For a better experience on your device, try our mobile site. BBC Accessibility links * Accessibility Help BBC iD Notifications BBC navigation * News * News * Sport * Weather * Shop * Earth * Travel * Capital * iPlayer * Culture * Autos * Future * TV * Radio * CBBC * CBeebies * Food * iWonder * Bitesize * Travel * Music * Earth * Arts * Make It Digital * Taster * Nature * Local * Menu Search Search the BBC ____________________ (BUTTON) Search the BBC This site is optimised for modern web browsers, and does not fully support your version of Internet Explorer BBC Food Diets 1. Home 2. Recipes + In Season + Occasions + Cuisines + Dishes 3. Chefs 4. Programmes 5. Ingredients 6. Techniques 7. FAQs Vegetarian recipes and information Vegetarian recipes bursting with flavour plus information on vegetarian ingredients and substitutions and foods to watch out for. A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, or any slaughter by-products. Vegetarians do eat eggs and some dairy products. Most vegetarians want to be absolutely sure that they aren't consuming any product or by-product of slaughter. However, there's still some confusion as to what vegetarians do and don't eat, partly because many people who call themselves vegetarian can sometimes turn a blind eye to the small print on labels. Or they may openly include fish in their diet, at which point they are more accurately called pescatarian. Vegetarian recipes Main course * Puy lentil bologese with pasta Puy lentil bologese with pasta By Chris Bavin * Artichoke, broad bean and pea risotto By Rick Stein * Spiced roasted cauliflower cheese By The Hairy Bikers * Tagliarini with artichoke and truffles By Theo Randall * Chestnut falafels By Matt Tebbutt Light meals & snacks * Easy spinach soup with a poached egg Easy spinach soup with a poached egg By Becca Spry * Potato, onion, sage and gruyère tart Potato, onion, sage and gruyère tart By Matt Tebbutt * Wild mushroom and Stinking Bishop tart By Matt Tebbutt * Roast potato saag aloo By Andi Oliver * Parnsip rosti By Matt Tebbutt Brunch * Garlic roasted mushroom on toast Garlic roasted mushroom on toast By Rebecca Sargent * Wilted spinach and poached egg on toast Wilted spinach and poached egg on toast By Rebecca Sargent * Bircher muesli Bircher muesli By Ella Woodward * Cheese and chutney strata By Matt Tebbutt * Breakfast burrito By Simon Rimmer Starters & nibbles * Caramelised red onion and goats’ cheese swirls Caramelised red onion and goats’ cheese swirls By James Morton * Aubergine and tomato canapés Aubergine and tomato canapés By Chetna Makan * Mushroom crostini Mushroom crostini By Antonio Carluccio * Beetroot and mozzarella salad with beetroot meringues By James Martin * Chestnut and date kofta with spicy chipotle dip By Andi Oliver Side dishes * Healthy oven chips Healthy oven chips * Black dal Black dal By Sanjeev Bhaskar * Gingerbread apricot stuffing By Andi Oliver * Creamed sprouts with Stilton and penne pasta By Matt Tebbutt * Gratin dauphinoise By Trish Deseine Desserts * Hot chocolate soufflé Hot chocolate soufflé By Mary Berry * Pineapple with star anise By The Hairy Bikers * Semolina and honey cake By James Martin * Poached pears with custard By John Torode * Almond puddings with Christmas pudding ice cream By John Torode Cakes and baking * Mary’s Christmas choux wreath Mary’s Christmas choux wreath By Mary Berry * Whisky shortbread ding dangs Whisky shortbread ding dangs By Norman Calder * Christmas wreath biscuits Christmas wreath biscuits By Mary-Anne Boermans * Gingerbread biscuits Gingerbread biscuits By Howard Middleton * Paul’s Kanellängd Paul’s Kanellängd By Paul Hollywood Drinks and cocktails * Dirty martini Dirty martini By Sophie Dahl * Rose prosecco cocktail Rose prosecco cocktail By Sophie Dahl * Mulled wine Mulled wine By Mary Berry * Eggnog Eggnog By Emily Angle * Coconut and mango smoothie By Nick Nairn Other * Hot mustard pickle Hot mustard pickle By The Hairy Bikers * Green chutney Green chutney By Anjum Anand * Chocolate and caramel spiced nut bark By Chetna Makan * Artichoke and lemon dip By Trish Deseine * Beetroot tzatziki By Trish Deseine See all vegetarian recipes (4951) Challenges for a vegetarian diet Anchovies: beware of anchovies in Worcestershire sauce and shrimp paste or fish sauce in Thai curry pastes. Animal fats: sometimes found in biscuits and cakes, in the form of lard in pastry or suet in puddings and mincemeat. Animal fats can also be found in margarines, spreads