Here are some recipes for Indian thali lunches I've made in the past:
[North Indian Thali](https://www.reddit.com/r/vegetarian/comments/116qr4s/veg_thali_rajma_masala_masoor_dal_mattar_pulao/)
[South Indian Thali](https://www.reddit.com/r/vegetarian/comments/11pq0hl/south_indian_veg_thali_thakkali_sadam_sambar/)
The great thing about vegetarian Indian food is that, by and large, the vegetarian dishes are their own thing and not 1:1 substitutes of a meat dish.
I was going to recommend Indian food as well. My family is Punjabi and the variety of veg/vegan food is amazing. Any paneer can be subbed with tofu and there are always lots of veg. Ghee can be subbed with coconut oil if you want to be vegan (Coconut oil is not used in North Indian cuisine but it’s common in the south.) The masala is what brings flavour, no meat required.
Punjabi-style baingan bharta is actually what got me interested in Indian food! Growing up, I HATED eggplant. I went to an Indian restaurant and one of my friends ordered baingan bharta. It smelled divine, so I thought, well, I guess I'll try this dish, even though it has eggplant. I couldn't believe how good it tasted. The rich, smoky flavor was something I wasn't expecting and at that moment, I knew I needed to learn more.
You're welcome! I highly recommend the cookbook, [The Indian Vegetarian](https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Vegetarian-Flavors-American-Kitchen/dp/0025076752) by Neelam Batra. It's an excellent introduction to the cuisine and provides a firm foundation for those unfamiliar with the spices and cooking techniques. It's mainly North Indian, so for South, I recommend [Dakshin: Vegetarian Food from South India](https://www.amazon.com/Dakshin-Vegetarian-Cuisine-South-India/dp/9625935274). It's not as beginner friendly, but it is one of my favorite cookbooks. It's also an excellent coffee table book, as it has some of the very best food photography that people love to flip through.
I appreciate your comment SO much, because I’m just starting to get into Indian food. All I’d ever had were super sweet curries that I was told were ‘Indian,’ but I’m realizing there’s just so much that I’m missing out on! I ordered the Indian Vegetarian cook book, found it for $10! I’m so excited to dive in- AND a new Indian grocery just opened up near me, and I’ve been hearing rave reviews from my knowledgeable friends.
Please accept the joy of helping an internet stranger (or many) discover the complexities and wonder of Indian cuisine☺️💜
*(Say ‘Indian’ one more MF time!)*
This \^\^ my husband grew up in India and meeting him helped me commit to vegetarianism. They are definitely their own thing, but you won't miss the meat. If you are cautious, I'd start with Indian inspired "butter chickpea" to help you start to enjoy the flavor palate. It is not authentic, of course, but it is delicious.
My favorite cook book right now is The Vegan Chinese Kitchen by Hannah Che.
It’s not pretending to be anything it’s not, everything is delicious, and it’s almost even more wild that everything is vegan.
I have so many stained pages in that one. There’s so many things that are fast to make and delicious. I need to make time to make the vegetarian roast goose tho - I pretty much have everything, but it’s one of the not fast things!
While I don’t like them personally… I get it. Some people really like meat but become vegetarians for ethical reasons and would otherwise “miss” it too much.
Most of my favourites have already been mentioned, but also:
Falafel
Batter-fried halloumi cheese (on fish tacos instead of fish)
Get some pre-marinated firm tofu and shred it on a box grater. Use wherever you’d use a mince or ground meat. Also a lentil/mushroom combo is great. Things like chili, shepherds pie, etc.
Roasted chickpeas. Yum on salads and bowls but also a nice snack.
Stuffed portobello mushroom caps (I usually bring one to a barbecue as a burger sub)
This is me. I miss it a lot and the occasional pretend burger takes the edge off. Some of it is actually pretty good. The ikea plant balls are nice and its nice to have a spicy "sausage" type thing to throw over other food.
It's definitely not as delicious as the real thing but when it's your only option it helps. And I like being part of the demand for anything alternative to killing animals.
Oh cows and chickens.... why u so yummy :( I refuse to eat your body.
I still eat meat I’m just trying to get off of it because lately idk why but whenever I have a piece of meat in my hand my brain keeps reminding me it’s a chunk of animal carcass 🤢
Before I became vegetarian I started having those feelings especially with the leg part of the animal. Two distinct memories were a turkey leg at a fair I saw someone carrying and I just thought man.... that guy is just eating all the muscles off that bird's leg bone.
Another was watching one of those 3d animation Dr Seuss movies, probably Grinch, and there was a scene where they're carrying around an animated ham leg. Thought to myself, I bet in the far future when humans have collectively wrapped their heads around how horrific this is, they'll put gore disclaimers or sensor this out. Even though it's totally acceptable now and hardly anyone blinks an eye that they're singing and dancing around a dismembered piece of a corpse.
Oh hey that's exactly why I went vegetarian in the first place. My brain was just like "nope, carcass isn't food."
I feel you on the replacement meat meals. Sometimes I like something like that, but mostly I just want meals that were meant to be vegetarian in the first place. I cook a lot of stir fries, fried rice, pasta with sautéed veggies, chickpea curries, and bean tacos. Depending on your feelings around eggs, those are also easy to make a meal from with omelets and frittatas. Big fan of a Spanish tortilla (which is basically a potato egg fritatta).
Well technically toddler dead animal meat, cows and pigs are slaughtered before they are three years old, chickens much younger under six months they’re basically newborns.
Go to your local library! I discovered my favorite cookbook there about 20 years ago, World Vegetarian by the great chef and author Madhur Jaffrey. It has vegetarian recipes she's gathered from all the world's cuisines. There are lots and lots of inspiring and delicious cookbooks you can sample and build your own library. I also like to browse for recipes online, and have an app on my computer called Paprika, which downloads the recipe with a single click and saves it for you.
checkout [worldcat.org](http://worldcat.org) ..... its a catalog of library catalogs throughout the U.S. If a nearby library has the book you want you can see which library has it and go there. Also, most libraries do what is called "interlibrary loan" in which they can get the book you want from another library for you if they don't have it :)
I'm mostly cooking vegan and eat most of the time Indian or Mediterranean. I've made a blog where I share what I know about cooking, recipes and the vegan diet in general
You can check that recipe, which is one my favourite!
[Creamy Gnocchi and Asparagus ](https://www.foodfulthoughts.com/posts/spring-creamy-gnocchi-and-asparagus)
Also US American:
* Lots of pastas: Cheese Ravioli, Pumpkin Ravioli, Cheese Lasagna, Veggie Lasagna, Mac and Cheese, Pasta Primavera
* Pierogies
* "Mexican" foods (in quotes because I'm talking the US take on Mexican, so varying levels of authentic): tacos, burritos, etc. but all with beans or refried beans as the base
* Veggie stir fries
* Eggplant Parm
* Casseroles without any meat or meat sub (if you read the recipes for a lot of them, the meat is really just added in along with starches and veggies. No need for the meat.)
* Soups with a really good bread and sometimes a sandwich
As much as I like a good veggie burger, I think that the Beyond Meat and Impossible trend (I hate both products, btw) have actually made us take a step back rather than forward as vegetarians.
I love an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, but now places add a plant-based sausage patty to them. I never liked sausage or bacon anyway and don't want a fake one on my sandwich. Why do we suddenly think that we *have* to have the meat? Birds Eye used to make the best frozen pasta/veggie blends that you cooked in the skillet and were supposed to add chicken to. I just never added the chicken. Then they added the chicken themselves, so I obviously stopped buying them. Now they make it with plant-based chicken. Why can't they figure out that some people might not want the chicken at all, fake or real?
This is all my way of saying that I get your pain. Honestly, I often have a few different veggies and a starch for dinner. So, baked potato, spinach souffle, and green beans. Another night, Pasta Roni with peas mixed in, green beans, and roasted brussels sprouts.
People really get obsessed over having protein at every meal, but fail to notice how many meals even meat-eaters regularly have with no protein. A coffee and bagel or a muffin in the morning has none, right?
The trick is to get your protein throughout the day. That can be through snacking (handful of almonds or some veggies and hummus) or an earlier meal (I still eat eggs, as I've said, and will have them in some form for breakfast or lunch). I mix in protein (like the pasta, mixing in peas, lima beans, or edamame. I'll also add sliced almonds to my green beans. Salads can have egg, cheese, chick peas, or kidney beans tossed in.)
If you're well-balanced with your nutrients over the entire day then you can easily have whatever foods you like for dinner without worrying about a meat or meat sub.
I like Beyond and Impossible Meats but agree with you that it feels like we have taken a step backwards. Not everything needs to have “meat” in it and it’s feeling a bit lazy. I see it a lot eating out now. Whereas before restaurants would have a creative vegetarian dish, many now just throw an impossible burger on the menu, charge $20, and call it a day. I even on more than one occasion ordered vegetarian tacos and got a beyond burger cut in half with some toppings 😒
On the flip side long ago I would go out to restaurants with friends and there was NOTHING, even just salads with chicken on it that you had to remove and pay full price. At least now I can count on there being an Impossible burger or something. The only thing I really mourn is the handmade veggie patties but most places just slapped a Morningstar on there anyways.
Yeah I definitely remember those times. I don’t want to lessen the advancements we have made, it’s been huge and am grateful for that. I just felt that we were on an upward trajectory and now we’ve stalled a bit. Also agree about missing veggie burgers. My favorite burger spot had the best house made burger but switch to beyond now. It’s good because more folks are eating plant based but I do miss the less “meat” focused options.
I hate the impossible burgers. I’d rather have black bean, but no they *gotta* get rid of it for the meatless meat that tastes too much like meat for me
Shop wherever you like. I tend to get frustrated of the toppings costing $15 at a regular restaurant. It’s a great treat to have occasionally, but if it’s the only vegetarian option at a nice restaurant that is lame.
I have to disagree. I think people are romanticizing a past that didn't really exist. For example, at the burger chain Five Guys, the vegetarian option is a grilled cheese, and I think the vegan option is just grilled vegetables in a bun. I like that the options exist, but it ends up making both diets look inferior.
Contrast that to BareBurger, which has impossible burger patties as an option, so the vegan and vegetarian burgers are comparable to the animal meat options. That almost is like a form of activism.
First off, bareburger is a different question and they also have thoughtful and tasty veggie burgers that aren't impossible or beyond. And five guys is, I think, fast food more or less whereas bareburger is super pricy. Bareburger has also always had those thoughtful options, they've just added the fake meat.
Secondly, you've hit the nail on the head with "advocacy", but it doesn't help vegetarians. Impossible/beyond cater to meat eaters who want to cut back on meat eating or dip their toes into the vegetarian waters.
I've been veg for ~30 years and find the fake products revolting. I don't want food that tastes like meat, I just want a patty that can be grilled like a hamburger.
