Healthy Vegetarian Recipes
Moroccan-style stuffed peppers
Peppers are incredible. Their sweet flavour and soft texture when roasted pairs beautifully with chickpeas and rose harissa in this classic recipe
Servings 4
Calories 494 kcal
- 2 large, or, 4 small red peppers halved
- 150 g couscous
- 300 ml vegetable stock just-boiled
- 400 g tin chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 100 g feta crumbled, plus extra to serve
- 100 g SunBlush tomatoes roughly chopped
- 50 g green olives chopped
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp coriander chopped; plus extra to serve
- 1 tbsp rose harissa
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put the peppers on a baking tray, cut-side up. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until starting to soften.
Meanwhile, put the couscous in a heatproof bowl and pour over the stock. Cover the bowl and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Use a fork to fluff up the couscous, then stir through the chickpeas, feta, tomatoes, olives, lemon juice, olive oil, coriander and harissa. Season.
Take the peppers out of the oven and fill with the couscous mixture. Return to the oven and roast for a further 10 minutes. Serve with a little extra feta and coriander.
Quick beetroot chutney
This is great served on burgers or with grilled salmon or mackerel to cut through the richness
Macerating 1 hr 15 mins
Total Time 1 hr 15 mins
Servings 6
Calories 56 kcal
- 1 long or 2 round shallots finely chopped
- 1 red chilli finely chopped
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 4 tbsp gherkins diced
- 2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 500 g cooked beetroot cut into 1 cm dice
- a handful dill chopped
Put the shallots, chilli, vinegar and sugar in a bowl. Stir and leave for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the remaining ingredients, apart from the dill, stir well then leave to macerate for 1 hour. Stir in the dill and serve
Mushroom bhaji
The perfect midweek vegan dinner, this bhaji comes packed with chestnut mushrooms, garlic, ginger and turmeric. Serve with warm, fluffy naans for mopping all those juices up
Servings 4
Calories 91 kcal
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 500 g chestnut mushrooms quartered
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- a thumb-size piece ginger finely grated
- a small bunch fresh coriander stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1/2 lemon juices
- cooked basmati rice to serve
- naans to serve
Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan and fry the mushrooms for 5-10 minutes over a medium-high heat until all the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms are starting to caramelise. Scoop out of the pan. Turn the heat to low, add another drizzle of oil to the pan and cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until soft, then add the garlic, ginger and coriander stalks, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Tip in the spices and tomato purée, and cook for a few minutes before adding 100ml of water and the mushrooms back to the pan. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, then season and stir in the lemon juice and coriander leaves. Serve with basmati rice and naans.
Beetroot, apple and ginger juice
Feel refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to go with this vibrant juice recipe, made with just three ingredients
Servings 2
Calories 74 kcal
- 200 g beetroots peeled and quartered
- 2 eating apples quartered
- 2 thumb-sized pieces ginger
Push the beetroots, apples and ginger through a juicer, or alternatively, chop the beetroot and apple, and whizz in batches with 300-350 ml of water in a high-powered blender until completely smooth, then strain through a fine sieve, really pushing it through. Pour into two glasses filled with ice.
Chickpea and squash coconut curry
This chickpea and squash coconut curry is a great healthy, vegetarian midweek meal. If you can get it, Alpro coconut milk alternative has less saturated fat and fewer calories than regular coconut milk as it's made with a rice milk base
Servings 4
Calories 223 kcal
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- 1 thumb-sized piece ginger peeled and chopped
- 1 red chilli diced
- groundnut oil
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 400 g butternut squash peeled and diced
- 400 g tin chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 400 ml half-fat coconut milk or alpro coconut milk alternative
- 200 ml vegetable stock
- 150 g baby spinach
- 1 lime plus wedges to serve
Put the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli into a small food processor and blend to a paste.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a large pan and fry the paste for a few minutes with a pinch of salt, then add the spices, and fry for another minute before adding the squash and chickpeas.
Mix with the spices, then add the coconut milk and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until the squash softens and the sauce thickens.
Stir in the spinach until wilted, and squeeze in the lime juice to serve.
Mexican elotes
This is a classic way to eat corn in Mexico, and is usually bought from street vendors. Mexican crema is similar to soured cream, but saltier and creamier – perfect for cooling the fiery chilli powder in this recipe
Prep Time 3 hrs
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 3 hrs 20 mins
- 50 g butter
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- cayenne pepper
- 6 ears corn on the cob husks removed
- 50 g cotija or feta cheese
- a small bunch coriander chopped
- lime wedges to serve
- 100 g soured cream
- 50 g double cream
To make the crema, mix the soured cream and double cream with 1/4 tsp salt. Cover, and leave at room temperature for 3 hours. Keep out if using straight away, or chill and keep for up to 3 days.
Light the barbecue, and wait until the coals are grey and the flames have died down. Meanwhile heat the butter with the garlic and a pinch of cayenne in a small pan until melted, and season. Char the cobs for 10-15 minutes, continually turning, until the kernels are tender and lightly charred all over.
Brush the cobs with the melted butter, then spread the crema over evenly. Crumble over the cotija and sprinkle with a good pinch of cayenne pepper. Scatter with coriander and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.
Green bean salad with mustardy dressing
Green beans taste delicious simply steamed, but they taste even better charred on a griddle pan and mixed with a mustardy dressing!
- 400 g fine green beans trimmed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 echalion shallot finely chopped
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- a pinch caster sugar
- to serve mint, parsley or dill
Heat a frying or griddle pan over a very high heat. Toss the green beans with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season generously. Tip into the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes, turning every now and again, until blistered and cooked through.
Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining tbsp of oil, shallot, mustard, vinegar, sugar and 1 tbsp of water with some seasoning.
Tip the charred beans onto a serving platter and drizzle over the mustardy dressing. Scatter over the herbs.
Vegan overnight oats
All it takes is 10 minutes and four ingredients to make these vegan overnight oats. Finish with grated apple, coconut yogurt and maple syrup
- 125 g porridge oats
- 300 ml apple juice plus a splash (optional)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp flame raisins or golden sultanas
- 2 apples grated
- 100 g dairy-free coconut yogurt
Mix together the oats, apple juice, maple syrup and raisins. Leave to soak overnight or for at least 1-2 hours.
To finish, stir through the grated apple and another splash of apple juice if you want it a bit looser. Divide between bowls and top with a dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Vegan fajita bowl with cauli rice
Try this vibrant, nutritious bowl for a well-balanced vegan meal that has less than 200 calories
Servings 2
Calories 174 kcal
- olive oil
- 1 or 2 small red peppers seeded and sliced
- 1 red onion sliced
- 1 tbsp chipotle paste
- 200 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 small cauliflower chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt or granules
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1/2 small avocado stoned and sliced to serve
- coriander a few leaves chopped to serve
- lime wedges to serve
Heat 1 tsp oil and fry the peppers and onions for 10 minutes until soft and lightly golden. Add the chipotle paste, tomatoes and a splash of water. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.
For the spiced cauliflower rice, pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until it looks like grains. Toast the cumin in a non-stick frying pan in 1 tsp olive oil, add the garlic salt, paprika, oregano and chilli flakes, and fry for a minute before adding the cauliflower rice. Stir-fry for 4-6 minutes until the cauliflower is tender, and smells a little toasted. Season well with black pepper (and only a little salt if using garlic salt). Divide between bowls. Add the peppers on top, the avocado, and coriander leaves. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.
