Cookbook:Vegetarian cuisine

| Cuisines

People may choose to become vegetarian for a variety of reasons, and meat-eaters may eat vegetarian meals.

In North America, one is considered a vegetarian if one does not eat animal meat. In some parts of the world, people who call themselves vegetarians do eat fish and/or seafood; in North America these people would be referred to as semi-vegetarians or pescetarians. If you are traveling abroad, or if you are entertaining foreign vegetarians, be sure to verify that you are communicating the correct meaning of 'vegetarian'.

Some vegetarians do eat eggs and/or dairy products, although it is important for vegetarians to note that many soft cheeses, especially French cheeses, may contain animal rennet which is obtained from calf stomachs (and is therefore not considered vegetarian). Those who do not eat any animal products are called vegans; see vegan cuisine. Vegan recipes are always vegetarian.

Non-vegetarians often eat vegetarian meals without labelling them as such (many pasta dishes, dahls, veggie burritos, and virtually all desserts).

Vegetarian nutrition
According to the American Dietetic Association, "appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases." The main requirement for vegetarian nutrition is to ensure your diet contains a wide variety of grains, vegetables, and legumes, and to a lesser degree fruits, nuts, and seeds. It is a common misconception that vegetarian diets provide inadequate protein. While one person's protein requirements may be very different from another's, the ADA has found that a typical varied vegetarian diet that meets one's energy needs, also meets one's protein requirements. Even athletes, whose protein requirements are typically greater than non-athletes, can fare well on a vegetarian diet. The ADA found that "vegetarian diets (except possibly fruitarian and strict macrobiotic diets) can easily meet the nutritional requirements of all types of athletes provided they contain a variety of plant-foods." (see ADA article)

As a general rule, two or more different vegetarian protein sources should be eaten in a day to ensure that the body gets all the essential amino acids it needs. The only complete (containing all essential amino acids) plant protein is soy, found in products like tofu. Animal products, like eggs and cheese, are also complete proteins, but vegetable protein sources (e.g. beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts) other than soy are all incomplete proteins and must be eaten in combination.

The Vegetarian Society has a page on vegetarian nutrition.

Protein intake in vegetarian diets is only slightly lower than in meat diets and can meet daily requirements for any person, including athletes and bodybuilders. Studies at Harvard University as well as other studies conducted in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and various European countries, confirmed vegetarian diets provide sufficient protein intake as long as a variety of plant sources are available and consumed. Proteins are composed of amino acids, and a common concern with protein acquired from vegetable sources is an adequate intake of the essential amino acids, which cannot be synthesised by the human body. While dairy and egg products provide complete sources for lacto-ovo vegetarians, the only vegetable sources with significant amounts of all eight types of essential amino acids are lupin, soy, chia seed, amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa. However, the essential amino acids can also be obtained by eating a variety of complementary plant sources that, in combination, provide all eight essential amino acids (e.g. brown rice and beans, or hummus and whole wheat pita, though protein combining in the same meal is not necessary). A 1994 study found a varied intake of such sources can be adequate.

Vegetarian recipes
Below are recipes that are vegetarian, ie, they don't have any meat, poultry or seafood, but may include animal products such as dairy, eggs or honey. Dishes that contain no animal products at all are listed in the module on Vegan cuisine.

Note that some recipes listed may include variations or options which include meat, poultry, or fish. When preparing these dishes for vegetarians, either eliminate the meat, poultry, or fish, or replace these ingredients with a vegetarian substitute.

Appetizers and Sides

 * Cinnamon Roll
 * Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
 * Falafel
 * French Fries
 * Fresh Mozzarella Bruschetta
 * Grape leaves
 * Grits
 * Hush Puppies
 * Inarizushi
 * Kovaim
 * Latkes
 * Samosa
 * Sauerkraut
 * Stroopwafels
 * Tomatoes with Cheese Stuffing
 * Plantain Chips with Cayenne (Kelewele)
 * Pierogi
 * Popcorn
 * Pretzel
 * Vegetable Spring Roll
 * Vegetarian Meatballs
 * Roasted Eggplant
 * Roasted Rice Cakes of Japan (Mochi)

Salads

 * Pico de Gallo
 * Succotash (Meatless)
 * Tabouli Salad
 * Tarbes Salad

Main courses

 * Baingan Bartha (Punjabi)
 * Bengal Potatoes
 * Boxty
 * Cottage Cheese Eggs
 * Crêpe
 * Curried Rice
 * Lentil Rice Loaf
 * Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
 * Kashmiri Pulao
 * Mike's Saffron Rice and Beans
 * Mike's Bean and Rice Bake
 * Nut roast
 * Polish Cauliflower with Breadcrumbs
 * Porridge
 * Ratatouille for kids
 * Sweet Potato Tropicana
 * Banana Curry
 * Mung Beans and Brown Rice
 * Quiche
 * Wilted Greens
 * Simmering Tofu Stirfry
 * Tandoori Tofu
 * Upma-Uppitu
 * Tofu and couscous
 * Pakoda
 * Pancake
 * New York City-Style Pizza (No meat toppings)
 * Waffles

