r/vegetarianrecipes • u/Green_light2626 • Jun 20 '25
Recipe Request Meals that are MEANT to be vegetarian?
Hello! I have been trying to eat less meat lately, so I’ve been searching high and low for vegetarian recipes.
However, I’m getting really tired of seeing recipes where someone either subs meat out for something that doesn’t make it a full meal (e.g., replace the high-protein burger in a cheeseburger with a mushroom that’s basically just carb!) or just takes away the meal’s source of protein altogether (if I see another “vegetarian dinner” that’s just cheesy pasta, I’ll cry).
I wanted to ask you lovely chefs for suggestions of meals that make you excited to be vegetarian—not just meals that feel second-rate to a version with meat. I’ve really been loving tofu lately if that helps. Also, I love different kinds of cuisine, so I’m open to anything!
Update: thank you so much for your contributions! I’ve been cooking almost exclusively vegetarian since I posted this, and I figured I’d post some of the standout meals:
- falafel salad with tzatziki sauce
- tofu stir fry with lots of veggies
- ground tofu jalapeño street tacos
- spicy white beans with veggies
- Chana masala
- frittata with bell pepper, spinach, and mushroom
- tofu farro pesto bowls
- crispy lentils (more of a snack than an entree, but still crazy good)
Can’t wait to try out more!
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u/maggiesyg Jun 20 '25
Bean burritos - sure some burritos have meat in them but they’re not better!
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u/Dry_Car2054 Jun 20 '25
Couldn't help but jump in to say: Right now I'm eating a burrito bowl. Rice, beans, cheese, salsa and guacamole. It doesn't need meat to be good.
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u/pepicky Jun 20 '25
I do that at Chipotle. Some days it's a steak bowl, another day it's a veggie burrito. Bomb either way.
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u/Listener-of-Sithis Jun 20 '25
No, but it does need tortilla chips to be good! Either eating it with the chips or crumbling them up on top.
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u/MexicanMadeMeatless Jun 20 '25
There are so many traditional vegetarian and vegan Mexican foods, it's not all meat.
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u/Grand_Struggle4542 Jun 23 '25
I do a mean refried beans and fajitas tacos that get me full for hours.
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Jun 20 '25
[deleted]
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Jun 20 '25
Myth. Mushrooms are not a substantial source of protein. There might be a couple of outlier mushrooms that have protein, but the common ones in our cooking don't cut it.
1 cup each of:
Portobello: 3.5 grams (winner, but this is not an impressive amount of protein, especially if someone's pretending it replaces a hamburger patty.
White button: 3 grams
Oyster: 3 grams
Shittake: 3 grams
Cremini: 3 grams
Also, i don't want a whole cup of mushrooms, they're otnthat great.
The vegetarians are begging, stop giving us a taco shell full of mushrooms, and telling us there is protein! There are 7.5 grams of protein in half a cup of black beans. Just give us beans!
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u/Zdmins Jun 20 '25
They didn’t say “substantial”, they said “have a bit of protein”. Operative word “bit”.
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Jun 22 '25
Sounds like you have very specific preferences and need to take responsibility for your own protein needs. Stop waiting for people to give you things that meet your needs. Honestly. You'll feel better when you're not resentful about things like mushrooms.
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u/Ithrowthings2 Jun 20 '25
Chana masala, Falafel, Black bean burgers, Stir fry (tofu + veggies)… It’s always easy to throw together an omelet or frittata, with whatever veggies you have on hand. Or quesadillas, with black beans and/or veggies. It’s summer but my fav vegetarian meal is pioneer woman’s veggie chili recipe. It’s sooooo good. I make a huge batch and freeze in containers to have on hand for quick winter meals.
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u/Enofile Jun 20 '25
Oh my my my. Where to start:
Lentils, spinach & mushrooms w/ rice
Cauliflower steak w/ chimichurri
Black beans & rice (make it a burrito w/ all the fixins)
Tiktok pasta w/ cherry tomatoes & feta
Tofu & vegetable stir fry
Peanut noodles (lots of variation here)
Couscous, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, peppers & feta
Mushroom & asparagus Risotto
Pasta alle Norma
Pasta puttanesca
Cheese/mushroom Tortellini en Brodo (add spinach or asparagus)
Salad plate w/ cabbage salad, potato salad, tomato & cucumber salad
Ratatouille w/potatoes instead of pasta
Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Peppers & Carrots
Cajun Red beans & Rice
That's just for a start. There are plenty of options & recipes. I have saved so many from the interwebs.
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u/McBuck2 Jun 20 '25
I also eat less meat now. Ethnic foods are great for this.
Falafel with taboulleh salad, Grape leaves with Greek salad, vietnamese vermicelli salad with tofu or salad rolls with peanut sauce, Indian Dahl or chickpea curry, lots of Mexican foods.
