22 Easy Vegan Dinner Recipes to Start Your Plant-Based Journey

You'll get rave reviews from guests with this delicious open-faced sandwich—it looks high-maintenance but is super simple to make. Golden raisins and fresh parsley are in the mix to freshen and sweeten the delectable combo of Romesco and cauliflower, but you can try using cilantro and chopped dates for a different spin. Heads up: make sure to buy vegan sourdough bread.

Eggplant meatballs mixed with umami-rich mushrooms, served on fluffy whole-wheat hoagies? These sandwiches are so flavorful, your dinner guests will forget they're made without any meat. To make them vegan, make sure to skip the Parmesan cheese. And if you want the salty, savory flavor of cheese without the dairy, use nutritional yeast.

This Asian-inspired dish gets its richness from coconut milk, tomato paste, and spices.

Serve this refreshing salad with tortilla chips for added texture and flavor.

Use kale, leeks, and sweet potatoes in this warming one-pot meal. Skip the Parm for a completely vegan version.

The star of this vibrant noodle dish is a slurpable sauce that's made with a few pantry staples, including apple cider vinegar, almond butter, and toasted sesame oil. The gluten-free soba noodles, which help soak up the sauce, are then tossed with crunchy salt-marinated cucumber, peppery watercress, and quick-pickled radishes. What we love most about this flavorful plant-based meal is that it comes together in just 20 minutes.

To ensure that the tofu browns, pat it dry before cooking.

Three types of beans—chickpeas, cannellini, and kidney—ensures this chili is filling and full of protein.

While some of the main ingredients in traditional alfredo sauce are heavy cream and cheese, you can totally whip up a vegan version of the pasta topper courtesy of healthy cauliflower. The versatile veggie is combined with cashew milk and nutritional yeast to create a savory, creamy sauce made without dairy. Finish your bowl of pasta with a dusting of lemon zest and a shower of chopped, fresh parsley leaves and you're all set!

Keep your broccoli stems handy to whip up the pesto that coats this pasta. In addition to that often discarded portion of the vegetable, the savory pesto is made with roasted broccoli florets, almonds, lemon zest, lemon juice, arugula, olive oil, salt, and pepper. While the pesto does call for an optional dose of cheese, you can always use vegan-friendly nutritional yeast instead. Once the sauce is done, toss it with the pasta and top the finished dish with some extra broccoli florets and baby arugula.

Toasted pine nuts go a long way in providing flavor and texture to this sweet and savory dish.

On nights when you really don't want to fire up the stove, give this hearty, plant-based toast a try. It features a slice of toasted whole-grain bread slathered with some store-bought (or homemade) hummus. The toast is then topped with thin slices of Persian cucumbers, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of za'atar spice mix. If you're especially hungry, make two slices of toast, or serve the toast alongside a simple salad. 

Spanish olives and capers give this pasta an assertive, briny bite.

Stir some of the pasta cooking water into the finished dish to add moisture and bring all the components together.

Eggplant's meaty texture makes it a great ingredient for vegan and vegetarian dishes. To ensure that this meal is entirely vegan, use plant-based yogurt.

This Latin American staple does double duty as a main or a side dish.

Meaty eggplant stands in for, well, meat, in this filling salad. You'll also find crispy pita rounds and fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, but the best part is the flavorful green tahini that ties the whole meal together.

This colorful stir-fry, which comes together in just 20 minutes, is packed with healthy vegetables. More specifically, you've got summer squash and Japanese eggplant along with spicy red jalapeño slices. The whole thing is coated in a cornstarch-soy sauce, and served over a hearty helping of white rice.

Couscous is a miracle quick-cooking ingredient: Just cover it with hot water and allow it to steam for five minutes.

Fresh lemon juice and golden raisins give this dish unexpected brightness and sweetness.

RELATED: 9 Ways to Use Chickpeas (That Don't Involve Hummus)

Upgrade your pasta salad game with this vegan dish, which is perfect for summer picnics and potlucks. The toasted Israeli couscous base is paired with juicy summer corn kernels and a showering of fresh herbs—basil, chives, and dill—plus some caramelized onions for good measure. Trust us, you won't be longing for any meat here.

For an easy vegan meal, load up a cooked sweet potato with some of your favorite veggies. This particular recipe calls for a filling of kale that's cooked in a rich and spicy coconut sauce, which is flavored with lime juice and fragrant curry powder. You'll also find toasted coconut flakes for a little crunch, while the potato itself is flavored with grapefruit juice, butter, and allspice. For a completely plant-based recipe, just omit the butter or use vegan butter (which you can find at Trader Joe's) instead. We guarantee you won't taste the difference.