Vegetarian Christmas Recipe Ideas

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Vegetarian Christmas recipe ideas

If you’re having vegetarian guests at your Christmas table, you should have a few vegetarian Christmas recipe ideas on hand. Here are some suggestions that will definitely please the people for which meat isn’t an option.

What can you put on your Christmas table for your vegetarian friends? We’re not talking here about starters, sides, or salads, because these dishes can be put together without too much effort by almost anyone. But assembling a tasty and fulfilling vegetarian main dish for Christmas may seem quite difficult if you’re not a vegetarian veteran.

But don’t worry, you won’t miss your mother’s classic beef, pork, or turkey dishes, because you can make many ‘meaty’ dishes without using meat, such as vegetarian burgers or meatballs. It takes just a little imagination, a bit of creativity, and some discipline to create a delicious vegetarian Christmas recipe.

One of the bests meat substitute you could use is called seitan. It’s a food item made from wheat, but which has little in common with flour or bread. In fact, seitan is surprisingly similar to the look and texture of meat when cooked. It is also called gluten, wheat meat, wheat protein, or wheat gluten and you can buy it or make it at home. Still, you’re afraid of completely new ingredients and don’t want to complicate your life by cooking seitan for Christmas, we have some easy-to-make and delicious main dish alternatives to meat.

5 vegetarian Christmas recipe ideas

1. Vegetarian tarts

You don’t have many ideas, but you know one thing: you want to cook something special. Then think about tarts or pies. Just make a crust and fill it with a vegetarian mixture. Combine your favorite vegetables when making the filling, but be mindful about their texture: some of them are harder than others and may need some extra cooking before putting them together. Eggs and cheese play their role in this type of dish. Besides being tasty, they are a binding agent for the veggie mixture, so don’t forget them! If you want, you can also opt for gluten-free crusts by making them from potato or cauliflower.

2. Eggplant

When you have vegetarians at the Christmas table, eggplant is a great idea. You can cook amazing dishes using eggplant simply because they have a rich, meaty taste and they’re very versatile. Use eggplants, oven-baked or pan-fried, in salads, spreads or stews.

Do you need another reason to choose eggplant for Christmas? You can stuff halved eggplants with both meaty or vegetarian combos, so all your guests will be happy without the feeling that their neighbor has something tastier on his plate.

3. Mushrooms

Mushrooms have a rich, earthy, and meaty flavor, which makes them perfect add-ons to your vegetarian dishes. Cremini or Portobello mushrooms should be on your shopping list.

The advantages? Mushrooms are healthy, full of protein, satisfying and can replace meat in almost any recipe. For vegetarian Christmas recipe ideas, we suggest to stuff and roast big mushrooms hats or turn them into fantastic tarts. For example, our mushroom tart is special because it has two mushroom fillings. Serve it with softly roasted potatoes and a surprising jelly sauce.

4. Tofu

Tofu makes the perfect swap-out for chicken. You can add it to quiches or curries or make burger patties with it. But did you know that tofu is one of the oldest and most nutritious foods in the world? Not only that is a good alternative for meat thanks to its high protein content, but it’s delicious when properly cooked. Try it marinated in soy sauce and ginger, then pan-fried.

5. Gnocchi

Gnocchi are small and soft dough dumplings that may be made from semolina, wheat flour, egg, cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, cornmeal, or similar ingredients.

They are generally homemade in Italian and Italian-immigrant households, but they may also be bought fresh from specialty stores. You can make them at home too, follow our recipe – it’s not so difficult as it seems. You can eat gnocchi for Christmas, served with melted butter and sage, pesto, as well as various sauces.

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