These vegetarian dishes will keep carnivores and plant-eaters happy at your Christmas meal. For starters and snacks, we have elegant gaufrettes, pommes dauphines and vibrant dips. Plus, colorful salads, satisfying tarts and a showstopping spinach and ricotta rotolo for heartier vegetarian Christmas mains. All of these dishes make vegetables the star, seeing that these recipes take pride of place at your Christmas dinner table.
Here are our best vegetarian Christmas recipes.
For recipes using cheeses that traditionally contain animal rennet – parmesan, pecorino, Manchego and Gruyère, for example – check the labels at your local grocer and substitute with vegetarian-friendly options.
Tomato tart with whipped feta
This tomato tart recipe crowned with whipped feta is summer on a plate.
The Agrarian Kitchen’s broad beans and peas with spiced walnuts
Walnuts add a spice hit to this breezy spring side.
Woodcut’s roast sweet potato with chickpea miso and seaweed salt
This vegetarian side makes for a showstopping centrepiece.
Couscous with haloumi and honey-chilli apricots
A big, bold vegetarian dish, ready in minutes.
Zucchini and potato croquettes
A crisp, all-veg affair, with smoky aïoli to boot.
Fig, pomegranate and burrata with Sherry vinaigrette
Sherry vinegar adds brightness and depth to the winning combination of figs, pomegranate and burrata.
Nik Hill’s cauliflower cheese tart
The two best ways to cook cauliflower – in a cauliflower cheese, and whole-roasted – in one spectacular dish.
Baby vegetable slaw with grapefruit and tarragon
This elegant no-fuss slaw will bring colour and freshness to any feast.
Broccoli and cauliflower Peruvian fried rice
This quick and easy Peruvian fried rice is the perfect meal to get your five serves of vegetables in.
Heirloom tomatoes and peaches with white bean and hazelnut tarator
A modern day tarator paired with peaches and heirloom tomatoes makes this the perfect starter for a festive lunch.
Potato gaufrettes with summer-vegetable tartare
Fancy a potato chip? You’ll like these fancy potato chips.
Pea and mint dip with labne and radishes
This could very well be your new favourite dip.
Woodcut’s zucchini flowers, brown rice, tomato, vine leaves and yoghurt
This vegetable-forward side dish is guaranteed to steal the show.
Smoky eggplant and capsicum dip with pita bread
Cross baba ghanoush with muhammara, and the result is this smoky dip that you’ll proudly take to your next party.
Golden fried haloumi and olives
Our hot tip: drizzle your still-warm haloumi with some honey.
Char-grilled asparagus and haloumi with mint and lemon
A super-simple side dish, or a vegetarian main in its own right.
Pommes dauphine
Yes, that’s mashed potato lightened with choux pastry, then deep-fried.
Matt Stone’s raw zucchini, pine nut and miso salad
A pretty-as-a-picture dish for spring.
Burrata with herb oil and cucumber
A simple, vibrant spring salad.
Toasted corn and spelt with miso dressing
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for toasted corn and spelt with miso dressing.
Simple tomato and onion salad with vincotto dressing
A simple, summer-ready tomato salad.
Eggplant lines
Miznon chef Eyal Shani is at his finest in this simple eggplant recipe with an unusual presentation.
Etta’s tamari-roasted pumpkin, sunflower and horseradish
This stunning dish is powerful enough to take a place among the main courses in a banquet or you could serve it as a side to roasted or grilled meat.
Stuffed zucchini flowers with basil sauce
The showstopper entrée to impress.
Quinoa salad with pomegranate, pumpkin and ashed goat’s cheese
One of our most popular recipes for good reason.
Green beans with tarragon, preserved lemon and fried almonds
Butter makes everything better, and butter-fried almonds complete this green bean salad.
Fred’s pumpkin galette with blue cheese and thyme
“I’d love to attempt the pumpkin galette at Fred’s in Paddington. Can you publish the recipe?” – Jacinta Johnson, Woolloomooloo, NSW
Embla’s cheddar gnocchi, crushed tomato and olive oil
This Roman-style gnocchi is rich with the sharp flavour of cheddar, making it an ideal side dish for robust stews, braises and roasted meats.
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How to make ratatouille with Damien Pignolet
Let the fourth-generation French-Australian chef guide you through the art of making ratatouille.
Artichoke and salted ricotta tart with salsa verde
Best enjoyed outdoors. On a rug. In the sun.
Frank Camorra’s Andalusian spinach and chickpeas
“The flavours you remember from childhood are the ones that stick with you.,” says Frank Camorra, reflecting on his mother’s go-to stew.
Roasted pumpkin with zhoug
Zhoug is a hot green sauce from Yemen that’s often added to soups and stews for a fresh and fiery finish. Here we’ve paired it with sweet roasted pumpkin for a no-fuss side that’s a winner with chicken.
Cauliflower and hazelnut strozzapreti with Gorgonzola
This more substantial take on the classic cauliflower and cheese adds strozzapreti to the mix for a very moreish pasta bake.
Corn with herb butter and chipotle salt
Butter makes everything better.
Greg Malouf’s burrata with broad bean and chickpea stew
Greg Malouf’s take on ful medames, with the addition of creamy burrata.
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Capitano’s caponata
A vegan Italian dish with a deep, layered umami base that’s rich like a stew.
Whole roasted cauliflower with fermented chilli butter
Turn the humble vegetable into a dinnertime showstopper.
Honey-ginger roasted carrots by Leonardo’s Pizza Palace
Cook the carrots with the skin on, and you’ll be rewarded with better flavour and texture.
Roasted vegetables with preserved-lemon dressing
A bright, well-balanced dressing can take a roast dinner in new directions.
Braised mushrooms with polenta
Earthy mushrooms and creamy, parmesan-rich polenta make the best of friends.
Tomato and mixed-grain salad with black garlic dressing
No barbecue is complete without a mix of excellent salads. This one makes the most of summer tomatoes and the freshest of herbs, but don’t be fooled – it’s no lightweight.
Char-grilled capsicum salad with sherry vinaigrette
The perfect plate to bring to barbecues.
Goat’s cheese and potato salad
A fast and fresh take on the classic potato salad, with creaminess from goat’s cheese and crunch from roasted almonds.
Roast stuffed zucchini flowers with tomato and oregano
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for roast stuffed zucchini flowers with tomato and oregano
Phil Wood’s braised broccoli with butter beans, chickpeas and chilli
A hearty vegan dish that’s good as a side or eaten on its own.
Grilled eggplant salad with lentils and sesame yoghurt
Australian Gourmet Traveller fast recipe for grilled eggplant salad with lentils and sesame yoghurt.
Danielle Alvarez’s summer vegetable tian
It works as a delicious side or can hold its own as main.
Eggplant parmigiana
There’s a little labour involved in frying the eggplant slices before layering them, but the result is worth it.
Spinach and ricotta rotolo
This vibrant dish will thrill more than just the vegetarians at your Christmas table.
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