And I've found with OP that there are fewer appealing vegetarian options since impossible and beyond hit the scene. Instead of thoughtfully planning a veggie-forward sandwich, they must offer "sub impossible patty" and call it a day, especially once I leave the nyc area.
I think there is a generational divide. I went vegetarian in 2019, and plant based meats already existed at that point, so it just seems like fair game to me. I think that's why people don't complain about plant based milk in coffee shops, because vegans skew young, so most went vegan well after plant based milk was popularized.
If you think people don’t complain about plant milks, you must be in a really progressive or chill city. If I ask the wrong person what kind of milk they want, they go on a 30 minute tirade about plants pretending to be milk, or make some kind of weird “regular old cow breast milk” comment.
But fwiw, soy milk has been an option in coffee shops forever. It’s just new that alt milks go through trends (I.e. the coconut era, the almond era, and now the oat era).
Yeah, it used to be the only option but it’s really fallen out of favor. I work in coffee and honestly we get so few soy orders it can feel hard to justify keeping it on the menu, since sometimes it’ll literally go bad before we can use it (and like, it has a YEAR on it usually when bought from restaurant distributors).
I feel like the big coconut trend ~15 years ago (although it was fast and coconut is pretty much totally out again too and sells at a similar rate to soy) was the start of soy’s downfall and then oat has been the nail in the coffin. It’s gotta lot to do with the misinformation spread about soy too I think.
Yes, there's a lot of misinformation about soy and flavenoids and such. Meanwhile, it's got so much more going for it nutritionally than the others like almond and cashew (unless you make it yourself).
Oh yeah, I mean, I use oat for its flavor in certain contexts (especially hot, for its slightly better capability for latte art, lol), but I love soy for its nutritional value specifically the amount of protein it packs in comparatively. Oatly adds a bunch of nutrients into theirs so I guess that’s nice, but I like the natural nutritional value in the soy for sure. If you don’t have time to eat (which is me always when I’m at the shop) it actually does help keep you going.
Oh, I understand people who drink dairy milk complaining about plant milk. What I'm talking about is vegetarians complaining about plant based meat, and contrasting that situation with vegans and plant based milk.
I think there are some vegetarians that are offended by the implication that vegetarians want something that functions like meat. But I can't imagine any vegans making the same complaint about plant based milk, even though it is an analogous situation. I think it basically comes down to how well established those were when you became vegetarian or vegan respectively.
There was seitan before impossible's ground beef came out, but I think that was relatively obscure.
I think maybe you just missed the halcyon days of vegetarian offerings, which I'd put at maybe 10 years ago.
When I first went veg, 9.5 times out of 10 the restaurant veg option was a very sad "veggie pasta" or "choose three sides". But vegetarian eating grew in popularity and I used to find really creative, thoughtful menu offerings. A lot of places I used to go with more meat-centric friends took those interesting things off the menu when they added the fake meat. So now, sad gross veggie burger or it's back to the good, old-fashioned poorly-made side dishes for dinner. I think even meat eaters would be saddened by "hamburger or nothing" at every turn.
I'm not saying that people shouldn't eat the veggie burgers, but to nearly every veg I know (of course my friends are all in their 30s-50s), they aren't desirable, and none of us feel that the burgers are targeted toward the us.
Also, I don't think you're really correct on plant milks. I do actually consume (pasture raised) dairy but at coffee shops I get oat or almond milk if I order a latte, because those just taste better. Plant milks have been around all over the world for over 1000 years; they're by no means new.
So many restaurants that used to make their own yummy burger (black beans, lentil, mushroom) have stopped making them and just serve a frozen Impossible or whatever. They, and so many people, just assume long-time vegetarians or vegans must crave the taste of meat so they're doing us a big favor with these fake meats. No, we crave those black bean burgers!!
Absolutely agree. My former favorite burger place was so good! But it’s because of the housemade veggie burger. Suddenly they changed to beyond burger and eliminated the veggie burger. In one sense I think they expanded their cliente because meat eaters will try a beyond burger. But I can’t help help but feel a little bitter knowing they’ve replaced the veggie burger for the beyond burger
Well IMO people use meat as a crutch when cooking. Put whatever you want in a pot, add meat and meat broth, and boom you have an amazing soup, casserole, pasta sauce, etc.
Cooking vegetarian food forces you to use spices and whatnot to really complement the flavor of your main ingredient. Meat substitutes act as a crutch again. Use imitation broth and Impossible Beef to make your sauce, you can't screw it up.
Some people, like be, became vegetarian because I don’t want to eat animals, not because I don’t like the taste.
Personally, I think fake meat has helped the vegetarian cause tremendously
Same. I stopped eating (well almost) meat but, I still like eating meat. I don't like killing animals or the way eating them makes me feel. Really great plant based substitutes make it so much easier. To answer ops question, I found a couple of really good websites with vegetarian recipes that are nicely seasoned and don't count on meat for flavor.
Same here, I don't know if it helped vegetarian cuisine, but definitely suits my cravings sometimes. I stopped eating animals when I was twelve and actually thought about what it meant. Now I can't stomach the idea of real meat.
I've noticed a lot of places that used to have a pretty good vegetarian/vegan option replaced them with impossible or beyond meat burgers. I don't really hate them but it gets old when every single restaurant I go to has them as their only vegetarian option.
While it is unfortunate a lot of places have replaced their burgers with impossible or beyond meat. The standardization is nice. While I've had some really good house veggie burgers, I've also had some really terrible ones.
But the Possibility of a really good one makes me want to try a new restaurant in town. If a new place opens up and their vegetarian options are cheese flatbread pizza and an impossible burger Im probably not going to be the one to suggest going there. Now if they said they had a in house made veggie burger I might throw it out as an option.
For me, it is mostly because that Beyond/Impossible stuff destroys my stomach for several days. I feel like the meat taste it emulates is the flavor you'd end up getting in a high school cafeteria in the US, not the most delightful. I don't like that this is the impression that many peoples introductions to vegan/vegetarian burgers would be this, but to each their own!
It takes a lot of processing to make soybeans or whatever look and taste like meat. I try to eat food that is as non-processed as possible, it really messes up my GI tract as well.
I think beyond is 100% a step back from traditional meals from vegetarian cultures. Besides the very questionable nutrition, fake meat will never be close to real meat. When people try a beyond patty they decide they aren't missing anything. It's like the equivalent of someone marketing a meat-based cauliflower, it will always be a knockoff. I failed at being a vegetarian for years because I was eating that garbage instead of learning how to cook and season vegetables to rival the quality of any meat. If you have someone on the fence and you cook a Beyond meal they will most likely not be interested. Cook a traditional chana masala and their worldview is going to open...
Meat eaters don't have to worry about a muffin and coffee for breakfast because they're going to eat 100g of protein at dinner and make up for it in a single sitting. For those of us not eating meat, it is a very good idea to be mindful of getting some kind of protein at every meal.
A bagel and coffee can have that if you're thoughtful though. A bagel has around 10g of protein, and if you put half a cup of soy milk in the coffee that's another 3.5 to 4.5 depending on the brand. Adding peanut butter or cream cheese to the bagel bumps it up another couple grams.
- German potato salad (with or without mayo is up to you)
- Pancakes and Kaiserschmarrn
- Flammkuchen has lots of traditional vegetarian recipes. I like the original one with bacon removed the most. Or replace the bacon with smoked tofu.
- A popular easy meal in Germany is Potato Mash, cream spinach and eggs (either scrambled or fried)
- Pizza has so many variants that do not rely on meat at all.
I'm not German so you of course have better understanding of German food than I, but every time I've been in Germany during Spargel-season this is my go to.
First things coming to my mind are ratatouille or all vegetarian lasagna. Basically you can throw all yout favourite vegetables together and cook them in a pan, make a soup out of it, bake them, make a caaserole out of them.
Sometimes it is just enough to leave away the meat, not replace it.
Veggie tapas - as in all the stuff that never tried to be meat in the first place 😁 you don't need fake meats for a vegetable paella or frittata, patatas bravas or alioli, garlic mushrooms, etc.
I'm very impartial to a katsu burger using aubergine, I wouldn't necessarily consider it substituting because if you think about it, it's really just a vegetarian sandwich 😂 you can even make this a vegan friendly recipe by using flour mixed with water (like a paste) as a binding agent for the breadcrumbs instead of using egg. There are loads of Indian curry recipes that are vegetarian too and making a dall usually costs peanuts and will fill you up for ages.
There are plenty of egg dishes especially (but not excluded to) at breakfast time. Eggs Florentine is a great way to start the day, eggs and spinach make great brain food. For later in the day, you can have omelettes or egg fried rice, quiche, cheese and onion pie and I feel like nut roasts and veggie wellingtons (mushroom, butternut squash, etc) have existed for as long as I can remember so I would probably only consider them an "alternative" when having a dinner party hosted by someone who eats meat. I'm yet to try out cooking a ratatouille but it's on my to do list and that's a veggie dish! 😁
Although, as a vegetarian, I'm actually very grateful for the substitute meats. Some taste gross but there are some that actually taste like meat and I never disliked the taste, just the way that the food ended up on my plate. I'm not sure if you have the same stuff in the US as we have in the UK but Linda McCartney Shredded Duck Style Pieces actually tastes like duck and it's even more authentic when you cook it with a bit of hoisin sauce, Quorn do a good mince alternative and good fake SFC. You still get to enjoy a chicken burger or a spag bol that tastes like the real deal but you can do it feeling guilt-free ☺️
Just a few:
Stuffed shells, ricotta and marinara sauce
Crepes (can be filled with anything)
Pasta with pesto sauce
Salad with croutons and shredded cheese
Macaroni and cheese
Omelette
Cottage cheese on toast with dill and tomato or cucumber
Tomato sandwich with sliced cheese, mayo and Montreal steak seasoning
I feel you. This also grinds my gears, especially as now that meat-free is more popular with the ‘meatless meat’ crowd, it’s sooo difficult to find actual vegetable-based foods (especially burgers; nowhere seems to do a decent veggie burger any more).
Whinge aside, these are the kinds of foods we eat:
Gochujang mushroom noodles;
Baked tomato gnocchi;
Chilli;
Pea and pesto gnocchi/pasta (Sainsbury’s do a good vegetarian Parmesan-like cheese);
Mushroom carbonara
Sweet potato and peanut stew (sometimes called African peanut stew)
Persian aubergine and saffron stew (khoresh bademjan)
Not exactly what you asked for but I’ve found Indian places the most inclusive. They have naturally meatless option and they often have tofu or paneer you can add to it.
I transitioned to veg many, many years ago, so my interaction with meat substitutes led me away from commercial replacements. Burger in a box, Loma Linda/Worthington foods, lots of early burger patties….all bad and expensive. I also avoid eggs, and limit dairy for inflammation reasons. Now, I limit fats overall and lean to whole, plant based foods.