Pasta

 * Fiddlehead-Portobello Linguine
 * Rigatoni pasta with Ricotta in Tomato Cream Sauce
 * Risotto
 * Southwest Pasta
 * Tomato Pasta
 * Lasagne with bean sauce

Sandwiches, Burgers, and Wraps

 * Beanburger
 * Bulgher Burger
 * Burrito (Vegetarian filling)
 * Cucumber Sprout Sandwich
 * Grilled Cheese Sandwich
 * Grilled Peanut Butter Sandwiches
 * Meatless Sloppy Joes
 * Mike's Buttery Noodles
 * Peanut Butter Sandwich
 * Quesadilla

Breads
The majority of breads are vegetarian. See WikiBooks's bread page for recipes further to those listed below.

Common

 * Whole Wheat Bread
 * Italian Bread
 * Rye Bread
 * Pumpernickle

Specialty

 * Bagels
 * Baguette
 * Biscuits
 * Buttermilk Biscuits
 * Chapati
 * Focaccia Bread
 * Fry Bread
 * Irish Soda Bread
 * Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Glazed)
 * Matzo
 * Naan
 * Pita
 * Raisin Oatmeal Muffins
 * Soy Protein Bread
 * Tequeños

Soups
Be mindful of stocks used for soups. Beef, fish, or chicken stock is not suitable for vegetarians.


 * Borscht
 * Carrot and Coriander Soup
 * Gazpacho
 * Le Tourin
 * Lentil Soup
 * Minestrone
 * Potato and leek soup
 * Three Ginger Soup
 * Three Sisters Stew
 * Vegetarian Bean Soup

Sauces

 * Baba Ganoush
 * Brown Gravy
 * Crème Anglaise
 * Easy pasta sauce
 * Gochujang
 * Guacamole
 * Harrisa
 * Hot Pepper Sauce
 * Hot Sauce
 * Hummus
 * Pesto
 * Roux
 * Red Pepper & Goat Cheese
 * Tzatziki
 * Vegetarian Gravy

Desserts
Most desserts are vegetarian, though some do contain gelatine which is often an animal-derived product. Vegetarian alternatives to gelatine are available, such as Agar. Note that gelatine is present in most marshmallows.

Cakes

 * 1-2-3-4 Cake
 * Black Forest Cake
 * Carrot Cake
 * Cheesecake
 * Cupcakes
 * Fairy Cakes
 * Lapis Legit
 * Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
 * Pound Cake

Pies

 * Banana Cream Pie
 * Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
 * Key Lime Pie
 * Lemon Meringue Pie
 * No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
 * Pumpkin Pie
 * Radish Pie
 * Rhubarb Pie

Confectionary

 * Buckeyes
 * Chewy Ginger Cookies
 * Chinese Chews
 * Daifuku
 * Gingerbread
 * Grannie Gilbert's Sugar Cookies
 * Hallva
 * Honey Taffy
 * Turkish Delight
 * Turrón

Pastries

 * Chokladboll
 * Churros
 * Doughnuts
 * Doughnuts (Paczki)
 * Eclairs
 * Loukoumas
 * Mille-feuille
 * Sopaipilla
 * Strudel

Other

 * Apple Crisp
 * Atkins-friendly Tira Misu
 * Baklava
 * Chocolate Chip Cookies
 * Chocolate Noodles with Vanilla sauce
 * Crème Brûlée
 * Denver Crunch
 * French Toast
 * Granola Bars
 * Gulab Jamun
 * Khara Pongal
 * Kovaim
 * Mille Crêpe
 * Molasses Taffy
 * Peach Cobbler
 * Pumpkin Roll
 * Rice Pudding
 * Spanish Flan

Fermented

 * Beer
 * Cider
 * Ginger Beer
 * Kefir
 * Kombucha
 * Kvass
 * Mead
 * Sangría
 * Sima
 * Wine

Non-Fermented

 * Ayran
 * Bubble Tea
 * Butter Tea
 * Café au lait
 * Coffee
 * Dalgona Coffee
 * Horchata
 * Hot Coca
 * Lassi
 * Lemonade
 * Milkshake
 * Oat Milk
 * OpenCola
 * Orange Julius
 * Orange Soda
 * Sake
 * Tea

Miscellaneous

 * Agar
 * Cheese
 * Dal
 * Ground Tofu
 * Maple Syrup
 * Milk
 * Pickert
 * Seitan
 * Tempeh
 * Tofu
 * Water
 * Wheat grass juice