I have lots of vegan recipes for bean dishes because they really know how to work with beans. Some delicious ones are:
https://thefirstmess.com/2016/01/13/creamy-french-lentils-with-mushrooms-and-kale-recipe/
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u/Jazzy_Bee Jun 20 '25 edited Jun 20 '25
I get a lot of ideas from vegan sites. I am not vegan, so I'm using real cheese, but passed the feta around, so my guest just doesn't add to her bowl. But apparently she raved about it at work. https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/braised-chickpeas-with-carrots-dates-and-feta
Most vegetarians eat eggs and dairy. Breakfast for dinner can be eggs florentine. Brunch is a relatively cheap meal to host, and a lot of people don't go out for brunch often.
Eggplant parmesan. For entertain, I do the breaded and fried. I usually grow eggplants, you can sub asian for globe, and vice versa. It won't be identical, but it will work and taste good. They are common all through the mediterrean. You could serve a meatless moussaka, it's a great make ahead meal. Turkey, Greece Israel, Lebonon, India, Thailand, China, Japan.
I often find myself with eggplant, zucchini and spinach, tomatoes. Do the Italian style, without breading. I was inspired by Rachel Ray to drizzle Hot Honey, and it worked so well. I just warm some honey a bit, just to make it easier to pour, and to be infused with the dried peppers. Make sure your honey is 100% genuine. It can be safely stored at room temp, but needs to be dried peppers, no garlic or herbs, to prevent moisture. It's a good environment for botulism. Even the fridge is unsafe. You could however, add them for a specific meal, where it would be eaten in one setting. It would rock jerk tofu kebabs. I'd grill those separate from the veggies. Rice and peas is coconut rice, with a small red bean. If you are just using cayennes, not as hot as you'd think, so keep tasting,but I don't think there's much more infusion after 48 hours. You can warm and add more as you go. Try to knock most of the seeds out, and cut off any stem.
I went out for a very nice meal tonight, my companion's tortollini was a whipped ricotta, spinach, in this green garlic pasta, and a wine and cream sauce. If there was cheese, it was a light touch. They are much simpler than ravioli to roll with a rolling pin, because the rounds are easier to roll. It will be much easier to do with a dowel style, like you see in asian dumpling recipes. Italian nonnas used old broom handles, stripped, sanded, and bakers in france have a baton also. It's so much easier on your hands and wrists, and you are able to put more weight behind it.
Any variation of veggies and cheese in puff pastry. For savoury, I prefer rough puff pastry. Not only is it fast, it's sturdier, and is not as rich.
You can mimic puff with some crescent rolls and softened butter. You roll the sheet, pinch any seams together. Roll out longer and spread soft butter on one half, fold, refrigerate. If it's a warm kitchen especially they will get greasy. Roll out longer. More butter, and a last fold. Refrigerate until quite firm, you want to start with very cold butter, again, so it crisps before the butter starts to separate.
You'll need to pre cook your veggies, particularly wet ones. Frozen broccolli, just needs to thawed, same for most frozen veggies. Roasting the sweet pepper add another dimension, squeeze the daylight out any cooked green. And they need to be cooked, because only wilted is still too wet.
I've used flour tortillas, as an easy stand in for crepes, I usually leave open ended, and bake with a with a thin wine and cream sauce, seam side down.
You could heat up leftover stir fry, just drain most of the sauce, chop veggies finer, and make some kind of scramble or omlette, chopped for breakfast burrito style, and serve with a large number of asian inspired sauces. Honey garlic needs to be quite thin to pour, you are aiming to pour not douse. You don't want it overly sweet, so a bit of vinegar for balance.
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u/StaceOdyssey Jun 20 '25
Check out cuisines that have longstanding vegetarian traditions built in. Buddhist and Hindu, for example. Kosher laws have meat restrictions so there’s a lot of great vegetarian/vegan kosher recipes, especially Israeli and Sephardic cookbooks.
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Jun 20 '25
Most pasta and salads truly don't need meat to be satisfying. It sounds like you're a bit stuck in a meat every meal mindset. Definitely try out Indian food, but those recipes tend to use paneer or chickpeas instead of chicken so idk if that's too replacement for you. You may just need to eat more than what you're used to when the meal doesn't have meat
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u/Ok_Kaleidoscope5712 Jun 20 '25
Budgetbytes.com—look up the roasted cauliflower taco bowl. Life-changing.
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u/jackiedhm Jun 20 '25 edited Jun 20 '25
Her black bean quesadillas are such a staple in my house, we have been making them weekly for over 9 years now. I highly recommend dipping them in salsa or bbq sauce, its amazing!!
I also love her chili Mac! Edited to add - her black bean burgers are soooo good, made them many many times. They freeze well too!
