These 9 Plant-Based Recipes Have Made My Winter Warmer

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Cold salads in winter? No thanks – my summer plant-based staple doesn’t quite cut it when it’s freezing outside. Instead, I crave warm and hearty dishes to keep me feeling cozy throughout winter. That’s why I’m sticking with these vegetarian recipes until, you know, it’s the season for cold salads once again.

Butternut Squash Pasta

Don’t make the mistake of thinking squash is only an autumnal thing. This creamy butternut squash pasta recipe has warmed me up multiple times since the temperature dropped. You’ll make a thick, velvety sauce from cashews and butternut squash. You can add extra protein with an optional cup of peas, but don’t worry – just the pasta and the vegetable-based sauce will be filling enough.

Lentil, Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew

What’s winter without a hearty pot of stew? Turns out, you don’t need beef to make your stew recipe hearty and filling, either. Just throw lentils, chickpeas and sweet potatoes into the mix, and you’ve got yourself a vegan-friendly meal that’s filling — and delicious.

Spicy Tomato Gnocchi With White Beans, Spinach and Vegan Sausage

The name of this recipe is certainly a mouthful, as is the hearty combination of potato dumplings, vegan sausage and white beans. I love it because it’s simple: you can use jarred sauce, pre-made sausage, a can of white beans and store-bought gnocchi to quickly create a fresh, flavorful meal.

Korean BBQ Jackfruit Sliders

Cold weather Sundays usually see us curling up and watching football all day long. If you’re looking for a tasty, filling game day meal, then look no further than these vegan BBQ sliders. Who doesn’t love a burger on a brisk day?

American Vegan Goulash

American goulash is a simple combination of ground meat, pasta, tomatoes and spices. You can create a vegan version if you have some tempeh on hand, or even a few vegan burger patties – cook them up and add them to your heart, plant-based stew. I love this recipe when it’s fresh and because it makes great leftovers. So, when you need a warm pick-me-up say, at lunchtime, you’ll have a tupperware full of goulash to get you through.

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Chipotle Pumpkin Bourbon Chili

A vegan bowl of chili that incorporates booze? Sign us up! This hearty recipe gets a kick from the bourbon but, at the end of the day, it’s all about the pumpkin. The smoothness and sweetness of the fruit balances everything out. And we all love pumpkin – it’s the flavor of coziness in fall, so why not carry it into winter’s coldest days?

Root Veggies Cannelloni

Root veggies are a fall and winter staple. Pair them with the ultimate comfort food – pasta – and you’ve got the perfect cold-weather dinner. You can choose your favorite root vegetables with which to fill your pasta – anything from turnips to sweet potatoes to parsnips to carrots will do. Top it all with some bread crumbs for crunch and even more savory flavor, then bake – and dig in.

Creamy French Lentils

You only need ten ingredients to make this creamy French lentil soup, and I bet you have a few of them in your pantry and fridge already. You’ll need lentils, of course, as well as kale, mushrooms, a shallot and white wine, as well as a thicker plant-based milk, such as soy. To make the soup even richer, you’ll need to have a blender on hand. Pour some of the soup in and blitz it, then add that to your original pot of soup for added thickness.

Go wild with wintertime recipes

Sure, it gets dark out early and it’s cold and dreary. But you can make winter warmer and more exciting by trying out some new recipes this year. Start with these recipes, but don’t stop there — there’s so much plant-based cooking to be done. And, once you have a full book of tried-and-true recipes to get you through winter, the days will be longer and warmer and it’ll be time for spring.

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