[QUESTION] What are your favorite vegetarian meals?

A good Dahl over some rice is heaven itself. Add on a side of Chana/Aloo chatt and we're talking some serious food satisfaction.

Lentil curry (daal) is one of my staples. Indian vegetarian food in general is just fantastic.

I've got a few delicious veggie dishes that make the rounds on my house, check them out and give one or two a try:

Creamy Cherry Tomato and Squash pasta

French Lasagna (sorry for the FB link)

Pennoni with Caramelized Pear and Cavolo Nero

Portobello Risotto

Grilled Nectarine Caprese Salad (great for summer)

Black Bean and Corn Salad (hella versatile, I like to make this with Dijon vinaigrette)

Shakshuka

Sweet and Spicy Stewed Chickpeas

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

Vegan Chickpea Picatta Sauce pasta

West African Peanut Soup

I love a good black bean burger. It has such a nice flavor profile that's clearly not trying to be a beef substitute. Load it up with lettuce, tomato, pickles, cheese, hot sauce, any condiments or toppings you like on a sandwich.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is always a winner during the colder months.

Can't go wrong with a big tray of roasted veggies. Chop up some potatoes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, etc. Drizzle of olive oil, lightly salt and pepper, throw it in the oven, bon appétit.

A PB&J or a PB & Banana is a solid go-to.

A basic quiche is mainly eggs, spinach, and cheese.

Ramen and other pasta dishes that don't require meat. Some pasta, tomato sauce, cheese, and seasonings can go a long way. Fettuccine alfredo is another good one.

My go-to are couscous salad with sun-dried tomato and feta because it's really quick and you can make a lot, and peanut sauce noodle salad.

Summer time, this is one of my faves: bibim guksu (spicy Korean noodles)

Recently I've been going hard on the lentils, beans, and pulses. Curry soup with chickpeas and potatoes (I add lentils) Any curry, really. Chickpeas and lentils.

Winter is coming. I love this creamy vegetable soup because it is super low Calories and loaded with veg and no lactose if you prefer not. Still so creamy. It's great when you need to clear out the dying veg in the fridge.

Lentil dahl. It's... perfect.

Chana masala

Mutar paneer is one of my favorite dishes.

I usually use this recipe and then add a lot of peas near the end. I make my own paneer, usually every other week.

The recipe can be made vegan by replacing the paneer with extra firm tofu, the cream with coconut milk, and the butter with vegan butter.

::: spoiler recipe Shahi Paneer

Indian

Ingredients:
400 grams Paneer (Cottage cheese) cut into cubes (see paneer prep note below) 2 tablespoons Oil
2 medium Onions finely chopped
15-20 Almonds
24 oz 5 medium Tomatoes finely chopped
1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
1 tablespoon Coriander powder
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Cream + for garnishing
1 teaspoon Kasoori methi powder
1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
1/4 teaspoon Green cardamom powder

Directions: Heat oil in a non stick kadai. Add onions and cashewnuts and sauté lightly. Add tomatoes and cook for 10-12 minutes or tomatoes are pulpy. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and sauté. Transfer this mixture into a mixer jar, cool and grind to a paste with a little water. Transfer the mixture into the same kadai. Add butter, cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Add cream and mix well. Add paneer, kasoori methi powder, garam masala powder, green cardamom powder and mix well. Transfer into a serving bowl, garnish with some cream and serve hot. :::

My family prefers the paneer to be cooked before added to the dish. For that I use this:

::: spoiler paneer prep In a large bowl, whisk together 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons oil. Gently, drop in the cubes of paneer and gently toss, taking care not to break the cubes if you're using the homemade kind. Let the cubes marinate while you get the rest of your ingredients together and prepped.

Pan fry the paneer before adding to the final dish. This also works with tofu. :::

Garlic Sriracha Noodles with Broccolini is the best thing ever

• Pierogi (and similar dumplings such as pelmeni and varenyky)
• Mapo tofu (without ground meat--Chinese tofu dish)
• Various styles of hot pot (meat products are optional)
• Soondubu (Korean tofu soup)
• Doenjang jigae (meat products again optional--Korean miso stew)
• Wild mushroom risotto
• Wild mushroom cream sauce on (whatever you prefer--pasta, baguette, gnocchi)
• Moroccan red lentil stew
• Butter paneer (Indian curry)
• Baingan bharta (Indian eggplant dish)
• Various Thai noodle dishes (meat is optional)
• Plus a huge variety of Japanese side dishes such as nimono (braised dishes; can include eggplant, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, etc), agedashidoufu (fried tofu with dashi), grilled eggplant, aemono (blanched green vegetables with dressing), ohitashi (blanched vegetables with dashi), onsen tamago (lightly poached egg with dashi, etc)

Air fry some tofu seasoned with garlic powder and soy sauce, add cornstarch at 400 for something like 15 minutes, use that in a noodle stir fry (teriyaki is easy enough)

I'm also a sucker for eggplant Parm

Crispy potato tacos.

