Vegetarian cuisine

Common vegetarian foods

• Cereals/grains: barley, buckwheat, corn, fonio, hempseed, maize, millet, oats, quinoa, rice, rye, sorghum, triticale, wheat; derived products such as flour.
• Vegetables ; derived products such as vegetable sauces like chili sauce and vegetable oils.
• Edible fungi. Edible fungi include some mushrooms and cultured microfungi which can be involved in fermentation of food such as Aspergillus oryzae and Fusarium venenatum, although fungi is rarely considered non-vegetarian due to it not being a plant.
• Fruit ; derived products such as jam and marmalade.
• Legumes: beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, peanuts; derived products such as peanut butter.
• Tree nuts and seeds; derived products such as nut butter.
• Herbs, spices and wild greens such as dandelion, sorrel or nettle.
• Meat analogues, which mimic the taste, texture, and appearance of meat and are often used in recipes that traditionally contained meat.
• Other foods such as seaweed-derived products such as agar, which has the same function as animal-bone-derived gelatin.
• Beverages such as beer, coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, tea or wine—although some beers and wines may have elements of animal products as fining agents including fish bladders, egg whites, gelatin and skim milk.

• Dairy products, milk, yogurt –eaten by lacto-ovo vegetarians and lacto vegetarians.
• Eggs – eaten by lacto-ovo vegetarians and ovo-vegetarians
• Honey

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Avocados
• Non-fried potatoes
• Whole grains
• Legumes
• Soy foods
• Nuts
• Seeds

• Dairy products
• Eggs
• Refined grains
• Added fats
• Sweets
• Snacks
• Non-water beverages

Traditional vegetarian cuisine

• Traditionally, Brahmin cuisines in most parts of India, except Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and West Bengal, are strictly vegetarian. Onion and garlic is not eaten in a strict sattvic and lacto vegetarian diet.
• Gujarati cuisine and Rajasthani cuisine from the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan are predominantly vegetarian.
• Many bean, pasta, potato, rice, and bulgur/couscous dishes, stews, soups and stir-fries.
• Cereals and oatmeal, granola bars, etc.
• Fresh fruit and most salads
• Potato salad, baba ganoush, pita-wraps or burrito -wraps, vegetable pilafs, baked potatoes or fried potato-skins with various toppings, corn on the cob, smoothies
• Many sandwiches, such as cheese on toast, and cold sandwiches including roasted eggplant, mushrooms, bell peppers, cheeses, avocado and other sandwich ingredients
• Numerous side dishes, such as mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, some bread stuffing, seasoned rice, and macaroni and cheese.
• Classical Buddhist cuisine in Asia served at temples and restaurants with a green sign indicating vegetarian food only near temples. Onion and garlic is not eaten in a strict Buddhist diet.