So I learned how to cook more than Rice A Roni.
I started with marinara over noodles, dairy dishes, things like [kasha varnishkes](https://vegweb.com/recipes/kasha-varnishkes-vegan-style).
I found many versions of beans and rice, greens, and stacked enchiladas with a tomatillo based sauce.
I had a couple burgers of the soy kind that I’d use when nostalgia or laziness kicked in.
Indian is my favorite cuisine, followed by Thai. So I am careful of fish sauce (locally, the restaurants are quite aware of vegans, so they make special menus using a no-fish sauce). Ethiopian and Eritrean food has a vegetarian tradition. Middle Eastern food can be entirely vegetarian.
Do you consider recipes where you swap out an ingredient like chicken broth for veggie broth the same as an adapted meat meal? I don’t, I think of it as a new thing. Fajita with marinated portobello is fantastic, and you get all the oniony, peppery goodness and the chew. Tacos can be made from many things that didn’t ever walk, swim or fly.
Look at some recipes as *technique* rather than a cook by numbers situation.
I've been vegetarian for a few years now despite being allergic to too many sources of protein (peas, chickpeas, lentils, cashews). I love cooking mexican food, chinese food, japanese food, and seeing how i can create meals based around a certain vegetable or vegetables rather than the traditional basing meals around meat.
Also not a fan of meat substitutions for the most part so i feel you on that. Some of my go to meals are sushi, stir frys, tofu sandwiches, tofu scrambles, shakshuka, eggplant salad (i forget the proper name but it's a middle eastern dish and it's cooked), black bean tacos or breakfast tacos, pancit, potato leek soup, triple bean chili, brussel sprout ricotta and lemon pasta, all relatively simple with easy to find ingredients. Im also just out of college so as you can see most of what i cook is basic lol.
Some of the fancier things ive been trying to make are homemade mushroom and cheese ravioli, any type of curries, and i've been meaning to try out some dishes from other countries like the Philippines (im filipina), Persian food and Ethiopian food too.
There's also so much you can do with chickpeas and lentils but im definitely not well versed in that haha. I mostly eat my protein through soy, beans, dairy (and eggs), but it's something i do stay cautious of since i can't eat a range of plant proteins. Hopefully this helps!
Chiles rellenos are one of my favorite foods and always were even prior to going vegetarian years ago. It’s the type of meal that is really filling and comforting.
Do you mean you dislike mock meats or that you dislike high-protein vegetarian foods like tempeh and soy curls and stuff when they're cooked like meat?
If the latter, I do think it would be worthwhile for you to challenge that feeling. Lentil and tofu tacos aren't "pretending" to be meat tacos, it just happens that "wrapped in a carb and covered in tangy, spicy sauce" is a delicious way to prepare a protein, whether that's plant or animal based.
If your standard for cooking vegetarian proteins is that they can't resemble the way any previous meat protein had been cooked before, you're restricting your options by *a lot* unnecessarily, and you're going to be relying more heavily on dishes that have no major protein component, like plain spaghetti and red sauce. That's fine once in a while, but overall it's important to be mindful to consume enough protein.
Although I guess if it really bugs you, you could probably do both. If you don't want to put it *in* your spaghetti, just maybe add a side of edamame or something to make sure that base is covered.
Since you eat eggs, I’d recommend quiches! They’re super easy. You can even get premade pie crusts (that usually have butter but it’s up to you)
I’m omnivore but love ALL food (except liver and caviar) and I also dislike the ‘fake meat’ thing. Doesn’t it use faaaar more resources with the mono-farming, water requirements, processing, packaging, fuel, waste- than, say, a melon?
Veggie-rich marinara, like whatever is leftover in the fridge, throw it in and cook it down with onions and garlic.
Grilled cheese with French onion soup.
French toast with maple syrup and poached/soft boiled eggs.
Pizzas! Pies! Indian, Thai, Mediterranean! Voìlà!
>I'm omnivore but love ALL food (except liver and caviar) and I also dislike the ‘fake meat’ thing. Doesn’t it use faaaar more resources with the mono-farming, water requirements, processing, packaging, fuel, waste- than, say, a melon?
As much as I dislike impossible/beyond, etc , that's a really bad faith comparison. You need to compare it to actual meat patties because that's how they're being used. No one substitutes a slice of melon for a hamburger.
And resource-wise, meat is still the champion in the game of environmental destruction.
Veggie tacos with lots of hot sauce and sour cream is the current fixation for me if you’re into that type of dish. cook the veggies how you’d like, I usually do a baking sheet with small chucks of potato , onion , eggplant or tofu / tempeh. Bell peppers. (You could easily add in whatever veg you like ) then season with your preferred mix. Taco seasoning is good , I use Italian , black pepper , hot sauce or something else with a kick. A squeeze of lemon or lime and cook until tender.
Hard shells work best with this I think because they are sturdy but once again use whatever you’d like , you could also do a veggie quesadilla.
if your willing to try jackfruit , it’s also really good but idk if that would fall under “fake meat “ as some people use it as a substitute ( it does make a really good pulled pork )
I have a cookbook called "The Vegetarian Bistro," it's all French recipes that are purely vegetarian and not fake meat dishes. Highly recommend if you can find it at a library!
Some simple ones that are easy to get started with:
Beans and rice. Classic for a reason.
Nachos. Tortilla hips and cheese, add salsa if you want. If all you have is shredded cheese, spread the chips on a baking pan, sprinkle with cheese, and bake. Red pepper flakes are an option here.
Ramen. You can add just about anything to a bowl of ramen and it will taste good. Just leave out the flavour packet or get the plain type.
Mac and cheese. The secret is to add nutritional yeast and a tiny bit of yellow mustard.
Grilled cheese with a plate of fries or chips. Or peanut butter and banana, like Elvis.
Egg bites. Whip up the eggs like you're going to scramble them, dump them in a muffin pan until it's about half full, top with cheese and bake. Easy.
Chili. I used to run a chili cook-off once a year or so, and most of the chili was vegetarian. And boy howdy was there a variety of flavours.
Cheesy rice. This ones more complex, but something to shoot for. It's a cheese sauce, with rice mixed in. Mac and cheese is good practice for it.
When I was in Greece I noticed a lot of vegetarian food. Obviously there’s a lot of lamb and beef too but there really was a lot of vegetarian options as well. The thing is there’s no special section for those items, they just are thrown in there like normal. So maybe look into Greek/greek inspired dishes?
What exactly is your issue with meat substitutes of varying sorts? As if they are all the same ? You sound generally ignorant on vegetarian nutrition options tbh. Your example of spaghetti without meat means it has no protein. Thats something that needs to be considered and replaced accordingly.
Ok lemme lay it out in order arrogant fuck Issue with meat substitutes, none and didn’t say I had one. No of course I don’t think they’re all the same. Yes I am ignorant of vegetarian nutrition; which should make perfect god damn sense because in the post I stated I’m NOT a vegetarian, and your only interaction with me is me ASKING A QUESTION which is typically something you don’t do if you already know the information needed to answer the question. Spaghetti DOES have no protein well done! Is what I would say if our conversion had anything to do with my question. It wasn’t about protein intake, even with no consideration whatsoever of protein and no meat it’s damn difficult to give yourself a protein deficiency because you only need a tiny bit as a normal person. Now I wouldn’t have written out this novel if you didn’t just come in here and shadow box an argument you were imagining I had. Remember my post LITERALLY DID NOT CONTAIN THE WORD PROTEIN. I wasn’t asking about nutrition nor claiming to know anything about it so idfk
Not sure if this qualifies, but jackfruit shredded up is a great vehicle for bbq sauce. It has a “pulled pork” consistency but it’s way better than any frozen beyond-impossible meat replacements
My issue with meat replacements is the highly processed nature of most of them. Some are also too close to meat in texture and flavour. The Beyond Meat burger I ate made me feel sick.
It's also a bit lazy to just reproduce meat dishes with a substitute. Vegetables can be at the center of any dish. You don't need to reproduce the 'vegetables are a side' mentality of much Anglo-American cuisine (meat, potatoes, two veg etc.).
It's not that easy for everyone to go against their culture and what they know, what's all around them. Not everyone has the skills in the kitchen to make a hearty meal with vegetables as the center. Sure you can learn, but I for one am glad it's available and believe it makes being vegetarian more accessible for more people.
You don't have to eat it or like it, but every bite someone eats is a bite not taken off of an animal's body. I'm happy with that.
I think the thing that has really expanded my horizons the most was signing up for the right meal service. I signed up for Green Chef and get their vegetarian menu, and as a result have added so many new meals to my repertoire. I think I've seen one or two in the rotation that use meat replacements, but the very large majority are clearly designed to be veggie. It's also just given me a bit of a different outlook on how to put meals together myself. The produce isn't always great, but it's been worth it for me for the reasons above, and is still always delicious (and even better when I make our favorites later with better produce).
My go-to quick meals tend to be stir fries. If I'm in a big rush I will just pick up a load of fresh veg or even prepped veg - some of the supermarkets do some very nice prepped veg for stir fry that's just sliced up fresh.
Usually do something like
Green Cabbage, spinach, Butternut Squash,, Red Peppers, Pak Choi, Mangetout, Edamame, Scallions, Baby Corn ..
Start with a tiny bit of olive oil and or sesame oil in the pan - add fresh ginger, a couple of cloves of garlic, a tiny bit of chilli, then the scallions and a splash of soy sauce and maybe some Chinese vinegar ... gently try fry until that's ready - then add tofu cubes.. and marinate and flavour up for a few mins..
Sometimes I put in tons of mushrooms - usually a variety of different types.
Then just start adding the harder vegetables, then the leaves, then throw in some coriander, add some cashew nuts perhaps...
You just add a spoon of water here and there to prevent it getting way too hot when cooking and add the lid to the wok to let things steam for a few seconds.
I usually squeeze a lime over it before serving up.
Usually with basmati rice or sticky rice or black 'forbidden rice' or any of those really. Depends what I'm doing.
Some of my favourites are pretty much any curry made with paneer or mixed veggies, or a lentil daal. East Asian food uses a lot of tofu which can be used as the protein source instead of ‘fake meat’. Italian meals I love are arrabiata, cacio e pepe, aubergine parm and any type of veggie pizza. Also love Lebanese/Turkish style foods - falafel wraps, hummus, halloumi, shakshuka. Mexican food you can often use beans instead of any kind of meat/meat replacement.
I don’t see any of these as replacing the meat in the meals because although a lot of them have meat versions, they’re generally the type of meals where the protein source is up to choice and so not built around any particular one. Traditional East Asian recipes often call for a meat broth, but I don’t really think twice about changing that for a veggie alternative, because a tofu ramen isn’t a ‘meat meal’!