Not a full meal per se, but my mother would sometimes saute spinach and mushrooms in butter and red wine (plus probably garlic), if I remember correctly. It was pretty fucking good.

I think, this would technically classify as a burrito, but like a lazy version of it.

Basically, I get in the shops:

• Soft corn tortillas
• Pre-cooked white beans (other pre-cooked beans probably work just as well; I believe black beans are used traditionally)
• A vegetable spread, e.g. chili or eggplant or the like.
• A bell pepper.

Chuck the beans with a bit of salt into the microwave. Cut the bell pepper into squares.
Put the vegetable spread onto the tortilla. Throw bell pepper and beans on top. Shove into mouth. Done.

Only difficulty is that the individual ingredients need to be good. There is quite a quality range for tortillas, pre-cooked beans and vegetable spreads...

I make a mean vegetarian lasagna by replacing the meat with sautéed mushrooms and spinach.

as much as I love meat, if I had to have a meal without it I'd opt for a portabello mushroom burger.

no specific recipes I use, but I do soak/marinate the mushroom in whatever flavor sauce or vinegrette I feel like before grilling.

A lot of South Asian food is naturally vegetarian or vegan. I make chana masala and lentil dahl a fair amount. Lots of flavour from the spices—there's no need for meat.

I also like scrambled tofu, which you can season any way you like. I tend to put curry seasoning on it.

Avocado toast too, but that's infrequent because avocados are expensive.

If you've never made creamy harissa butter beans I highly recommend it. One of the nicest vegan recipes I've made. If you're not keen on spice, make sure to get mild harissa, as the spicy harissa gets quite spicy, speaking as someone who enjoys spice.

Generally I like any tofu dish. Tofu is often meant to accompany meats (traditionally at least) but I find that a lot of tofu dishes that traditionally have meat, work very well without the meat. My go-to lazy lunch is boiling some water with stock cubes and chucking in noodles, medium-firm tofu, a vegetable of my choice, and chilli crisp.

I am basic and a lot of people probably already know about it, but I think my absolute favorite is chana masala. I also like things like Thai peanut noodles, and a noodle recipe I don't know the name of.

That recipe uses wheat noodles, soy sauce, fish sauce, gochujang hot pepper paste, ginger, MSG, sesame oil, and green onion. I forgot the exact amount of everything, so I use whatever feels right for each ingredient, but you fix your noodles and while they're going, grate your ginger and chop green onions. Then mix everything but the noodles. After the noodles are done, mix them in and enjoy.

I would say tofu stuff, but my diet prevents me from having it often for health reasons. I don't recommend being on blood thinners if you like tofu.

Edit:

Looks like the fish sauce I use uses anchovy, so you'd need an alternative to Squid Brand.

Sadly I got this idea from chipotle: I like to make a bowl of black beans, rice, caramelized onions and peppers and sprinkle on some shredded cheese. Adding a bit of guacamole is a nice touch too.

Grilled Halloumi cheese burger.

My favourite dish of all time technically happens to be vegetarian :3 unless you're one of those vegetarians that only eat dairy or eggs rather than both :3

Anywho, the dish is šaltibarščiai recipe. I was gonna type out the recipe because it's the easiest thing ever, but I figured I'd link it :3. My one note on the linked recipe would be that I personally prefer dicing the eggs and adding them with the rest of the ingredients rather than at the end, so they absorb all the flavours :3

Mujadara. It's a Lebanese rice, lentil and onion dish.

Risotto it's pretty good, it can be prepared with mushrooms, pumpkin, radicchio, and a lot of other things (just pick a seasonal ingredient and look up a recipe). if it's ok butter and/or cheese can also be added for taste

Lentil dahl. Nutritious and tastyyyy. All Beyond meat products. Dont buy Redefine Meat and Gourmet Garden, they're Israeli.

I don’t eat vegetarians.

Fried shiitake mushrooms with garlic, a splash of soy sauce, and lemon juice. I usually use garlic powder for convenience.

If you're ok with lacto-ovo vegetarian dishes, it goes good with a fried egg and rice as a quick and tasty meal. Sometimes I'll have some kimchi with it too if I'm in the mood and have some on hand. (Note: a lot of kimchi is not vegetarian -- it often includes fish/seafood ingredients. The store near me sells both a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian version though and despite not being a vegetarian I prefer the taste of the vegetarian one slightly more, so I usually get that if they have it. Check the ingredients/labels if you're unsure.)

The mushrooms are also a fantastic accompaniment to steak when you're doing non-vegetarian cooking. Fry them in the same pan after making a steak on the stove and you can get something that can, frankly, eclipse the steak...

