If you’re a vegetarian that doesn’t eat meat substitutes, remaking meat-based recipes can be a little bit daunting. But don’t let that stop you! There are several different options for omitting the meat and replacing it with whole food alternatives. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses and I’ve done my best to outline them in the list below.
Most of the time, I substitute these cup-for-cup or ounce-for-ounce for meat, but occasionally, I’ll substitute based on serving size. For example, if a recipe that serves four calls for 4 chicken breasts, I’ll sub in a whole block of tofu cut into 4 thick slices. Cooking times and methods often need a little bit of tweaking too, but this really has to be done on a recipe-by-recipe basis.
Now that that’s out of the way, here are my favorite ways to make almost any recipe meatless:
Just Omit the Meat
Clearly this is the easiest option and it requires the least reworking of the original recipe. This really only works when meat is a component of the dish, rather than the main ingredient.
I did this with:
Roasted Vegetarian Puttanesca Sauce
Add (More) Vegetables
This works well with recipes that include meat and vegetables–casseroles, pasta dishes, and other things like that. Simply take out the meat and up the vegetables. Milder vegetables work best–you don’t want to double the amount of onions or leeks! So, for example, if a recipe calls for a large zucchini and a half pound of chicken, I’d omit the chicken and use two zucchinis instead. This usually doesn’t require too much adaptation for the recipe; depending on how the dish is made, you may need a bigger pan or skillet to accommodate the extra vegetables and they could take longer to cook; however, usually omitting the meat will save you some cook time, so in the end it should even out.
This method also works with recipes that don’t have vegetables in them to begin with, although this usually requires much more adaptation of the original recipe.
I did this with:
Veggie & Tempeh Sloppy Joes (Bonus: It also uses tempeh as a meat sub!)
Bourbon Mango Pulled Summer Squash Sandwiches
Mushrooms as a Meat Substitute
Although it’s usually portabellas that are thought of as a substitute for meat, just about any kind of mushroom will work. You can pulse them in a food processor to give them a ground beef-like consistency, thinly slice portabellas for a steak strip alternative, or use regular sliced mushrooms simply to bulk up a recipe where you’ve taken out the meat. This works in casseroles, stir fries, sandwiches, pasta dishes–anything, really.
I did this with:
Creamy Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
Baby Bella and Kale Casserole
Portabella Mushroom Cheesesteaks
Loaded Veggie Nachos with Portabella Mushroom Meat
Lentils and Beans
Lentils and beans make a perfect substitute for meat in broth-based soups, chills and stews. Be sure to soak beans in advance and adjust cooking times accordingly–you’ll want to either cook the beans in the broth first and then proceed with the rest of the recipe or cook the beans separately (or use canned beans!) and stir them in with the other vegetables. Same goes for lentils, although they don’t need soaking.
Beans and lentils can be used in a lot of other dishes too. Beans are used as a base for many (if not most!) veggie burger recipes. They’re great in Mexican food and they do well in some casseroles. They’re a little less versatile than other meat substitutes, though–I don’t know that I’d want to throw a few cups of lentils into my next stir fry or add black beans to pasta. Slightly undercooked lentils also make a good substitute for ground beef–cook them in broth to make them flavorful, then pulse them in your food processor until they’re crumbly. They’ll get mushy in casseroles or anything where they’re cooking in liquid for a while, but I love using them to make meatballs.
I did this with:
Vegan Cincinnati Chili
Lentil Mushroom Meatballs
Tofu, Tempeh, and Seitan
Tofu and tempeh can be swapped in for a lot of different meats. Crumbled tempeh is by far my favorite substitute for ground beef. Although I haven’t tried it myself, you can also use it in place of sausage. It soaks up any flavors you add to it and it stands up to most kinds of cooking, unlike lentils and mushrooms. For this reason, crumbled tempeh is fabulous in casseroles. Cubes of tempeh can be used in place of chicken or beef, although it’s important to give them some time to marinate, otherwise the flavor will be bland. Any dish that isn’t saucy or heavily seasoned probably isn’t good for tempeh, since it doesn’t have much flavor on its own.
Like tempeh, tofu needs to be paired with sauces or assertive flavors, otherwise it just kind of tastes like nothing. Always press tofu first. I like using a tofu press
I wrote a little bit about seitan last week–it is the perfect substitute for chicken or turkey. It has a little more flavor than tofu and tempeh, so it doesn’t need that time to marinate.