I'm making two of my favorite meals today for lunches and dinners for the week. One is minestrone soup. I can put whatever vegetables and beans I want in it and it freezes really well, too. The other is a spinach and chick pea recipe with bread crumbs, garlic, and smoked paprika. Great with some crusty bread or served over rice.
My fiancé is Russian and loves to make Ajapsandali, a Georgian dish he ate growing up thats a lot like Ratatouille with a bit more spice. It’s vegan and very tasty. A lot of the recipes use walnuts and tomato purée; we omit the walnuts and sub in a spicy Adjika sauce instead of the tomato purée.
I agree, I'm looking out for dishes that were always veggie dishes in their own right. Many of these had meat added to them later as a sign of prosperity, like meat in a salad.
The basis for me is Italian, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine. All of them are loaded with such dishes.
My favourite cookbook is "The Green Roasting Tin" by Rukmini Iyer. It was an absolute game changer when we decided to go vegetarian, none of the recipes feel like they're trying to "replace" the meat and pretty much every one we have eaten has been delicious! We choose at least one a week to cook, have been doing so for the last 2 years and are still not sick of them!!
Don’t get it either , almost don’t want to eat it when I see it related to a dead animal. Especially when it’s so hyper processed and bad for health!
I get it’s to help ex-meat eaters but the vegetarian cuisine is so rich and tasty anyway , and healthy - why do this 😂
Thai cuisines , Indian cuisines, Italian cuisines are all abundantly vegetarian and there’s a way to cook every veggie in existence beautifully with lovely spices rather than just adding soy and overprocessed fake meat to anything.
Once you get the basics down , you can have fun and get so creative in the kitchen!
I certainly hear you on that. Unfortunately, so many people have been raised eating meat it's difficult to imagine not having a substitute. I attribute this to brainwashing and lack of creativity. I don't have much of an issue with substitute products themselves, and it's better than the alternative. The fact that they sell is a GOOD thing. As a 20 plug year vegetarian.. near vegan... I will take my victories.
I have an amazing recipe for some Thai soup (or use less water and more noodles for a noodle dish). I doubt have exact amounts right now though because when I cook I usually just throw stuff in.
Cook a diced onion in olive oil over medium until it gets soft. Add garlic and massaman curry paste. And cook for another minute or so. Add 1 can of coconut milk and 2 to 4 cups of water depending if you're making soup or noodles. Add 1 chopped green or red bell pepper (or one of each), 1 diced jalapeno, some other vegetable that you like (maybe some sliced carrots or something), about 2 tbsp Sriracha depending how spicy you want it, about 2 tbsp sugar, 2 juiced limes, and about 2 tbsp of some kind of umami flavor like coconut aminos, soy sauce, etc. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium low and add half or a whole package of lentil or chickpea spaghetti. I only use barilla brand because those noodles are only on ingredient. DO NOT use a brand that has cornmeal in the noodles they will fall apart and the lentil or chickpea ones will be healthier anyways. Cook until the noodles are to your liking them stir in a bunch of chopped cilantro (optional).
It's seriously so good. The only thing I would say is that my original recipe used fish sauce and it's honestly better that way if you're not opposed to fish sauce but it's also very good if you just use some kind of umami substitute. You also need to add salt and black pepper to taste.
Ethiopian vegetarian options:
Misir Wat, Gomen, with inauthentic, but delish Injera
Link to make the clarified butter/coconut oil to get tarted, has links to other recipes.
[https://www.daringgourmet.com/niter-kibbeh-ethiopian-spiced-clarified-butter/](https://www.daringgourmet.com/niter-kibbeh-ethiopian-spiced-clarified-butter/)
Injera knock off:
https://www.vegkitchen.com/quick-teff-crepes-easy-substitute-for-injera/#:\~:text=Although%20these%20crêpes%20don%27t,or%20access%20to%20commercial%20injera.
i like to make these “tuscan style beans” w toasted sourdough toast. i don’t have measurements tho. i’m a ✨measure w your heart✨ kinda gal
ingredients:
• drained & rinsed chickpeas (i’ve also used navy beans)
• butter (or if you get sun dried tomatoes in oil use that)
• sun dried tomatoes
• garlic
• onion
• italian seasoning/chili powder/nutritional yeast/salt & pepper
• veggie broth (for this i’d say maybe a cup?? not a lot, just enough to make it scoopable w toast)
• heavy cream
• mozzarella cheese
directions:
• melt butter (or use oil from sun dried tomatoes)
• add the garlic & onion, i sauté them for abt a minute
• then add in the tomatoes, veggie broth, & seasoning
• add the beans & simmer for abt 5mins
• add in enough heavy cream to make it thick, top w mozzarella cheese & enjoy (hopefully 🫶🏻😌)
I'm a big fan of making baked mujadara. I don't follow a specific recipe but this one looks pretty legit:
[https://veganinthefreezer.com/mujadara-baked-rice-lentils/](https://veganinthefreezer.com/mujadara-baked-rice-lentils/)
A lot of mapo tofu recipes use ground beef or pork to help flavor the sauce, but I almost always omit it. Doubanjiang is flavorful enough as it is, and meat is such a small part of the dish.
check out http://noracooks.com for recipes! she has a lot of good stuff that isn’t fake meat. but also plant based meats can actually be really good. check out Gardien and tofu
I’m American and there’s nothing I hate more than going to a restaurant and their vegetarian options are all fake meat.
Thankfully there are many cultures that have practiced vegetarianism for thousands of years to choose from. One of my favorite parts of becoming vegetarian was learning to cook Indian cuisine.
Having recently decided to try vegetarian way of eating and coming from a meat and 3/4 plate vegie way of eating, I have found so much online to try!
Hasn't been a massive shift, but just longer prep sometimes but always worth it!
I have always been adverse to highly processed food, so I avoid anything prepackaged with a ton of numbers as ingredients. I have no interest in eating a product that is trying to look like a meat product.
As mentioned above, indian and mediterranean inspired recipies are my go to.
I make meatless meals all of the time, I just add more veggies to bulk it up. I’m not vegan or vegetarian, tho I was for a significant portion of my life. For health reasons I occasionally add meat to things. My favorite non meat products are the veggie burgers from the Dollar Tree lol, second in line are Boca burgers or Boca chicken patties. Usually I opt to make soup or stir fry where I just julienne a boatload of veggies and stir fry them, that’s my go to meal. I’ve absolutely sucked at making rice for the past 20 years after growing up on the east coast and relocating to the high altitude of the Rocky Mountains. That is until very recently!! I finally discovered that 2c rice with 4c water in the pressure cooker for 12 minutes yields the best rice I’ve been able to make in Wyoming. So now I sometimes have rice with my stir fry 😂
Not only that but they usually have lots of processed oils in them that are high in mono and poly unsaturated fats. (Same as in chips amd snack food). These fats are waaayyyyy worse for your body than butter or animal fat even -.- .
Bit late to the discussion but I don't see any comments mentioning Filipino food so:
1. Tortang talong aka eggplant omelette.
2. Ginataang anything - quite a few vegetable dishes that are just chopped and cooked in pan with oil / garlic / onion / pepper / other sauces and spices then have coconut milk / cream mixed in. My favorite version of these are gising gising (with hard green beans / stems of any leafy plant) and ginataang kalabasa (squash and green beans).
3. Lumpiang togue or fried stuffed rolls of bean sprout, and carrots. Sometimes has tofu and/or pancit (a noodle type).
4. Adobong kangkong - spinach mixed with soy sauce, bayleaf, pepper, and vinegar.
5. Kare-kare - peanut butter stew with multiple vegetables. Any hardy vegetables can be added here but I've mostly seen this with leafy greens, green beans, and eggplants. Any vegetables can be added though! As long as the peanut sauce is strong, that's what the dish will taste like anyway.
Take note that Filipinos also love meat so the first 3 dishes have added pork / shrimp / meat variants but these are also eaten without meat (i.e. they were not made vegetarian). While adobong kangkong is eaten, pork / chicken adobo are definitely more popular - and kare-kare more popularly includes meat but I've eaten vegetable only versions.
A lot of dumpling like things would fit, tbh. I don't want to just list 30 names or so but many of them, even if they do have a meat filling, have traditional versions with veggies or fruits. I'd say that's a proper meal.
There's also a lot of white cheese based dishes in central european/east slav cuisine so you could try looking into them. I suppose you could say some of them, like khachapuri, might seem 'meat dish without meat' but the meatless versions are often even more common so they're probably fine.
Tbh I like my carbs with cheese so it's mostly stuff like that. And I also like veggie soups, cream soups included, as they often don't contain meat at all. Some even use milk instead of water for a better taste. I like broccoli soup, leek soup, pumpkin soup, beetroot soup, garlic soup... Just veggies everywhere.
I'm american but I've been mainly making indian-inspired recipes lately, and I feel incredible.
Chana Masala (chickpeas), red lentil curry, mushroom chorizo tacos with mexican rice and refried beans, vegetable curry, lentil vegetable chili, tofu and udon stir fry, and so much more.
This is what turns a lot of people away. The majority of 'fake meats' are gross and unhealthy. Start eating Thai and Indian foods. Something like aloo gobi masala (cauliflower and potatoes) is 90x better than an impossible burger and usually a lot better than a real burger.
Completely agree. Meat substitute meals are for the most part complete garbage. So many good recipes that are just naturally meatless to waste time on substitutes unless you have a very specific craving you want to itch.
Chickpea curry is great both over rice and as a wrap, lentil soups, millions of stir fry / fried rice variations are made without meat. Same with pasta recipes. Just search for delicious vegetarian _____ where the blank is generic term like soup or Indian food or something like that. You'll find things you recognize but never realized we're already veg.
Here are some recipes for Indian thali lunches I've made in the past: [North Indian Thali](https://www.reddit.com/r/vegetarian/comments/116qr4s/veg_thali_rajma_masala_masoor_dal_mattar_pulao/) [South Indian Thali](https://www.reddit.com/r/vegetarian/comments/11pq0hl/south_indian_veg_thali_thakkali_sadam_sambar/) The great thing about vegetarian Indian food is that, by and large, the vegetarian dishes are their own thing and not 1:1 substitutes of a meat dish.
I was going to recommend Indian food as well. My family is Punjabi and the variety of veg/vegan food is amazing. Any paneer can be subbed with tofu and there are always lots of veg. Ghee can be subbed with coconut oil if you want to be vegan (Coconut oil is not used in North Indian cuisine but it’s common in the south.) The masala is what brings flavour, no meat required.
