose of grated Parmesan cheese.

Get Recipe: Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato Farrotto

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On one of those non-meatless nights, you can get this pressure-cooker chicken chile verde on the dinner table in about half an hour. It’s loaded with peppers, onions, and chunks of tender chicken, so all you need to round out your meal are some warm corn tortillas, a few lime wedges, some fresh avocado, onion, and cilantro.

Get Recipe: Pressure-Cooker Chicken Chili Verde

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Here, nestling sausages into lentils and pressure cooking them together infuses the lentils with meaty flavor and guarantees that they’re cooked quickly and evenly. The addition of onion, apple, thyme, and cumin enhances the warm, earthy flavor profile. You can totally swap in plant-based links and vegetable broth if you want to make this dish vegan.

Get Recipe: Pressure Cooker Lentils and Sausage

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A big, steaming pot of chili is the ultimate cold-weather food, and Kenji’s vegan rendition of this classic is full of deep spicy flavor and textural contrast. Using several types of whole dried chiles with different flavor profiles gives this chili the ideal balance of sweet, smoky, spicy, and rich fruity notes. The combination of kidney beans, chickpeas, and vegetables offers a complexity of textures that serve as the rib-sticking meaty backbone of the chili.

Get Recipe: The Best Vegetarian Bean Chili

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A good way to eat less meat or stretch it out is to pair it with a nutrient-rich plant-based protein, like chickpeas. Here, tender chickpeas, fall-off-the-bone pork ribs, and soft nubbins of potato come together in a satisfying and delicious stew, with the pressure cooker doing all the work—and fast.

Get Recipe: Italian Pressure-Cooker Chickpea and Pork Rib Stew

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While there are many delectable variations of vegetarian lasagna out there—like spinach, squash, and Brussels sprout—to warm you up on a chilly evening, Daniel’s layered lasagna version of the classic pasta alla Norma is in a league of its own. The eggplant is fried, but not breaded as it would be in an eggplant parm, and melds beautifully with the thick tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, ricotta salata, and pasta. What a lovely way to eat your vegetables!

Get Recipe: Lasagna Alla Norma (Lasagna With Eggplant, Tomato, and Cheese)

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Finding a vegan burger that, to quote Kenji, “doesn’t suck,” makes it just a bit easier to go meatless. This ultimate veggie burger is fully loaded with flavor and has a “meaty” texture thanks to chickpeas, lentils, mushrooms, cashews, pine nuts, barley, and roasted eggplant—so it’s not only insanely good, but good for you, too.

Get Recipe: Homemade Vegan Burgers

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The key to an umami-rich vegan broth is to choose the right combination of dried and fresh mushrooms, along with some major flavor-boosting kombu. Here, udon noodles and broth are topped with stir-fried mushrooms, scallion, raw enoki, and fried tofu for protein. You can crack a soft-cooked egg over the top if you’re not going strictly vegan for the day.

Get Recipe: Vegan Japanese Udon With Mushroom-Soy Broth, Stir-Fried Mushrooms, and Cabbage

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In this recipe, we start with a classic hearty Italian polenta and kale soup but then give it a distinctively Japanese spin by replacing the Parmesan with white miso paste, soy sauce, scallions, and toasted sesame oil. Homemade vegetable broth takes it up a notch, resulting in a soup that’s both simple and undeniably tasty.

Get Recipe: Hearty Vegan Polenta and Kale Soup With Miso and Toasted Sesame Oil

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Pasta with chickpeas is a no-brainer if you’re looking for a cheap, filling meal—and it also happens to be Italian comfort food at its best. We purée a portion of the chickpeas into the sauce base to give the dish body and creaminess. Adding a little tomato paste in with the aromatics provides savory depth, as well as a touch of color.

Get Recipe: Pasta e Ceci (Pasta With Chickpeas)

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Bright with turmeric and seasoned with ginger, this chicken-potato-red lentil porridge gets a pungent hit from mustard oil and a spicy kick from green chutney. It’s what your belly needs to feed a cold, or simply to warm and nourish your body from the inside out.

Get Recipe: Bengali Rice Porridge With Lentils and Chicken

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