Main Dishes recipes
Browse our main dishes recipes, with practical cooking times, nutrition details and plant-forward ideas for real life.
PS: We took these recipe photos ourselves — AI only fixed the lighting, not our questionable chopping skills. Details.
Tempeh and Edamame Buddha Bowl with Light Peanut Sauce
Pan-seared tempeh, tender edamame, and cooked quinoa meet crisp carrot, cucumber, and red cabbage. A thinned peanut-lime sauce coats the bowl.
Sweet Potato, Silken Tofu and Quorn Chili Sin Carne
A thick, smoky chili with tender sweet potato, firm Quorn mince and black beans in a spiced tomato sauce. Silken tofu is blended in at the end for a smooth, creamy finish that keeps the chili rich and spoonable.
Red Lentil Fusilli with Silken Tofu Vegetable Sauce
Silken tofu makes a glossy, lemon-bright sauce that clings to red lentil fusilli, while zucchini, carrot, and basil keep it fresh rather than heavy. Most supermarket cream sauces achieve a similar texture with dairy solids, sugar, and an industrial supply chain.
Belgian Chicken Meatballs with Tomato Sauce, Homemade Fries and Applesauce
A Belgian-style plate of crisp double-fried potatoes, tender chicken meatballs in a straight tomato sauce, and unsweetened applesauce for the sweet-sour forkful. Supermarkets have spent decades selling this as three freezer compartments; the fresh version is worth the frying smell.
High-Protein Naan Pizzas with Mozzarella, White beans
Crisp-edged naan replaces the usual dough marathon, while white beans tucked into the tomato layer make these pizzas properly filling. Mozzarella still delivers the browned, stretchy finish.
Paneer, Black Bean & Sweetcorn Quesadillas with Sautéed Vegetables
These crisp whole-wheat quesadillas hide a properly substantial filling: browned paneer, creamy black beans, sweetcorn, red pepper, zucchini and onion, all warmed with cumin and smoked paprika. The beans bring fibre and plant protein; paneer supplies a modest dairy hit and the satisfying browned edges that prevent anyone asking where the “real food” is. Using beans and vegetables as the bulk keeps the footprint far lighter than the standard cheese-and-meat construction—a small victory against the food system’s belief that every tortilla requires a livestock intervention.
High-Protein Spinach Mushroom Quiche with Whole Wheat Yogurt Crust
This quiche keeps the flaky promise without dragging in half a block of butter like it’s still 1987. The crust is a simple whole wheat yogurt dough, so you get something tender and crisp enough to hold a generous filling of spinach, mushrooms, eggs, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt. It bakes up light but properly savory, with that quiet nutmeg-and-garlic smell that makes the kitchen wonderful. Good for a family lunch, make-ahead slices, or a quick snack for a world cup match.
Creamy Red Lentil Pasta with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes and Cottage Cheese
This is the kind of high-protein pasta that I really like, it's good & you don't need to spend the entire afternoon in the kitchen. Red lentil pasta brings substance, cottage cheese melts into a light creamy coating, and the cherry tomatoes slump into a sweet, sharp sauce that catches in the folds of the pasta. Spinach disappears in at the end, which is convenient for anyone trying to eat more greens without noticing it. You get protein from both legumes and dairy, plenty of fiber, and a much lighter footprint than the usual gym-era cream-and-meat routine.
High-Protein Vegetarian Lentil Bolognese with Homemade Tomato, Carrot & Celery Sauce
This is the sort of bolognese you make when you want the deep, slow-cooked mood of the classic, but not the environmental baggage. Lentils bring the protein, mushrooms add savory weight, and the carrot-celery-onion base melts into a thick tomato sauce with just enough cocoa powder to make people pause, then go back for more. It tastes rich, slightly sweet, properly savory, and very much like actual bolognese if you skip the fact that we are missing really hard the meat :'(
Ground Chicken Chili con Carne
A lighter take on chili con carne that still tastes like it spent the afternoon getting its life together. Ground chicken keeps it lean, kidney beans bring heft and fiber, and the tomato, cumin, paprika, and oregano build that deep, warm finish you want from a proper bowl of chili.
High-Protein Lentil, Tomato and Spinach Stew
This is the kind of stew that earns its place on repeat: thick enough to feel like dinner, bright enough not to taste like regret. Cooked lentils bring the protein, carrots and celery build sweetness, spinach folds in at the end, and a little lemon keeps the whole pot awake. It is cheap, practical, and deeply satisfying — which is inconvenient for the processed food industry, but we all need to make sacrifices.
Breaded Chicken with Chickpea-Lentil Pasta and Creamy Butternut Carrot Sauce
This plate does two jobs at once: crispy breaded chicken for the part of the family that wants something familiar, and a silky oat-cream sauce built from butternut, carrots, onion, and garlic so dinner still remembers vegetables exist. The chickpea-lentil pasta brings extra protein and fiber. It’s cozy, practical, and a little more plant-forward than classic cream pasta without pretending to be a saint.