15 Last-Minute Ways to Get Your Veggies

Guest Author: Sally
March 14, 2025

In the Kitchen, Tips & Tricks

As meal planners, we pride ourselves on being prepared. But even the best planner can be caught empty-handed in the vegetable department. Maybe you fuss over a roast chicken and realize at the eleventh hour that you don’t have a vegetable side dish. Or you’re counting on Caesar salads but you find the greens limp and soggy in the produce drawer.

Or maybe you’re trying to add bonus veggies to your meals–in which case, I am here for it! It goes without saying, but vegetables are so good for us. They’re loaded with vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting antioxidants in the compounds that give them their different hues.

So if you need some last-minute ways to add vegetables to your meal, here are some ideas:

Round up whatever random raw veggies you’ve got, arrange them on a platter with a dip, and rebrand them as a crudite plate to park in the center of the dinner table.
Simmer some shredded or diced carrots and zucchini into jarred pasta sauce until they’re soft. Puree with an immersion blender if your gang prefers a smoother sauce.
Toss frozen mixed vegetables into soup and simmer on the stove until cooked through.
Chop up a big handful of kale or spinach and toss it into hot, cooked pasta until it wilts.
“Veggie Scrap Slaw”, a brilliant hack from my dietitian friend Katie Morford: Raid the product drawer for veggie odds and ends and use your food processor (or a sharp knife) to shred it all into slaw. Dress it with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and vinegar. Add some toasted nuts for crunch and even a shredded apple for sweetness.
Whether you’re having breakfast for dinner or just a frozen pizza, blend up fruit smoothies for everyone and throw in some spinach for color or frozen cauliflower for creaminess.
Serve salsa and chips–yes, salsa counts as a vegetable!
Microwave frozen edamame in the pods, sprinkle with salt and serve as a quick side.
You don’t need basil or pine nuts to make pesto. Blend spinach with olive oil, Parmesan, and walnuts for a quick pesto to toss with pasta or spread onto pizza crusts. Here’s my easy recipe for Spinach Pesto.
Throw frozen peas into rice and couscous, mac-n-cheese, frittatas, and pasta.
Quick-pickle thinly sliced red onions in white vinegar to pile onto soft tacos.
Got a cucumber in the veggie drawer? Slice it, add a big splash of rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar), and a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper, some diced red onion if you have it, and serve as a refreshing side salad.
Shred several large carrots and toss with vinaigrette dressing for a French-style carrot salad.
Grate raw cauliflower, saute in a little bit of oil, then add into cooked rice.
Chickpeas are veggies too. Drain and rinse a can, toss them in olive oil and your favorite spices, and roast on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for 25-20 minutes or until crispy, stirring occasionally.