12 Elegant Gourmet Vegetarian Recipes

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Vegetarian Mushroom Wellington — The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

A vegetarian meal doesn't mean a menu of plain-Jane recipes. It can include luscious gourmet dishes that are also easy to prepare. These recipes are suitable for a dinner party or romantic meal for two, or just when you want a nice meatless meal to enjoy. From appetizers, soup, and salad, to entrees and side dishes, these recipes will impress vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

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Herbed Vegan Mushroom Pate

The Spruce Eats / Anastasiia Tretiak

Serve this herbed vegan mushroom pate as an appetizer at your cocktail party or with drinks before your gourmet dinner. Mushrooms replace the typical chopped liver and provide that earthy flavor familiar to fans of the rich spread. You can use it to top toasted slices of baguette or your favorite vegan crackers.
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Pea and Mint Soup

The Spruce / Nyssa Tanner

Like spring in a bowl, this pretty green soup marries the fresh flavors of peas and mint, making for a sweet and refreshing starter. The recipe is simple: Cook sautéed onion and garlic with shelled fresh peas, mint leaves, and vegetable broth, and then blend until smooth and creamy. More peas and broth are added, along with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, adding a nice texture and tang to the soup.
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Vegetarian Avocado Caprese Salad

The Spruce Eats / Emily Hawkes

The classic vegetarian avocado Caprese salad gets an update with the addition of avocado. It's the perfect summer salad when you can get garden-ripe tomatoes and fresh basil. Dress it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a bit of sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, or drizzle it with a bit of honey for a sweet twist. For a vegan version, substitute vegan mozzarella.
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Mushroom Risotto

The Spruce

Risotto always seems to impress—not necessarily for the ingredients, which can be very simple, but for the slow and time-consuming process of stirring and adding stock. This recipe features a mushroom stock, which adds a nice earthy flavor, but you can use vegetable stock if need be. Any type of mushroom will work, but using a more unusual type will make this recipe even more special.

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Mushroom Wellington

The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

Even the meat-eaters will be clamoring for a taste of this gorgeous vegetarian version of the elegant beef Wellington. Puff pastry surrounds a hearty mixture of butternut squash, sweet potato, portobello mushrooms, kale, and faro, and then the bundle is baked until golden brown. Serve with a light tarragon cream sauce for drizzling.
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Butternut Squash Ravioli With White Wine Sauce

The Spruce

Wow your guests by serving them homemade butternut squash ravioli—they will never know how easy they were to make with store-bought wonton wrappers. A filling of roasted and pureed butternut squash, sautéed shallots, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese is spooned between two wrappers, sealed, and then boiled gently for just a few minutes. The white wine sauce with toasted hazelnuts is the perfect, elegant finishing touch.
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Classic Italian Potato Gnocchi

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Just potatoes, flour, and salt are all you need to make homemade gnocchi, as well as some time and a little bit of effort—but these pasta pillows are fun to prepare. Keep them simple with a drizzle of good-quality extra-virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of Parm, a pinch of sea salt, and fresh basil, or dress with a sauce, such as creamy mushroom sauce, mascarpone and gorgonzola sauce, or homemade pesto.
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Vegetarian Mushroom Stroganoff

The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

We are familiar with beef stroganoff as a comfort dish, but when made with interesting mushrooms, it can become an elegant entrée. The ingredient list for this recipe is somewhat long, but the process of sautéing, deglazing, and simmering is simple. Serve on top of egg noodles for a complete dish.

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Roasted Vegetable Quiche

The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Roasted vegetables add a wonderful sweet and caramelized flavor to this creamy quiche. Ready-made pie dough means this recipe comes together somewhat easily—especially if you have leftover roasted vegetables in the fridge—but feel free to make the quiche in stages. Two kinds of cheese, Parmesan and Gruyère, impart a tangy and nutty taste; serve warm or room temperature.
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Vegan Ratatouille

The Spruce

A beautiful vegan ratatouille will add great color to the table and pack lots of flavor. It's the perfect summer dish when zucchini, eggplant, and bell pepper are in season, whether growing in your garden or bought from the farmers market. Feel free to make this ahead of time as the dish tastes even better the next day.
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Tomato Tart With Fillo and Feta Cream

Anita Schecter

A wonderful way to enjoy colorful, fresh tomatoes, this beautiful tart is bursting with flavor. The creamy feta mixture seasoned with za'atar and oregano adds a slightly salty layer between the buttery fillo dough and juicy tomatoes. Although easy to put together, the tart makes an impressive centerpiece on the summer dinner table.
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Hasselback Butternut Squash

The Spruce/Leah Maroney

This recipe proves that simple can be elegant. Calling for just four ingredients—whole butternut squash, butter, brown sugar, and toasted walnuts—this pretty dish will be the star of the dinner table. To achieve the attractive appearance, the squash needs to be peeled and repeatedly sliced (but not all the way through; a set of chopsticks is helpful). The dish is finished off with a sprinkling of chopped nuts and fresh sage.

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