10 Healthy Recipes for Spring: Easy, Plant-Based, and Delicious
Finally, the weather is getting warmer, and seasonal fresh vegetables are making it easier than ever to serve up healthy, clean, and light dishes made with spring vegetables. Choose from any of these 10 easy plant-based recipes to make a healthy and delicious lunch or dinner.
Since asparagus is in season, most of these recipes include the vibrant green vegetable, which adds a fresh, earthy taste and is at its peak right now. The stalky spears are rich in folate which has been shown to boost immunity and help reduce chronic inflammation. If you love the taste of asparagus, make these recipes on repeat.
Fresh vegetables full of fiber will help you reach your health goals
Each of the dishes on this list has a unique flavor profile so you won't get bored, but you will end up adding healthy fiber to your diet. Women need a daily intake of 25 grams of fiber, while men need a minimum of 38 grams of fiber – yet most of us fall short. Only 1 in 10 Americans get the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
When we eat a high-fiber diet it helps our bodies burn calories more steadily and keep blood sugar from spiking, so you never experience the insulin surge that signals to the boy to store fat, and instead helps you stay full longer.
Make this Spring Pasta Salad with Snow Peas and Vegan Feta for a hearty meal that has a Mediterranean flair thanks to the olives and dairy-free cheese. Having people over? Treat them to a starter of asparagus puff pastry bundles. Their comforting buttery, pastry blanketing a bundle of fresh asparagus is a perfect healthy-not-too-healthy dish everyone will love.
The fresh Green Spring Onions are drizzled with a light lemon-mustard dressing that gives them an acidic, yet sweet and savory tangy taste. Save any extra drizzle or double the recipe because you'll want to use this to dress again on all your regular salads.
This garlicky pesto pasta with zucchini slices is one of our most popular spring recipes. Twirl your fork of spaghetti into a spoon to scoop bits of dairy-free cheese, peas, and fresh basil so you can enjoy all the fresh flavors of the season in one healthy bite.
1. Easy Spring Pasta Salad with Snow Peas and Vegan Feta
This Spring Pasta Salad is a delicious, easy meal bursting with seasonal goodness: Corn, olives, snow peas, vegan feta, and an extra creamy tahini dressing. This salad makes a light yet filling meal, and it’s especially good to take with you to work or to school the next days.
2. Grilled Green Onions for a Fresh, Spring Side Dish
This recipe for Grilled Spring Onions with a light lemon-mustard dressing turns simple seasonal produce into a delicate and beautiful spring dish. Start your health journey with this light, clean lunch or side.
3. Spring Spaghetti with Wild Garlic Pesto and Roasted Zucchini
Not your ordinary winter pasta dish, this Spring Spaghetti with wild garlic and almond pesto, roasted zucchini, and green peas is a fresh and light dish, full of seasonal flavors.
Wild garlic, also known as ramsons, is a springtime delicacy that you can forage or find at farmers' markets. It has beautiful, large green leaves, an unmistakable garlic scent, and a deep yet light garlic taste. It’s especially delicious for making soups, herb oil, herbed butter, and pesto.
4. Healthy Vegan Sandwich Made with Homemade ‘Ricotta’ and Antipasti
This baguette with vegan horseradish ricotta, herbed mustard spread, homemade zucchini and eggplant antipasti, fresh arugula, and cucumber slices is as delicious as it is impressive.
5. Vegan Asparagus and Leek Galette
A galette is a crusty French cake that can be made with different savory or sweet fillings. This seasonal version of the classic ‘French pizza’ has a delicious cheesy hummus base and is topped with fresh asparagus and leeks.
Recipe: Vegan Asparagus and Leek Galette
6. Creamy Dairy-Free Asparagus Risotto
This creamy, luscious asparagus risotto is hearty but still light and fresh. It’s naturally gluten-free and undetectably vegan. The recipe is made with only a few simple spring ingredients, and it’s really easy to prepare. It’s also very adaptable and can be adjusted to your liking.
7. King Oyster Mushroom Scallops With Minty Green Peas
Vegan King Oyster Mushroom Scallops make a stunning appetizer or starter. These scallops not only look like the real deal but also taste like seafood. These mushroom scallops are the perfect comfort food when served over garlicky buttered spaghetti, risotto, or simply with good, crusty bread on the side.
8. Asparagus Puff Pastry Bundles with Hummus and Vegan Cheese
These Asparagus Bundles with hummus and vegan cheese are a quick plant-based appetizer option that is as easy as it is delicious. Asparagus Bundles wrapped with puff pastry make lovely hors d'oeuvres, snacks, or brunch sides for springtime. Served alongside a big green salad, they are great for lunch or dinner as well.
9. Asparagus with Hollandaise
Asparagus, baby potatoes, and hollandaise are a match made in heaven. The fresh spring veggies taste amazing with the buttery, velvety hollandaise sauce.
10. Healthy and Refreshing Spring Tabbouleh
This light and fresh Spring Tabbouleh recipe is packed with crunchy veggies and fragrant herbs. It’s refreshing, healthy, bright, and full of flavor and crunchy textures.
For more great recipe lists, check out the ones below.
- 7 simple plant-based recipe ideas for under $1 a serving
- 11 vegan recipes to make for the Spring season
- 7 popular plant-based soup recipes
- 5 high-fiber recipes that help boost weight loss
- 7 easy plant-based breakfast recipe ideas
- 8 heart-healthy plant-based recipes to lower your lifetime risk
- 7 one-pot vegan recipes
- 10 vegan soups and salads recipe