Vegetarian meals for meat lovers

[Porridgeislife]

I want to increase our use of vegetarian protein & plan to switch out two dinners a week for vegetarian alternatives.

My husband is someone who is convinced he won’t be full after a meal unless it contains meat. Please, share with me your meals that are liked by everyone?

I want to avoid Quorn (makes me violently ill) and other processed vegetarian meats, so preferably recipes more on the lentil/bean/tofu spectrum.

Dh likes a a' pie' I make.
Fry onions and finely cut celery add mixed frozen veg. (I usually use the peas, carrots, sweetcorn pack.) Add red lentils and water. Simmer for a bit and add a large table spoon of pesto. It doesn't matter if it's green or red.
Transfer into a casserole dish and mash potatoes cook with grated cheese on top.
I like to serve it with kimichi on the side on mine. Dh not keen on this though.

www.mob.co.uk/recipes/one-pot-mushroom-lasagne

This mushroom lasagne is easy to make and it's delicious! Very filling.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cheesepotatooandonionn96190/amp

Also delicious and comforting.

Tesco website has a mushroom stew with herby dumpling that is delicious and simple.it has lots of savoury elements and uses meaty solid mushrooms so is very satisfying.

Spicy bean burgers (loads of recipes online or buy them frozen) in a bun with sliced tomato and melted cheddar are satisfying: add chips, onion rings and a bit of salad.

I don't know why a pie feels more filling than a quiche but whichever you prefer with a filling of fried onion, chopped wilted spinach (lots of), chopped parsley and mint, crumbled feta, bound with beaten egg is deliciously dense and he certainly won't miss meat. If you spread chilli jam in the base under the filling it adds a little zing which is nice.

Mexican 'feast' of nachos, roast veg quesadillas, burritos (use tinned green lentils instead of mince) with all the different toppings.

Mexican things with cheese and beans. I quite often make refried bean and cheese quesadillas, with lots of salad veg (raw tomatoes, peppers, red onions, radishes, lettuce on top) and sour cream/hot sauce. Ditto for bean burritos with all the fixings or cheese enchiladas with proper enchilada sauce.

Last night we had falafel on flatbreads with all your usual kebab shop toppings - hummus, olives, veg, yogurt, hot sauce.

Panner curry with rice, naan and pappadoms. I often make the Dishoom makhani sauce and oven roast the panner with spice and then chuck it in towards the end. If you like Indian, I also make the Dishoom chicken biriyani regularly but sub paneer for the chicken. Literally make it exactly the same as the recipe.

https://cookieandkate.com/enchilada-sauce-recipe/

Try making dishes from cuisines where they often eat vegetarian, like the above suggestion of Mexican. My family love when we make fresh tacos, with refried beans, roast peppers, pica de gallo, cheese, sour cream.

Or Indian curries and dals with soft pillowy naan or pilau rice, onion bhaji

And what about breakfast for dinner? scrambled eggs, beans, hash browns, mushrooms, etc

We tend to have bean chilli with nachos etc, don't really notice the lack of meat.

Chick pea and/or paneer curries.

The Hairy Bikers Veggie Feast book is great too, there isn't a meal we've eaten from that where anyone feels hungry afterwards ( including teenage lads!).

Thank you! These are brilliant. Love the idea of a mushroom lasagne and stew as he does love mushrooms.

@ODFOx it's called. Cathy's mushroom stew and it's amazing! I'm not veggie but love it as does h

These Dinners were in my teen daughters list of favourite meals - that we had to eat weekly - we laughed as she announced that she always ate meat and she didn't know how we might feed a friend was turning veggie at the time

Refried beans with flat bread , salsa , cheese

Jamie's bean burgers topped with halomi

Egg and chips and homemade slaw

Homemade Pizza - olives and mushrooms and lots of cheese - hide the lack of meat

Yes it really is delicious. You need solid mushrooms though, not floppy ones! The fact that it's made from ingredients like carrots, celery etc keeps the cost down and offsets the shiitake ( though it's still good just using chestnut mushrooms). I make my own dumplings but I'm told the packet ones are fine (DSD makes it for her housemates at Uni).

If he loves mushrooms also consider tagliatelle with a sauce made from cream cheese, dolcelate blue and mushroom slices fried in butter. Stir the cheeses into the hot pasta and loosen with a little pasta water, stir through the mushrooms and serve. 12 minutes from deciding to make it and serving up. It is rich so a handful of salad leaves on the side works well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mushroom_bhaji_24858

We do a fair amount of veg curries, well I do, and they go down well.