and ice creams. Watch out for chips fried in animal fats. Gelatine: used in sweets, (particularly chewy ones), nutritional supplements in capsule form, ice cream, yoghurts and desserts such as mousses, jellies and panna cotta. Look out for gelatine in low-fat versions of products such as yoghurts and whipped desserts - it's sometimes added for texture to help the product hold together. Meat stocks: can turn up in soups, risottos and gravies. Rennet: found in many hard cheeses. Rennet is an enzyme extracted from the stomach lining of slaughtered calves. Vegetarian cheese can be made using microbial or fungal enzymes. While you will usually be able to find vegetarian cheddars and other common hard cheeses, traditional parmesan is always made with animal-derived rennet. There are, however, some vegetarian parmesan-style cheeses produced in the UK such as Twineham Grange. (For this reason, recipes calling for 'parmesan' are included as 'vegetarian' in BBC Food's recipe database.) Cheese powders used to flavour crisps are often non-vegetarian. Whey: the Vegetarian Society recommends avoiding whey, which is usually a by-product of the cheese-making process where rennet has been used. Whey is often used as a flavour carrier in crisps. Alcohol and other drinks: most wines, many spirits and some beers are 'fined' (clarified) or filtered using animal products such as egg white or isinglass, which is derived from the swim bladder of a fish. Some drinks use cochineal (derived from a type of beetle) as a colouring agent. Read the labels carefully and choose drinks that state that they’re suitable for vegetarians and. The good news is that there's a wider range of good-quality drinks than ever. Vegetarian ingredients and substitutions There are many replacements for meat or animal by-products that are delicious and fairly easy to find in health food shops and supermarkets. These are not required eating, but they may be useful for substitutions in your favourite traditional dishes. Textured Vegetable Protein - Textured vegetable protein (TVP) is soya flour that's been processed and dried. A substance with a sponge-like texture, TVP is available either cut into small chunks or ground into granules which resemble minced beef, and can be flavoured to resemble meat. Wheat protein (seitan) - A useful ingredient for vegans is wheat protein, sometimes called seitan, which is derived from wheat gluten (the protein part of the flour). The gluten is extracted from wheat and then processed to resemble meat. Nutrition for a vegetarian diet Here's a quick summary of what you need to eat every day if you're a vegetarian, from the Vegetarian Society: • 4 -5 servings of fruit and vegetables • 3- 4 servings of cereals/grains or potatoes • 2- 3 servings of pulses, nuts and seeds • 2 servings of milk, cheese, eggs or soya products • a small amount of vegetable oil, margarine or butter • some yeast extract that has been fortified with vitamin B12 Getting enough protein may be a challenge in a vegetarian diet, so here's a quick run-down of foods that are high in protein: • Dairy products • Eggs • Nuts and seeds • Peas, beans, lentils • Soya products and mycoproteins • Wheat protein (seitan) • Wholegrains (rice and cereals On this page * Challenges for a vegetarian diet * Vegetarian ingredients and substitutions * Nutrition for a vegetarian diet Quick recipe finder Type the ingredients you want to use, then click Go. For better results you can use quotation marks around phrases (e.g. "chicken breast"). Alternatively you can search by chef, programme, cuisine, diet, or dish (e.g. Lasagne). Type ingredients, chef or programme ____________________ Go [ ] Quick & Easy [ ] Vegetarian Catering for other diets * Dairy-free recipes * Egg-free recipes * Gluten-free recipes * Healthy recipes * Nut-free recipes * Pregnancy-friendly recipes * Shellfish-free recipes * Vegan recipes Also on the BBC * BBC Food: Is it time to change the way we eat meat? Elsewhere on the web * Vegetarian Society Explore the BBC * News * News * Sport * Weather * Shop * Earth * Travel * Capital * iPlayer * Culture * Autos * Future * TV * Radio * CBBC * CBeebies * Food * iWonder * Bitesize * Travel * Music * Earth * Arts * Make It Digital * Taster * Nature * Local * Terms of Use * About the BBC * Privacy Policy * Cookies * Accessibility Help * Parental Guidance * Contact the BBC * Advertise with us * Ad choices Copyright © 2017 BBC. 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