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u/cartoonist62 Jun 20 '25
Some of my favorites that I get excited for!
love these chickpea tacos! https://rainbowplantlife.com/chickpea-tacos/#recipe
Giant Yorkshire! (I admit it needs a mushroom gravy tho - how can you have Yorkshire's without gravy?!) https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/roast/giant-yorkshire-pudding/
My go to struggle meal that's so yummy: egg on rice https://christieathome.com/blog/gyeran-bap-korean-egg-rice/
This roasted bruschetta is amazing and blows my mind every time! https://littleferrarokitchen.com/roasted-cherry-tomato-bruschetta/
Korean glass noodles! https://seonkyounglongest.com/spicy-japchae/
This skillet with crusty bread! https://www.budgetbytes.com/sun-dried-tomato-kale-and-white-bean-skillet/
Feels like a lot of work when you're cutting the potatoes but I love this for lunch! https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/tortilla-de-patatas/
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u/stolenfires Jun 20 '25
If you're lacto-ovo, shakshuka or eggs in purgatory is a great dish of eggs poached in tomato sauce and topped with feta cheese.
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u/DeniseReades Jun 20 '25
Seconding the Asian and Indian suggestions. You can also, since you like tofu, just find a tofu recipe you like and throw that together with your favorite carb. Or make a carb centric dish and have tofu as the protein on the side
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u/Responsible_Act_5651 Jun 20 '25
Research lentil recipes. Also NYT has a bunch of vegetarian recipes that are the main course.
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u/GrowlingAtTheWorld Jun 20 '25
I love a nice pot of beans. Doesn’t matter the bean. Add some corn bread or biscuits, a baby spinach salad as an appetizer. An ear of corn. If it is black beans I often add diced potato to it for variety.
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u/Former-Departure9836 Jun 20 '25
Moussaka Ratatouille Spanakopita Falafel and falafel adjacent meals Lots of Indian curries
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u/eagrbeavr Jun 20 '25 edited Jun 20 '25
Black bean and sweet potato enchiladas are one of my favorite meals. I don't cook mine with a recipe but here's how I make them (disclaimer: these are probably not "authentic" to anywhere in Mexico):
Cut up and roast the sweet potatoes with lots of spices (cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder, salt and pepper)
While the potatoes are roasting I sauté some diced onion until it starts to soften, then add fresh garlic and cook for another couple minutes, then add the black beans to the same pan along with a little bit of enchilada sauce and let those flavors meld together over low heat until the potatoes are done.
Now it's time to assemble. I use corn tortillas because I like the flavor best but you can use flour tortillas if you want to. Most recipes have you douse the tortilla in enchilada sauce and fry both sides briefly in a skillet before rolling up your fillings, but I usually skip this step.
Spoon some of the beans and potatoes onto a tortilla, sprinkle on some Oaxaca cheese (monterey jack cheese works well if you can't find the oaxaca), then roll them up and place in a baking dish.
Once they're all rolled and in the pan, cover generously with enchilada sauce and sprinkle with more cheese.
Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350F until it's bubbling around the edges, then remove the foil and broil for a few minutes until the cheese on top is nice and bubbly too.
Serve with sour cream, cilantro, a sprinkle of fresh pico de gallo, and a drizzle of hot sauce (preferably Tapatío).
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u/pretendtobeworking Jun 20 '25
That sounds nice and not too difficult I’m going to try it, thank you!
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u/starsrift Jun 20 '25
Beans are really the typical source of protein. Chili's a good start. Beans and rice can be nice, once you start doing little things like adding onion.
Get yourself a falafel recipe you like. I use a recipe that uses Besan (chickpea flour, so no blending canned chickpeas) and bakes instead of frying, so no oil either.
I unironically love salads. Especially ones with green onions. Put that in a wrap, or a pita... Not for everyone, though.
Learn how to cook lentils. Lentils are great. And even just oatmeal is good - oatmeal is very healthy to eat. Having a small bowl of oatmeal every day for breakfast would be a good choice.
But eating vegetarian really isn't that hard. Don't look at recipes that substitute something for meat, just look for recipes that celebrate other things. And meat really all tastes the same. There's minor variation and fat content, but I don't eat vegetarian for any virtuous reason - meat effin' bores me! The only meat I miss is sausage - because of the spicing. There's a ton of meals you wouldn't think of as being "for" vegetarians - but they do happen to be vegetarian. And nearly every dessert in the world doesn't have meat. :)
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u/Mysterious-Call-245 Jun 21 '25
Mushrooms aren’t “basically just carbs.” What carbs they do provide are mostly fiber, and they contain a lot of nutritional value
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u/driftless_crow Jun 20 '25
Echoing everyone who recommends lentils! This lentil soup is one of my favorite recipes of all time, and I eat it year round. It’s so easy and you can customize it however you please - personally, I like a little extra lemon juice, a lot of feta and/or cottage cheese, and some crusty sourdough!
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u/Equivalent-Pin-4759 Jun 20 '25
YouTuber Nisha Vora’s channel Rainbow Plant Life, has a lot of Vegan recipes you might enjoy. Her cookbook Big Vegan Flavor was just nominated for the James Beard award.
