Vegetarian/Vegan Recipe Sharing

[Batman.]

Anyone want to share any Vegetarian/Vegan recipes?

I know we have a fair few vegetarians and vegans here, and as someone who dislikes meat and has issues with lactose, I'd LOVE to hear about recipes others here have tried.

I'll share a vegetarian recipe, although it's rather basic, it's still yummy and pretty cost-effective.

Vegetarian Ravioli

Ingredients:
For Sauce:- 1 Jar of Garden Vegetable Pasta Sauce
- Chopped-up Veggies of choice. *Remember to look at what veggies are already in your sauce. Zucchini went great last time I did this!*
- 1-2 TBSP of your choice cooking oil (I prefer EVOO, but vegetable works fine)
- Couple sprinkles of Garlic and Basil, or to taste.

For Pasta:
- 2 Bags of frozen Ricotta Cheese Ravioli.
If you want a Vegan variation, Click Me! I haven't tried this, but I've seen good reviews. If you still want the ricotta cheese but can't find/don't want the frozen variety, just replace Vegan filling with Ricotta Cheese.

Directions for Sauce:

1. Heat up oil, garlic, and basil (or whatever other spices you chose to add) in a deep frying pan on HIGH heat.
2. While oil is heating, chop up veggies of choice. When I added zucchini, I made the pieces about 1/8 inch thick, and cut disks into quarters.|
3. When oil is heated and bubbling, add veggies. They should sizzle as soon as they hit the frying pan.
4. Cook up veggies, keeping the heat high, until they just barely start browning.
5. Turn heat down to about MEDIUM-LOW, and add jar of sauce.
6. Let sauce simmer.

Directions for Pasta:

1. Boil water on HIGH in cooking pot, add a bit of oil to water to avoid sticking (Raviolis sticking is HORRIBLE! )
2. When water is bubbling, add pasta. If you decided to go with homemade, be very careful adding them to the water. If adding frozen raviolis, ADD SLOWLY, to avoid the water splashing.
3. Boil raviolis until they float, and you can see the filling through the pasta. If you can't tell in about 8-10 minutes, you may want to cut one in half and make sure the pasta is not tacky/sticky. I suck at explaining ready pasta since I do it by taste.
4. Turn burner off, drain raviolis, and run cool water over them to stop the cooking process.

Then...
1. Rinse out the pot used to boil the raviolis, add sauce and raviolis to the same pot.
2. Put the whole pot on the burner from the sauce, heat the whole thing on MEDIUM-LOW for a few minutes, stirring often, until everything is warm and mixed thoroughly.
3. Serve, and Enjoy!


If anyone needs clarification on this, feel free to let me know. I've never really written out a recipe before, I'm just used to doing things as I go along, improvising. And remember that the whole thing CAN be turned Vegan by making your own raviolis, or finding Vegan ravioli. And make sure to thoroughly check sauce ingredients if you're concerned. Click Me for a website that shows many names for things that are/may be derived from animals, because you never know what some companies try to sneak in.

Looking forward to seeing what you guys post!

[BertBunnyMN]

One of my favorites... I don't really know the quantities, as I just kinda play it by ear when I make it..

Tri-color spiral macaroni
Carrots, sliced into quarters
Broccoli
^^ Boil those all together, till theres no water left in the pot. either that, or drain them when they're cooked well enough.

Then get a frying pan. Put some (olive?) oil in the bottom of it, not very much, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.. then just kinda fry the noodles and veggies in that for a little bit.

When they're frying, add a bunch of onion powder and garlic powder, then add some soy sauce.

When you think everything's well fried enough, sprinkle some bread crumbs over the top.

Simple, not that nutritious, but a lot better than having a hamburger for each and every single meal.

[Batman.]

Sounds very simple, Bert. Probably would be great for a starving student. Actually reminds me of something I made the one night just as a quick meal.

We had Beef Ramen in the cupboard, so I chucked away the packet of Beef soup mix and just used the ramen noodles, boiled those, and added some Sweet and Sour Sauce and Soy Sauce to it. Was really good, yet super-simple and cheap.

