17 Easy Vegetarian Summer Dinners

Bountiful meals for the most bountiful time of year.

After those excursions to the beach, leisurely park meet-ups and daylong pool hangs, you’ve still got to eat. Chances are you’re a bit wiped from the sun, too. So turn to the best produce summer has to offer and keep things as easy and breezy as the season. The recipes below come together in 30 minutes or less and make the most of the tomatoes, corn, eggplant, zucchini, green beans and cucumbers that we just can’t get enough of right now.

1. Summer Pasta With Zucchini, Ricotta and Basil

It’s not really summer until you have too much zucchini, spilling out of your tote bag and collecting in your fridge. This simple and fresh pasta from David Tanis — which has more than 11000 five-star reviews — puts the season’s favorite squash to work.

Recipe: Summer Pasta With Zucchini, Ricotta and Basil

2. Basic Corn Chowder

“Boiling the cobs is what distinguishes this chowder from others, it makes for a nice milky-like broth,” wrote one reader about Mark Bittman’s 30-minute recipe. Think of this classic recipe as a canvas: Replace the potato with rice and the cream with coconut milk and add curry powder and ginger; or add chili powder, lime juice, cilantro and sour cream and top with corn tortilla chips.

Recipe: Basic Corn Chowder

3. Chile-Crisp Tofu, Tomatoes and Cucumbers

Inspired by Chinese smashed cucumber salads, in which cucumbers are crushed so as to better soak up flavorings, this recipe from Ali Slagle uses chile crisp, lemon juice, garlic and soy sauce for a sharp and spicy dressing. The only cooking that’s required is searing the tofu, which helps it absorb the dressing. Serve over rice or salad greens.

Recipe: Chile-Crisp Tofu, Tomatoes and Cucumbers

4. Tomato Butter Pasta

When you’ve tired of slices of juicy, heirloom tomatoes on toast, try this recipe from Ali Slagle, which calls for the most ripe fruit you can find. That’s because here, the tomatoes are barely cooked: They’re grated and stirred vigorously with butter for a couple of minutes over heat, where they emulsify with the fat for a luscious sauce that tastes like a summertime garden in a bowl.

Recipe: Tomato Butter Pasta

5. Halloumi With Corn, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

This warm salad of softened tomatoes, browned cheese, crisp red onion and fresh basil might be Melissa Clark at her best. While those components are already mouthwatering on their own, the addition of jalapeño, cumin seeds and lime juice takes their flavors to new heights. Good luck not making it every week until Labor Day.

Recipe: Halloumi With Corn, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

6. Zucchini Tofu Udon

In this quick stir-fried noodle dish from Hetty Lui McKinnon, a buttery sauce built on punchy fuyu, or fermented tofu, enrobes softened zucchini and chewy udon. A generous amount of black pepper is mixed in as well for flavors that recall cacio e pepe.

Recipe: Zucchini Tofu Udon

7. One-Pan Zucchini-Pesto Orzo

Make the best of homemade or store-bought pesto with Melissa Clark’s quick and summery one-pan meal loaded with zucchini and onions. Before serving, a Caprese-like mix of marinated mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and fresh mint is stirred in. It’s herby, garlicky, cheesy goodness in a bowl.

Recipe: One-Pan Zucchini-Pesto Orzo

8. Summery Greens and Beans With Toasted Crumbs

Brimming with soft Swiss chard, just-tender green beans and hearty lima beans, this cassoulet-inspired meal from Rick A. Martínez is brothy, delicate and surprisingly deep in flavor given its pared back ingredient list.

Recipe: Summery Greens and Beans With Toasted Crumbs

9. Cold Tofu Salad With Tomatoes and Peaches

When you don’t want to cook, look no further than this recipe from Hana Asbrink. It’s cooling, tangy, sweet and herbaceous, the perfect antidote to late-summer heat. Inspired by both Japanese hiyayakko and Italian caprese, it pairs seasonal fruit with creamy, jiggly silken tofu, all in a savory balsamic and soy sauce dressing that mingles with the juices of almost too ripe tomatoes and peaches.

