17 Vegetarian Christmas Dinner Recipes That Will Satisfy Any Guest (2024)

These vegetarian Christmas dishes prove that veggies, fruits and whole grains can bring a healthy twist to your meal without sacrificing flavor. From our tangy Beet Goat Cheese Salad to our Christmas Waldorf Salad, these recipes will satisfy even the most devout meat lover. These veggie-packed recipes deserve a spot on your table this holiday season.

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Beet & Goat Cheese Salad

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This stunning winter salad gets its sweet, earthy flavor from roasted beets and balsamic vinegar. Creamy goat cheese and peppery arugula add color and balance, while toasted walnuts add crunch. A mandoline is the best way to get thin, even slices from the roasted beets.

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The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce

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This is our go-to recipe for homemade cranberry sauce. It's simple (just five ingredients!), is lightly sweet without being too sugary and has just the right amount of zesty flavor from orange peel. Plus, it's so easy--it goes from stove to table in just 20 minutes!

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Sweet Potato Hash Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

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Diced sweet potato, bell peppers and apples make a vegan stuffing inspired by the flavors of sausage. To add that savory flavor, we use poultry seasoning (don't worry, there's no actual poultry in it!). Piled into portobello mushroom caps, it creates a beautiful and filling plant-based main dish--perfect for the holidays.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese & Pomegranate

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This gorgeous warm salad with nutty roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet-tart pomegranate seeds and creamy goat cheese is perfect for any winter meal--from a weeknight dinner to Christmas dinner or any other holiday celebration. The recipe is easily doubled if you are entertaining a crowd: just be sure to spread the sprouts out (use 2 pans if necessary) so they roast instead of steaming.

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Christmas Waldorf Salad

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We've dressed the classic Waldorf salad up for Christmas by swapping out the raisins for festive dried cranberries. A combination of Greek yogurt and mayonnaise makes the salad creamy while keeping it light.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

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This festive holiday salad recipe features plenty of oven-roasted broccoli and cauliflower combined with massaged kale. Why massage the kale? It helps tenderize the leaves and infuses the sweet-tangy flavor of the dressing directly into the heart of this healthy winter salad.

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3-Ingredient Cranberry-Brie Bites

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Baked Brie is a perennially popular appetizer. Here, we complement the Brie with tart cranberry sauce and bake it in pretty individual tartlets using premade pie crust for an ultra-easy crowd-pleasing appetizer.

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Butternut Squash Casserole

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This simple butternut squash casserole recipe combines sweet butternut squash with a touch of brown sugar and cinnamon and is finished with a buttery, crunchy topping.

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Cranberry Crumble Bars

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These cranberry-orange bars freeze well. Make a batch on a free afternoon and pop them in the freezer so you'll always have a healthy dessert on hand when company calls.

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Roasted Brussels Sprout & Butternut Squash Salad

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Serve this hearty and healthy fall salad with roasted pork tenderloin, chicken or salmon, or with your Thanksgiving meal. All of the vegetables are roasted on the same pan, so this recipe is easy to prep, and it tastes great warm or at room temperature so it's perfect for holiday buffet tables and potlucks. Cranberries add a sweet-tart edge, while the maple-tahini dressing provides depth.

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Fig & Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Roll

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Buttery puff pastry is a tasty shortcut ingredient that can be used in many delicious ways. Here we roll out a pastry sheet and cover it with fig jam and crumbled goat cheese, then roll it up into a log and bake it. The end result is a sweet-and-savory appetizer that looks and tastes impressive, especially considering it has just three ingredients.

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Christmas Breakfast Casserole

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Enjoy this Christmas-morning casserole while you open presents. Breakfast casseroles are perfect for when you have a crowd to feed, and you can make the prep even quicker by tearing the bread into pieces the night before.

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Slow-Cooked Sweet and Sour Cabbage

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The combination of cloves, cabbage and cider vinegar gives this slow-cooker cabbage recipe its sweet-and-sour flavor. Don't skip the apples-the hit of natural sweetness is worth the time it takes to core and chop them.

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No-Sugar-Added Sweet Potato Casserole

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Instead of loading up this comfort food side with tons of brown sugar and marshmallows, we have turned to sweet spices, vanilla and inherently sweet dried fruit to enhance the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. A topping of pecans and pepitas replaces traditional marshmallow topping to keep it healthy and add texture and color for a beautiful casserole.

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Pear-Pecan Cheese Ball

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Sweet pear, salty Cheddar cheese and crunchy nuts make this healthy cheese ball recipe an alluring holiday treat. Serve with an array of crudités and crisp party crackers.

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EatingWell's Eggplant Parmesan

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Here we bake breaded eggplant for crispy results with fewer calories to boot. This makeover of the classic eggplant parmesan recipe was originally developed by our Test Kitchen in 1995 and got an update in 2020 for our 30th anniversary issue.

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Corn Muffins

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Call on these hearty cornmeal muffins to help boost a soup, stew, chili, or salad into a filling meal.