Sometimes throwing some basic things together can make for a tasty snack/meal.

[BertBunnyMN]

now THAT sounds really good.

hmmm, i like dry ramen... im sure theres some good dish to be made out of that too. =D

[Batman.]

Originally Posted by BertBunnyMN

hmmm, i like dry ramen... im sure theres some good dish to be made out of that too. =D

Probably. Maybe as part of a salad! But seriously, if you create anything, let me know!

[Bibliophile]

Vegetarian lasagne is good and pretty simple. I have the recipe for it somewhere. The lasagne sheets are the most difficult part, I wouldn't risk it unless you know what you're doing. Mushroom pasta, moussaka, burgers. Stuffed peppers? They're really good! I'll look for the recipes for you. Nut roast, too. I've never tried making it myself but I've had it. Chickpeas are good for filling out meals.

Feel free to PM me if you want alllll the recipes. (:

Vegan (spinach) lasagne ingredients -

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
10 cloves garlic, minced
400g of whole plum tomatoes
5 tablespoons tomato purée
A handful of chopped fresh basil
pinch chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black
1 (500g) packet lasagne sheets
1kg of firm tofu
6 cloves garlic, minced
A handful of chopped fresh basil
A handful of chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
800g of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

Stuffed peppers -

280g of brown rice
6 large fresh red or green peppers
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
3 tablespoons sherry <- I think not.
349g carton Blue Dragon Tofu Firm Silken Style (Or something similar.)
60g of dried cranberries
30g of chopped pecans
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan

[Batman.]

Sounds good, Rie! If you don't mind, maybe you could post the other ones to here as well? Maybe then, more vegetarians/vegans of TH will benefit!

[Bibliophile]

When I make mushroom pasta I use Penne pasta and mushroom soup, rather than making a sauce. Then I add extra mushrooms. My mum makes Moussaka a lot in the winter, and we make our own burgers sometimes, too.

Vegetarian moussaka ingredients -

1 thinly sliced aubergine.
1 tablespoon of olive oil.
1 thinly sliced courgette.
2 sliced potatoes. Potato is what bulks up the meal, so add more if you need more.
1 sliced onion.
1 clove of garlic, chopped.
1 tablespoon of vinegar.
400g tin of whole peeled tomatoes. Chopped.
410g tin of drained lentils.
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
150g of feta cheese.
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter.
2 tablespoons of plain flour.
300ml of milk.
1 beaten egg.
4 tablespoons grated parmesan.

Veggie burger ingredients -

1 400g tin of drained and mashed chickpeas.
8 fresh chopped basil leaves.
4 tablespoons of oat bran.
4 tablespoons porridge oats. You can always add more should the mix seem too loose.
200g of cooked brown rice.
1 packet of firm tofu.
1 clove of minced garlic.
5 tablespoons of barbecue sauce. You can get this shop bought or make your own.
1 dessert spoon of vegetable oil.

[Batman.]

Sorry to sound stupid here, but whats "Moussaka"?

[Bibliophile]

It's basically layered vegetables and/or meat with potato on the top.

[Batman.]

OHH, basically "Shepards Pie"! Gotcha!

[Stardaze]

Mmmm, this is making me hungry.
everything looks so good.

[Batman.]

Angelina, do you have any recipes to share?

[tangledupinblue]

The best cheesy broccoli soup you will ever have. (:
-2 cups cashew peices
-1 tablespoon salt
-1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
-1 tablespoon onion powder
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon dill weed
-1/2 cup pimentos
-7 cups water
-8 cups chopped broccoli

1) In a blender, add the first seven ingredients and half of the water.
2) Blend on high until creamy, 2-3 minutes. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and add the rest of water and the chopped broccoli.
3) Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until slightly thickened and broccoli is tender. Enjoy!

[Batman.]

tangledupinblue, does it actually TASTE cheesy? If so, I'd LOVE to make this sometime, since both my mom and I like Cheese&Broccoli soup!