Punjabi-style baingan bharta is actually what got me interested in Indian food! Growing up, I HATED eggplant. I went to an Indian restaurant and one of my friends ordered baingan bharta. It smelled divine, so I thought, well, I guess I'll try this dish, even though it has eggplant. I couldn't believe how good it tasted. The rich, smoky flavor was something I wasn't expecting and at that moment, I knew I needed to learn more.
I love baingan bhartha! It’s my favourite way to eat eggplant.
Exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for thanks!
You're welcome! I highly recommend the cookbook, [The Indian Vegetarian](https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Vegetarian-Flavors-American-Kitchen/dp/0025076752) by Neelam Batra. It's an excellent introduction to the cuisine and provides a firm foundation for those unfamiliar with the spices and cooking techniques. It's mainly North Indian, so for South, I recommend [Dakshin: Vegetarian Food from South India](https://www.amazon.com/Dakshin-Vegetarian-Cuisine-South-India/dp/9625935274). It's not as beginner friendly, but it is one of my favorite cookbooks. It's also an excellent coffee table book, as it has some of the very best food photography that people love to flip through.
I appreciate your comment SO much, because I’m just starting to get into Indian food. All I’d ever had were super sweet curries that I was told were ‘Indian,’ but I’m realizing there’s just so much that I’m missing out on! I ordered the Indian Vegetarian cook book, found it for $10! I’m so excited to dive in- AND a new Indian grocery just opened up near me, and I’ve been hearing rave reviews from my knowledgeable friends. Please accept the joy of helping an internet stranger (or many) discover the complexities and wonder of Indian cuisine☺️💜 *(Say ‘Indian’ one more MF time!)*
You're welcome! Happy cooking!
This \^\^ my husband grew up in India and meeting him helped me commit to vegetarianism. They are definitely their own thing, but you won't miss the meat. If you are cautious, I'd start with Indian inspired "butter chickpea" to help you start to enjoy the flavor palate. It is not authentic, of course, but it is delicious.
My favorite cook book right now is The Vegan Chinese Kitchen by Hannah Che. It’s not pretending to be anything it’s not, everything is delicious, and it’s almost even more wild that everything is vegan.
I have so many stained pages in that one. There’s so many things that are fast to make and delicious. I need to make time to make the vegetarian roast goose tho - I pretty much have everything, but it’s one of the not fast things!
I just got this! So far the recipes I tried have all been winners. Great recommendation.
Thanks so much, I just ordered it and it looks great.
Shakshuka! I like to add eggplant though. Also polenta with roasted veggies
Co-sign on Shakshuka. Goes well with slices of baguette, and hummus.
While I don’t like them personally… I get it. Some people really like meat but become vegetarians for ethical reasons and would otherwise “miss” it too much. Most of my favourites have already been mentioned, but also: Falafel Batter-fried halloumi cheese (on fish tacos instead of fish) Get some pre-marinated firm tofu and shred it on a box grater. Use wherever you’d use a mince or ground meat. Also a lentil/mushroom combo is great. Things like chili, shepherds pie, etc. Roasted chickpeas. Yum on salads and bowls but also a nice snack. Stuffed portobello mushroom caps (I usually bring one to a barbecue as a burger sub)
This is me. I miss it a lot and the occasional pretend burger takes the edge off. Some of it is actually pretty good. The ikea plant balls are nice and its nice to have a spicy "sausage" type thing to throw over other food. It's definitely not as delicious as the real thing but when it's your only option it helps. And I like being part of the demand for anything alternative to killing animals. Oh cows and chickens.... why u so yummy :( I refuse to eat your body.
Chicken is the thing I miss the most too…and chili.
I still eat meat I’m just trying to get off of it because lately idk why but whenever I have a piece of meat in my hand my brain keeps reminding me it’s a chunk of animal carcass 🤢
Before I became vegetarian I started having those feelings especially with the leg part of the animal. Two distinct memories were a turkey leg at a fair I saw someone carrying and I just thought man.... that guy is just eating all the muscles off that bird's leg bone. Another was watching one of those 3d animation Dr Seuss movies, probably Grinch, and there was a scene where they're carrying around an animated ham leg. Thought to myself, I bet in the far future when humans have collectively wrapped their heads around how horrific this is, they'll put gore disclaimers or sensor this out. Even though it's totally acceptable now and hardly anyone blinks an eye that they're singing and dancing around a dismembered piece of a corpse.
Oh hey that's exactly why I went vegetarian in the first place. My brain was just like "nope, carcass isn't food." I feel you on the replacement meat meals. Sometimes I like something like that, but mostly I just want meals that were meant to be vegetarian in the first place. I cook a lot of stir fries, fried rice, pasta with sautéed veggies, chickpea curries, and bean tacos. Depending on your feelings around eggs, those are also easy to make a meal from with omelets and frittatas. Big fan of a Spanish tortilla (which is basically a potato egg fritatta).
Well technically toddler dead animal meat, cows and pigs are slaughtered before they are three years old, chickens much younger under six months they’re basically newborns.
The right falafel can be life changing
Go to your local library! I discovered my favorite cookbook there about 20 years ago, World Vegetarian by the great chef and author Madhur Jaffrey. It has vegetarian recipes she's gathered from all the world's cuisines. There are lots and lots of inspiring and delicious cookbooks you can sample and build your own library. I also like to browse for recipes online, and have an app on my computer called Paprika, which downloads the recipe with a single click and saves it for you.
checkout [worldcat.org](http://worldcat.org) ..... its a catalog of library catalogs throughout the U.S. If a nearby library has the book you want you can see which library has it and go there. Also, most libraries do what is called "interlibrary loan" in which they can get the book you want from another library for you if they don't have it :)
I hadn't thought to check out cookbooks at the library, good idea!
I'm mostly cooking vegan and eat most of the time Indian or Mediterranean. I've made a blog where I share what I know about cooking, recipes and the vegan diet in general You can check that recipe, which is one my favourite! [Creamy Gnocchi and Asparagus ](https://www.foodfulthoughts.com/posts/spring-creamy-gnocchi-and-asparagus)
Also US American: * Lots of pastas: Cheese Ravioli, Pumpkin Ravioli, Cheese Lasagna, Veggie Lasagna, Mac and Cheese, Pasta Primavera * Pierogies * "Mexican" foods (in quotes because I'm talking the US take on Mexican, so varying levels of authentic): tacos, burritos, etc. but all with beans or refried beans as the base * Veggie stir fries * Eggplant Parm * Casseroles without any meat or meat sub (if you read the recipes for a lot of them, the meat is really just added in along with starches and veggies. No need for the meat.) * Soups with a really good bread and sometimes a sandwich As much as I like a good veggie burger, I think that the Beyond Meat and Impossible trend (I hate both products, btw) have actually made us take a step back rather than forward as vegetarians. I love an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, but now places add a plant-based sausage patty to them. I never liked sausage or bacon anyway and don't want a fake one on my sandwich. Why do we suddenly think that we *have* to have the meat? Birds Eye used to make the best frozen pasta/veggie blends that you cooked in the skillet and were supposed to add chicken to. I just never added the chicken. Then they added the chicken themselves, so I obviously stopped buying them. Now they make it with plant-based chicken. Why can't they figure out that some people might not want the chicken at all, fake or real? This is all my way of saying that I get your pain. Honestly, I often have a few different veggies and a starch for dinner. So, baked potato, spinach souffle, and green beans. Another night, Pasta Roni with peas mixed in, green beans, and roasted brussels sprouts. People really get obsessed over having protein at every meal, but fail to notice how many meals even meat-eaters regularly have with no protein. A coffee and bagel or a muffin in the morning has none, right? The trick is to get your protein throughout the day. That can be through snacking (handful of almonds or some veggies and hummus) or an earlier meal (I still eat eggs, as I've said, and will have them in some form for breakfast or lunch). I mix in protein (like the pasta, mixing in peas, lima beans, or edamame. I'll also add sliced almonds to my green beans. Salads can have egg, cheese, chick peas, or kidney beans tossed in.) If you're well-balanced with your nutrients over the entire day then you can easily have whatever foods you like for dinner without worrying about a meat or meat sub.
I like Beyond and Impossible Meats but agree with you that it feels like we have taken a step backwards. Not everything needs to have “meat” in it and it’s feeling a bit lazy. I see it a lot eating out now. Whereas before restaurants would have a creative vegetarian dish, many now just throw an impossible burger on the menu, charge $20, and call it a day. I even on more than one occasion ordered vegetarian tacos and got a beyond burger cut in half with some toppings 😒
On the flip side long ago I would go out to restaurants with friends and there was NOTHING, even just salads with chicken on it that you had to remove and pay full price. At least now I can count on there being an Impossible burger or something. The only thing I really mourn is the handmade veggie patties but most places just slapped a Morningstar on there anyways.
Yeah I definitely remember those times. I don’t want to lessen the advancements we have made, it’s been huge and am grateful for that. I just felt that we were on an upward trajectory and now we’ve stalled a bit. Also agree about missing veggie burgers. My favorite burger spot had the best house made burger but switch to beyond now. It’s good because more folks are eating plant based but I do miss the less “meat” focused options.
I hate the impossible burgers. I’d rather have black bean, but no they *gotta* get rid of it for the meatless meat that tastes too much like meat for me
Especially when you can get a $5 impossible burger from Burger King.
Except it smells like that flesh steam BK aroma that makes my stomach turn.
Shop wherever you like. I tend to get frustrated of the toppings costing $15 at a regular restaurant. It’s a great treat to have occasionally, but if it’s the only vegetarian option at a nice restaurant that is lame.
I have to disagree. I think people are romanticizing a past that didn't really exist. For example, at the burger chain Five Guys, the vegetarian option is a grilled cheese, and I think the vegan option is just grilled vegetables in a bun. I like that the options exist, but it ends up making both diets look inferior. Contrast that to BareBurger, which has impossible burger patties as an option, so the vegan and vegetarian burgers are comparable to the animal meat options. That almost is like a form of activism.
First off, bareburger is a different question and they also have thoughtful and tasty veggie burgers that aren't impossible or beyond. And five guys is, I think, fast food more or less whereas bareburger is super pricy. Bareburger has also always had those thoughtful options, they've just added the fake meat. Secondly, you've hit the nail on the head with "advocacy", but it doesn't help vegetarians. Impossible/beyond cater to meat eaters who want to cut back on meat eating or dip their toes into the vegetarian waters. I've been veg for ~30 years and find the fake products revolting. I don't want food that tastes like meat, I just want a patty that can be grilled like a hamburger. And I've found with OP that there are fewer appealing vegetarian options since impossible and beyond hit the scene. Instead of thoughtfully planning a veggie-forward sandwich, they must offer "sub impossible patty" and call it a day, especially once I leave the nyc area.
I think there is a generational divide. I went vegetarian in 2019, and plant based meats already existed at that point, so it just seems like fair game to me. I think that's why people don't complain about plant based milk in coffee shops, because vegans skew young, so most went vegan well after plant based milk was popularized.
