48
votes
Is there a vegetarian or vegan recipe that you think is better than the meat based version?
I just made this coronation chickpea sandwich filler and I feel compelled to shout from the rooftops how good it is! I love a good meaty dish but I genuinely feel like this is better than the traditional coronation chicken version - to the point that I don't see a reason to bother with coronation chicken again. I will always have this instead now. There is a caveat; I did make a few tweaks to this:
- I replaced the tinned chickpeas with 200g of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked with a few bay leaves and plenty of salt
- I replaced half of the mayonnaise with greek yoghurt (I do this for coleslaw and potato salad too and it's great)
- I toasted whole spices and made my own curry powder
Even without these changes I'm sure it's still a very tasty end result. Has anyone else had a similar experience? What vegetarian or vegan dishes have you found that are superior to their meat counterparts?
You’re going to read this and roll your eyes, but hear me out. Vegan baking can be amazing.
Yes, the wannabe virtuous hippie baked goods you’ve had taste like sad, flavorless grit. No part of that is a necessary aspect of veg baking, just like veg cooking in no way precludes the use of spices and salt and oil. It’s a choice, not a necessary limitation.
I mostly learned to bake from authors like Isa Moskowitz and Hannah Kaminsky. When I started branching out into non-vegan baking more, I was surprised a) how much pointless work it is and b) how quickly most items go bad. Most of the recipes I was used to can be thrown together with a fork, taste perfect for a week or more (if they don’t get eaten first), and usually have a better, lighter, moister texture than a lot of butter-and-egg equivalents. I haven’t been veg in many years, but I still default to vegan recipes for cake-type desserts, pie crusts, and many cookies. They’re drastically less work, last longer, and aren’t nearly as greasy as the “traditional” recipe styles.
I've noticed that often when there's a vegan option, it's kind of a catch all for "special eating needs".
So the dish will be vegan, but it will also be low sodium, gluten free, and tree nut free. Sometimes kosher and halal are wrapped in, too.
I'm sure there are folks out there who have multiple needs like this, but the more "specialty" you add the smaller the group who actually wants or needs it is. It's expensive to make a huge variety of dishes, so I get why it's done, but it's become so common it's easy to equate all of these things.
I used to think you could just add salt after the fact, until I had some bread that the baker had forgotten to add salt to. It was bizarre, it tasted like raw flour. Adding salt isn't going to fix that.
I managed once to come up with a quite nice vegan dessert for someone who was allergic to eggs, dairy, and gluten. It was mostly a substitution of coconut fat for butter and heavy cream, plus dairy-free chocolate and icing in this recipe. The modified recipe happens to be kosher and halal as well - it was very popular as a result. [The almond crust can even be replaced with coconut for those allergic to tree nuts.]
One note though - unhydrogenated vegetable fats tend to have lower melting points than butter, with the exception of coconut oil. If someone has a good room temperature solid, neutral-flavored vegetable fat that isn't hopelessly unhealthy for making frostings, pies, scones, and laminated doughs, I'd like to hear about it.
I would probably recommend Crisco, but it's not very healthy..but I don't think any room temperature solid fat is particularly healthy. It kind of comes with the territory unfortunately.
Even natural saturated fats are healthier than industrially hydrogenated ones, as far as vascular health and inflammation are concerned. Industrial hydrogenation produces trans-fats, which are largely being banned.
I guess hydrogenated vegetable shortenings have now been reformulated to be trans-fat free. There's evidence reformulated shortening is still less healthy than unmodified fats.
I might try palm oil fat as more neutral tasting than coconut, if I can find it. However, it's likely I'll just keep using butter when I need that specific set of baking properties.
That's interesting, thank you for letting me know that. Have you tried refined coconut oil? It's very neutral tasting.
Thank you, I'll look for that. I've found solid coconut fat is still harder to handle at room temperature than butter, but I might try freezing and grating it for flaky pastry.
I've had the same problem. I usually just scoop out the amount I need and melt it for 5-10 seconds to soften it up, if it needs to be mixed with other things.
No eye rolling here, I regularly veganise some cakes for my office and there's genuinely zero compromise on taste or texture.