[VampirePrincess]

Thank you so much for posting this thread! I have extremely severe food allergies to all meats, and really everything except vegetables and a select few other foods, so vegetarian meals are all I can eat these days.

I cook with a wok at home to make stir-fry dishes, but you could probably use a frying pan or just cook these things another way if you don't have one. This is my very favorite recipe.

Sesame Ginger Vegetables with Garlic

You'll need any vegetable that you like cooked. I personally use onions, bell peppers, celery, and green beans. However, carrots, peas, corn, really anything else can go in there. I encourage you to be creative!

You'll also need some oil. You have to be pretty careful about what oils you use, as some aren't good at high heat. For example, never use olive oil when cooking with a wok. Use 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. It's okay to mix them together.

You then want fresh minced ginger. Can be pretty difficult to find in stores, but typically an organic store will have it, and if there is a Fresh & Easy in your neighborhood, they sell it. You also want some kind of garlic. I love garlic so I experiment a lot here, I use pre-chopped garlic, garlic that is minced and frozen (sold at Trader Joe's, but you can probably find it elsewhere), fresh garlic that I cut myself, and something called "garlic juice", which is like a garlic extract.

Now this ingredient you really need. It is called stir-fry sauce and your dish will taste very plain without it. They sell a lot of different ones, and you should watch the labels closely because some have meat in them. There are a lot that don't, though. I would consider this non-optional, but of course, I guess it's really up to you. I'll warn you though, if you don't use it, you'll be very disappointed. I would say use 3 tablespoons of this, but it can be more or less depending on how much food you're making.

I also like to marinate my vegetables so they have more flavor, but that's completely up to you. You can use Italian dressing as a marinade in a pinch. I picked up some interesting things from the store the other day, White Garlic Marinade and Ginger Peach Marinade. Can't wait to try them. Anyway, if you want to do this, look around your stores for ideas. If you don't, you don't have to.

Take my advice: prepare EVERYTHING before turning on that wok! You won't have time to be preparing food midway through. So measure things, chop things, whatever. Keep it all seperate though, don't mix anything together until it's in the wok.

Since you're cooking vegetables, it doesn't really matter what your wok is set at. 375 degrees was the recommended heat, but I found the oil splashed pretty badly, so I keep it around 250 degrees.

Put the oil in first, and then you have a choice: either add the garlic and ginger or the vegetables. I suggest adding the garlic and ginger. Mix those with the oil and then put all the vegetables in. Make sure your vegetables get mixed with everything. Cook the vegetables for as long as you want, I usually only cook them for 5 minutes or so. Then throw in your stir-fry sauce. Once it covers the vegetables completely you're done and you can turn off the wok.

Once I'm done I like to toss everything with olive oil, mix it with some rice, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top, but this is up to you. It tastes fantastic either way.

I know this seems like a complicated recipe, but it's really not. The preparation is the worst, but if you have a habit of keeping pre-chopped veggies in your fridge, like me, then even that barely takes any time. Also portion control is hard. You notice I didn't give you too much direction in amount, and even what I gave you is just a guide. That's what I like about cooking stir-fry dishes, you can be very creative.

Hope everyone enjoys this! I know I'll be trying some of your recipes soon

[Batman.]

No problem. Meat makes me feel sick, and I'm lactose-intolerant, so looking for ideas with no meat, and little or no dairy is definitely helpful. I've seen some recipes online, but alot seem complicated. I found some simple, relatively budget-friendly ones online as well, but I want to try them out before sharing them here.

I've made stir-fries before, however, never with the fresh ginger. I throw the veggies and whichever thicker sauce I choose (Teriyaki, Sweet&Sour, Plum, etc.) in together, along with some soy sauce, and let that all simmer together. The vegetables usually end up a bit softened, but not soggy, which is nice.

Its great you wrote out this recipe for everyone though! Question, have you ever tried using the mock chicken or mock beef strips? I'd love to prepare a stir fry with mock chicken for my omnivore family, but don't know if it'd be any good.