National cuisines

• Chinese dishes based on the main ingredients being mushroom, noodles, eggplant, string beans, broccoli, rice, tofu, most tong sui or mixed vegetables.
• Georgian cuisine contains some vegetarian dishes. Lobio, lobiani, ajapsandali, mchadi, pkhali and khinkali with mushroom filling are all examples of Georgian dishes that are vegetarian. Eggplant is used to make vegetarian dishes such as nigvzinai badrijani, badrijnis borani, badrijnis khizilala and badrijani mtsvanilit.
• Indian cuisine in Asia is replete with vegetarian dishes, many of which can be traced to religious traditions. Gujarati cuisine of India is predominantly vegetarian among other Indian cuisines: Gujarati thali is very famous among Indians. There are many vegetarian Indian foods such as pakora, samosa, khichris, Pulao, raitas, rasam, bengain bharta, chana masala, some kormas, sambar, jalfrezis, saag aloo, subjis such as bindi subji, gobi subji, Punjabi chole, aloo matar and much South Indian food such as dosas, idlis and vadas. Chapati and other wheat/maida based breads like naan, roti parathas are often stuffed with vegetarian items to make it a satisfying meal. Many Indian dishes also qualify as vegan, though many others use honey or dairy.
• *South Indian foods like sambar, rasam, koottu, karembadu, upma, palya or taalimpu, kozhambu or koora, aviyal, olan, Kadala curry, Theeyal, pulihora or puliyogare, Chammandi, Chutney, Chitranna, Bisi Bele Bath, and breads like Appam, Puttu, pathiri, dosa, idli and vada.
• In Indonesia, vegetarianism is well served and represented, as there are plenty selection of vegetarian dishes and meat substitutes. Dishes such as gado-gado, karedok, ketoprak, pecel, urap, rujak and asinan are vegetarian. However, for dishes that use peanut sauce, such as gado-gado, karedok or ketoprak, might contain small amount of shrimp paste for flavor. Served solely, gudeg can be considered a vegetarian food, since it consists of unripe jackfruit and coconut milk. Fermented soy products, such as tempeh, tofu and oncom are prevalent as meat substitutes, as the source of protein. Most of Indonesians do not practice strict vegetarianism and only consume vegetables or vegetarian dishes for their taste, preference, economic and health reasons. Nevertheless, there are small numbers of Indonesian Buddhists who practice vegetarianism for religious reason.
• Japanese foods such as castella, dorayaki, edamame, name kojiru, mochi, taiyaki, tempura, vegetable sushi and wagashi. Miso soup is made from fermented white or red soy bean paste, garnished with scallions or seaweed. Although most traditional versions are made from fish stock, it can be made with vegetable stock as well.
• Korean cuisine has some dishes that are often vegetarian. One example is bibimbap, which is rice with mixed vegetables. Sometimes this dish contains beef or other non-vegetarian ingredients. Another Korean food which is sometimes vegetarian is jeon, in which ingredients are coated in a flour and egg batter and then pan-fried in oil.
• Cuisine of the Mediterranean such as tumbet and many polentas and tapas dishes.
• Mexican foods such as salsa and guacamole with chips, rice and bean burritos, huevos rancheros, veggie burrito, many quesadillas, bean tacos, some chilaquiles and bean-pies, chili sin carne, black beans with rice, some chiles rellenos, cheese enchiladas and vegetable fajitas.
• Italian foods such as most pastas, many pizzas, bruschetta, caponata, crostini, eggplant parmigiana, Polenta and many risottos.
• Continental cuisine such as braised leeks with olives and parsley, ratatouille, many quiches, sauteed Brussels sprouts with mushrooms, sauteed Swiss chard, squash and vegetable-stuffed mushrooms.
• In Germany, Frankfurt green sauce, Klöße with vegetarian sauces, cheese or vegetable stuffed Maultaschen, combinations of quark, spinach, potatoes and herbs provide some traditional vegetarian summer dishes. Traditionally on Fridays, southern Germany broad variety of sweet dishes may be served as a main course, such as Germknödel and Dampfnudel. Potato soup and plum cake are traditional Friday dishes in the Palatinate. Brenntar in Swabia, it is made of roasted flour, usually spelt flour or oat flour.
• Many Greek and Balkan dishes, such as briam, dolmas, fasolada, gemista, vegetable based moussaka and spanakopita.
• Russian cuisine developed a significant vegetarian tradition in czarist time, based on the example of Leo Tolstoy. The orthodox tradition of separating meat and vegetables and as well between specific meals for fasting and other holidays contributed to a rich variety of vegetarian dishes in Russia and Slavic countries, such as soups, pirogi, blini, vareniki, kasha, buckwheat, fermented and pickled vegetables, etc.
• Many Ethiopian dishes such as injeera or Ethiopian vegetable sauces or chillies.
• Mideastern food such as falafel, hummus, tahini, minted-yogurts, and couscous.
• * Egyptian cuisine in particular is rich in vegetarian foods. For reasons ranging from economics to the religious practices of the Coptic Orthodox Church, most Egyptian dishes rely on beans and vegetables: the national dishes, kushari and ful medames, are entirely vegetarian, as are usually the assorted vegetable casseroles that characterize the typical Egyptian meal.
• Many dishes in Thai cuisine can be made vegetarian if the main protein element is substituted by a vegetarian alternative such as tofu. This includes dishes such as phat khi mao and, if a vegetarian shrimp paste and fish sauce substitute is used, many Thai curries. Venues serving vegetarian Buddhist cuisine can be found all over Thailand.
• Creole and Southern foods such as hush puppies, okra patties, rice and beans, or sauteed kale or collards, if not cooked with the traditional pork fat or meat stock.
• Some Welsh recipes, including Glamorgan sausages, laverbread and Welsh rarebit.

Desserts and sweets

Commercial products

Health research