Also halloumi is a big favourite. Cooked and served with roasted veg.

What goes down best is a thing we picked up from HFW Veg Every Day, of cooking something new and veggie most days and then keeping a bit back for the next day, so by about Thursday there's a whole plate full of different things.

Quiche as above.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/black-bean-chilli

What we'll sometimes do is have a small amount of meat alongside a more vegetarian meal, so some chicken skewers, or prawns. But they are a side rather than the main.

I wouldn't necessarily just look at 100 % veggie dishes for your purpose. Beans really benefit from the addition of a meat element - Louisiana red beans and rice is cooked with a smoked ham hock as well as lots of celery and green peppers and it gives depth to the dish. Similarly for Spanish stews using chorizo, white beans and kale. Both gorgeous. Basically stop looking at meat as the main and use it as an ingredient. Stir-fry can work the same way if you up the veggie content. That would also be something you can do more often than twice a week.

A bean burger can be a thing of joy, add corn on the cob and Mac’n’cheese and it’s a kind or crazy American vibe.

veg chilli, beans, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa in tortillas for a Mexican vibe

I think it’s easier to pick a country and then mock something up than try to recreate something meaty he’s grown up with.

We really like lentil Ragu/bolognaise I make a whole lot of it and then can be used with spaghetti, in lasagne or to make a veg shepherds pie. Get the herbs and spices right for your taste/add for different dishes - we also use for peanut stew (add curry spices plus peanut butter) and as base for chilli. Pretty much anything you would use a mince sauce for.

lentils are also significantly cheaper and less fatty than beef or lamb mince

As a committed carnivore I love vegetarian meals that are all about the cheeeeeese 😁

As someone else has mentioned, halloumi is lovely, has a meaty texture and that "umami" taste. You can just buy a pack, slice it into thick fingers, and fry on both sides lightly. Goes great with some sweet chilli sauce, on a bit of rocket for a starter.

Grilled goats cheese is also lush. A generous slice of Chevre Blanc (per person) is the best for this one. Grill til golden and serve with a dollop of red onion chutney on top. (You can buy this in a jar). Serve with a few salad leaves and cherry tomatoes, and a big hunk of crusty bread. For a mind blowing lunch, if you have the culinary skills, batter and deep fry the Chevre Blanc. Any one you serve this to will be your willing slave forever x

Also as GrumpyPanda has said, maybe consider cooking your usual meals, but reduce the amount of meat by 50%, bulking out instead with beans or lentils. You would lose 3.5 meat-based dinners per week this way, without having any actual meat-free meals.

Try your goats cheese on top of some thinly sliced pears (skin still on), grill and then drizzle over a little honey. You won't need the pickle. We loved it so much that I started making it on top of the crusty bread to save time between presentation and mouth!
You are welcome!

This is partly why I seldom do risottos - we love risottos over here, but find that we don't get the balance right so all have massive portions, feel a bit bloated after, and generally still dont' feel satisfied. Now I make risotto and always add the last of a leftover chicken at the end! . Although I keep meaning to try risotto with a tin of cannelini beans added at the end as that's something a friend does and I'm thinking it could be a good solution.

Pasta sauces, topped with or including cheese of some sort work well.

Curries often seem to work well here for being a bit more filling. And today that should be absolutely true as we're having an aubergine, pepper and chickpea curry.

Halloumi based dishes are also good options.

We do sometimes do things like roasted veg - carrot/cauliflower for example - and then make a sort of rice/grains pilaf with added nuts or chickpeas or similar.

We're also trying to cut down on meat.
I like to make curries with more filling vegetables like aubergine, sweet potato or winter squash (pumpkin, butternut, red kuri, etc.[ to which you can always add some chickpeas or lentils in addition to the rice.
Swasthi's recipes has some great curry recipes.
And I'm trying out variations on omelettes - soufflé omelette, Japanese-style omelette... There's also Chinese tomato and egg stir-fry, although I'm waiting for this summer's tomatoes before trying that.

This is a great idea.

I tried it with this recipe tonight https://www.happyveggiekitchen.com/tuscan-butter-bean-bake/ and put 2 diced chicken breasts in as well. It was so tasty.

For some reason I’ve started really craving beans and lentils and I’m less interested in meat unless it’s something special like a good steak 🤷‍♀️ Going half/half might be the compromise we need.

That’s a really good way of looking at it, thank you.

I get a large Portobello mushroom and air fry it....put in a burger bun with all the toppings....cheese, gherkins, onions, ketchup...with lots of chips and coleslaw