What to eat for dinner: meatless recipes in the spotlight

Every week, the eternal question is: What’s for dinner? By inviting meatless recipes into our kitchens, we could have more quick and tasty dinner ideas for the whole family while reducing meat consumption.

Even if it’s sometimes hard to resist the alluring scent and taste of grilled meats, there are many advantages to eating less of it. We invite you to discover them and these 5 meatless main meal ideas to help you answer the age-old “What’s for dinner” question 😊.

3 benefits of eating less meat

1. Save on your grocery bill

In recent years, food prices have been rising steadily. To lower your grocery bill, prioritize seasonal fruits and vegetables, which are often cheaper. In your weekly recipes, you can alternate between vegetables and animal proteins. Plant proteins such as tofu, tempeh and leguminous plants are often less expensive than animal protein. Textured vegetable protein (TVP) is also an excellent alternative to meat and is very affordable in bulk food stores. For example, you can replace half the meat with TVP in your homemade spaghetti sauce for a more economical recipe.

2. Reduce your environmental impact

Every protein, whether plant or animal, impacts the environment in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But it’s no secret that meat has a much larger carbon footprint than plant proteins. For example, beef production emits around:

10 times more GHG than tofu;
4 times more GHG than poultry;
2 times more GHG than pork.

You can reduce your GHG impact on the environment by limiting your meat consumption (without eliminating it entirely from your diet) and varying protein sources. Discover more recipe ideas using different proteins, including classic, vegetarian or vegan holiday recipes!

3. Take care of your health

Eating red meat (beef, pork, lamb, veal, goat) and processed meats (such as cold cuts) increases the risk of cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends limiting red meat consumption to 3 servings per week, or the equivalent of 3 oz (85 g) per serving. Try one of our chicken, pork, beef, fish, tofu, tempeh, or leguminous plant recipes to incorporate less red meat in your weekday recipes and try switching up your protein occasionally 😊.

Heart‑shaped dish filled with fruit and vegetables maintain good health

5 meatless recipes for dinner

Chickpea soup with leeks

Leguminous plants like chick peas are perfect for cooking excellent, cheap meatless meals. If you’re looking for diner ideas, our chick pea leek soup could definitely be one of them! Chick peas add texture to this tomatoey soup, and we love the salty touch that parmesan shavings add as a garnish 🧀.

See recipe

Meatless recipe: soup‑meal made with chick peas, carrots, garlic, tomatoes and rice vermicelli — Meal soup made with chickpeas, carrots, garlic, tomatoes and rice vermicelli

Green BBQ pizza with asparagus, ricotta, and leeks

Our contributor, Sara Girard, is a meatless and vegan recipe pro, and her green BBQ pizza with asparagus, leeks and ricotta is fabulous! Imagine making it in less than 30 minutes with sliced, washed and ready‑to‑cook Quebec asparagus and leeks from our Les Cultures de chez nous farm. A guaranteed, tasty success 😊.

See recipe

Meatless pizza cooked on the BBQ with green vegetables topping — Meatless BBQ pizza with greens (leeks, asparagus, peas and arugula)

Tempeh Buddha bowl with sweet and sour sauce

Ah… tempeh! This soy‑based protein is often misunderstood and sometimes disliked by many. But don’t be misled 😉. This sweet, sour, salty and slightly spicy sauce elevates the taste of tempeh in this sublime Buddha bowl, straight out of Serge’s recipe travel diary. After sampling this tempeh recipe, you’ll want to explore this protein’s possibilities even more with other meatless tempeh recipes 😊.

See recipe

Bowl of tempeh with rice, leeks, red cabbage, carrots, avocado, cucumber and sweet‑and‑sour sauce — Tempeh bowl with rice, leeks, red cabbage, carrots, avocado, cucumber and sweet and sour sauce

Macaroni and cheese with leeks or caramelized onions

For quick and inexpensive meatless recipes for a family dinner, you can’t beat mac and cheese. Our preference, of course, is to use caramelized leeks instead of onions, but we’re a bit biased 😉. We love this recipe for the panko breadcrumbs for their crunchy texture that’s pleasant to bite into, the sweet touch of honey of the caramelized leeks, and the savoury au gratin cheese, of course! This less‑than‑30‑minute meatless meal will surely please everyone around the dinner table. It’ll leave you more time to enjoy good company 😊.

See recipe

Meatless meal of macaroni and cheese with honey‑caramelized leeks — Macaroni and cheese dish with honey‑caramelized leeks

Leek, ginger and cheese pie

Let’s face it: a pie made with phyllo dough is a great idea for a quick‑to‑cook family supper 😊. The eggs, toasted pine nuts, and cheese will be good protein sources! For a well-accompanied meatless meal, we recommend making a Mexican‑style rice salad on the side, which will be even more satisfying, thanks to an unsung hero: the black beans.

See recipe

Leek pie with ginger and cheese made on phyllo dough — Leek pie with ginger and cheese made on phyllo pastry

More meatless dinner ideas

To each his own, but eating less meat can help you save money at the grocery store, reduce the environmental impact of what you eat and help maintain good health. The idea is not to stop eating meat altogether but to eat less of it and vary our diet. Whether you opt for meatless recipes or recipes that include meat, it’s always possible to adapt them to your taste and what’s handy in the fridge. With over 1,000 leeks, asparagus, squash and berry recipes, there’s something for everyone 😊.

And if you’re still looking for something to eat for dinner and want to explore meatless recipes, we’ve got several articles for you grouping recipes with soy‑based products, 100% vegan dessert recipes or vegan hot dog recipes. So, there really is something for all tastes!