Practicing Meatless Monday doesn’t mean eliminating your favorite meals. With the right technique and cooking methods, plant-based ingredients can be used to recreate all types of comfort foods. By focusing on flavor and texture, whole grains, beans, tofu, and vegetables can be transformed into classics, like burgers, meatballs, nuggets, lasagnas, chilis, minces, pizzas, and pot pies. Omitting meat and dairy products results in exciting variations that are often lighter and more nutritious than the original recipes.
5 Ways to Make Plant-Based Versions of Comfort Foods
Focus on Texture
Texture plays a major role in the overall satisfaction of a dish. Add breading to vegetables, like cauliflower or zucchini, or plant-based proteins to recreate the crunch of a fried chicken tender or nugget. To mimic the chew of a steak, use “meaty” ingredients like Portobello mushrooms, seitan, or eggplant. If aiming for a consistency similar to ground beef, opt for lentils, plant-based meat crumbles, crumbled tempeh, or a combination of beans and whole grains.
Use Familiar Spices, Sauces, and Seasonings
Many comfort foods are associated with certain spices, seasonings, or flavors. Incorporate ingredients like hot sauce to mimic the taste of Buffalo chicken, or use a tangy steak sauce to capture the essence of a steakhouse. Barbecue sauce is a delicious blend of ingredients and can transform any neutral- tasting protein – seitan, tofu, pre-made veggie burgers, plant-based chicken patties – into something tasty and recognizable. Old Bay, Italian seasoning, hoisin, marinara sauce, or a smoky rub are other ingredients that can add a distinct flavor to foods.
Reinvent the Classics
Meatless Monday is an opportunity to experiment and be creative. In many instances, these takes on the classics can be tastier and more satisfying than the originals. A black bean burger, lentil Bolognese, cauliflower Alfredo sauce, chickpea meatloaf, mushroom stroganoff, tempeh BLT, chicken-fried tofu, cauliflower wings, or veggie lasagna are just a few plant-based takes on iconic dishes.
Pull Inspiration from Global Cuisines
What qualifies as “comfort food” is different for everyone. Pulling from various cultures and cuisines helps maximize the ingredients, flavors, and recipes at one’s disposal. Don’t be afraid to branch out and incorporate unfamiliar seasonings, flavor profiles, and cooking techniques. Look up different recipes and see how those dishes and ingredients can be made using only plant-based foods.
Incorporate Different Cooking Methods
Barbecuing, grilling, smoking, braising, or frying are typically reserved for meat cookery, but these methods can also be applied to vegetables and plant-based proteins. Using them will result in a familiar taste and texture.