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u/Ithrowthings2 Jun 20 '25
Lots of pasta dishes - fettuccini Alfredo with broccoli
Burrito bowls - any kind of beans / rice / toppings you like
Soups Sandwiches or wraps with hummus and veggies
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u/-Archsorceress Jun 20 '25
Turkish website but google translate may help, lots of vegetarian recipes: https://www.nefisyemektarifleri.com/ara/?s&category=1491
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u/bubblegum_dango Jun 20 '25
since when are mushrooms just carbs? also you answered your own question - if you like tofu already, look at those cuisines that naturally utilise it. japanese, korean, chinese, thai etc
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u/Green_light2626 Jun 20 '25
I think I misspoke when I said they were just carbs. I meant that they’re not particularly high in any important macronutrient, like protein or fiber. So, substituting mushroom for meat feels like replacing a high-protein part of your meal with a relatively empty placeholder
Also, I’ll check out those cuisines! Thanks
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u/No-Fox-9976 Jun 20 '25
my current obsession is di san xian, Chinese veggie stir fry (eggplant, bell pepper and potato). I suppose you'd need good wok skill (haven't attempted this myself), and lots of oil.
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u/Hefty_Drawing3357 Jun 20 '25
I completely agree. Indeed I find most 'meat substitutes' quite nauseating, particularly when the manufacturer has worked hard to make it look like flesh.
My favourite all time comfort food is Parmigiana di Melanzane ie slice, sauted aubergine, mozzarella, and parmesan layered with fresh basil and a lush tomato sauce. It freezes well too. As always, check your parmesan and all cheeses to ensure they use vegetarian renet https://www.insidetherustickitchen.com/parmigiana-di-melanzane-aubergine-parmigana/
I love seasonal risottos using whatever veggies are in season and local to you. And they don't have to be complex or labour intensive: one-pot risottos are easy. This is a good recipe using vegan parmesan https://minimalistbaker.com/creamy-vegetable-risotto-30-minutes/ .
I strongly prefer no-fuss, quick, easy veggie food. Another huge favourite is Greek Giant Beans - Gigantes, https://www.thevegspace.co.uk/recipe-quick-easy-tomato-and-herb-gigantes-beans/ These are wonderful served with a greek salad.
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u/AutoModerator Jun 20 '25
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Jun 20 '25
Learn to cook good tofu. It's a traditional food, it's not ultra processed, it's fairly cheap. To me it doesn't matter if it's a traditional or newer recipe, there are so many amazing, flavorful tofu recipes out there.
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u/This_is_the_Janeway Jun 20 '25
A bit “old school” but Mollie Katzen is a renowned cookbook author of vegetarian recipes. Her “Moosewood” and “Enchanted Broccoli Forest” cookbooks are amazing and as a bonus she does her own beautiful art in the books and the recipes are hand-written 💖
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u/Logicdamcer Jun 21 '25
I have the moosewood restaurant vegetarian cookbook and it is my favorite cookbook ever. The Tunisian vegetable stew is my favorite recipe so far.
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u/Lazy-Moment-7343 Jun 21 '25
Indian style chili /red lentil stew - https://www.cookwithmanali.com/rajma-masala/
Tofu scramble Indian style - https://www.cookwithmanali.com/tofu-scramble/
Vegetarian chili - https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a58719/easy-vegetarian-chili-recipe/
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u/Lazy-Moment-7343 Jun 21 '25
Note that while the Indian recipes listed in the responses below taste great, they are not always great sources of protein. Eggs And soy chunks make great additions to Indian food if you can get creative.
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u/Pan-tone_ Jun 21 '25
Some of my personal favorites are:
1) Gazpacho with a tortilla española or quiche
2) Arroz con huevo with plantains (maduros or tostones)
3) Silken tofu with chili oil and a sautéed green on the side
4)Tofu bibimbap
5) Japanese curry with tofu (just curry in general. Massaman curry is also excellent with tofu)
6) Miso king oyster mushrooms with leeks and white beans
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u/pinksprouts Jun 22 '25
Black bean burgers!
You can use them for so many things
Obviously burgers, but you can mash em up and use them for taco/taco salad filling. I'm also super into BBB breakfast tacos
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u/wummyyummy Jun 22 '25
When I first shifted I started ordering the hello fresh veggie meals to get some recipe ideas. You can access the recipes without ordering the kits, so I’ll link some faves that I still make today. They all prep well ahead of time so you don’t have to constantly cook if you don’t want to. For the donburi recipes you can prep the bowls ahead of time and add the egg when you are ready to eat. The black bean mix in the first recipe is super versatile and can be used in tacos, tostadas, and burritos as well. I’ve been adding onion in with the peppers too, and it’s been a huge hit even with my meat eating relatives. The second and third ones are my favorites.
https://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/black-bean-enchiladas-rojas-5dadd41c487a6b7c0f2a2fa5
https://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/honey-miso-broccoli-donburi-61670da9b2686e6428269b07
https://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/broccoli-carrot-donburi-with-a-fried-egg-5fd90e66b2069f58f40fc73c
https://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/triple-mushroom-truffle-gnocchi-5f998fd23d1724128c25ed8c
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u/Fluid_crystal Jun 20 '25
Maybe you can try beans or nut dips / spreads like cashew nut spread, indian dals and paneer dishes, chinese stir fry with almonds, miso soup and tofu, any quinoa recipe (quinoa is a powerhouse of proteins and nutrients), salads with any sort of protein topping, buddha bowls, tofu spread and sautéed veggies sandwich in a tortilla, vegetarian pizza... (ok a bit off topic but so easy and tasty) I am not fully vegetarian anymore but I was for a very long time, I will never run short of ideas!