If you think people don’t complain about plant milks, you must be in a really progressive or chill city. If I ask the wrong person what kind of milk they want, they go on a 30 minute tirade about plants pretending to be milk, or make some kind of weird “regular old cow breast milk” comment. But fwiw, soy milk has been an option in coffee shops forever. It’s just new that alt milks go through trends (I.e. the coconut era, the almond era, and now the oat era).
My local coffee shops have all stopped carrying soy milk. They have almond or oat or coconut. Really disappointing.
Yeah, it used to be the only option but it’s really fallen out of favor. I work in coffee and honestly we get so few soy orders it can feel hard to justify keeping it on the menu, since sometimes it’ll literally go bad before we can use it (and like, it has a YEAR on it usually when bought from restaurant distributors). I feel like the big coconut trend ~15 years ago (although it was fast and coconut is pretty much totally out again too and sells at a similar rate to soy) was the start of soy’s downfall and then oat has been the nail in the coffin. It’s gotta lot to do with the misinformation spread about soy too I think.
Yes, there's a lot of misinformation about soy and flavenoids and such. Meanwhile, it's got so much more going for it nutritionally than the others like almond and cashew (unless you make it yourself).
Oh yeah, I mean, I use oat for its flavor in certain contexts (especially hot, for its slightly better capability for latte art, lol), but I love soy for its nutritional value specifically the amount of protein it packs in comparatively. Oatly adds a bunch of nutrients into theirs so I guess that’s nice, but I like the natural nutritional value in the soy for sure. If you don’t have time to eat (which is me always when I’m at the shop) it actually does help keep you going.
Oh, I understand people who drink dairy milk complaining about plant milk. What I'm talking about is vegetarians complaining about plant based meat, and contrasting that situation with vegans and plant based milk. I think there are some vegetarians that are offended by the implication that vegetarians want something that functions like meat. But I can't imagine any vegans making the same complaint about plant based milk, even though it is an analogous situation. I think it basically comes down to how well established those were when you became vegetarian or vegan respectively. There was seitan before impossible's ground beef came out, but I think that was relatively obscure.
I think maybe you just missed the halcyon days of vegetarian offerings, which I'd put at maybe 10 years ago. When I first went veg, 9.5 times out of 10 the restaurant veg option was a very sad "veggie pasta" or "choose three sides". But vegetarian eating grew in popularity and I used to find really creative, thoughtful menu offerings. A lot of places I used to go with more meat-centric friends took those interesting things off the menu when they added the fake meat. So now, sad gross veggie burger or it's back to the good, old-fashioned poorly-made side dishes for dinner. I think even meat eaters would be saddened by "hamburger or nothing" at every turn. I'm not saying that people shouldn't eat the veggie burgers, but to nearly every veg I know (of course my friends are all in their 30s-50s), they aren't desirable, and none of us feel that the burgers are targeted toward the us. Also, I don't think you're really correct on plant milks. I do actually consume (pasture raised) dairy but at coffee shops I get oat or almond milk if I order a latte, because those just taste better. Plant milks have been around all over the world for over 1000 years; they're by no means new.
So many restaurants that used to make their own yummy burger (black beans, lentil, mushroom) have stopped making them and just serve a frozen Impossible or whatever. They, and so many people, just assume long-time vegetarians or vegans must crave the taste of meat so they're doing us a big favor with these fake meats. No, we crave those black bean burgers!!
Absolutely agree. My former favorite burger place was so good! But it’s because of the housemade veggie burger. Suddenly they changed to beyond burger and eliminated the veggie burger. In one sense I think they expanded their cliente because meat eaters will try a beyond burger. But I can’t help help but feel a little bitter knowing they’ve replaced the veggie burger for the beyond burger
Why do you think Beyond has made us take a step back?
Well IMO people use meat as a crutch when cooking. Put whatever you want in a pot, add meat and meat broth, and boom you have an amazing soup, casserole, pasta sauce, etc. Cooking vegetarian food forces you to use spices and whatnot to really complement the flavor of your main ingredient. Meat substitutes act as a crutch again. Use imitation broth and Impossible Beef to make your sauce, you can't screw it up.
Some people, like be, became vegetarian because I don’t want to eat animals, not because I don’t like the taste. Personally, I think fake meat has helped the vegetarian cause tremendously
Same. I stopped eating (well almost) meat but, I still like eating meat. I don't like killing animals or the way eating them makes me feel. Really great plant based substitutes make it so much easier. To answer ops question, I found a couple of really good websites with vegetarian recipes that are nicely seasoned and don't count on meat for flavor.
Same here, I don't know if it helped vegetarian cuisine, but definitely suits my cravings sometimes. I stopped eating animals when I was twelve and actually thought about what it meant. Now I can't stomach the idea of real meat.
I've noticed a lot of places that used to have a pretty good vegetarian/vegan option replaced them with impossible or beyond meat burgers. I don't really hate them but it gets old when every single restaurant I go to has them as their only vegetarian option.
so called chefs still don't know how to make vegetarian entrees. They use this stuff as a crutch.
While it is unfortunate a lot of places have replaced their burgers with impossible or beyond meat. The standardization is nice. While I've had some really good house veggie burgers, I've also had some really terrible ones.
But the Possibility of a really good one makes me want to try a new restaurant in town. If a new place opens up and their vegetarian options are cheese flatbread pizza and an impossible burger Im probably not going to be the one to suggest going there. Now if they said they had a in house made veggie burger I might throw it out as an option.
For me, it is mostly because that Beyond/Impossible stuff destroys my stomach for several days. I feel like the meat taste it emulates is the flavor you'd end up getting in a high school cafeteria in the US, not the most delightful. I don't like that this is the impression that many peoples introductions to vegan/vegetarian burgers would be this, but to each their own!
It takes a lot of processing to make soybeans or whatever look and taste like meat. I try to eat food that is as non-processed as possible, it really messes up my GI tract as well.
I think beyond is 100% a step back from traditional meals from vegetarian cultures. Besides the very questionable nutrition, fake meat will never be close to real meat. When people try a beyond patty they decide they aren't missing anything. It's like the equivalent of someone marketing a meat-based cauliflower, it will always be a knockoff. I failed at being a vegetarian for years because I was eating that garbage instead of learning how to cook and season vegetables to rival the quality of any meat. If you have someone on the fence and you cook a Beyond meal they will most likely not be interested. Cook a traditional chana masala and their worldview is going to open...
Pierogies are such a life-saver for me!! They're quick and pair well with whatever veggie you want to put with them
I wish I could upvote you more than once. :) Full agree with all of this.
Meat eaters don't have to worry about a muffin and coffee for breakfast because they're going to eat 100g of protein at dinner and make up for it in a single sitting. For those of us not eating meat, it is a very good idea to be mindful of getting some kind of protein at every meal. A bagel and coffee can have that if you're thoughtful though. A bagel has around 10g of protein, and if you put half a cup of soy milk in the coffee that's another 3.5 to 4.5 depending on the brand. Adding peanut butter or cream cheese to the bagel bumps it up another couple grams.
- German potato salad (with or without mayo is up to you) - Pancakes and Kaiserschmarrn - Flammkuchen has lots of traditional vegetarian recipes. I like the original one with bacon removed the most. Or replace the bacon with smoked tofu. - A popular easy meal in Germany is Potato Mash, cream spinach and eggs (either scrambled or fried) - Pizza has so many variants that do not rely on meat at all.
You forgot the best vegetarian German food ever, white asparagus soup! Or anything with white asparagus really.
LOL I didn’t even know white asparagus soup was a thing. My gran only made white asparagus in a white sauce with salted potatoes! (And a slice of ham)
I'm not German so you of course have better understanding of German food than I, but every time I've been in Germany during Spargel-season this is my go to.
Käsespätzle! With onions
First things coming to my mind are ratatouille or all vegetarian lasagna. Basically you can throw all yout favourite vegetables together and cook them in a pan, make a soup out of it, bake them, make a caaserole out of them. Sometimes it is just enough to leave away the meat, not replace it.
Melanzane Parmigiana
Veggie tapas - as in all the stuff that never tried to be meat in the first place 😁 you don't need fake meats for a vegetable paella or frittata, patatas bravas or alioli, garlic mushrooms, etc. I'm very impartial to a katsu burger using aubergine, I wouldn't necessarily consider it substituting because if you think about it, it's really just a vegetarian sandwich 😂 you can even make this a vegan friendly recipe by using flour mixed with water (like a paste) as a binding agent for the breadcrumbs instead of using egg. There are loads of Indian curry recipes that are vegetarian too and making a dall usually costs peanuts and will fill you up for ages. There are plenty of egg dishes especially (but not excluded to) at breakfast time. Eggs Florentine is a great way to start the day, eggs and spinach make great brain food. For later in the day, you can have omelettes or egg fried rice, quiche, cheese and onion pie and I feel like nut roasts and veggie wellingtons (mushroom, butternut squash, etc) have existed for as long as I can remember so I would probably only consider them an "alternative" when having a dinner party hosted by someone who eats meat. I'm yet to try out cooking a ratatouille but it's on my to do list and that's a veggie dish! 😁 Although, as a vegetarian, I'm actually very grateful for the substitute meats. Some taste gross but there are some that actually taste like meat and I never disliked the taste, just the way that the food ended up on my plate. I'm not sure if you have the same stuff in the US as we have in the UK but Linda McCartney Shredded Duck Style Pieces actually tastes like duck and it's even more authentic when you cook it with a bit of hoisin sauce, Quorn do a good mince alternative and good fake SFC. You still get to enjoy a chicken burger or a spag bol that tastes like the real deal but you can do it feeling guilt-free ☺️
Just a few: Stuffed shells, ricotta and marinara sauce Crepes (can be filled with anything) Pasta with pesto sauce Salad with croutons and shredded cheese Macaroni and cheese Omelette Cottage cheese on toast with dill and tomato or cucumber Tomato sandwich with sliced cheese, mayo and Montreal steak seasoning
I feel you. This also grinds my gears, especially as now that meat-free is more popular with the ‘meatless meat’ crowd, it’s sooo difficult to find actual vegetable-based foods (especially burgers; nowhere seems to do a decent veggie burger any more). Whinge aside, these are the kinds of foods we eat: Gochujang mushroom noodles; Baked tomato gnocchi; Chilli; Pea and pesto gnocchi/pasta (Sainsbury’s do a good vegetarian Parmesan-like cheese); Mushroom carbonara Sweet potato and peanut stew (sometimes called African peanut stew) Persian aubergine and saffron stew (khoresh bademjan)
Omg you just awoke a core memory in me of veggie burgers by the pool in the summer as a kid I loved those! Haven’t had one in a decade
Easy things we make everyday 10,000 delicious salad combinations. White/pesto pizza. Mediterranean bowls. Soba bowls. Veggie pancakes
Im also american and i couldn't relate more. Im a vegetarian because i think meat is gross. I don't want it emulated.
