Your meatless top 10Merry Christmas to those celebrating. I hope Santa brought you whatever you asked for, be that a new robe, a mountainous dessert or just a good night’s sleep. I wished for all three, greedy as that may be. What a lifetime this year has been. As this is our last Veggie of 2025, there is no better time for a bit of reflection and reminiscing on our most-read newsletters of the year. Recipe Matchmaker aimed to please, and one particular edition from April really caught readers’ eyes. In March, I took a deep breath and finally admitted I was wrong about pasta — thank you for your graciousness. We all craved bread in April and bounce in May, and, come July, it was the peach that reigned supreme. But what about the recipes? Veggie readers had their favorites. In this newsletter, readers were clamoring for Florence Fabricant’s basil pesto (10) as summer approached, and Ali Slagle’s lemony orzo with asparagus and garlic bread crumbs (9) was a springtime darling. Millie Peartree’s cool, crunchy and sweet mango slaw (8) jazzed up your picnics and barbecues, and Hetty Lui McKinnon’s five-star no-cook chili bean salad (7) helped you weather the year’s heat waves. “Oh my gosh, so good!” one reader wrote. “I would have never thought that cold chili could be something that I might like. But it was 100 degrees today, and I did not want to cook anything.” Exactly! Lemony Orzo With Asparagus and Garlic Bread CrumbsAlison Roman’s spicy noodle soup with mushrooms and herbs (6) was at the top of my soup bucket list in the fall, and I’m thrilled to see it made it onto yours, too. You turned to Kayla Hoang’s burst cherry tomato orzotto (5) when you needed an outstanding one-pot meal for all that summer produce, and to Kristina Felix’s crispy potato quesadillas (4) on the days when dinner felt like the ultimate chore. Dan Pelosi’s creamy tortellini soup (3) — hold the optional sausage! — did not loosen its grip on my group chat, or on readers of this very newsletter. “This soup slaps,” a reader wrote. “Love every bowl and every flavor, especially the lemon for taste. Woof!” Woof indeed. Is quinoa finally back? You could make that case, based on how many of you reached for Ali’s recipe for quinoa salad (2) this year. A little like tabbouleh, a little like Greek salad and a lot like your post-holiday lunch, perhaps? But nothing quite moved you like Christian Reynoso’s striking white skillet lasagna (1), with its perfectly crisp edges and softened leek filling. I know we’re all probably tired of entertaining by now, but do bookmark that one for your next intimate dinner gathering, will you? I was surprised to see zero overlap with this year’s top 10 list of meatless recipes for all of NYT Cooking, though you’ve seen many of them here, too. But that just means more options for you, more dishes to save to your recipe box. Get to saving: Alexa Weibel’s roasted broccoli and whipped tofu with chile crisp crunch (10); Ixta Belfrage’s porcini ragù (9), adapted by Ligaya Mishan; Lisa Donovan’s French lentil salad (8); Caroline Schiff’s Dubai chocolate (7) when you’re craving something that is decidedly not vegetables; and Ali’s skillet gnocchi with miso butter and asparagus (6). But wait, there’s more! The top five are gifts that keep on giving, recipes that will make your meal prepping breezier, your weeknights easier, your taste buds happier. Find time in the new year for Samin Nosrat’s house dressing (5); Nargisse Benkabbou’s crispy halloumi with tomatoes and white beans (4); Naz Deravian’s cottage cheese egg bites (3); Hetty’s hoisin garlic noodles (2) and Ali’s one-pot beans, greens and grains (1). Thanks for reading, and see you in January.
Quinoa Salad
White Skillet Lasagna
Roasted Broccoli and Whipped Tofu With Chile Crisp CrunchEmail us at theveggie@nytimes.com. Newsletters are archived here. Reach out to my colleagues at cookingcare@nytimes.com if you have questions about your account.
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