10 Vegetarian Meal Templates for Fall

As I discussed a few months ago, meal templates are amazing and wonderful. They have been a total game-changer for getting dinner on the table night after night. This simple solution has eased my daily dilemma of what to cook, and saved me time along the way.

You know Pizza Fridays and Taco Tuesday, right? Well, meal templates are like that, but taken to the next level. Get started with these 10 vegetarian meal templates with ideas perfect for fall.

Meal templates go something like this: Assign a food theme to each weeknight for the month ahead. At the end of the month, keep with the theme if you really love it, or switch it up to something new and exciting. Even though meal templates rely on the same types of meals, you certainly won’t be eating the same recipes over and over (unless you want to, of course).

As the weather cools down, there’s nothing quite as comforting as a hot bowl of soup.

• Hot & Sour Soup with Mushroom, Cabbage, and Rice
• Vegetarian Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)
• Sweet Potato Soup with Miso and Ginger

While stir-fry is a weekly dinner staple in my home, we rarely repeat the same recipe very often. Stir-fries are super versatile; there are just so many different variations you can make.

• Spicy Cauliflower Stir-Fry
• Tofu Chickpea Stir-Fry with Tahini Sauce
• Michael Natkin’s Spicy Stir-Fried Zucchini

Sure, this can be as simple as scrambled eggs (we all need a night like that once in awhile), but you can also go well beyond that. Use this night to practice your omelet technique, or fill a frittata or quiche with some of your favorite veggies.

• How To Make Soft, Creamy Scrambled Eggs
• Mushroom-Asparagus Frittata
• Winter Greens & Gruyere Tart with a Cornmeal Millet Crust

The very best thing about chili night (besides the cornbread side)? The leftovers the next day. This is the kind of one-pot meal that’s easy to pull together, and makes enough to feed your friends or have ample leftovers to enjoy throughout the week.

• Pumpkin Chili
• Black Bean Espresso Chili

A casserole is pretty much comfort food at its finest; it offers a warm hug, just as much as it fills you up and satisfies your hunger.

• 6-Ingredient Vegan Enchilada Casserole
• Pumpkin & Ricotta Pasta Casserole
• Chickpea Casserole with Lemon, Herbs & Shallots

This hard, yellow winter squash is filled with long, delicate strands that resemble spaghetti. Once cooked (either in the oven or microwave), you can eat spaghetti squash just as you would any type of noodles. Keep dinner simple and top it with sauce, or turn your squash strands into pad Thai.

• Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
• Spaghetti Squash with Ricotta, Sage, and Pine Nuts

No, I’m not talking about chips and salsa for dinner. This dinner is all about what you can wrap, roll, and stuff inside a tortilla. The choices are many, but the ingredients you’ll need for most of these dishes are all pretty basic. Go for enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, or tacos.

• Slow-Cooker Black Bean Enchiladas
• Pumpkin Quesadillas with Lime-Jalapeño Yogurt

Warm, hearty stews are not just reserved for the meat-eating crowd. While these versions may skip the thick cuts of beef, they’re filled with all the elements there are to love about a comforting stew. This is the kind of dinner that will keep you warm and cozy throughout the fall and winter.

• Curried Vegetable and Chickpea Stew
• Vegetarian Guinness Stew

Whether you go for soba, udon, rice, or even spaghetti, a meal centered around noodles leaves you with a nearly endless amount of delicious recipe options. And not just that, leftover cold noodles almost always make a winning lunch.

• Vegetarian Indo-Chinese Hakka Noodles
• Autumn Udon with Vegetables

They may be small, but lentils sure are mighty. This pantry staple is versatile and has what it takes to create a meal that feels meaty and filling.

• Tomato-Braised Lentils with Broccoli Rabe
• Lentil Dal with Hearty Greens