Vegetarian Labor Day Recipes

Healthy, delicious, vegetarian summer recipes! My favorite burgers, BBQ sandwiches, pasta salad, potato salad, slaw, cocktails, and desserts! Vegan options.

It’s just about Labor Day weekend, and my thoughts are: oh noooooo(!!), how did we get here already! Warm nights grilling out on our back deck… sunny farmers market strolls… available fresh produce… I’m not quite ready for this season to end but I will try my best to embrace fall as it comes. Until then, here’s a wrap-up of ALL of my favorite recipes that I made this summer. I’m hoping they provide a little inspiration for your weekend festivities! You can click directly on the images to go to each recipe. To drink: Spicy Watermelon Margaritas! These are…

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Shawarma Wraps

Shawarma spiced chickpeas, creamy hummus, spicy zhoug, and fresh veggies fill warm pita bread in this delicious vegetarian wrap recipe.

I’m obsessed with these shawarma wraps! I loved them so much that after we took these photos, I thought about them all day, I dreamt about them that night, and when I woke up, I ate the last leftover wrap for breakfast. I would not consider these “breakfast” wraps – I just didn’t have the willpower to wait for lunch. I mean, the shawarma spiced chickpeas, the creamy hummus, the spicy zhoug chile paste, and the juicy/crispy veggies… this is what dreams are made of… at least if you’re me. How pretty are they?! They’re so fresh and delicious! Once…

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Fennel and Peach Salad

This summer salad has all my favorite ingredients: fresh herbs, crisp fennel & juicy peaches. Pistachios, pesto & feta give it tangy, rich pops of flavor.

I think fennel is way too underrated. It’s one of my absolute favorite vegetables and I’m just waiting for the day that it becomes “the new” kale so that everyone will love fennel salad as much as I do. The wisps of raw fennel soak up olive oil and lemon juice just enough that they wilt slightly, but still keep a tender bite. To complement them, I like to add something juicy (peaches!), something creamy (feta and/or pesto), and something crunchy (pistachios). My Fennel Peach Salad Recipe Ingredients Here’s what’s in this delicious summer salad: Shaved fennel, for a crisp,…

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BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich

These BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches are the ultimate party food. They're easy to make ahead and have wonderful meaty texture and spicy/smoky flavor.

This BBQ jackfruit pulled pork recipe has been a long time coming. Over the last couple of years, I’ve gotten SO many requests for jackfruit recipes. It took me a little time to get this one just right, but here we are! These guys are meaty, juicy, smoky, a little spicy… and a total mess to eat, but isn’t that what saucy sandwiches are all about? If you’ve never cooked with jackfruit before, it’s a funny-looking fruit that most commonly grows in Africa, Asia, and South America. Though I’ve never had ripe jackfruit, it’s said to have a sweet flavor…

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Watermelon Tomato Salad

Hot days call for hot food, and this spicy watermelon tomato salad is the perfect grilling side! A punchy ginger dressing ties it all together.

I hope you have lots of tomatoes. Why? Because I have a really great watermelon tomato salad for you! This one is completely different from Tuesday’s tomato salad – it’s really quick and full of spicy/sweet/savory/tangy flavor. You may recognize the gingery tamari-lime dressing from the cookbook and also from these rice bowls. It’s so perfect here because the contrasting flavors really make the sweetness of the watermelon pop. This is the salad that I’ll be eating until summer is over because it’s just so delicious and refreshing. Watermelon Tomato Salad Ingredients And speaking of pop – this one is…

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Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad

This Israeli couscous salad recipe is packed with raw & roasted cherry tomatoes, feta, chickpeas & herbs. Perfect for a picnic or packing for lunch!

Whenever I’m styling (and eating) something as herb-heavy as this Israeli couscous salad, I start to wonder if a year-round indoor herb garden is possible. I love having a ton of fresh herbs right outside my door, and I’m really going to miss them when they’re gone. They’re so delicious in summer recipes like this couscous salad, and they’re oh so PRETTY. I often get asked about my food photography/styling tips and my best tip is always: Whatever dish you have, smother it in herbs! Aside from lots of fresh thyme and basil, this couscous salad recipe is all about…

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Herb Garden Zucchini Pizza

This zucchini pizza is the ultimate summer dinner! Quick & easy to make, it's packed with flavor from raw and roasted zucchini, pesto, and herbs.

Last week, I wrote all about our beautiful, flourishing herb garden. Over the next 2 days, it poured down rain, our big basil plant got overwatered, and now it’s sort of falling over on itself. It’s a good thing we planted two! It’s also a good thing that we’re not farmers because we can barely keep a few deck plants alive 🙂 We went to the farmers market last to get produce from ACTUAL farmers on Saturday, and I brought home these cute mini zucchini and tiny pattypan squashes. It inspired me to make a big green zucchini pizza to…

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Guacamole Beyond Burgers w/ Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges

Easy grillable plant-based burgers with easy guacamole and spicy grilled sweet potato wedges. Great for summer cookouts! Vegan.

When I first tried to become vegetarian (many years ago), the concept was so new to me that I didn’t really know what to eat. My go-to easy “meals” were those tiny cardboard-flavored frozen veggie burgers. I’d eat them for dinner and I’d bring them to cookouts… they tasted terrible and everyone around me thought I was a little crazy. It wasn’t long until I quit frozen veggie burgers altogether. A few weeks ago, we gave the Beyond Burger a whirl and wow(!), have plant-based burgers come a long way! First off, you’ll actually find them in the meat case…

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Avocado Summer Rolls

These fresh vegetable summer rolls make a fantastic healthy snack or light meal. Serve with creamy vegan coconut basil sauce for dipping!

All of the fresh herbs that we have growing on our little deck inspired this recipe for summer rolls. We have a ton of basil and some very fragrant Thai basil, among other plants like Thai chiles, tomatoes, peppers, and even figs. We’re very proud of our little plant escape, and when I say “we” I mean that I’m very proud that Jack has been lovingly watering everything up to twice a day to keep it all going. This might be the longest that we’ve actually kept plants alive. Dipping Sauce for Summer Rolls Since I know many of you…

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Asian Slaw

This Asian slaw recipe is filled with my favorite summer ingredients - fresh herbs & peaches - and tossed in a tangy miso dressing. Perfect for picnics!

This Asian slaw recipe falls into my favorite category of food: summer salads! Colorful, juicy, crunchy, sweet, bitter, herby, spicy… there are so many flavors and textures to put together with all of the great fruits and vegetables that are in season right now. I love a good salad all year round, but the summer salad will always have my heart. This Asian slaw recipe is a fantastic example of the summer salad’s potential. It takes under 30 minutes to make, and it’s jam-packed with contrasting textures and flavors. It’d be a perfect side dish for a cookout, but it’s…

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Sweet Corn & Arugula Panzanella

This Sweet Corn & Arugula Panzanella is a great vegetarian grilling side. Omit the cheese to make it vegan, or add a few chickpeas and some extra greens to make it a meal!

Tell me, what’s your favorite summer salad? If you said panzanella, you’re at the right place. If you didn’t say panzanella, that’s ok too, because I think you’ll be converted after you try this one! 🙂 It’s the ultimate summer salad to make with a bounty of fresh tomatoes. Or in this case, if you have a few tomatoes and a bounty of fresh sweet corn. Panzanella may be an Italian bread salad, but the special part about this panzanella is that it’s not entirely about the bread. I think bread salads can often get a bit too bread-y, which…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.