I did this with:
Crispy Tofu Sandwiches with Ginger Peanut Sauce
Pineapple Jerk Tofu
Seitan Cacciatore
Thai Red Curry with Asparagus and Tofu
Vegetarian Shipwreck Casserole
Add Strong Flavors
If you’re replacing a strongly-flavored meat, like bacon, using any of the above substitutes just won’t cut it. Bacon is added to a dish for flavor so you need to replace it with something just as flavorful. Tempeh bacon is always a good bacon substitute, but I don’t always have it on hand, so I usually rely upon hickory smoked salt or smoked paprika instead. For recipes that lend themselves to a little spiciness, chipotle pepper (either the canned kind of the ground powder) is a nice addition too. A little goes a long way with any of these–start with a small amount, taste, and add more if needed. For a recipe that calls for cheese too, using a smoked variety works amazingly well as an alternative to bacon.
I did this with:
Overstuffed Twice-Baked Potatoes with Smoked Cheddar
What’s your favorite way to tweak a recipe to make it vegetarian?
This is such a great idea for a post and great resource! Beans are usually my go-to substitute to bulk up a vegetarian meal, but I should be more creative! I still haven’t tried your mushroom cheesesteaks recipe but I keep meaning to!
Great ideas and Great pictures. It is so fun and challenging to create a great meatless dish that tastes like the real thing. Thank you for sharing!
Totally bookmarking this, I struggle with creative ways to substitute all the time! My fiancee will appreciate me “beefing” up my meals a bit! {Pun totally intended.}
Great ideas!
What a great post, I often run out of ideas when cooking vegetarian recipes so it’s great to have some new ideas as to what I can include to give our meals a bit of vareity, thank you!
Great post!! This would have been so helpful for me when I first transitioned to a vegetarian diet. My favorite “meat substitutes” are definitely lentils, beans, tofu, and tempeh. I literally do not think that I could ever get sick of any of these. Oh, and I just added mushrooms to soup as a “meat substitute” for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it turned out amazing. I do not miss meat one bit, and it is all thanks to these great (and healthier) options.
I feel the same way–I never miss meat! People never believe me when I say that, but it’s true.
I love the idea of using mushrooms as a substitute. I LOVE mushrooms!
Great suggestions. I always try to make sure there is a protein component when I remove meat from a recipe… legumes are my preferred sub but they don’t always work. Otherwise, tofu/tempeh, nuts, seeds and grains bulk up meals, too.
Absolutely fabulous list and great tips Kiersten – I love it! Pinned already and going to be experimenting with tempeh this week. Thanks for the inspiration!!
I can’t wait to see what you make with tempeh!
I love all these ideas.. i love tempeh and beans in anything and everything:)
This is such a helpful post, especially for people who need to serve a group of people with different diets – you can still serve the same meal to everyone, but try it with a vegetarian adaptation. It’s also a good reminder that I don’t need to ignore or rule out all recipes I see that include meat – I should make more of an effort to think about how I can still try those recipes, but adapt them appropriately with a vegetarian substitute!
Lately when I go through all my cooking magazines, I find myself saving more meat recipes than the vegetarian ones! I think it’s because so many of the vegetarian recipes are ones that I’ve already done before–veggie lasagna, black bean burgers, chili, etc.
What a great post! I’m not a vegetarian, but I do try to eat vegetarian a few times a week and it’s not always that easy. This has helped a lot! Thanks!
Great tips! I’m not a vegetarian but I’m trying to eat less meat, so this website will be a great resource.
Great tips. My husband is a total meat man so he would not be on board with cutting it out. But when he is out to town, the kids and I skip it often.
This is why you are my favorite foodie – I’m never brave enough to deviate from the recipe! – so I’m glad I have you to figure it out for me.
I need to try cooking with seitan – love that stuff.
Seitan is super easy to cook with! Much easier than tofu.
Thank you , thank you, thank you for providing my family with new meals! My husband is a meat eater and has no interest in converting. I have been veg for over 20 yrs adn I raisingmy boys to be veggies as well. From time to I need something new to serve up to the family. I have yet to find a recipe that I haven’t liked. My 4 and2 yr old’s appetites have been satisfied as well.
Please keep up the great work on the “nommy nums”!
Thank you for your comment! It always makes me so happy to know one of my recipes has made someone’s meal time a little bit easier.
Great post…I wonder if I can chop up mushrooms and hide them from my kids??? Gotta try it!
I think a lot of people dislike mushrooms because of the texture, so pulsing them in a food processor is a good way to overcome that.
I know I’m incredibly late with commenting on this, but I just wanted to say that this post is awesome!
I love mushrooms so the Creamy Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup is right up my alley! Thanks for a great recipe.