How to Eat More Vegetables

Brierley Horton, M.S., RD is a dietitian nutritionist, content creator and strategist, and avid mental health advocate. She is co-host and co-creator of the Happy Eating podcast, which breaks down the connection between food and mental wellness.

If you feel like your meal plan is lacking in vegetables—and particularly the green varieties—you’re not alone. Many Americans, both kids and adults, struggle with their veggie intake and often fall short on hitting the daily recommended targets.

Whatever the reason—poor planning, picky eaters, etc.—it’s common to find yourself nearing the end of the day and realizing a green vegetable didn’t cross your plate all day. Here’s the good news: there are simple ways you can make it easier to up your green veggie intake.

The best way to get more vegetables into your diet is to simply add them to the recipe you’re making. These Lasagna Roll Ups are a great example: simply add some spinach into the ricotta mixture. Or, this stovetop mac and cheese with kale is another fun, tasty way to add more nutritious greens to your meals.

Don’t stop there, though—here are more ideas for how to eat more vegetables:

Eat Your Veggies With Breakfast

In theory, eating veggies at breakfast means there are more opportunities throughout your day to incorporate vegetables into your diet, right? And that can then translate into eating more veggies overall. Then there’s the research, which suggests that people who eat breakfast actually do a better job of eating higher quantities of vegetables and fruits compared to their counterparts who eat breakfast irregularly.

Here are some easy ideas for adding vegetables to your breakfast:

Try adding a little sautéed kale, leftover broccoli or asparagus to a cheesy frittata or quiche.
Spread a flavorful pesto on your egg sandwich. Bonus points if you make the pesto from a leafy green like kale or arugula.
Make a smoothie: leafy greens like spinach and kale can easily be blended into smoothies, especially when they’re incorporated with sweet smoothie ingredients like fruit and Cabot Greek Yogurt, which help cover the taste. This Green Mountain Smoothie with kale is a delicious way to add greens to your smoothie. Or, if the green color is problematic, lean into a dark fruit like wild blueberries to help hide the green.

Add Veggies via a Topping

Make a quick slaw with cabbage or Brussels sprouts to top off a juicy burger.
Top your favorite tomato soup with crispy, roasted kale chips.
Add lightly dressed salad greens like spring mix or arugula to the top of your favorite pizza slice.
Serve pickled red onion or carrot ribbons alongside tacos.

Trade Your Wrap for Something Green

There are several varieties of lettuce and other sturdy leafy greens like lacinato kale or collards that can be used to replace a tortilla and hold your choice of fillings. These Asian Chicken Cheddar Lettuce Wraps are perfect for dinner, or make a Lettuce Roll-up for lunch with your favorite sandwich ingredients. If you don’t want to give up the tortilla completely, just include a large lettuce leaf or collard green in the wrap itself.

Add a Sauce or Dip

There’s a reason why it’s well-known among parents of littles to serve a dip like ranch dressing or hummus with raw, fresh veggies—everything is better with something creamy! These “fried” zucchini sticks with a creamy Greek yogurt dip are an excellent example.

More Cheese Please

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get myself to eat more veggies?

This might depend on your personality. If you like vegetables naturally then the easiest way to eat more is to plan to make time once a week to meal prep: roast sweet potatoes, blanch broccoli, slice raw carrots and bell peppers.

If you’re not naturally inclined to eat veggies, then you’ll want to find ways to “sneak” them into your meals: fold spinach into a casserole, add peas to macaroni and cheese, blend kale into a smoothie, etc.

What is the healthiest vegetable to eat each day?

Brightly colored vegetables tend to deliver more nutrition and phytonutrients. For many years, the Dietary Guidelines specifically recommended that we incorporate orange and red-colored, as well as dark green vegetables into our diets weekly. The recommendation stemmed from the nutrient density of these vibrant veggies, and also that they provided nutrients that we often fall short on (think: potassium, magnesium, carotenoids, etc.).

There’s also research that shows some vegetables are “healthier” than others. But seeing that we, as a population, could stand to eat more vegetables each day, focusing on eating more vegetables is likely going to be much more valuable to your overall health than nit-picking which veggies you’re eating.

Do I really need to eat 5 servings of vegetables per day?

The short answer is "yes", and more is likely better. The World Health Organization recommends eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day to lower your risk of so-called “non-communicable diseases” (aka chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes). Hitting that daily target will also help you meet your daily fiber goals.

But all the research shows that we don’t meet these intake recommendations—not in the U.S. and not globally. And other research suggests that more is almost always better for our long-term health and warding off chronic conditions.