If you’re ordering more plant-based take-out lately, you’re part of a national dining trend. Restaurants and delivery services are responding to strong customer demand for vegan and vegetarian menu options all across the country.
If you’re exploring ways to incorporate more plant-based cooking into your healthy lifestyle, get ready to expand your culinary horizons.
These 12 vegetarian and vegan menu ideas deliciously demonstrate how well both choices work in home and commercial kitchens.
Vegetarian Menu Ideas for Everyone Around the Table
1. Break Out With Breakfast Salads
Get your day off to a fresh start with a healthy breakfast salad. Crown favorite greens with a poached egg. Transform popular vegan items like strawberries and avocados into nutrient-packed breakfast bowls. Naturally power up your morning with a pomegranate, pear and apple salad drizzled with honey.
2. Top Off Healthy Pizzas
Top your next pizza with healthy veggies like brussels sprouts or sautéed eggplant. Give a pie extra color and taste with red onions, cherry tomatoes and button mushrooms. If anyone at your table has doubts about plant-based meals, these vegetarian variations of the Italian classic will win them over.
3. Bring On Better Burgers
Make your own plant-based burger with chickpeas, lentils, sweet potatoes and carrots. These are just a few of the ingredients that blend into mouthwatering veggie burgers.
4. Reinvent The Reuben
Drain the sauerkraut, set out the Swiss, and slice the rye. Substitute Tuscan kale for corned beef, and grill up a vegetarian Reuben sandwich. Greek yogurt, hot sauce and garlic give the healthy Reuben an extra flavor boost.
5. Deep-Fry Crispy Veggie Sides
Deep-fried veggies make great sides for your plant-based burgers, and they’re irresistible snacks too. Kids really love the crunch of fried okra, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
6. Serve Southern-Style Napa Cabbage
Napa cabbage holds a special place in Asian cuisine, but the adaptable vegetable also puts fresh, new taste in Southern-style cole slaw. Complement its mild, slightly sweet flavor with traditional red onion, sweet peppers and fresh mint. Serve as a casual side, or top off a favorite sandwich with this simple, satisfying slaw.
7. Grill Fresh Romaine Halves
Fire up your chef’s imagination with premium romaine lettuce and a hot grill. The crisp vegetable handles the heat and develops a unique flavor that goes with everything. Present grilled romaine halves as sides, or chop and toss with your best entree salad.
8. Roast Vegan Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts
This Asian classic is too good to serve as a side. Falstaff Brussels sprouts give it a colorful presentation. Sriracha gives it heat with a uniquely sweet tang. A quick roast in the oven keeps these kung pao sprouts crisp and healthy. Substitute maple syrup for honey in the glaze, and you have a very vegan dish.
9. Elevate Vegetarian Enchiladas
Give your vegetarian enchiladas a sophisticated twist by stuffing them with sautéed portobello mushrooms and poblano chiles. Slowly roast in a heavy cream sauce fired up with chipotle chiles and lime. Enjoy sharing this fresh-baked veggie take on a beloved Mexican tradition.
10. Slice Into Portobello Steaks
The meaty flavor of portobello mushroom steaks make them a vegan menu option that appeals to everyone at the table. Whether you bake or grill these elegant entrees, they’re easy to prep with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Stay true to the simple recipe by using a vegan seasoning mix for extra flavor.
11. Stir Up Creamy Veggie Stew
Brussels sprouts star in a vegetarian stew that recreates the creamy goodness of comfort food. A silky coconut milk sauce brings it all together with accents of coriander, curry and garlic. Side each bowl with thick slices of your best homemade bread for luxurious dipping.
12. Celebrate With Chocolate Cupcakes
Finish off your next plant-based meal with a dessert that’s as healthy as all the other vegan items on your menu. Vegan chocolate cupcakes offer a decadent alternative to regular sweets, and they look as good as they taste.
Enjoy Fresh Culinary Inspiration
Evolving attitudes toward vegetarian and vegan menus make nutritious options appealing to more and more home and commercial chefs. Plant-based sides and entrees make it easier than ever to enjoy delicious, healthy meals prepared in your kitchen.
Here at Hitchcock Farms, it’s our pleasure to serve up new, and inspiring menu ideas. Check back with us soon for more fresh takes on culinary inspiration.
