26 Recipes That Will Make You Love Vegetables (2024)

Go easy. Don’t hesitate to down some vegetables in the AM, says Chris Mohr, Ph.D., R.D. For a quickie breakfast, cook a couple of eggs over easy, top with a large handful of arugula, drizzle with olive oil, and add a pinch of sea salt.

Scramble ‘em up. Sauté a handful of broccoli and onions until they’re soft (toss in some red bell pepper if you can handle extra produce). Add four egg whites and one whole egg, scramble them up and top with grape tomatoes or salsa, suggests Jim White, R.D.N., spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Think Mexican. Spread black beans on top of warm corn tortillas and top with gooey eggs and fresh homemade salsa with this game-changing huevos rancheros recipe.

Bake them into a frittata. Beat two eggs with salt, pepper, and whatever fresh herbs you have on hand. Tarragon, sage, and thyme are great options, says Keri Glassman, M.S., R.D. Roast any leftover vegetables in your fridge—like Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, and butternut squash—in a skillet. Combine eggs, vegetables, and 2 ounces of turkey or ham in a baking dish or pour into individual muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees until eggs are no longer runny.

Cook the best brunch. Drizzle one bunch of asparagus with olive oil and bake alongside thick-cut bacon for about 15 minutes. Crack a couple of eggs into a muffin tin and bake until the yolk is how you like it. Toast an English muffin and top with asparagus, bacon, your poached egg, and hollandaise. (Here’s how to whip up silky hollandaise sauce.) Find the full recipe here from Add a Pinch.

Related: The 14 Best Ways to Eat an Egg

Bury them in a chocolate smoothie. Combine 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (we love this organic whey protein from the Men’s Health store), ½ a frozen banana, 1 Tbsp of peanut butter, and 2 cups of frozen or fresh spinach. Blend until there are no visible flakes of spinach left. You won’t even be able to taste it, says White.

Glassman recommends this tip, too. Try this chocolate-y shake: Combine 1 cup organic chocolate milk, ½ cup blueberries, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, and 1 cup of spinach. Blend until smooth.

Try adding vegetables to one of these healthy, protein-packed smoothies, too.

Opt for veggie noodles. Spiralize 2 cups of zucchini or carrots to use as a pasta alternative, suggests Carolyn Brown, M.S., R.D. Sauté your vegetables in 1 Tbsp of olive oil until tender. Top with a serving of your favorite jarred sauce (read your labels, it should be low in added sugar)—pesto, tomato sauce, or an Asian peanut sesame sauce are always winners, she says. (If you want to punch up the protein, try these zucchini noodles with shrimp and chickpeas.)

Fry your own cauliflower rice. Buy pre-chopped, frozen cauliflower rice or buy fresh cauliflower and chop it up yourself with a food processor or cheese grater, suggests Brown. Then, add 1 Tbsp of oil or grass-fed butter to a frying pan. Add 2 cups of your "rice" and stir ‘til brown. Crack an egg and scramble into your mix. Finish off with a dash of soy sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Related: 6 Power Foods You Should Be Eating

Bulk up your sauce. If you’re craving comfort food, consider adding vegetables to your pasta sauce. Go lighter on the noodles to make room for produce, says White. Try this: Combine one jar of your favorite marinara sauce (or make it yourself with this recipe), 1 lb of lean ground turkey, and 2 to 3 cups vegetables. White recommends using 2 heads of broccoli, 1 bell pepper, and 2 to 3 cloves of garlic for the tastiest mix.

Take your quesadilla up a notch. Glassman loves this recipe: Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a medium sized pan. Place 1 whole grain tortilla in the pan. Layer ¼ cup chopped broccoli rabe, ¼ cup corn, ¼ cup black beans, 2 Tbsp chopped onion, and ¼ cup cheddar cheese on one side. Fold the other half over and cook, flipping until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Choose grown-up grilled cheese. This sandwich from The Dreaming Foodie has us drooling. Layer guacamole, a slice of your favorite cheese, onions, spinach, mushrooms, and more cheese between two pieces of buttered bread over medium heat in a pan. Find the full recipe here.

Ditch the chips. Dip sliced carrots and red bell pepper into 1/4 to 1/3 cup of hummus or guacamole, suggests White. (Skip the packaged stuff and make the most delicious hummus or guacamole from scratch.)

