Vegetarians and omnivores (those who eat meat) often eat dinner together. Families may have both meat-eaters and non meat-eaters at the same supper table, or a dinner party may have one or two vegetarian guests. It’s not always possible for everyone to eat the same meal - but cooking two separate dishes can be exhausting.
The solution: cook a base dish and tweak it to either be meaty or vegetarian. Two of these double-duty dishes can be vegan as well.
Tips for Happy Meals
- Use a separate spoon for meat dishes to avoid cross-contamination.
- Check storebought base dish ingredients for meat products like chicken or meat stock, gelatin, and cheese/milk/casein/whey (if cooking for vegans).
- Brush up on hidden sources of non-vegetarian ingredients.
Having a vegetarian over for dinner and need more advice? Read about cooking for vegetarians.
One Dinner, Two Diets: Main Dishes
Chili (vegetarian/vegan)
Hearty chili is a favorite recipe among vegetarians and meat-eaters. Simply cook a base of chili ingredients: sautéed onions, garlic, celery, bell pepper and beans. After adding the spices and simmering for a few minutes, split the chili into two pots.
To one pot, add an extra can of beans or some textured soy protein (TSP). To the other, add browned ground beef. Serve both chili dishes with garlic bread, using vegan margarine instead of butter, if desired.
Use this Hearty Vegetarian Chili Recipe.
Penne with Sausage and Peppers (vegetarian/vegan)
It doesn’t get any easier than pasta with tomato sauce. Add homemade meatless tomato sauce (do not add meat stock/broth to the sauce) or a vegetarian store-brand sauce to a sautéed onion, sliced bell peppers, and a few cloves of garlic. Add herbs to taste. Split the sauce into two pots. To one, add browned Italian sausage and to the other, browned Tofurky brand vegetarian sausage (or follow the full Penne with Faux Sausage and Peppers recipe). For a vegan dish, be sure the sauce is cheese-less and hold the parmesan on top.
Tip: When browning sausage, dirty only a single pot by browning the vegetarian sausage first. Remove to the vegetarian sauce, then brown the meat sausage.
Cheese Fondue (Vegetarian)
This family- and party-friendly dinner can be adapted for vegetarians who eat cheese.
- Vegetable course: cut up plenty of raw or blanched vegetables like baby carrots, broccoli florets, bell peppers, cauliflower, and celery sticks. Add some baguette slices and take turns dipping in gooey cheese fondue.
- Meat course: some families like to fry meat in an oil fondue. Firm or extra-firm tofu fries well, but be sure to have a separate supply of oil to avoid cross-contamination. Oil fondue can be a tasty treat, but some vegetarians will be satisfied with an extra helping of cheese instead!
- Dessert course: chocolate fondue is generally appropriate for vegetarians (but not vegans). Try dipping strawberries, grapes, cherries, pineapple and other fruit into chocolate fondue. Add some graham crackers and marshmallows for the omnivores. Marshmallows contain gelatin, which is not vegetarian-friendly.
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