Let’s talk eggplant (or aubergine, depending on where you live) parmesan: It’s a delicious and hearty vegetarian meal but honestly can be a bit labor-intensive. So when I saw that Lizzie Kamenetzky features a low-lift take on the dish in her upcoming cookbook Batch But Better (coming November 2), I knew it would quickly become a staple in my winter dinner rotation.

“One of my favorite dishes has to be aubergine parmigiana,” she writes, “but I was feeling a bit lazy, and the thought of frying up aubergines and making sauce was a bit more than I felt like doing.” (My feelings exactly!) With this version, there are only two steps, and “the oven does all the work,” Kamenetzky assures. And as an added bonus, it’s naturally gluten-free, too.

Instead of slicing, coating, and frying, this recipe just calls for roasting cubes of the eggplant with tomatoes and whole garlic cloves. The long, slow roast helps with getting the eggplant to that perfect texture. And don’t worry, you still get the glorious melty cheese part of the dish—the recipe calls for tossing on pieces of mozzarella in the last few minutes of roasting.

This recipe is portioned to serve four but still with plenty of leftovers. In her book, Kamenetzky provides two further recipes for using the extras: a simple pasta and mini calzones, both of which sound…pretty tasty to me.

Fall is nearly here, which means we’re back into one of my favorite seasons for food: roasted root veggie season! And while simple baked sweet potato fries are undeniably delicious, these ones from Helene Henderson of the Malibu Farm restaurants, goes one step further. Get ready for the ultimate version of this classic side.

From her new cookbook, Malibu Farm Sunrise to Sunset, this recipe pairs baked pieces of sweet potato with a tangy tahini sauce and pomegranate seeds. On their own, sweet potatoes are packed with vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B6, magnesium, and potassium. Then the pomegranate seeds add antioxidants, while tahini offers some healthy fats to balance the dish’s nutrients.

Make it this weekend, bookmark it for the upcoming holiday season, or both!

Big tofu fan? You’ll love this simple, garlicky dish—and so will any tofu skeptics. Pan-frying the protein gives it extra texture, and the gingery, slightly sweet sauce that coats the tofu is a total crowd-pleaser. A whopping six cloves of garlic and a spoonful of ginger also lend some immune-supporting properties to this dish, but that’s just a happy bonus.

“This is inspired by the broccoli dishes I love to get at our local Chinese restaurants,” writes Jeeca Uy in Vegan Asian, “that are often cooked with a lot of aromatic garlic, ginger and scallion. This dish is also packed with protein and a delicious way to get in some green veggies.”

While her original recipe calls for broccoli, this is the type of dish that would work well with lots of different greens—from kale to green beans, just be sure you adjust the cooking process accordingly depending on what veggie you choose.

“This is a step up from beans on toast in terms of flavor and nutrition (even though we do love beans on toast from time to time),” they write, “but takes only a few minutes longer to make.” And when they say a few minutes, they mean it: we’re talking ten minutes or less.

Chickpeas are an essential item in my (and many an mbg staffer’s) pantry, because they’re a great source of plant-based protein, fiber, and a sleep-supporting amino acid. “Obviously, vegans can leave out the cheese or use vegan cheeses,” they add, “Any curd cheese or crumbly white cheese, or even cream cheese spread directly onto the toast, would be delicious with these spicy, smoky chickpeas.”

It’s high time we stopped keeping salad in the confines of a leafy base, and with this beet-based salad you’ll be a sure convert. Really less of a salad and more a dish you could serve as a vegetarian main for dinner or as a satisfying lunch, this recipe from Eat, Habibi, Eat! Fresh Recipes for Modern Egyptian Cooking by Shahir Massoud starts with some nutrient-rich root vegetables: beets, both red and yellow.

Beets, in particular red beets, are “an incredible source of nitrate-containing nutrients,” cardiologist and New York Times bestselling author Alejandro Junger, M.D. previously told mindbodygreen. They’re also full of phytonutrients called anthocyanins and betalains. Altogether this makes adding beets to your table a good choice for your heart, brain, and digestive health.

The other key component in this dish is halloumi. “Halloumi is a versatile semi-hard white cheese that has been prominent in Middle Eastern and Greek cooking for generations, and with good reason,” writes Massoud in the introduction to the recipe, “it can be seared, grilled, or even broiled. It gives a dish that salty punch that is sometimes needed to elevate the other players in a salad.” The cheese is also a good source of protein (7 grams per ounce serving) and calcium (about 25% of the recommended daily value per ounce serving).

And in this case, the beets are good for more than just your health—they make this dish look like an absolute showstopper too. “As for the beets, always roast them (never boil!),” he writes, “and glaze them in a little bit of reduced orange juice for flavor and shine, together with a little residual red juice to drizzle on the plate for a beautiful finish.”

Using a separate pan to roast the kale helps it achieve that wonderful, crispy texture, while a slower cook for the mushrooms gets them perfectly roasted. Pro tip: Be sure to use well-cleaned bite-size pieces of mushrooms—whether that means a smaller variety or using pieces of a larger mushroom.

The whole thing is tossed with olive oil, garlic, lemon, and olives—essential ingredients in a Mediterranean diet. Even the creamy base has roots in that region: It’s made up of Greek yogurt, with salty garlic mixed in. “This is the condiment I reach for more than just about any other” Swanson writes. “It adds a creamy component that works with everything.”