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Vegan food · 11 January 2023

5 vegan dinners for meat-eaters: to please family or vegan newbies

“I could never give up meat”… How many times have we heard that? Or said it ourselves?

The foods we are used to can have a very strong emotional bond, even though they’re not always the best for us. Plant-based eating is better for our health and the planet (and of course the animals!), but I can understand having cravings for the foods we used to eat… or feeling challenged by having non-vegan relatives or friends over!

The keys to satisfying vegan dinners for meat-eaters are taste and texture. Meat contains fat, which is one of the things that keeps us coming back for more – this can be emulated with olive oil for instance. It also has a certain bite to it, which can be recreated by combining lentils and walnuts or using jackfruit / mushrooms as an alternative.

Read on for easy vegan dinners for meat-eaters!

5 vegan dinners for meat-eaters:

  • Gnocchi with aubergine + a tomato and lentil sauce
  • Chili with pulled jackfruit
  • Potato and tofu curry
  • Tofu stir fry
  • Sausage and roast vegetables
Vegan dinners for meat eaters

(Note: this blog post contains affiliate links to products I genuinely like. All products are vegan to the best of my knowledge. If you click a button or a link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!)

Gnocchi with aubergine + a tomato and lentil sauce

For each dinner, I’ll offer two options. One is the 100% vegan option and one is the one to use if you’re taking baby steps towards going vegan. The ideas is that over time you can increase the proportion of plant-based ingredients until there’s no meat!

For example, if you’re in the process of transitioning to a vegan diet, maybe you could start adding lentils to your usual bolognese sauce.

100% veganGoing vegan
Recipe here*Add lentils to sauce until they replace beef

* The recipe I linked to is for pasta. You can do whichever you wish of course, but gnocchi do have a nice texture to them, which will be satisfying and filling.

One of the secrets to making this dish feel meaty is to add crushed walnuts in with the lentils.

Since writing this list, I’ve been seeing meaty bolognese videos everywhere, so here’s a couple:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBiicQZSbX4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNhcZJx7Bf4

It’s funny how he says he’s not a fan of celery so he’s leaving it out – I’d leave the onion out!

Chili with pulled jackfruit

100% veganGoing vegan
Chili recipe hereAdd lentils or beans to sauce until they replace beef

The secret to making this meal satisfying for meat-eaters is in the sides. Add some avocado if you have some and some pulled jackfruit on the side. The recipe is for putting it in a sandwich, but you can have it in your bowl / on your plate with your chili:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9K8KAQmBuk

This can also work with shredded mushrooms:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_EW_8RF6Kw

You can enjoy the leftovers (if any!) in a burrito.

Potato and tofu curry

100% veganGoing vegan
Recipe hereAdd tofu to curry until it replaces chicken or whatever you normally have in your curry

Follow the recipe above and either add potato to the curry itself or have the curry with fries (looove it!) for a satisfying meal for meat-eaters and vegans alike.

Tofu stir fry

100% veganGoing vegan
Recipe hereAdd tofu until they replace prawns / chicken

Sausage and roast vegetables

100% veganGoing vegan
Recipe hereAdd vegan sausages until they replace non-vegan sausages

If all else fails, go the vegan meats route! I wouldn’t build my diet round them (just like I wouldn’t build my diet round real meat), but they’re great for adding flavour now and then.

My omnivore partner’s favourites are the Richmond sausages, whereas I like the tofu-based ones (as I’m a tofu addict!).

You could go two ways with this meal:

  • Sausages, potatoes, veg and peas, all separate on the plate, with gravy for example.
  • A tray bake with bits of vegan sausage, potatoes and veg. You could even pick a theme, like Mediterranean and choose the vegetables, herbs and spices to go along with it.

This post was all about vegan dinners for meat-eaters

You may also like:

  • 4 hearty plant-based meals to keep you warm and satisfied
  • A week of tasty plant-based dinners that tick all the nutrition boxes

Posted By: Jessica Goodenough · In: Vegan food

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About Jessica Goodenough

I'm not a regular mum, I'm a vegan mum 😉
Helping you live your best plant-based life 🌱
All welcome - no vegan police here! 💚
Learn more about me here.

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Hi I'm Jessica! Welcome to my blog, where you can find vegan lifestyle inspiration to help you live your best plant-based life!

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I wasn't going to let unflattering angles and the I wasn't going to let unflattering angles and the flu stop me from sharing my first vegan jacket from @willsveganstore! 😅✨

This post isn't sponsored, but feel free to send me free vegan stuff! 😜

If you want to check the aviator jacket, you can find it by following the link in my bio. 😘

If you've read this far, please drop an emoji in the comments if you're more interested in:
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#VeganJacket #FashionDiaries #VeganFashion #SustainableFashionBrand #VeganBlogger
“I could never give up meat”… How many times “I could never give up meat”… How many times have we heard that? Or said it ourselves? 🤔

The foods we are used to can have a very strong emotional bond, even though they’re not always the best for us. Plant-based eating is better for our health and the planet (and of course the animals!), but I can understand having cravings for foods we have enjoyed for a lot of our lives. 😬

In the blog post, for each dinner, I’ll offer two options. One is the 100% vegan option and one is the one to use if you’re taking baby steps towards going vegan. Find them by following the link in my bio! 😘

#AddDontRestrict #ForksOverKnives #VeganFood
🌹 Going into work, energy hacks and food experi 🌹 Going into work, energy hacks and food experiments! 👇

1️⃣ Last week I headed into Oxford to work from "the office", aka @oxfordtownhall and had a nice lunch at my old hangout spot @artcafeoxford

2️⃣ I don't share much of my "job job" haha on here, but it is very rewarding making positive changes (or at least trying to) with @oxfordcitycouncil, like involving teenage girls in designing park equipment or trying to get more trees in the city 🌳🏙️✨