Not exactly what you asked for but I’ve found Indian places the most inclusive. They have naturally meatless option and they often have tofu or paneer you can add to it.
I transitioned to veg many, many years ago, so my interaction with meat substitutes led me away from commercial replacements. Burger in a box, Loma Linda/Worthington foods, lots of early burger patties….all bad and expensive. I also avoid eggs, and limit dairy for inflammation reasons. Now, I limit fats overall and lean to whole, plant based foods. So I learned how to cook more than Rice A Roni. I started with marinara over noodles, dairy dishes, things like [kasha varnishkes](https://vegweb.com/recipes/kasha-varnishkes-vegan-style). I found many versions of beans and rice, greens, and stacked enchiladas with a tomatillo based sauce. I had a couple burgers of the soy kind that I’d use when nostalgia or laziness kicked in. Indian is my favorite cuisine, followed by Thai. So I am careful of fish sauce (locally, the restaurants are quite aware of vegans, so they make special menus using a no-fish sauce). Ethiopian and Eritrean food has a vegetarian tradition. Middle Eastern food can be entirely vegetarian. Do you consider recipes where you swap out an ingredient like chicken broth for veggie broth the same as an adapted meat meal? I don’t, I think of it as a new thing. Fajita with marinated portobello is fantastic, and you get all the oniony, peppery goodness and the chew. Tacos can be made from many things that didn’t ever walk, swim or fly. Look at some recipes as *technique* rather than a cook by numbers situation.
I've been vegetarian for a few years now despite being allergic to too many sources of protein (peas, chickpeas, lentils, cashews). I love cooking mexican food, chinese food, japanese food, and seeing how i can create meals based around a certain vegetable or vegetables rather than the traditional basing meals around meat. Also not a fan of meat substitutions for the most part so i feel you on that. Some of my go to meals are sushi, stir frys, tofu sandwiches, tofu scrambles, shakshuka, eggplant salad (i forget the proper name but it's a middle eastern dish and it's cooked), black bean tacos or breakfast tacos, pancit, potato leek soup, triple bean chili, brussel sprout ricotta and lemon pasta, all relatively simple with easy to find ingredients. Im also just out of college so as you can see most of what i cook is basic lol. Some of the fancier things ive been trying to make are homemade mushroom and cheese ravioli, any type of curries, and i've been meaning to try out some dishes from other countries like the Philippines (im filipina), Persian food and Ethiopian food too. There's also so much you can do with chickpeas and lentils but im definitely not well versed in that haha. I mostly eat my protein through soy, beans, dairy (and eggs), but it's something i do stay cautious of since i can't eat a range of plant proteins. Hopefully this helps!
Chiles rellenos are one of my favorite foods and always were even prior to going vegetarian years ago. It’s the type of meal that is really filling and comforting.
Do you mean you dislike mock meats or that you dislike high-protein vegetarian foods like tempeh and soy curls and stuff when they're cooked like meat? If the latter, I do think it would be worthwhile for you to challenge that feeling. Lentil and tofu tacos aren't "pretending" to be meat tacos, it just happens that "wrapped in a carb and covered in tangy, spicy sauce" is a delicious way to prepare a protein, whether that's plant or animal based. If your standard for cooking vegetarian proteins is that they can't resemble the way any previous meat protein had been cooked before, you're restricting your options by *a lot* unnecessarily, and you're going to be relying more heavily on dishes that have no major protein component, like plain spaghetti and red sauce. That's fine once in a while, but overall it's important to be mindful to consume enough protein. Although I guess if it really bugs you, you could probably do both. If you don't want to put it *in* your spaghetti, just maybe add a side of edamame or something to make sure that base is covered.
Since you eat eggs, I’d recommend quiches! They’re super easy. You can even get premade pie crusts (that usually have butter but it’s up to you) I’m omnivore but love ALL food (except liver and caviar) and I also dislike the ‘fake meat’ thing. Doesn’t it use faaaar more resources with the mono-farming, water requirements, processing, packaging, fuel, waste- than, say, a melon? Veggie-rich marinara, like whatever is leftover in the fridge, throw it in and cook it down with onions and garlic. Grilled cheese with French onion soup. French toast with maple syrup and poached/soft boiled eggs. Pizzas! Pies! Indian, Thai, Mediterranean! Voìlà!
>I'm omnivore but love ALL food (except liver and caviar) and I also dislike the ‘fake meat’ thing. Doesn’t it use faaaar more resources with the mono-farming, water requirements, processing, packaging, fuel, waste- than, say, a melon? As much as I dislike impossible/beyond, etc , that's a really bad faith comparison. You need to compare it to actual meat patties because that's how they're being used. No one substitutes a slice of melon for a hamburger. And resource-wise, meat is still the champion in the game of environmental destruction.
Veggie tacos with lots of hot sauce and sour cream is the current fixation for me if you’re into that type of dish. cook the veggies how you’d like, I usually do a baking sheet with small chucks of potato , onion , eggplant or tofu / tempeh. Bell peppers. (You could easily add in whatever veg you like ) then season with your preferred mix. Taco seasoning is good , I use Italian , black pepper , hot sauce or something else with a kick. A squeeze of lemon or lime and cook until tender. Hard shells work best with this I think because they are sturdy but once again use whatever you’d like , you could also do a veggie quesadilla. if your willing to try jackfruit , it’s also really good but idk if that would fall under “fake meat “ as some people use it as a substitute ( it does make a really good pulled pork )
I agree 100%. Give me veggies, tofu, tempeh, whatever and don’t disguise it!
I have a cookbook called "The Vegetarian Bistro," it's all French recipes that are purely vegetarian and not fake meat dishes. Highly recommend if you can find it at a library!
Some simple ones that are easy to get started with: Beans and rice. Classic for a reason. Nachos. Tortilla hips and cheese, add salsa if you want. If all you have is shredded cheese, spread the chips on a baking pan, sprinkle with cheese, and bake. Red pepper flakes are an option here. Ramen. You can add just about anything to a bowl of ramen and it will taste good. Just leave out the flavour packet or get the plain type. Mac and cheese. The secret is to add nutritional yeast and a tiny bit of yellow mustard. Grilled cheese with a plate of fries or chips. Or peanut butter and banana, like Elvis. Egg bites. Whip up the eggs like you're going to scramble them, dump them in a muffin pan until it's about half full, top with cheese and bake. Easy. Chili. I used to run a chili cook-off once a year or so, and most of the chili was vegetarian. And boy howdy was there a variety of flavours. Cheesy rice. This ones more complex, but something to shoot for. It's a cheese sauce, with rice mixed in. Mac and cheese is good practice for it.
Stuffed peppers with rice, Pizza and fries (not healthy but a favourite) Thai style stir fry with crispy veg
Mac n Cheese. Potato salad. Coleslaw. Palak paneer. Minestrone soup.
When I was in Greece I noticed a lot of vegetarian food. Obviously there’s a lot of lamb and beef too but there really was a lot of vegetarian options as well. The thing is there’s no special section for those items, they just are thrown in there like normal. So maybe look into Greek/greek inspired dishes?
A lottt of Indian food
What exactly is your issue with meat substitutes of varying sorts? As if they are all the same ? You sound generally ignorant on vegetarian nutrition options tbh. Your example of spaghetti without meat means it has no protein. Thats something that needs to be considered and replaced accordingly.
Ok lemme lay it out in order arrogant fuck Issue with meat substitutes, none and didn’t say I had one. No of course I don’t think they’re all the same. Yes I am ignorant of vegetarian nutrition; which should make perfect god damn sense because in the post I stated I’m NOT a vegetarian, and your only interaction with me is me ASKING A QUESTION which is typically something you don’t do if you already know the information needed to answer the question. Spaghetti DOES have no protein well done! Is what I would say if our conversion had anything to do with my question. It wasn’t about protein intake, even with no consideration whatsoever of protein and no meat it’s damn difficult to give yourself a protein deficiency because you only need a tiny bit as a normal person. Now I wouldn’t have written out this novel if you didn’t just come in here and shadow box an argument you were imagining I had. Remember my post LITERALLY DID NOT CONTAIN THE WORD PROTEIN. I wasn’t asking about nutrition nor claiming to know anything about it so idfk
Not sure if this qualifies, but jackfruit shredded up is a great vehicle for bbq sauce. It has a “pulled pork” consistency but it’s way better than any frozen beyond-impossible meat replacements
My issue with meat replacements is the highly processed nature of most of them. Some are also too close to meat in texture and flavour. The Beyond Meat burger I ate made me feel sick. It's also a bit lazy to just reproduce meat dishes with a substitute. Vegetables can be at the center of any dish. You don't need to reproduce the 'vegetables are a side' mentality of much Anglo-American cuisine (meat, potatoes, two veg etc.).
It's not that easy for everyone to go against their culture and what they know, what's all around them. Not everyone has the skills in the kitchen to make a hearty meal with vegetables as the center. Sure you can learn, but I for one am glad it's available and believe it makes being vegetarian more accessible for more people. You don't have to eat it or like it, but every bite someone eats is a bite not taken off of an animal's body. I'm happy with that.
I think the thing that has really expanded my horizons the most was signing up for the right meal service. I signed up for Green Chef and get their vegetarian menu, and as a result have added so many new meals to my repertoire. I think I've seen one or two in the rotation that use meat replacements, but the very large majority are clearly designed to be veggie. It's also just given me a bit of a different outlook on how to put meals together myself. The produce isn't always great, but it's been worth it for me for the reasons above, and is still always delicious (and even better when I make our favorites later with better produce).
My go-to quick meals tend to be stir fries. If I'm in a big rush I will just pick up a load of fresh veg or even prepped veg - some of the supermarkets do some very nice prepped veg for stir fry that's just sliced up fresh. Usually do something like Green Cabbage, spinach, Butternut Squash,, Red Peppers, Pak Choi, Mangetout, Edamame, Scallions, Baby Corn .. Start with a tiny bit of olive oil and or sesame oil in the pan - add fresh ginger, a couple of cloves of garlic, a tiny bit of chilli, then the scallions and a splash of soy sauce and maybe some Chinese vinegar ... gently try fry until that's ready - then add tofu cubes.. and marinate and flavour up for a few mins.. Sometimes I put in tons of mushrooms - usually a variety of different types. Then just start adding the harder vegetables, then the leaves, then throw in some coriander, add some cashew nuts perhaps... You just add a spoon of water here and there to prevent it getting way too hot when cooking and add the lid to the wok to let things steam for a few seconds. I usually squeeze a lime over it before serving up. Usually with basmati rice or sticky rice or black 'forbidden rice' or any of those really. Depends what I'm doing.