[LameName]

Burrito Bowl
1. Make white or brown rice.
2. Fry black beans and corn together with chili powder, cumin, turmeric, crushed black pepper, and onion to taste. Por this onto the rice.
3. Top with your favorite salsa, along with cheese and lettuce if you'd prefer.


My Favorite Stir Fry
1. Fry broccoli florets and sliced carrots in garlic butter until tender. (Or 1 tbs water and minced garlic if you're watching your weight.)
2. Add baby corn spears and your favorite stir fry sauce. (I prefer House of Tsang Classic.)
3. Meanwhile, make udon or soba noodles, egg noodles, or rice.
4. Add stir fry noodles/rice to stir fry and toss to coat.
5. Top with peanuts and enjoy.


Mediterranean Wraps (or Pita Pockets)
1. Gather a few of your favorite Mediterranean (peppers, squashes, snow peas, potatoes, garlic, onions, etc). Wash and slice them.
2. Put them in a container and add olive oil and Italian seasonings. (I just buy an Italian seasonings grinder, but feel free to improvise.) Toss to coat. Bake, covered, at 350 until tender. The timing depends on what veggies you choose, but it should be between 20 and 45 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and put in wraps, pitas, or serve with spaghetti and garlic bread.


Veggie Chili
1. Heat either tomato juice or chunky style tomato sauce, depending on how thick you want your chili.
2. Add beans and select veggies (frozen bags of veggie soup veggies work well). Optional: add tempeh or TVP ground beef replacer.
3. Add chili powder, cumin, turmeric, and any other spices you'd like.
4. Simmer and serve with corn bread, on fries, or on tofu dogs.


Rice Pilaf
1. Prepare vegetarian friendly rice pilaf. (I use Near East.)
2. Steam broccoli, and tofu if you'd like.
3. Combine, and top with slivered almonds or pine nuts if you're feeling fancy.


A Vegetarian's Steak Dinner
1. Grill or sautee a portabella mushroom cap with minced garlic, sea salt, crushed black pepper, and soy sauce.
2. Serve with a baked potato and green vegetables.


For a super-light dinner . . .
1. Slice cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onions. Add baby spinach.
2. Toss with fresh lemon juice and fresh basil. Serve fresh.
OR
2. Toss with olive oil, garlic crushed black pepper. Bake at 350 until warm.
3. Serve with whole wheat toast and avocado slices.

[Batman.]

LameName (by the way, it's totally not), thanks for the recipes.

I'm happy this thread has been so successful!

[VampirePrincess]

ArcAngel - I haven't tried any of the mock meat strips. Even before I was diagnosed with my allergy I wasn't very fond of meat, so to me it would just ruin the taste of the vegetables. However, I've had some veggie meats before that taste a lot like the real thing, and meat in stir-fry dishes is very popular, so I'm sure combining the two would be a success The "meat" was veggie chicken nuggets sold by Morning Star, and it tasted very close to real chicken, so if you find anything by them I would recommend using it.

LameName - I use the same stir-fry sauce, good, isn't it? Glad to know that other people can pick out good quality stuff And I'm going to have to try the Mediterranian Wraps soon, they sound great!

[Batman.]

Indeed, I'm not fond of meat either, just something about it, but I mean, I'd imagine the mock stuff also wouldn't have the same greases that make meat appealing. And would make it easier to "trick" those around me who DO eat meat. Thanks for the tip! Though, my local grocery store is rather limited on meat alternatives, but I know they have SOME.