Recipe: Cold Tofu Salad With Tomatoes and Peaches

10. Pasta With Green Beans and Almond Gremolata

Come late summer, celery starts popping up in farmers’ markets everywhere — and it deserves its moment in the spotlight. In this recipe, Colu Henry uses celery leaves, as well as sliced almonds, in a unique take on gremolata, a fresh herb condiment traditionally made with Italian parsley. The bright mixture is used to top a simple buttered pasta with snappy green beans and grated cheese.

Recipe: Pasta With Green Beans and Almond Gremolata

11. Chilled Zucchini Soup With Lemon and Basil

Put away the pots and pull out the blender for this meal from Hetty Lui McKinnon. Not only is it cooling and no-cook, but also it’s vegan. Cashews add creaminess and body, and plenty of garlic, miso, citrus and fresh herbs punch up zucchini’s gentle flavors.

Recipe: Chilled Zucchini Soup With Lemon and Basil

12. Herb-Marinated Seared Tofu

When the garden is bursting with herbs — or when you’ve simply bought too much parsley and cilantro and oregano for some other recipe — turn to this recipe from Ali Slagle. Its charm is in its endless adaptability: Use cilantro or mint or dill, add capers or ginger or chile. The ingredients can be roughly eyeballed and imprecise, and it will still come out perfectly, the truest marker of a great summertime recipe.

Recipe: Herb-Marinated Seared Tofu

13. Crispy Grains and Halloumi With Smashed Cucumbers

You’ve been warned: While this recipe does ask you to turn on the broiler, it’s only on for an incredibly brief time. In this bright and unexpected salad, Ali Slagle has you spread out hearty cooked grains like farro or brown rice, chunks of grilling cheese and chickpeas on a sheet pan until they become perfectly crisp. (Alternatively, you can do this in a skillet!) Citrusy cucumbers and herbs add freshness to every bite.

Recipe: Crispy Grains and Halloumi With Smashed Cucumbers

14. One-Pot Ratatouille Pasta

This weeknight-friendly dish from Vivian Chan-Tam has all the flavors of ratatouille, but it’s faster and fresher. (Remy the Rat would be proud.) Cooking the eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and bell pepper in stages allows for maximum flavor and a variety of textures. It all comes together in one-pot, which means fewer dishes.

Recipe: One-Pot Ratatouille Pasta

15. Tomato Salad With Chickpeas and Feta

Take the straightforward tomato salad up a notch with the help of Hetty Lui McKinnon. Here, she doctors the requisite tomatoes and basil with chickpeas and feta for heft, and a fragrant mixture of spiced nuts and seeds for a crunchy topping that amounts to savory sprinkles.

Recipe: Tomato Salad With Chickpeas and Feta

16. Abdoogh Khiar (Chilled Buttermilk Cucumber Soup)

Tangy buttermilk and creamy yogurt team up in this supremely slurpable Iranian cold soup from Naz Deravian. The dairy is blended until frothy before cucumbers, raisins, walnuts, and fresh and dried herbs are added in. Lavash is tucked in at the last minute, and, to keep it at just the right chilly temperature, ice cubes are tossed in just before serving. “All nine dinner party attendees agreed that this cool, flavorful soup is a perfect summer treat,” wrote one reader in the comments.

Recipe: Abdoogh Khiar (Chilled Buttermilk Cucumber Soup)

17. Summer Vegetable Skewers

When it’s this warm and the produce is this good, dinner can just be a load of vegetables. Season zucchini and eggplant with garlic, oregano and red-pepper flakes, as Melissa Clark does here, and thread them on skewers for a simple meal that looks spectacularly summery. To round out your meal, pair them with skewers of paprika-dusted grilling cheese.

Recipe: Summer Vegetable Skewers

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