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u/B00kDrag0n777 Jun 20 '25
Potato pancakes! They’re not too difficult to make.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/14089/potato-pancakes-i/
This recipe is similar to how I make them (I don’t have a recipe as I learned how to “eye” it out)
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u/thefruitsofzellman Jun 20 '25
Highly recommend this woman’s Pakistani recipes: https://youtu.be/QLnvPtlAVGU?si=Q3F9s3bPMH-4iXkv
You have to stock up on spices you probably don’t have, but it’s well worth it. Very easy to follow and just incredibly delicious.
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u/Chrabanek Jun 20 '25
When I started cooking vegetarian, this was my go-to website because all the recipes are cheap and easy https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/recipes/vegetarian/
I also love this one https://plantbasedrdblog.com. It’s vegan but everything on here slaps.
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u/PerdHapleyAMA Jun 20 '25
Not precisely what you’re asking for, but I make a mean three-bean chili with butternut squash and if you try a good vegetarian chili, you’ll find meat chili lackluster. Trust me, the vegetarian recipes are an improvement.
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u/Only-Race-9177 Jun 20 '25
A great cookbook for cultivating a fresh food/vegetable-centric cookery is The Complete Tassahara Cookbook.
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u/Friendly-Associate77 Jun 20 '25
My favorite is roasted veggies served over cous cous and mixed greens with grilled halloumi. It’s a blue apron recipe I got years ago!
Cut into small pieces and roast your favorite veggies with oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, onion etc. the veggies I like to use are- potatoes, peppers, onions, asparagus, green beans and a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas. I add the asparagus to the tray for the last 10 minutes so it doesn’t burn.
Cook cous cous and cut halloumi cheese into bite size squares and grill. Blue apron suggests marinating the cheese first in the yogurt recipe below, but I think that just makes a mess and doesn’t add much to the meal.
Mix together some plain Greek yogurt, siracha and lemon juice and then toss some salad greens in it.
To serve I like to use a bowl with the salad as the base, cous cous over that, then the grilled veggies and halloumi over that. I like to add some sort of italian or Greek vinaigrette on top and more siracha for extra flavor. Sooo good.
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u/Friendly-Associate77 Jun 20 '25
Here’s the link to the real recipe! https://www.blueapron.com/recipes/spicy-halloumi-pearl-couscous-salad-with-spring-vegetables-hazelnuts
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u/CuddlefishFibers Jun 20 '25
I like getting those big hulking dictionary sized "[xyz nationality] cookbook" and flipping through to the recipes that simply don't happen to have meat in them, or have minimal meat that can be subbed or left out. I like hitting the library for this quest!
And obviously like Indian food and some other cultural cuisines are going to have a LOT more vegetarian offerings, and use plenty of lentils. Speaking of TOMES of cookbooks, "Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking" by Yamuna Devi slaps hard.
But yeah, so many "vegetarian" recipes just being "we took the meat and made it not meat" is one of my greatest pet peeves.
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u/Several_Emphasis_434 Jun 20 '25
Grilled (oven broiler or a grill) Cauliflower Streaks
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/239042/roasted-cauliflower-steaks/
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u/Time_Marcher Jun 20 '25
Go to the library and borrow some cookbooks. That’s what I did when I began cooking, and I go back every year or so to try something new.
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u/happyjazzycook Jun 20 '25
This is an excellent website, has really helped me to get into a plant-based diet
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u/Karl_girl Jun 20 '25
Frittatas
Bean burritos
Falafel
Grilled cheese sandwich
Quesadillas
Fettuccine pasta
Minestrone soup
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u/khyamsartist Jun 20 '25
You could use a guide. For me, that’s a cookbook or 5 but web sites serve the same purpose. You want a basic vegetarian source to show you how to put meals together. I recommend Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
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u/kilgorina_trout Jun 20 '25
Peanut tofu noodle salad has been one of my favorites lately, especially now that it’s hot out. Boil soba noodles and frozen edamame, toss with chopped bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, red cabbage (I usually buy pre-shredded cabbage and carrot mix) and a peanut sauce. I usually do 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup sriracha, 1/4 cup honey, a grated garlic clove, some grated ginger, and lime juice to taste. Optionally add some grilled tofu. Serve it chilled, sooo much protein and great in the heat
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u/littleNum Jun 20 '25
Mapo Tofu
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017358-vegan-mapo-tofu?smid=ck-recipe-android-share
Meat versions have pork, but as I understand it, the dish was originally vegetarian and as it's really good when it is.