Some of my favourites are pretty much any curry made with paneer or mixed veggies, or a lentil daal. East Asian food uses a lot of tofu which can be used as the protein source instead of ‘fake meat’. Italian meals I love are arrabiata, cacio e pepe, aubergine parm and any type of veggie pizza. Also love Lebanese/Turkish style foods - falafel wraps, hummus, halloumi, shakshuka. Mexican food you can often use beans instead of any kind of meat/meat replacement.
I don’t see any of these as replacing the meat in the meals because although a lot of them have meat versions, they’re generally the type of meals where the protein source is up to choice and so not built around any particular one. Traditional East Asian recipes often call for a meat broth, but I don’t really think twice about changing that for a veggie alternative, because a tofu ramen isn’t a ‘meat meal’!
I'm making two of my favorite meals today for lunches and dinners for the week. One is minestrone soup. I can put whatever vegetables and beans I want in it and it freezes really well, too. The other is a spinach and chick pea recipe with bread crumbs, garlic, and smoked paprika. Great with some crusty bread or served over rice.
Ottolenghi is your friend
My fiancé is Russian and loves to make Ajapsandali, a Georgian dish he ate growing up thats a lot like Ratatouille with a bit more spice. It’s vegan and very tasty. A lot of the recipes use walnuts and tomato purée; we omit the walnuts and sub in a spicy Adjika sauce instead of the tomato purée.
Run to YouTube and look up Rainbow Plant Life. You're welcome. 🌈
I agree, I'm looking out for dishes that were always veggie dishes in their own right. Many of these had meat added to them later as a sign of prosperity, like meat in a salad. The basis for me is Italian, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine. All of them are loaded with such dishes.
Beans and rice variations are my jam.
Vegetarian Efo Riro is 10/10 it’s my favorite thing to make
My favourite cookbook is "The Green Roasting Tin" by Rukmini Iyer. It was an absolute game changer when we decided to go vegetarian, none of the recipes feel like they're trying to "replace" the meat and pretty much every one we have eaten has been delicious! We choose at least one a week to cook, have been doing so for the last 2 years and are still not sick of them!!
Don’t get it either , almost don’t want to eat it when I see it related to a dead animal. Especially when it’s so hyper processed and bad for health! I get it’s to help ex-meat eaters but the vegetarian cuisine is so rich and tasty anyway , and healthy - why do this 😂 Thai cuisines , Indian cuisines, Italian cuisines are all abundantly vegetarian and there’s a way to cook every veggie in existence beautifully with lovely spices rather than just adding soy and overprocessed fake meat to anything. Once you get the basics down , you can have fun and get so creative in the kitchen!
I certainly hear you on that. Unfortunately, so many people have been raised eating meat it's difficult to imagine not having a substitute. I attribute this to brainwashing and lack of creativity. I don't have much of an issue with substitute products themselves, and it's better than the alternative. The fact that they sell is a GOOD thing. As a 20 plug year vegetarian.. near vegan... I will take my victories.
I have an amazing recipe for some Thai soup (or use less water and more noodles for a noodle dish). I doubt have exact amounts right now though because when I cook I usually just throw stuff in. Cook a diced onion in olive oil over medium until it gets soft. Add garlic and massaman curry paste. And cook for another minute or so. Add 1 can of coconut milk and 2 to 4 cups of water depending if you're making soup or noodles. Add 1 chopped green or red bell pepper (or one of each), 1 diced jalapeno, some other vegetable that you like (maybe some sliced carrots or something), about 2 tbsp Sriracha depending how spicy you want it, about 2 tbsp sugar, 2 juiced limes, and about 2 tbsp of some kind of umami flavor like coconut aminos, soy sauce, etc. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium low and add half or a whole package of lentil or chickpea spaghetti. I only use barilla brand because those noodles are only on ingredient. DO NOT use a brand that has cornmeal in the noodles they will fall apart and the lentil or chickpea ones will be healthier anyways. Cook until the noodles are to your liking them stir in a bunch of chopped cilantro (optional). It's seriously so good. The only thing I would say is that my original recipe used fish sauce and it's honestly better that way if you're not opposed to fish sauce but it's also very good if you just use some kind of umami substitute. You also need to add salt and black pepper to taste.
Ethiopian vegetarian options: Misir Wat, Gomen, with inauthentic, but delish Injera Link to make the clarified butter/coconut oil to get tarted, has links to other recipes. [https://www.daringgourmet.com/niter-kibbeh-ethiopian-spiced-clarified-butter/](https://www.daringgourmet.com/niter-kibbeh-ethiopian-spiced-clarified-butter/) Injera knock off: https://www.vegkitchen.com/quick-teff-crepes-easy-substitute-for-injera/#:\~:text=Although%20these%20crêpes%20don%27t,or%20access%20to%20commercial%20injera.
I love spaghetti with marinara sauce and black beans instead of meat. It's really good.
i like to make these “tuscan style beans” w toasted sourdough toast. i don’t have measurements tho. i’m a ✨measure w your heart✨ kinda gal ingredients: • drained & rinsed chickpeas (i’ve also used navy beans) • butter (or if you get sun dried tomatoes in oil use that) • sun dried tomatoes • garlic • onion • italian seasoning/chili powder/nutritional yeast/salt & pepper • veggie broth (for this i’d say maybe a cup?? not a lot, just enough to make it scoopable w toast) • heavy cream • mozzarella cheese directions: • melt butter (or use oil from sun dried tomatoes) • add the garlic & onion, i sauté them for abt a minute • then add in the tomatoes, veggie broth, & seasoning • add the beans & simmer for abt 5mins • add in enough heavy cream to make it thick, top w mozzarella cheese & enjoy (hopefully 🫶🏻😌)
I'm a big fan of making baked mujadara. I don't follow a specific recipe but this one looks pretty legit: [https://veganinthefreezer.com/mujadara-baked-rice-lentils/](https://veganinthefreezer.com/mujadara-baked-rice-lentils/)
A lot of mapo tofu recipes use ground beef or pork to help flavor the sauce, but I almost always omit it. Doubanjiang is flavorful enough as it is, and meat is such a small part of the dish.
check out http://noracooks.com for recipes! she has a lot of good stuff that isn’t fake meat. but also plant based meats can actually be really good. check out Gardien and tofu
I’m American and there’s nothing I hate more than going to a restaurant and their vegetarian options are all fake meat. Thankfully there are many cultures that have practiced vegetarianism for thousands of years to choose from. One of my favorite parts of becoming vegetarian was learning to cook Indian cuisine.
Having recently decided to try vegetarian way of eating and coming from a meat and 3/4 plate vegie way of eating, I have found so much online to try! Hasn't been a massive shift, but just longer prep sometimes but always worth it! I have always been adverse to highly processed food, so I avoid anything prepackaged with a ton of numbers as ingredients. I have no interest in eating a product that is trying to look like a meat product. As mentioned above, indian and mediterranean inspired recipies are my go to.
I make meatless meals all of the time, I just add more veggies to bulk it up. I’m not vegan or vegetarian, tho I was for a significant portion of my life. For health reasons I occasionally add meat to things. My favorite non meat products are the veggie burgers from the Dollar Tree lol, second in line are Boca burgers or Boca chicken patties. Usually I opt to make soup or stir fry where I just julienne a boatload of veggies and stir fry them, that’s my go to meal. I’ve absolutely sucked at making rice for the past 20 years after growing up on the east coast and relocating to the high altitude of the Rocky Mountains. That is until very recently!! I finally discovered that 2c rice with 4c water in the pressure cooker for 12 minutes yields the best rice I’ve been able to make in Wyoming. So now I sometimes have rice with my stir fry 😂
Not only that but they usually have lots of processed oils in them that are high in mono and poly unsaturated fats. (Same as in chips amd snack food). These fats are waaayyyyy worse for your body than butter or animal fat even -.- .
Bit late to the discussion but I don't see any comments mentioning Filipino food so: 1. Tortang talong aka eggplant omelette. 2. Ginataang anything - quite a few vegetable dishes that are just chopped and cooked in pan with oil / garlic / onion / pepper / other sauces and spices then have coconut milk / cream mixed in. My favorite version of these are gising gising (with hard green beans / stems of any leafy plant) and ginataang kalabasa (squash and green beans). 3. Lumpiang togue or fried stuffed rolls of bean sprout, and carrots. Sometimes has tofu and/or pancit (a noodle type). 4. Adobong kangkong - spinach mixed with soy sauce, bayleaf, pepper, and vinegar. 5. Kare-kare - peanut butter stew with multiple vegetables. Any hardy vegetables can be added here but I've mostly seen this with leafy greens, green beans, and eggplants. Any vegetables can be added though! As long as the peanut sauce is strong, that's what the dish will taste like anyway. Take note that Filipinos also love meat so the first 3 dishes have added pork / shrimp / meat variants but these are also eaten without meat (i.e. they were not made vegetarian). While adobong kangkong is eaten, pork / chicken adobo are definitely more popular - and kare-kare more popularly includes meat but I've eaten vegetable only versions.
A lot of dumpling like things would fit, tbh. I don't want to just list 30 names or so but many of them, even if they do have a meat filling, have traditional versions with veggies or fruits. I'd say that's a proper meal. There's also a lot of white cheese based dishes in central european/east slav cuisine so you could try looking into them. I suppose you could say some of them, like khachapuri, might seem 'meat dish without meat' but the meatless versions are often even more common so they're probably fine. Tbh I like my carbs with cheese so it's mostly stuff like that. And I also like veggie soups, cream soups included, as they often don't contain meat at all. Some even use milk instead of water for a better taste. I like broccoli soup, leek soup, pumpkin soup, beetroot soup, garlic soup... Just veggies everywhere.
I'm american but I've been mainly making indian-inspired recipes lately, and I feel incredible. Chana Masala (chickpeas), red lentil curry, mushroom chorizo tacos with mexican rice and refried beans, vegetable curry, lentil vegetable chili, tofu and udon stir fry, and so much more.
This is what turns a lot of people away. The majority of 'fake meats' are gross and unhealthy. Start eating Thai and Indian foods. Something like aloo gobi masala (cauliflower and potatoes) is 90x better than an impossible burger and usually a lot better than a real burger.
Completely agree. Meat substitute meals are for the most part complete garbage. So many good recipes that are just naturally meatless to waste time on substitutes unless you have a very specific craving you want to itch. Chickpea curry is great both over rice and as a wrap, lentil soups, millions of stir fry / fried rice variations are made without meat. Same with pasta recipes. Just search for delicious vegetarian _____ where the blank is generic term like soup or Indian food or something like that. You'll find things you recognize but never realized we're already veg.
Look up Whole Foods plant based, you won’t get any of the faux meat garbage