I made a vegan version of Stella Parks' lemon bars with silken tofu which were fantastic and these hippie crispie treats are one of my all time favourites. :)
A big part of that is because butter contains about 15% water but coconut fat is like 1-2% water. Butter also contains quite a lot of milk proteins but coconut oil is almost pure saturated fat. This works best for cookies which are extremely moisture intolerant if you want that perfect gooey but firm texture.
Vegan baking IS amazing! My wife bakes for my clients every year for the holidays and they always ask when their sweets are being delivered. They always want extras.
Cakes are usually much moister than their non-vegan versions. And don't get me started on vegan doughnuts!
America's Test Kitchen has a recipe for black bean burgers that I love. Don't get me wrong I love a good ground beef burger once in a while but I just don't get the "meat sweats" with the veggie option. They are easy to freeze and defrost so you can make a months worth and unfreeze once a week with little effort.
I can happily confirm this suggestion, as I always have about half a dozen in my freezer. I'm not a vegetarian but I find myself reaching for those more often than ground beef because they're just tastier.
I am in no way vegan or vegetarian, but black bean burgers are awesome. I can't in good faith call them a substitute for hamburger, but they're their own thing and it's delicious. Definitely something worth eating for it's own sake.
They also have two vegan recipe books that are pretty good. I read through both of them for ideas one time. IIRC one of them is called Vegan for Everyone, which was written specifically with the idea of de-stigmatizing vegan food and making it something you eat regardless of if you're trying to go full vegan, so the recipes are fairly rich and flavorful.
That's the book we got and it's great at giving you ideas of how to veggify meals. There's also a section that just discusses common ingredients, what they are for, and in what scenarios they are replacers. I would suggest the book even if you aren't vegan, I'm not.
I feel similarly about the burgers from the cookbook Miyoko's Vegan Homemade Pantry, they're made with wild rice and vital wheat gluten, and they have a wonderful texture and flavor that stands on its own, separate from meat. It isn't greasy at all but is very flavorful and rich in a way. Decent amount of protein, too.
Some people can literally sweat from eating too much protein like meat heavy dishes. Side effect of their body trying to process it.
Eggplant parmigiana. Pick a a recipe, but chicken is a distraction, and I don't even care much about home-country authenticity with Italian/Italian-American food. To a point chicken parmesan is a derivative, but it's just not the same.
Done right you get these heavenly tender slices of eggplant with a crispy fried shell on both sides that operates as a vehicle for tomato sauce and cheese. Making it vegan defeats the purpose, to a point, because even vegan cheese isn't quite right, but I'd bet you could get something good in that vein as well.
I've never had eggplant parmesan, but I totally agree with you in principle -- the point is having something as a textural contrast with the sauce and cheese, so as long as you can fry it crispy it'll be delish
Vegan lasagna (i.e. no meat) is imo way better than the meaty lasagnas I've had. Usually there is either more types of cheese for the extra flavor/saltiness, it really helps a lot!
I make a good vegan lasagna with homemade almond flour ricotta. I've been vegan for years but am very picky about "cheese," and I find that the ricotta-esque vegan cheese I make (almond flour, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper, and the tiniest pinch of MSG,) is a wonderfully fresh tasting "cheese" that feels rich, yet healthy and mostly made of protein. I'm excited to make more of it this fall!
I make a killer vegan lasagna with a tofu/nooch “ricotta” and a sauce made with red lentils. It has enough protein to knock you flat! Probably a Nora Cooks recipe, if I had to guess. Haven’t found a satisfying vegan cheese to top it with. Usually I either add slices of Miyoko’s Mozzarella (or the liquid stuff if I’m feeling fancy) or just leave it off.
Since you mention “more types of cheese” I’d be curious to know if you mean dairy cheese or some (actually good??) vegan cheese?
Recipe! https://www.noracooks.com/best-vegan-lasagna/
My roommate and I used to host games night for friends pre-covid. I would make a crock pot of jalapeno popper chicken chili (delicious and works for the gluten-free, pork-free, and beef-free among us) and my roommate would make Kung Pow Chick Peas for the vegans/vegetarians. It is really good and I think the chick peas add more to the dish than traditional kung pow chicken - and you can dial in your preferred heat with red pepper flakes/sambal oelek/chilis/dried chilis. Its also way easier and healthier than the typical breaded chicken versions.
