23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (2024)

Enjoy a tasty and filling dinner with these recipes that are appropriate for the flexitarian diet. As you opt for more plant-based meals, it's important to get enough protein in your diet and beans are a great way to do that. With recipes like Sweet Potato-Black Bean Burgers and Bean & Barley Soup, you can easily use canned or dried beans to make a delicious meal.

01of 23

Sweet Potato-Black Bean Burgers

View Recipe

These vegan sweet potato-black bean burgers spiced with curry powder are easy to make. Blending the mixture with your hands gives you a soft, uniform texture then the outside gets crispy by cooking in a cast-iron pan. To make this recipe gluten-free too, use gluten-free oats and serve the patty in a lettuce wrap, omitting the bun.

02of 23

Spinach Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, White Beans & Basil

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (1)

Roasted sweet potatoes are paired with spinach, cabbage and white beans and tossed together with a bright basil dressing in this healthy main dish salad.

03of 23

Tex-Mex Black Bean & Quinoa Bowl

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (2)

Skip the tortillas and layer your taco fillings onto protein-rich quinoa in this healthy vegetarian bowl dinner recipe. Top with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and a splash of your favorite hot sauce.

04of 23

Kale & White Bean Potpie with Chive Biscuits

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (3)

In this vegetarian white bean potpie recipe, kale and hearty white beans are topped with easy, homemade chive biscuits. If desired, add a little shredded Gruyère or Cheddar cheese to the biscuit dough.

05of 23

Mexican Skillet Quinoa

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (4)

Spice-laced quinoa, beans and sweet potato give this one-pan vegetarian meal its substantial and hearty feel. While the dish is simmering, put together a crisp side salad or simply chop up some avocado for an easy and complete 30-minute meal.

06of 23

Vegetarian Gumbo

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (5)

This flavorful vegan dinner is a veggie version of the Louisiana classic. It's chock-full of butternut squash, tomatoes, poblano peppers and okra, to name just a few. This vegetarian gumbo is a quick dinner packed with flavor and spice that's done in only 30 minutes. To make it a meal, serve it with cornbread drizzled with olive oil.

07of 23

Bean & Barley Soup

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (6)

This hearty bean and barley soup tastes like it has simmered for hours, but actually it's quite quick to throw together. Plus this recipe for healthy bean and barley soup freezes beautifully. If you have cooked barley on hand, omit the quick-cooking barley and stir in 1 1/2 cups cooked barley along with the broth in Step 2.

08of 23

Arepas with Spicy Black Beans

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (7)

These corncakes are a common style of flatbread in Colombia and Venezuela. Arepas are made with precooked cornmeal and served warmed with butter or cheese, or split open and filled, or topped, as we've done here. Our arepas filling is loaded with fragrant spices and vegetables to elevate the dish.

09of 23

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (8)

Grab your crock pot for this delicious and easy slow-cooker vegetarian chili with beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet potatoes. The recipe requires just 20 minutes of active time: after a bit of chopping, you just dump the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it do the work. Adding a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of cilantro just before serving brightens up the flavors. Top it with some shredded cheese, if you'd like, or serve it as-is to keep it vegan. Either way, this healthy chili is sure to become a go-to when you want a satisfying and healthy dinner.

10of 23

Stuffed Potatoes with Salsa & Beans

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (9)

Taco night meets baked potato night with this simple recipe for loaded baked potatoes with salsa, beans and avocado. This easy, healthy family dinner comes together with just 10 minutes of active time, so you can make it on even the busiest of weeknights. This recipe is just as delicious with sweet potatoes in place of russets.

11of 23

Vegetarian Pinto Bean Sloppy Joes

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (10)

This vegetarian Sloppy Joe recipe uses pinto beans and a heap of veggies tossed in a sweet, tangy sauce for the filling of a tad messy kid-friendly sandwich you can make in your slow cooker.

12of 23

Mushroom-Quinoa Veggie Burgers with Special Sauce

View Recipe

Veggistrone

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (12)

This vegetable-packed minestrone soup recipe is inspired by a popular Weight Watchers vegetable soup recipe. It makes a big pot of soup, so keep some in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and freeze the rest in single-serve portions. That way you always have an easy, delicious vegetable soup to start your meal or to eat for lunch. Think of this vegetable minestrone recipe as a starting point for other healthy soup variations, too: toss in leftover chopped cooked chicken or whole-wheat pasta or brown rice to make it more satisfying.

14of 23

Southwestern Sweet Potato Stew

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (13)

This hearty Southwestern-inspired stew may take a while in your slow cooker, but it's so worth it! Full of sweet potatoes, black beans, and hominy, it will satisfy your tastebuds and keep you full for hours.

15of 23

Ratatouille with White Beans & Polenta

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (14)

Tons of lightly cooked vegetables combine with white beans in this hearty vegetarian dinner recipe. It can also be served over bread, like bruschetta.

16of 23

White Bean-Sage Cauliflower Gnocchi

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (15)

Turn lower-carb cauliflower gnocchi into a complete and satisfying meal with this riff on classic brown butter and sage gnocchi. We added beans to amp up the fiber and protein for a fast and healthy dinner.

17of 23

Two-Bean Enchilada Casserole

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (16)

This classic and comforting Mexican dish is easy to make on a busy weeknight.

18of 23

White Bean & Veggie Salad

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (17)

This meatless main-dish salad combines creamy, satisfying white beans and avocado. Try mixing it up with different seasonal vegetables.

19of 23

Slow-Cooker Pinto Bean Stew with Jalapeno-Corn Dumplings

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (18)

This healthy slow-cooker pinto bean stew recipe is bursting with veggies--onion, bell pepper, celery and corn--and topped with crunchy bits of radish and chile- and lime-flecked cornbread dumplings. If you're pressed for time, skip the dumplings and serve this pinto bean stew straight out of the crock pot, topped with crushed tortilla chips and a sprinkling of Monterey Jack cheese. Make sure to soak your dried beans before using them in the slow cooker to ensure even cooking.

20of 23

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (19)

In this one-skillet supper, we toss dark leafy greens, diced tomatoes and white beans with gnocchi and top it all with gooey mozzarella. Serve with a mixed green salad with vinaigrette.

21of 23

Vegetable and Pasta Soup

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (20)

A slow-cooker will do all the work for this delicious, diabetic-friendly Vegetable and Pasta Soup. Opt for vegetable stock to make this soup vegetarian.

22of 23

Roasted Vegetable & Black Bean Tacos

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (21)

These hearty vegan tacos are quick and easy to make, perfect for busy weeknights. They are so tasty no one will miss the meat or dairy.

23of 23

White Beans & Tomatoes with Kale Pesto

View Recipe

23 Flexitarian Dinner Recipes with Beans (22)

White beans are full of fiber and protein, both of which help slow digestion and curb blood sugar spikes. Canned beans are both easy to use and inexpensive--a win-win!