Another vegetarian dish I make sometimes (particularly in the summer) is basically just a chickpea salad. I usually use canned chickpeas for that with raw sliced vegetables like tomato, cucumber, red bell pepper, etc. I add salt, lemon juice, and olive oil and eat it with some toasted pita bread. Sometimes I will add avocado, chopped shallots, chunks of cheese, and/or a hard boiled egg if I have them handy and am in the mood -- but it's pretty good even without any of those extras. With canned chickpeas, I've found that I don't like the version with firming agents added (usually calcium chloride, IIRC), so I always check the labels at the store and get ones without it.

A third vegetarian dish I like is a variant on spaghetti puttanesca. While I boil pasta, I prepare a sauce in a pan using canned tomatoes, olive oil, capers, kalamata-style black olives, salt, a pinch of msg, and cayenne pepper. Finish the pasta in the sauce. One of the things I really like about this dish is that all the ingredients are shelf-stable so you can keep them on hand and just make it whenever. (My version notably leaves out the anchovies from more common variants of the dish.)

Tabbouleh and Ful with some hummus, pita and za'atar

If you are doing a meatless version of another dish, try to consider what roles the meat is doing in the dish, and if they're necessary. My partner is veggie, and cooking for us isn't any harder than just cooking for me.

Often one role is texture. You don't need to go looking for an exact replacement of the fibrous texture of meat, but you do want something that contrasts nicely. If you're using cauliflower or similar, make sure to not overcook it otherwise you'll lose the bite.

In terms of flavor, look for a mix of umami-rich and complexity. Consider using things like soy sauce, marmite, MSG, olives, onions, garlic, mustard, miso paste, tomato paste, hard cheese, fish sauce, anchovies, anchovy paste, or complex layers of spices (like in curry or chili). You may have to use some combination of these.

Simply reducing the meat you use can also be a route to eating less meat. Just replace the weight of meat with an equivalent weight of veggie. For example: 2 lbs chicken = 1 lb chicken + 1 lb cauliflower, or 2 lbs ground beef = 1lb ground beef + 1 lb red lentils. If going this route, go for fattier cuts and definitely don't drain the fat.

Couple favorites from my wife and I - paneer curries (especially paneer makhani), bean and cheese enchiladas, tofu tacos (shallow fry small cubes of tofu to get some texture), and a salad topped with fried chickpeas/tomato/avocado along with anything else that sounds yummy. Sometimes just a huge bowl of pasta hits too, with some simple veg added.

Cheese. Other ingredients optional.

Apricot tofu {instead of apricot chicken}.

Daal.

Porridge.

Baked tofu w/roast veggies and spicy peanut sauce.

Chilli.

I like the Budget Bytes black bean burger.

Website recommendation: Cookie and Kate. Generally pretty easy recipes and I haven't been disappointed yet. The Vegan Lasagna is a lot of work but 100% worth it.

Book recs: Moosewood Simple Suppers and Weeknight One-Pot Vegan Cooking. I checked the latter out from the library and liked so many of the recipes that I immediately bought a copy. And I actually made one of ny faves out of the Moosewood book last night: Lemony Couscous with Chickpeas. I like to cut the couscous down to one cup and throw an extra can of chickpeas in, but it's good as-written too.

Mujadara in Lebanese or Syrian style is my go-to

I don't have one for flavor as this depends mostly on spicing and such yourself but whenever someone asks for a cheap easy meal I mention you can cook lentils with your rice in the rice cooker without any pre work outside of washing/rinsing both rice and beans. its just amazing how easy it is. Along with this is that almost anything will cook in a rice cooker if you cut it small enough.

A little R&B goes with lots of things (rice and beans)

Vegetarian lasagna. Using zucchini and/or squash for the noodles. A mandolin can be really useful here, or just do your best with a knife. Cheese is acceptable, yes?

Though, if you want to use a ragu, that also works.

I also like layers of cottage cheese along with other cheeses.

Make sure to use some fresh herbs. Like basil, Rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, etc.

https://minimalistbaker.com/1-pot-golden-curry-lentil-soup/#wprm-recipe-container-37902

No oil needed. Easy to make and tastes amazing.

https://cookieandkate.com/peanut-soba-noodle-slaw-recipe/#tasty-recipes-23512-jump-target

I throw some edamame in and give it a good squeeze of fresh lime to garnish.

Good vegetarian/vegan protein sources to substitute in your favorite recipes:

Seitan - pretty easy to make, use in place of chicken or steak. Great in fajitas, gyros, stir fry, etc.

TVP - super cheap and healthy substitute for ground beef. Use in pasta sauces, sloppy joes, chili, etc. Toss it in with some extra water in place of meat.

Tofu - recommended you freeze then thaw the tofu, dry it out good and pan fry until crispy. Excellent in stir fry, curry, noodles, etc.