I know it's a thread about veggie dishes, but if you've got the time or inclination to share the chicken chilli recipe sometime that'd be great! White chicken chilli is one of my brother's favourites.
I've won a chili cookoff with my chicken chili, and I absolutely love sharing the recipe. I'll paste it in this comment (or anywhere else) if anyone is interested!
Adapted to fill my 4 qt crockpot (to the brim). Makes 10-12? servings.
Ingredients
Instructions
Serve with tortilla chips and toppings.
I usually don't do bacon (keeps it kosher for the big group), but it does fit pretty well. Its very easy to adjust spices to your preferences. I will say that a couple of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce is a great addition that changes the flavor. IIRC, I would sometimes half-drain the corn or rotel cans depending on the amount of liquid in the slow cooker.
Ooh I can totally see chickpeas working for Kung pao chicken, I've gotta try that sometime! My local szechuanese place has a vegan version with tofu which would probably have a more neutral flavor, but I think the flavor/texture of chickpeas would really suit that dish. The kung pao chicken there is just stir-fried, no breaded deep-fried chicken, so probably not as much of a health savings, though. Still probably easier though, chicken's fussy to cook sometimes.
Miso risotto is pretty great. Adding mushrooms, especially nice ones like shiitake or porcini or morels[1], takes it to another level.
I’m not strictly vegan so I usually still use things like chicken broth or butter, but it should be plenty good without them or with reasonable substitutes.
I’ve done both of these recipes, the pressure cooker one is much less effort and gets you about 90% of the way to the conventional one.
https://www.seriouseats.com/pressure-cooker-miso-risotto-recipe
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/miso-mushroom-risotto
[1] Dried morels are sold in some supermarkets. They rehydrate really nicely, and in the process produce a flavorful liquid that you can add right back to the broth for your risotto. They have a delicious woody, smoky flavor that’s perfect in creamy saucy things.
I haven’t had quite as good results texture-wise with dried porcini, but they do add depth to the dish’s flavor—they’re super earthy so don’t use too many.
I have made this before and I can vouch for how fantastic it tastes.
Honestly veggie risotto is so easy, my wife is literally making some right now. Veggie broth for chicken broth is easy enough a sub, and from there it's just whatever you decide to add (I'm honestly fine with just plain onion + rice even, but my favorite is with a lazy mirepoix). Adding meat to risotto is honestly not worth it imo, it's way too much extra work and it doesn't add much tbh.
Vegan might be more noticeably different bc butter really does add a lot to risotto's taste and texture, and it'll be even more noticeable that it's missing without parmesan (which imo is optional if you use enough butter). But I think it'd still taste perfectly delicious if you used vegetable oil, just a bit different.
EDIT: my wife actually forgot and used vegetable oil tonight and yeah it's noticeable but still very tasty. Def easy sub.
To me, this vegetarian khichdi recipe rivals beef chili in flavor. It’s a kind of savory rice/bean stew, extremely filling. I’ve been making this for me and my partner a few times a month for several years and we never get tired of it—perfect for a cold/rainy day dinner. Takes 30-45 min to make, including prep time.
If you’re ok with a little bit of meat, just 2 oz (1/8 lb) of ground pork added along with the onion can punch up the flavor even more.
Khichdi recipe (pressure cooker)
= = =
= = =
= = =
= = =
Adapted from this recipe
Any Indian/Nepalese food. 99% of the flavour is in the sauce anyway, it literally doesn't matter what the protein is, the only thing that changes is the texture.
And for burgers, a vegan patty or fake meat option is usually better than a mediocre fast food burger. But a Proper burger made from Proper beef still trumps any vegan version.
Totally agree with everything you've said here. Flavorful cuisines like Indian, Thai and maybe Mexican stand on their own without meat. If I had to be vegetarian for some reason, I'd lean heavily on those.
But for an actual good burger, nothing can replace ground beef. Black bean burgers are good, but I'd actually consider them to be a different food altogether.