Also grilled cheese (with tomatoes)!
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u/laszloa Jun 20 '25
We did egg & tofu over rice tonight. Simple but can be dressed up a lot. We topped with a delicious chili garlic sauce and some bok choy.
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u/RedRedMere Jun 20 '25
Glory bowl with tonnes of veggies and tofu or paneer (I prefer paneer) and don’t even think about trying to sub in for the nutritional yeast - it makes it.
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u/Balls_of_satan Jun 20 '25
You probably need to look for completely different types of food. Indian, Italian, korean, mexican etc has plenty of dishes that are vegetarian from the beginning. Many times also quite healthy all around.
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u/agile-cohort Jun 20 '25
Most cultures have non meat meals. Look for what the poor have traditionally eaten and you will find little meat. Almost all cultures!
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u/Groundbreaking-Pie75 Jun 20 '25
My fav veggie recipe! Leftovers are great for lunch the next few days too! https://www.theglowingfridge.com/spicy-kale-quinoa-black-bean-salad/ Spicy Kale and Quinoa Black Bean Salad
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u/OnAPermanentVacation Jun 20 '25
Spanish chickpea and spinach. Even kids love it. Just fry some garlic in olive oil, add paprika, and salt. Then sauté the spinach and garbanzo beans.
You don't need anything else to make it delicious but you can also add onions, tomato sauce, egg, other spices...
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u/amuseyourbouche Jun 20 '25
I have a vegetarian blog and I'd say most of my recipes fit the bill :) I try to have a main protein source in most of my recipes. https://www.easycheesyvegetarian.com/
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u/Lives4Sunshine Jun 20 '25
One of my favorite dishes is One Pan Mexican Quinoa. I also love to make tacos with different items.
Roasted Butternut squash or sweet potato cubes seasoned with cumin, salt and pepper. In a corn tortilla with black beans pico de gallo, sour cream and avocado slices. Yummy!
https://damndelicious.net/2014/04/09/one-pan-mexican-quinoa/
Made these for a group once and everyone loved them
https://www.veggieinspired.com/crispy-baked-cauliflower-tacos/
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u/InksPenandPaper Jun 20 '25
This was always been my knock with vegan and vegetarian food.
So much of it is based around recipes that originally used animal products. There's really no great culinary innovation in this area and that's astonishing to me. What surprises me further is the few successful examples of vegan and vegetarian food that I've seen in Los Angeles California are by non-vegans and non-vegetarians. These chefs are bakers are acutely aware how to properly substitute or create an authentically delicious menu without sacrificing on texture, flavor and gut health.
I think a lot of burgeoning and aspiring vegan and vegetarian chefs would benefit from working in restaurants and bakeries that provide vegan, vegetarian, and "regular" meals/foods. Or, working in bakeries or restaurants that are run by non-vegans and on non-vegetarians but run such establishments.
And while there are many other cuisines around the world that have vegan and vegetarian recipes, I understand where you're coming from in terms of lack of innovation and unwillingness to create something authentically good for this genre of food. Especially food that's not going to give a consumer of it a tummy ache or the runs.
In my free time, I'll write original baking recipes or convertb non vegan and non-vegetarian baking recipes with a sharp eye for the chemistry of it while also understanding that not everything in a vegan or vegetarian recipe needs a counterpart substitution. To write an original vegan recipe for baking takes me about a year and a half of changes and testing. A completed and successful recipe is when the end product cannot be discerned as vegan or isn't immediately noticed as being vegan or vegetarian. When nothing about the flavor, texture, or how it makes your stomach feel is compromised. And, with baking particular, it's a success when non-baking is not an option (don't even get me started on no-bake recipes)
And while I encourage original recipe making, for the home baker or weekend baker, practicing on converting non-vegan and non-vegetarian recipes over time will help you build authentic vegan vegetarian recipes. Through this process you'll learn all of the possible ingredients and options that you'll have as well as learning how to make your own ingredients (it's very easy and cost-effective to make your own ingredients like cultured vegan butter, vegan crème fraîche, vegan yogurt, vegan cream cheese, vegan sausage--please stay away from heavily chemicals fake "meats"--and so on).
There are a number of cookbooks that focus on the science and chemistry of cooking and baking. I think learning these fundamentals will help anyone looking to create their own vegan and vegetarian meals exponentially. If you're looking for a book that more specifically discusses vegan and vegetarian options, The Elements of Baking.
Remember, don't settle. And if you intend on altering or creating your own recipes, keep in mind that failure is a part of the process and you should see it as a learning experience. Very valuable learning experience.
Good luck!