3️⃣ Anyhoo, back to fun vegan stuff - I highly recommend the Art Café if you're in Oxford and fancy something vegan, they have quite a lot of variety. The flapjack was a slice of heaven haha. (This isn't sponsored, but I will accept payment in free flapjacks and juices! 😜)

4️⃣ After a long day, it was lovely to come home to some treats I had ordered earlier:
🍄☕ Adaptogenic coffee from @london.nootropics (if you want to check them out, use code jessicagoodenough at checkout for 15% off)
📆🌷 A beautiful @amberdavenport_uk calendar that's going to serve as our family calendar so that we're on the same page this year! 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦😵‍💫😅

5️⃣ I struggled with energy a bit after a few short nights, so I've been trying a few things to stay energised. One of them is finishing my shower with cold water (okay, let's be real, it was cool water, still working on this haha)... 🥶⚡

6️⃣ ... the other one is getting fresh air after lunch to avoid getting caught up in the post-lunch slump. 👢👢🍃

7️⃣ This weekend I made the feijoada recipe from my new @thehappypear book... It tasted better than it looked haha. In fact I'd say it was the yummiest thing I've made in a while. 😋 Not exactly like the meaty ones I had in Brazil (though that was almost a decade ago) but super good!

#ThatGirlHabits #VeganWoman #Motivation
Most people start their vegan journey with food, b Most people start their vegan journey with food, but quickly we start questioning what our wardrobes and homes are full of… And sometimes it’s not a pretty picture. I never advocate for throwing everything out and going on a crazy shopping spree, but if you are in the market for new vegan furniture, here’s where you can get it! 😊

I’ll be honest, I thought I was being clever while writing this list. I thought I’d check out the list of companies with a @theoriginalvegansociety trademark, pluck out a few furniture ones and tadaa… Job done! 🌱

Well it turns out that none of the companies listed actually sell furniture… so back to good old Google. As much as I love @immaculatevegan to find lots of vegan fashion brands, there isn’t a comparable platform for vegan furniture (should I create it??). 🤔

In any case, here are some cool companies I found who sell vegan furniture in the UK (and further afield too)! ✨

#VeganFurniture #InnovativeDesign #VeganLiving #ConsciousConsumer
✨ Here are the lessons I'm taking into 2023: ✨ ✨ Here are the lessons I'm taking into 2023: ✨

👩🏼‍💻 People want my skills, I'm valuable.
⛱️ We can go on trips and make memories.
💔 People can pass away at any point: say the nice things now and make the time to see them.
🖐🏼 It's worth insisting with medical things as their resolution can bring a lot of relief.
🩸 Stress is real - make sure to prioritise self care.
💳 I'm a savvy businesswoman who takes risks and invests in herself because I know it's working. 😊
🧘🏼‍♀️ I need to pick exercise that suits my goals and lifestyle, not vice-versa.
💻 I showed up last year, I'm showing up more this year. 😊

(This is based on last week's video on what happened in 2022, go check it out and tell me what you've been up to in 2022 / what lessons you're carrying into 2023! 😘)

#2022Lessons #LivingTheGoodenoughLife #TakeADeepBreath #StayInspired #FreshStart
Trying to shop vegan but a bit confused about how Trying to shop vegan but a bit confused about how to read labels (or online descriptions)? 🤔

Vegan clothing materials are made without animal products. These can be plant fibres (cotton, hemp, linen) or plastic materials (polyester, acrylic). 🌱♻️

Clothing materials that aren’t vegan are extracted from the skin (leather), feathers (down), fur, teeth and bones of a wide variety of animals. 💔

How many did you spot? 😘

#VeganClothingMaterials #EcoTextiles #ConsciousClothing #GreenFashion #SustainableStyle
✨ First photo dump of 2023! ✨ Details 👇

1️⃣ Goodbye 2022 with a beautiful decoration from the best marraine @astridjabl 🎈
2️⃣ Starting the year with smoothies after quite a bit of chocolate and vegan cheese over Christmas 😵‍💫
3️⃣ My words for 2023 - tell me yours in the comments! 💖
4️⃣ Experimenting with smoothies: apparently you can add too many beans... Tasted a bit "muddy". 😅
5️⃣ This quarter I'm focusing on improving my wardrobe: more to come on that front soon, but as part of it, I'm trying to document my outfits more 💃🏼
6️⃣ I'm also re-focusing on eating my Daily Dozen (by @nutrition_facts_org) and I'll be re-doing the meal plan I created a while back 🫒🍝
7️⃣ Inspired by @gretchenrubin's #Outside23in23, I've been trying to head out of my home office natural habitat more often (though not every day like she is) 🌳

Back to you: how have you started the year? 😘

#VeganGoodLife #IntentionSetting #VeganBlogger #IntentionalLiving
Where we're at with the kitchen renovation: ✅ T Where we're at with the kitchen renovation:

✅ The cupboards are all in
✅ The beautiful breakfast bar with a waterfall worktop is done (photos soon once we declutter it 😬)
✅ All the worktops are in place
✅ All appliances are in place
✅ The hob backsplash tiles are on the wall (the ones you can see in the video are now grouted)

What's still to happen:
💙 Treating the hob worktop (it's currently covered, under the tiles in the video)
💙 Put hob in
💙 Get lights over breakfast bar working
💙 Purchase bins + the "back" of the breakfast bar (or front if you're looking at it from the living room!)
💙 Finish adding cupboard doors
💙 ... and probably many more things!

The Man (aka @robbeaver 😅) has done the vast majority of the work and managed the whole project... I don't think he's in a rush to take on a big project for such a difficult client again. 😜

#FeelingOfHome #HappyHomeDesigner #KitchenRenovation
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