Yeah, Mexican is definitely another one. When you lay on the spices, beans and tomatoes it really doesn't matter whether you bother adding the ground beef in there. No matter if you're making chili, tortillas or burritos.
Cheese is the big thing for Mexican food through. It's easy to make a meat-free option, but I still haven't found a replacement for cheddar or Mexican cheeses.
I love Mexican cheeses but the nice thing about Mexican cooking is that there really isn’t too much that actually requires it.
I hate when falafel is called "meat substitute" because it's significantly better.
What is it trying to substitute? I love falafel but I don't think I've ever replaced meat with it. It's just a different food.
Shoutout to falafel made from broad beans rather than chickpeas! I have some uncooked falafel mix in my fridge that needs to be cooked up this week, that's getting thrown in a pitta with plenty of red cabbage salad and baba ghanoush.
Fajitas.
Cheap skirt steak is often stringy. Chicken itself isn't too flavorful.
Just grill/roast some peppers and onions marinated. Add extra veggies like cauliflower for some crunch.
Don't miss the meat. Cheaper, healthier, easier, more environmental. Can also reuse the same dish you brought the veggies out to the grill on, unlike meat.
Similar for enchiladas, just roast any veggies from my garden to use as filler
You're missing the real meat replacer which is beans. Try adding some black beans. You can also add in sweet potato for that meaty texture.
Yes. I was going to make tacos but my corn tortillas were moldy so it ended up being a bowl. But roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, white rice and seasoning and finish it off with lime juice. I did use sour cream so it wasn't vegan but was quite good.
Tamale pie! Ground beef is kinda the norm for it, but the vegetarian version with black beans is even better. It's not exactly a healthy dish due to the cheese and how naughty you want to be with the cornmeal topping, but beans make for a more fiberously dense meal. There's also uniquely satisfying with how the beans pickup the spices in a more complimentary way than beef does in my opinion. It's also a dish that I can see easily winning over with meat lovers because of how satisfying the flavor combo of spiced beans and sweet cornmeal.
Not much of a recipe, but the classically cheap and simple spaghetti and tomato meat sauce is better with vegan crumbles than hamburger. Easier and faster too.
My nana does a great spag no-bol with red lentils in this vein, super cheap and easy. Thanks for reminding me, I think that'll be in rotation for dinners this week!
ooh do you have a recipe you could snag and share? My wife likes to make lazy spagbol on days when she doesn't feel much like cooking, but I always find the ground beef a bit too heavy and oily and would love to try making an alternative for us to try.
You bet!
Add olive oil to a saucepan over medium heat, add in the onion and some salt and sweat for 5-10 minutes until softened and transluscent, but not brown. Add garlic and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato pureé. Add a little water to the tomato tin to get the residue out and add this to the saucepan too.
Add basil and lentils, bring to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes, until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve with your pasta of choice and lots of parmesan.
That's my nana's recipe - if I'm feeling bougie I'll dress it up a bit more with a teaspoon of worchestershire sauce, a bay leaf and some additional fresh herbs, or I'll sneak in some finely chopped carrot and kale or spinach for the additional veg content. It doesn't really need it though, the beauty of this really is the simplicity and with only 100g of lentils it's incredibly frugal too!
It's disappointing that of the (so far) fourteen posts here only three have links to recipes.
My food co-op has long had a “vegan chocolate cake” which is some variant of a vinegar cake
https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/inside-our-kitchen/article/chocolate-vinegar-cake-recipe
and it’s just one of the tastiest little cakes you can get, vegan or not, though really you can delete dairy from a lot of baked goods and it is little or no loss.
Gobi 65 (fried cauliflower with spices) is better than any meat version I've tried. I don't have a recipe, just my favorite Indian take out place that has it.
Paneer is an Indian cheese that's often used in vegetarian recipes. Paneer tikka masala is a good example - it's essentially the chicken version, but you replace the chicken with fried cheese cubes. It comes out kind of like a firmer tofu. My inner child also enjoys the "eating cheese for dinner" aspect.
It's also used in my favorite Indian dish, saag paneer, but I've never seen a non-vegetarian version of that.