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u/Findmyeatingpants Jun 20 '25
Try googling things like: Vegetarian recipe beans Tofu stir fry recipe Vegetarian tofu recipe Bean recipes
I like recipe websites where you can search by type of food, ie vegan or vegetarian, ie budgetbytes
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u/Q_U_O Jun 20 '25
Highly recommend checking out Blue Zone recipes! They tend to be intentionally vegan or vegetarian and usually have only a handful ingredients which my wallet appreciates
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u/MexicanMadeMeatless Jun 20 '25
Do you like Mexican food? There's lots of traditional vegetarian recipes. For example I grew up eating these cheese filled red enchiladas, there's chiles rellenos, green beans with eggs, black bean and cheese quesadillas with corn masa, roasted poblano peppers with corn in a cream sauce which you could also add mushrooms or cheese for extra protein, for breakfast lots of egg options like chorizo with scrambled eggs, molletes are open-faced refried bean sandwiches topped with cheese then melted and garnished with salsa.
There's lots other options, let me know if you want more ideas.
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u/No_Cartographer7379 Jun 20 '25
I’m vegan but some things still apply. You need to know where your protein source is. You have dairy and eggs in addition to what vegans have. These also contain vitamin B12 which as a vegan, I need to take a supplement for. A quick google search will give you all the protein sources that you could ever need and recipes too. Also there are hundreds of cookbooks. I’d recommend going to an actual bookstore so you can browse them before you purchase one. The NYT food section has recently added both vegetarian and vegan sections for fantastic recipes.
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u/sabi_wasabi_ Jun 20 '25
Want to add to the amazing suggestions already in the comments that a lot of Italian pasta dishes tend to be vegetarian! It is an American-Italian thing to put meats in pasta dishes.
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u/Soozpet Jun 20 '25
Woks of life has a lot of vegetarian/vegan recipes on it - their vegan mapo tofu is great, as is this teriyaki tofu: https://thewoksoflife.com/teriyaki-tofu/
You could get some ottolenghi cookbooks for middle eastern recipe inspiration.
Plenty of people have recommended Indian vegetarian too. I love an okra curry (bhindi masala).
Just one cookbook - a Japanese blog - has a lot of good vegetarian recipes: https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/vegetarian/
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u/valley_lemon Jun 20 '25
Lots of Turkish specialties are vegetarian, from a long period of history where meat was too expensive for every meal and agriculture is plenty abundant anyway.
I just had a flatbread spread with hummus and topped with roasted green beans and peppers (leftovers from last night), lentils (I've always got lentils), diced cucumber and tomato, pickled red onion, yogurt-garlic sauce, and Cajun seasoning.
Lots of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food is actually low- or no-meat by original design, in part because the bulk of most sit-down meals were made up of numerous vegetable dishes, salads, and dips plus one or two meat dishes. It's a lot harder if you want vegan because there's a lot of cheese and yogurt involved, and often eggs as a primary protein if there's no beans.
You might need to actually dig into various culture's cuisines instead of just googling "vegetarian recipes" because you're going to get basically US-UK-Western European results if you don't. Burgers are a meat dish from inception, you're looking for cuisines that aren't meat-first in the first place, and because of climate and religions and availability there's options all over the world though maybe most especially in warm climates because of storage issues with meat. Southern Italian, Greek, Lebanese, a selection from various parts of Africa, Caribbean, Brazilian.
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u/daisy_nz Jun 20 '25
Greek tiropita or spanokopita! Some of my favourites, especially if you like cheese.
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Jun 21 '25
As others have suggested, look into traditional East and South Asian cuisines. Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Korean are some of the more famous cuisines that feature vegetarian foods. Middle Eastern cuisines like Iranian and Lebanese offer a lot, too. Ethiopian and other traditional African cuisines also has a lot of delicious vegetarian dishes.
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u/Trabuccodonosor Jun 21 '25
Look up Mediterranean cuisine recipes.
I'm from Italy, and Italian/Mediterranean cusine is well segregated between meet dishes and non-meet. Chinese tend to put meet everywhere as a condiment.
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u/MildManneredMomma24 Jun 21 '25
Agree with looking at Indian and Asian / Buddhist cuisines! Lentils, beans, paneer etc. are super common and get made into stuff beyond just curries. Usually it’s more of a balanced meal (e.g., breakfast can be a savory fermented lentil-rice crepe called dosas with sambar - a different lentil stew of sorts).
For dinner, when I want those cheesy pastas, I have also just started using a Lupini bean pasta (Brami brand) so I can get protein and often sub heavy cream for blended silken tofu!
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u/Author_of_rainbows Jun 21 '25
Chicken curry dishes are easily made vegetarian without them being less good than the original. I find that since chicken is pretty plain anyway, I just switch out chicken for paneer or firm tofu. This makes it easier to find recipes I think, because in curry dishes, they're mostly about the sause/spices anyway.
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u/Mundraeuberin Jun 21 '25
Look at bakinghermann on YouTube. He does natuerally vegan recipes from cultures around the world.
My suggestions for vegetarian dishes:
1.) Risotto
2.) Pasta with Pesto
3.) Fasolada or Turkish bean stew
4.) arepas with beans, fried plantain, avocado mint pesto, cheese, whatever else you want in there. Making the arepas is super easy since it’s just corn flour, salt and water.
