Contrary to popular belief, vegetarians can get enough protein in their diets without eating meat. Shocker! We wrote about sources of vegetarian protein earlier this year--lentils, beans, tempeh, tofu, and quinoa are all great ways to get your protein in. And if you need some ideas for how to use them, we've got those for you too. These 20 vegetarian dinner recipes all have at least 20 grams of protein per serving. Which is a lot!
Braised Lentils & Vegetables
Serve this one-pot dinner from Cafe Johnsonia with a side of crusty bread!
Brussels Sprout, Tempeh & Soba Noodle Skillet
Not all soba is created equal! Look for 100% buckwheat soba, which has 6 grams of protein per serving.
Margherita Quinoa Frittatas
These bite-sized frittatas from Kitchen Treaty are freezer-friendly. Make a double batch and keep some on hand for later!
Baked Sesame Tofu Sticks
These Baked Sesame Tofu Sticks from Kalyn's Kitchen will convert any tofu-hater! And then there's the Peanut Butter, Tahini, and Ginger Sauce that goes with them...
Peanutty Quinoa Bowls with Baked Tofu
Tofu, quinoa, and peanut butter make this dinner-for-two a great source of protein.
Lentil & Vegetable Stew with Cauliflower White Bean Puree
Instead of serving this stew over noodles or rice, Natalie from Once Upon a Cutting Board serves it over a creamy white bean puree.
Smashed White Bean and Kale Quesadillas
These easy quesadillas from Running to the Kitchen are done in 20 minutes. Hello dinner!
Tempeh Tacos
Crumbled tempeh makes the best substitute for ground beef! Add a dollop of Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to your tacos for even more protein.
Creamy Indian Lentils
These Indian-spiced lentils from Savvy Eats are perfect with a side of roasted cauliflower.
Chopped Power Salad with Baked Tofu and Almond-Miso Dressing
Don't skip the hemp seeds in this salad! They have 5 grams of protein per tablespoon.
Maple Tempeh with Herbed Quinoa
Caramelized baked tempeh is the star of this recipe from Nutrition Stripped.
Slow Cooker Lentil Chili
Start this lentil chili from Two Peas and Their Pod in the morning and have dinner ready when you get home from work!
Crispy Quinoa Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Cream
We love serving these quinoa cakes on a big bed of greens!
Curried Red Lentil & Quinoa Bowls
Spicy curried lentils served over a big bowl of quinoa. Because everything is better with quinoa!
Chickpea-Stuffed Eggplant with Couscous & Tahini Sauce
We love this recipe from Dishing Up the Dirt because it's so versatile! Try using lentils or white beans instead of chickpeas or quinoa instead of couscous.
Sloppy Lentil Sandwiches
Lentils in sloppy joes? Yes! You can even skip the sandwiches and serve these lentils over brown rice.
Kale Caesar Salad with Tofu Croutons
Croutons are switched out for tofu in this vegetarian Caesar salad from Kitchen Treaty.
Jalapeño White Bean Burgers
These spicy veggie burgers from Eats Well With Others will be a welcome addition to any summer barbecue.
Sweet-and-Sour Tempeh
Thinly slicing the tempeh in this recipe helps it soak up the homemade sweet-and-sour sauce.
Kare Troughton says
As a veggie who has been trying to amp up the protein in her diet, I really appreciate this one! So many delicious-looking dinners. (And thanks so much for including my mini frittatas!)
Kiersten Frase says
You're welcome! 🙂
dishing up the dirt says
love all of these protein packed recipes. Thanks for including my stuffed eggplants!
Kiersten Frase says
Of course! It looks incredible! 🙂
Deb says
What a fantastic batch of recipes! I'm on a lentil kick right now so I am ecstatic! Also am going to pull my tofu press back out again too. Thank you, Kiersten!
Ps
Just tried biofeedback starting the beginning of the year for my chronic migraines and it has worked wonders. Have been able to thwart one fully kicking in since 1/29/14 - hooray!
Kiersten Frase says
Interesting! I have to admit, I don't really know much about biofeedback, so I've never heard about using it for migraines. I've had good luck with magnesium supplementation, but I still get them every once in a while, usually when I'm stressed out or when it's really humid. I'm glad to hear you've found something that works so well for yours!
Grace @ Earthy Feast says
So many beautiful dishes, so much protein! I'm inspired by all of them! The stuffed eggplant is almost too pretty to eat!
Kiersten Frase says
Isn't it?! I can't wait until eggplant is in season so I can make that one. 🙂
michelle says
I just wanted to say that I love your site! I could happily be vegetarian, although my family could not. But these are wonderful recipes to add to our rotation and also great things that I can bring to pot-lucks! Thank you!
Kiersten Frase says
Thank you! I think the trick is finding recipes that are so good, no one even realizes there's no meat involved! 🙂
KalynsKitchen says
Amazing collection of dinners! And thanks for including my tofu.
Kiersten Frase says
You're welcome! I've been eyeing that recipe for a while. 🙂
Lindsey | Cafe Johnsonia says
This is such a great collection, Kiersten! Thanks for including my braised lentils recipe. Can't wait to check out the other recipes - I need some new ones to throw into our rotation. 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
I can't wait to try that recipe! I've never braised lentils before. 🙂
Robyn B | Modern Day Missus says
Yeah, someone asked me that the other day and I couldn't help but laugh out loud, not necessarily because of the question, but because I thought everyone knew these days that protein is so easy to come by!
What a great collection of recipes.
Robyn xx
Kiersten Frase says
Yeah, I'm surprised by how often I still get asked the whole "How do you get protein?" question! I do think vegetarians need to be a little more diligent about getting some with every meal, but it's easy to do.
Julie says
Ooh, I definitely need to try those peanutty quinoa bowls! Thanks for including me!
Kiersten Frase says
Of course! 😀
Alexis @ Hummusapien says
What a fantabulous round up! Plant-based protein for the win 🙂
Joanne says
It's such a common misconception that vegetarians can't possibly get enough protein...these recipes definitely show those naysayers wrong!
Lily (A Rhubarb Rhapsody) says
So many new recipes to add to my meal plans, really looking forward to trying the baked sesame tofu sticks! Thanks for sharing.
Sam says
So true. If only I got a nickel every time I heard the "where do you get your protein" question...
I sometimes find that instead of answering these questions with a list vegetarian high protein foods, I answer these questions with another question. Where don't I get my protein? Did you know that all whole plant based foods have protein? Carrots, rice, broccoli, you name it. As long as you eat a range of whole plant based foods, you will get plenty of protein in your diet.
When was the last time you heard of anyone go to the hospital for protein deficiency? It doesn't happen, because you have to be deprived of all nutrients, (aka starving), to be deprived of protein. We don't suffer from diseases of deficiency in North America, we suffer from diseases of excess.
One day I hope the world will find out that eating vegetarian isn't a chore, but rather a delight that will make your life so much healthier and happier. I mean just look at those amazing Sloppy Lentil Sandwiches! I'm drooling!
Off to the kitchen I go!
Sam
Kiersten Frase says
Yup, it's funny how people get so fixated on the protein thing! I do make an effort to make sure I'm eating some protein-rich foods everyday (because, uh, I might have subsisted on Doritos and bagels when I first stopped eating meat--not good!), but you're right, as long as you're eating a lot of whole, real foods, it's pretty easy to get your protein in.
Natalie @ Once Upon a Cutting Board says
Thanks for including my lentil stew in your list, and for this helpful roundup! I'm going to direct anyone here who ever asked about ideas for feeding vegetarians (and keep this handy for myself too!)
Kiersten Frase says
I can't wait to try that recipe--it looks amazing! 🙂