[Ella.x]

Aubergine Bake (vegetarian), think it's called eggplant parmesan in USA? correct me if I'm wrong haha

Ingredients:
2 large aubergines (eggplants)
1 Ball mozarella
3/4 - 1 cup grated parmesan
750ml tomato pasta sauce (I'll add a recipe for homemade below this one)
2 tbsp Olive oil

You will also need:
medium casserole dish

1. Cut the aubergines into 1/2 inch thick rounds.
2. Place them on a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil
3. Put them in a preheated oven (200c, not sure what that is in farenheit or gas mark, but its quite hot), and cooke until golden brown on both sides, turning once halfway through. this should take about 15mins. Once the aubergine is done, put to one side and turn the oven down to 180c
4. pour about 1/4 of the tomato sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish, then put a layer of aubergine slices on top. Sprinkle about 1/4 of the cheese on top of this and continue until all the ingredients are used up, making sure to finish with a layer of cheese.
5. Put in the oven for approx. 40 mins or until bubbling and golden on top
Serve hot or cold with new potatoes and if you're a meat eater this goes really well with lamb


Basic tomato sauce (I'm putting a recipe for this in because it's really nice to use homemade sauce with the aubergines above and it can be used for just about anything and surprisingly few of my friends actually know how to make it)

You can add extras to this sauce such as anchovies, capers, olives, sweet peppers, chilli or anything else you can think up - be creative!

Ingredients:
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes,
I/2 small onion chopped finely
1 clove garlic crushed then chopped finely
I small carrot chopped into small (0.5cm)cubes
1 small stick celery chopped into small (0.5cm) chunks
1tbsp olive oil (sunflower or vegetable oil will also work)
1 tsp Tomato puree (optional)
pinch salt
pinch pepper
1/2 tsp mixed dried herbs or dried basil (optional)
1 tbsp fresh chopped basil or parsely (optional)

1. heat the olive oil in a smallish saucepan and add the onions, carrot and celery. Cook for 4-5mins
2. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for a further 2-3 mins or until the vegetables are soft, but not brown. Add the tomato puree at this point if using
3. pour the chopped tomatoes into the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, adding the salt, pepper and dried herbs at this point. Simmer for 20-25 mins, stirring occasionally. If the sauce thickens too much, you can add a small amount of water.
4. Check that the carrots are completely cooked through, if they're not, leave it to cook for a further 5 mins.
5. Take off the heat and stir in the fresh herbs if you're using them.






I love meat, but since I've been living on my own and having to pay for my own groceries, I've been cooking a lot more vegetartian dishes as good quality meats are pretty expensive. I can now understand why my mum used to do so many bean casseroles and vegetable lasgnes etc I've actually really taken a liking to vegetarian foods and will definately be making some of the recipes on this thread. Also, for people who live in the UK, ASDA do some pretty good meat-free dry mixes for falafel and veggieburgers - they're cheap too.

[Batman.]

Sounds yummy, Ella!

Anyways, I made this as a nice dessert for my brother and I.

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

I made this by looking and judging consistency, so measurements may not be exact for you.

Ingredients :

- 1/2 bag Dole Frozen Strawberry Banana Fruit Mix
- 1 1/2 (or 2, didn't measure) cups of So Nice Vanilla Soy Milk
- 2 packets Sweet N Low Sweetener

**Feel free to use your own brands, freeze your own fruits, whatever else. Fruit filled my blender somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2. Figures are all approximate, since as said above, I pretty much eye-balled it.**

Preparation :
- Toss fruit, pour soy milk, and put sweetener in the blender. Blend until smooth. You may want to occasionally stir to get rid of any lumps.
- Pour and enjoy!

**Note: I checked the ingredients and searched online as well to make sure the Sweet N Low was Vegan-friendly and Gluten-free, and the So Nice Vanilla Soy Milk prides itself on being Organic and Gluten-free.**

[Batman.]

Tonight I made a Vegan "Cheese" Ravioli that turned out delicious from a recipe I got online!

http://vegancampus.com/2009/03/16/simple-vegan-ravioli/

[Batman.]

So I made another simple Vegan recipe with Ramen! I love it because it's quick and easy.

Basically, I microwaved the ramen to boil it... While that was happening, I diced up some choice veggies and some tofu, cooked them up in a Wok in some Teriyaki Stir Fry sauce. Then I added in the Ramen when the veggies and tofu were flavoured, but the veggies were still a bit crispy, I added in the ramen, and a bit more stir-fry sauce (just a tiny bit, so it all coats). Then heated that all for a couple more minutes, and threw it on a plate. Tasted good.