Can and vegetarians and vegans please help me out

[rainbowlou]

Sorry for typo, title meant to say any not and.

I am hosting a bbq and have 3 vegetarian/2 vegan guests coming.
I would love some ideas of dishes you recommend/would want at a bbq.
please note yes I do have a separate one to cook on for them but also am happy to cook in the oven if needed.
Ive cooked for them before but want something a bit more exciting than veggie sausages!(unless they want them of course).

I have no idea what it's like but our local 'fancy' steak restaurant has a vegan option of grilled watermelon with chilli flakes and balsamic vinegar... apparently it takes on a steak like consistency and is really delicious and smoky tasting when cooked this way. They charge nearly the same for it as for fillet steak so it must be pretty good! I've seen it served on Come Dine with Me too and it went down very well. Might be worth a try as something a bit different (I'd probably practice first though! Lots of recipes online).

Other than that I'd agree with portobello mushrooms, corn on the cob, veg/halloumi and veg kebabs and vegan sausages and burgers to cater for those who do and don't like meat substitutes. Veggie lentil burgers are pretty easy to make at home too, just grated carrot and finely sliced onion/peppers mixed with cooked lentils, seasoned and shaped with a dusting of flour. Can be mixed with egg for vegetarians or placed on tin foil if not (to prevent them falling apart).

I'd feel cheated by that "steak" @IamaRevenant watermelon is both cheap and not exactly rolling in anything like the array of nutrients of a steak. One hell of a mark up for not a lot in return. One thing I'm a bit sick of, eating out is being ripped off and, essentially, subsiding the cost of meat eaters food. If I'm getting that vibe, I'm trying to avoid the place 🤷‍♂️

Watermelon can absolutely be used creatively, tho, I make a watermelon curry occasionally. It goes in late, to soak up the flavour & pick up some heat but remaining relatively firm. I might be overly cautious but I worry it'll go all mushy if it's cooked too long

Just to make sure she’s catered enough for them.
multiple times I’ve been left without food as meat eaters have eaten all the veggie food, judging by the response I think it’s quite common to have been left without any dinner at things like this.

This annoys me too when the veggie meals are the same price as the meat dishes. Especially when it's something like pasta or risotto which would cost pennies to make.

It's the £45 set menus at Xmas when I'm essentially getting soup, some potatoes and vegetables and sorbet. No thanks.

Yup, there's plenty of threads and posts on MN (and other forums) about exactly this problem - everything from work buffets to weddings and booked & paid for in-flight meals.

In those scenarios, those who eat meat have eaten all the vegetarian selections too, and/or nabbed someone else's veggie meal because they 'like the look of it'. Busy hosts, catering staff and other staff aren't always on top of it. I'm happy with hosts having lots of the cheaper stuff like pasta salad and rice if it means I get a lunch or dinner with some flavour comprising more than a bread roll.

portobello mushrooms BBQ fine if you wrap them in foil and top with plenty of garlic butter and parsley.

Boiled baby potatoes, threaded into skewers, brushed with oil and finished on the barbecue for crispy skins.
Watermelon steaks. Cauliflower steaks.
(Both involve some preparation and marinating)
Veggie burgers and sausages
Lots of tasty salads with grains/nuts/seeds to make them filling
Corn on the cob
Griddled pineapple
Bananas in foil with dairy free chocolate

Stick cheese on the side so the veggies can add it to whatever they fancy.

Corn cobs, halloumi (halloumi 'burgers' work best as they don't split) grilled veg (shallots, peppers, mushrooms in olive oil and herbs), mushroom and red peppers stuffed with goats' cheese, skewers with tofu marinated in ginger and soy sauce. No need even for fake meat.

Agree also with asparagus and pineapple (not together)!

mushrooms marinated in garlic and lemon juice with some chilli flakes - take longer than you think to bbq - but are delicious.

Garlic bread on bbq...or flatbreads with garlic olive oil.

whole camembert in its box works really well.

Beetroot powder added to (vegan) mayo tastes really good
Grated carrot lemon juice and almonds is a nice salad
Some white cobs contain milk so might be worth checking

I'd definitely ask. There's some vegans/vegetarians who love 'faux meat' and some who despise it.
I'd second just having a good selection of different things.

Vegan mayo tastes no different to 'normal' mayo IME. Especially heinz but even my fussy as hell autistic dp agrees with me on that one so you'd probably only need that. Have some interesting salads, pasta (cubes of cheese separate) or quinoa or couscous and perhaps a minted bean one? I usually do that and a variety of veggie friendly 'main' options.

Mint sauce and soya yog is also really nice as a dip for roasted/grilled veg
Is it also worth getting a milk option incase they want a cuppa?

Exactly. It always sounds as if the sensible option, instead of having mostly meat and some stuff for the veggies / vegans, would be to provide enough veg stuff for everyone with some meat on the side for people who want it.

Haven’t had time to come back to this until now, thank you all so much there’s loads to think about (and make!)

lots of delicious things I wouldn’t have thought about myself

Where do you get beetroot powder? Sounds yum

@rainbowlou some refill shops do it, possibly Holland and Barrett i got mine from an independent health food shop.
It's super yummy smells amazing as a powder I think it's got a fair few uses too.tjonk unpaid 85p for 25g.

Beetroot powder makes yummy bread! I just googled it a d it widely available even eBay!
We also make a "cheese" by adding a food tablespoon of salt to soya yogurt , good stir then line a sieve with muslin (clean j cloth!) over a pot, put in the fridge over night, in the morning you will have a cream cheese style "cheese" in the cloth throw away the water liquid you can add herbs, pepper or beetroot powder to the "cheese" or leave plain

So many spelling errors! Apologies I should have put my glasses on.

Yep. I’ve lost count of the number times I’ve been left with nothing at a buffet because the meat eaters have had the veggie food because it ‘looks interesting.’

Ha, so would I! That was the only veggie option on the menu as well. I suppose if you're vegan or vegetarian a steak place wouldn't be your first choice anyway, so I doubt the restaurant put a huge amount of thought into catering for the very small number of veggie customers they had. I did feel sorry for anyone who ended up going there as part of a bigger group though, and had to watch everyone else with their steaks while they sit there with their overpriced watermelon.

I would still like to try it, but definitely not buying it in a restaurant!

We have a few amazing friends who always do this for us at their barbecues. It's partly because they only have the one BBQ so they cook all the veggie stuff first so there's no contamination with meat products. Our family are almost always the only vegetarians there, odd times there is maybe one other single veggie or vegan too. So they always make us a load of stuff and check when we want them to stop cooking more! Anything leftover then that we haven't eaten is up for grabs for anyone and then they start barbecuing all the meat. It's super thoughtful and means we never end up in the situation where other people have ate all the veggie food before we could get to it!.

Do you want recipes for vegetarian burgers and things like that, or are you going to provide bought ones?

Because if your're cooking, these spicy burgers sound completely insane, but are delicious-trust me!. A bit tricky to barbecue, but really easy in the oven. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/bombaypattyyburgers12692

Paneer stays on skewers better than Halloumi, but only if you get the non crumbly one.