Vegetarian entrees

[jimmyjazz 46249]

My stepson is back home after a few years in Virginia, and he is a vegetarian (not vegan).  I need to come up with some dinners that will meet that need, beyond the obvious (pasta marinara, etc.).  I'm looking for dishes that might not ordinarily be vegetarian but could be modified.

I'm not going to change the rest of our family's diet.  We eat pretty healthy, but almost always have some kind of mostly lean meat at dinner.  Any thoughts on dishes that could be easily split in two, one veggie, one not?  As in, a couple of pots a jambalaya, but one is veggie?  What would that even look like?

Monkey wrench:  I can't eat any soy products, so a tofu substitute for the whole family ain't gonna work.

For the most part, he's just going to have to deal with his own dietary needs, but it would be nice to meet him in the middle a few nights a week.

Yes, I've thought of substituting beans for meat in his batch of chili.  Sacrilege.

[Wally Fairway 5590]

My wife has had to make that same accommodation for our son when he comes back from college - her go to is to buy vegetarian burgers if we are grilling, or either tofu or quorn and make a small batch of chili, lasagna, sloppy joe, etc using the veggie "meat" substitute. He is also okay with just having a salad, bread, and veggie sides. 

[DalTxHornFan 3119]

I'm no vegetarian, but Eggplant Parmesan, along with a salad, and some crusty bread with garlic-infused olive oil is one of my favorite meals.

 

[CooterBrown 18033]

If I was vegetarian, Indian food would be my go-to.

 

[The Ace of Aces 5194]

No specific recipe, but quiche is a good option that is easily vegetarian and still delicious. 

[jimmyjazz 46249]

Good ideas, all.  I was suffering paralysis by analysis.  I'll ask him about veggie burgers, and I'm quite sure I can do some quiche or frittata dishes with spinach, tomato, onion, cheese, etc.

[Wiler77 1578]

Meat substitutes not needed.  That stuff is garbage anyway.

Fajitas are easy enough to satisfy everyone, if you have all the fixin's like onions, peppers, guac.  Maybe add a portabello mushroom to the grill.

Indian food was a good idea.  Veggie curry, dal, etc.  

Pot of beans or black-eyed peas with some onions, garlic, bell peppers, etc.  Put on top of brown rice, quinoa, etc.  Cornbread on the side.  Us hte leftover rice to make some fried rice later.

Anything with eggs.  Hell, we love breakfast for dinner--pancakes, waffles, etc.

Big, hearty salads are simple enough to make, and you can add chicken, fish, etc to yours.  Put a bunch of nuts on his.  Or maybe sear some haloumi cheese or something.

[UTPhil2006 3818]

This thread has a lot of good recipes/ideas.

 

[lemonlime 5503]

Thai curry.  You could make it with veggies, sweet potatoes, etc., and then just add in chicken or shrimp to some of it.

[Trey3216 15378]

4 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Good ideas, all.  I was suffering paralysis by analysis.  I'll ask him about veggie burgers, and I'm quite sure I can do some quiche or frittata dishes with spinach, tomato, onion, cheese, etc.

If you are into smoking meats, throwing Zucchini and Yeller Squash on a smoker with a little olive oil, onion, garlic, basil, and S/P is both a badass side or a meal base for a vegetarian.   Also, a smoked sweet potato is something divine.  I hate sweet potatoes, but I’ll eat the hell out of a smoked sweet potato.  

[mchookem 16412]

we have a good friend who is vegetarian and often comes to our parties, cookouts, etc....any time we're grilling meats we add a large portabello mushroom cap for him and grill it like a steak or a burger. 

[Neonmoon 38130]

8 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Good ideas, all.  I was suffering paralysis by analysis.  I'll ask him about veggie burgers, and I'm quite sure I can do some quiche or frittata dishes with spinach, tomato, onion, cheese, etc.

They make all kinds of meat substitutes these days that taste pretty good. 

The best would be Gardein Meatballs, Impossible Burgers, Lightlife hotdogs

 

 

[lazytexasfan 47]

HEB/Central Market also sell a lot of seitan based stuff you can toss into to your curry/stir fry/fajitas/pasta

[Js1 85612]

11 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

They make all kinds of meat substitutes these days that taste pretty good. 

The best would be Gardein Meatballs, Impossible Burgers, Lightlife hotdogs

 

 

I used beyond crumbles in place of breakfast sausage for my breakfast burrito bc I was out.  Barely noticed a difference 

[South Austin 52634]

18 hours ago, Wiler77 said:

Fajitas are easy enough to satisfy everyone, if you have all the fixin's like onions, peppers, guac.  Maybe add a portabello mushroom to the grill.

Vegetable fajitas?  Bruh.

[Neonmoon 38130]

22 hours ago, Js1 said:

I used beyond crumbles in place of breakfast sausage for my breakfast burrito bc I was out.  Barely noticed a difference 

My wife loves these. She also loves soyrizo but the op said no soy. I like the beyond meat sausages 

[6th Street 6508]

13 hours ago, South Austin said:

Vegetable fajitas?  Bruh.

Cheese enchiladas

[wild_turkey 3185]

We sometimes grind up Beyond Meat or Impossible Burger in a pan and add olive oil and season it like taco meat. Then we make tacos with our preferred fixings and it tastes like a fairly normal taco once it’s loaded up.

I personally think Impossible Burger tastes better but it has soy so you would need to use Beyond Meat instead.

[CooterBrown 18033]

Beyond/Impossible meat is a good substitute as long as you’re not vegetarian to be healthy. That stuff has more saturated fat than beef.

[Butch Had Not 2994]

Quinoa and black bean enchiladas. 

Think I did something similar to this:

https://www.blueapron.com/recipes/black-bean-quinoa-enchiladas-with-poblano-tomatillo-salsa-verde

[DoobieWah 1467]

Vegetarians are usually pretty tough unless you hang them in a cooler and age them at least two weeks. 

 

Wait...wut?

[Wally Pryor 5263]

Put a beyond burger in a cast iron and load it up with cheddar, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, avocado and mayo on top of a heated bun and everyone in the house will be happy. 

[Hank_Hill 18899]

On 11/9/2021 at 10:17 PM, CooterBrown said:

Beyond/Impossible meat is a good substitute as long as you’re not vegetarian to be healthy. That stuff has more saturated fat than beef.

This. That shit is worse than meat. I like vegetarian food when it isn’t trying to be meat.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Hank_Hill

[UDontKnow 10450]

On 11/8/2021 at 1:10 PM, CooterBrown said:

If I was vegetarian, Indian food would be my go-to.

 

I agree. No bias at all.

[Neonmoon 38130]

On 11/9/2021 at 11:17 PM, CooterBrown said:

Beyond/Impossible meat is a good substitute as long as you’re not vegetarian to be healthy. That stuff has more saturated fat than beef.

This is factually incorrect 

https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20210617/how-healthy-are-the-new-plant-based-fake-meats#1
 

Quote

The answer is yes, according to new research funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It found the imitation meats to be a good source of fiber, folate and iron while containing less saturated fat than ground beef. But the researchers said they also have less protein, zinc and vitamin B12 — and lots of salt.

 

 

[CooterBrown 18033]

 
 

When compared to 80/20 or higher fat content beef. Compared to 90/10 beef, it’s much worse. I’d rather eat lean beef instead of impossible meat any day of the week.