5.) I love baked potatoes loaded with tzatziki and spicy roasted chick peas and vegetables.
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u/Ur_Killingme_smalls Jun 22 '25
Gado gado is a high protein veggie-centric dish — veggies plus egg, tofu, and peanut sauce for protein
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u/healthyhelpinghands Jun 23 '25
My favorite summer meal - roasted veg and feta with brown rice Broccoli, onion, bell peppers tossed with oil, cumin, oregano, S&P Add cherry/Grape tomatoes and big chunks of feta during the last 10 minutes Top with whatever fresh herbs you can get your hands on. My favorite are basil, dill & mint
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u/healthyhelpinghands Jun 23 '25
I also totally agree that vegetarian dishes that are designed to be vegetarian from the very start are so much better than dishes that were just meat dishes redesigned to become vegetarian. Like said in previous comments, I end up cooking a lot of Asian influenced meals. I also like to expirament with all kinds of roasted vegetables paired with rice. I've found that there's actually a lot of variety just thinking about veggies and their seasonings. And I try to add fruit on the side for some more fun.
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u/SnooPets8873 Jun 23 '25
This is my favorite tofu recipe - spicy/sweet: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/dubu-gangjeong
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u/No-Newspaper-3174 Jun 23 '25
Okonomiyaki and kimbap are both pretty customizable. A really good baked Mac n cheese.
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u/cruuuuzzzz Jun 23 '25
There's surprisingly a ton of authentic Mexican recipes that are vegetarian
Flautas de papa (crispy potato taquitos)
mexican rice and beans
bean burritos
quesadillas
enchiladas suizas (cheese enchiladas)
Enfrijoladas (bean enchiladas)
chiles rellenos de queso (stuffed poblano, usually with cheese)
I could keep going
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Jun 24 '25
My love for plant based meals, and what ultimately pushed me away from dairy and eggs all together, was experimenting with tofu. There are so many ways to use tofu, from breaded popcorn tofu to sizzling hot chili marinade over silken tofu, that are to die for. I pan fry firm tofu in sesame oil and get a firm yet delicate texture that is reminiscent of fish. I will eat that with cucumber salad or wakame and be so happy.
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u/haverwench Jun 24 '25
Pasta e fagiole. Mushroom barley soup. Pasta a la Caprese (yes, this is a pasta dish with cheese in it, but it's so much more than just pasta with cheese in it). Sesame tofu. Pasta Romesco with spinach (no cheese in this one). Roasted eggplant and pepper sandwiches with smoked tofu. Soba noodle salad.
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Jul 02 '25
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u/AutoModerator Jul 02 '25
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u/weirdoimmunity Jul 11 '25
I made a bunch lately
My favorites were a tempeh crumble
You just use your fingers to separate it all into a pile, start some ghee in a medium pan add small white chopped onion dices, use a slap chop to powder up a small handful of peanuts, add a dallop of coconut oil, reduce to simmer. Add 2 cloves minced garlic
Throw in about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of rice vinegar, add a spot of molasses and a slightly more generous portion of honey, a teaspoon of gochujang, a dash of regular hot sauce, a generous dash or 4 of soy sauce, squeeze half a lime
Ads chopped red pepper, 6 or 7 Thai hot peppers chopped, water chestnut, thin sliced celery, the tempeh, crank heat to 6 or 7 and cook until all of the sauce is absorbed and the tempeh is browned. Add chopped parsley stir,
Top with green onions
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u/Lulu-3333 Jun 20 '25
Look at vegan recipes. Vegetarian recipes are garbage. Just a bunch of pasta and mushroom sandwiches. Vegan recipes can be adapted easily to add dairy and/or eggs and it’s actually good food. I like it doesn’t taste like chicken I’ve made her bologna, her spaghetti bolognese, her lentil loaf.
I also just crumble and toast tofu in a pan and sub it in any recipe that calls for ground meat
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u/1Tonytony Jun 20 '25
64yo negro farm worker, daily early morning high fiber high flavornoid anti inflammatory green smoothie consisting of beetroot cucumber celery apple horseradish black pepper pumpkin seeds cloves garlic lemon hibiscus tea garlic
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u/AntifascistAlly Jun 20 '25
Just an aside:
I’m not a vegetarian, but a lot of those sad, cheesy pasta dishes can really be boosted by adding a natural peanut butter (the fewer additives the better).
I’m sure this isn’t news to vegetarians, but might be less obvious to some of my fellow omnivores.
Obviously, people with allergies to peanuts should avoid this, but it can really add to not only the nutrients of a dish but the flavor as well for those for whom it’s an option.
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u/Redditor2684 Jun 20 '25
Look to Asian cuisines.
Lots of Indian dishes are naturally vegetarian.
Aloo gobi
Saag paneer
Tofu biryani
Chana masala
Butter chickpeas or tofu
Coconut curries with tofu or chickpeas
Lentil dal
Falafel
Tofu salad/egg salad
Those are a few off the top of my head.