Or make your own chips. Yes, you can make kale taste like Cool Ranch Doritos. Here’s how: Combine 1 oz. packet ranch salad dressing powder, 1 Tbsp white cheddar popcorn seasoning, and 1 Tbsp smoked paprika. Toss the seasoning onto ¾ bunch kale rubbed with olive oil. Bake until crispy, about 20 minutes.

Nosh on chickpeas.Rinse one can of chickpeas, sprinkle with garlic salt, and roast at 425 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until you reach your desired crispiness, suggests Marie Spano, R.D., a sports nutritionist for the Atlanta Hawks. (Try this recipe if you want to add a little bit of a kick. It tastes like popcorn, but one cup will yield nearly 14 grams of protein.)

Succumb to the salt. This edamame recipe is seriously addicting. Boil one 12 oz. bag of shell-on edamame until the pods are hot. Toss them in 1 Tbsp of stir-fry sauce, ½ tsp of sesame seeds, 2 Tbsp of wasabi, and some sea salt to taste. Eat the beans only and discard the shells.

Satisfy your hunger. Add a handful of cherry tomatoes, a handful of fresh chopped basil, a pinch of black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to 1 cup of cottage cheese, says Mohr. This combo will keep you feeling full, since 1 cup of cottage cheese typically offers more than 20 grams of protein.

Related: 7 Healthy Snacks That Suppress Your Appetite

Prep your perfect side dish. Make your roasted veggies in bulk so you have them on hand all week, says White. Toss broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and sliced red onion in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper to coat. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Pair with rice or quinoa and a chicken breast, suggests White.

Be generous with seasoning. Combine a pan full of vegetables coated in avocado oil with garlic, sea salt, pepper, rosemary, and smoked paprika to taste, suggests Spano. Bake in the oven at 425 degrees until they reach your desired tenderness, typically about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on which vegetables you choose.

Wrap them in bacon. As Kevin from Closet Cooking notes, this salty and sweet combo is super simple: After wrapping your well-scrubbed carrots in bacon, bake them for about 30 minutes, adding a glaze of maple syrup halfway through. Find the full recipe here. (Here are 25 other foods you should most definitely wrap in bacon.)

Spice up sweet potato wedges. You’ll ditch greasy fast food fries after you try these sweet potato wedges. Cut 4 small sweet potatoes (or 2 large ones) into ½” wedges. Toss them with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp chile powder, and 1 tsp salt. Grill over direct heat until crispy. Transfer wedges back into a bowl, drizzle with 1 Tbsp maple syrup and toss with 1 Tbsp cilantro.

Embrace summer flavors. After soaking fresh sweet corn in their husks for an hour, grill them over direct heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently. Once cool, remove their husks and silk and brush with melted butter. Return to the grill until kernels are browned. Sprinkle with hot chile powder and Parmesan. (Find the full recipe here.)

Smother your carrots in butter. And honey. And garlic. Bake until they’re tender for a mouth-watering side dish. Sprinkle with parsley. Find the full instructions here from The Recipe Critic.

Make the ultimate muscle meal. Garlic, onions, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, and beans?! This savory chili combines a whole lot of vegetables mixed with a whole lot of beef—and you’ll love every bite. Plus, most of the ingredients will simmer for 45 minutes while you relax. Make it once, eat for a week. Find the full recipe here. (Looking to melt fat while maintaining lean muscle? Check out the MetaShred Diet from Men’s Health —it's full of delicious meal ideas like this one.)

Cook it slow. Throw four chicken breasts and one jar of your favorite salsa into a Crockpot and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours (or low for 8 to 10 hours), suggests White. Shred the chicken once it’s cooked and serve with quinoa, black beans, romaine lettuce, 1/4 avocado, tomatoes, and salsa for a flavorful taco salad.

Related: 50 Ways to Prepare Chicken Breast

Grill them on a stick. Place turkey sausage, fresh cut pineapple, a large zucchini, cut up bell peppers, mushrooms, and red onion on skewers. Grill until the veggies are tender and the sausage is cooked through. Coat them in pineapple BBQ sauce for the best outdoor dinner. Find the full recipe here from Celebrating Sweets.

Serve up a stir-fry. Buy pre-cut vegetable mixes, fresh or frozen, at the grocery store so you waste less time on prep, says White. Sauté diced chicken in a pan until almost cooked through. Add about 2 cups of your favorite vegetable mix and cook until tender, but not too soft. Add a serving of soy sauce, teriyaki, or both. Be sure to measure those out. “The sodium and calories in those sauces can sneak up on us,” says White.