5 Ways to Treat Vegetables as Meat

updated Jun 8, 2019

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Grilled Chipotle Lime Cauliflower Steak (Image credit: Faith Durand)

Vegetables by themselves are glorious. Steamed, roasted, grilled – when you find your vegetable match, it can be a beautiful thing. But sometimes, you need to step things up a little – you know, get a little more creative with what you’ve got. And sometimes, being creative is as simple as treating your vegetables like you treat your meat.

Whether you’re trying to add more vegetables to your diet, or are just bored and want some ideas, here are five fun ways to treat your veggies like meat.

1. Grilled Cauliflower Steaks

Cauliflower is just plain magical. Instead of throwing beef on the grill, try cutting up cauliflower into “steaks” and smothering it with lots of chipotle and lime before and adding that to the grill.

→ Get the Recipe: Grilled Chipotle Lime Cauliflower Steak from The Kitchn

(Image credit: Green Kitchen Stories)

2. Beet Bourguignon

Traditional beef bourguignon is all about the hearty, cozy flavors of beef, bacon, a few vegetables, brandy, and spices. It’s a beautiful medley that just gets better with age. Want to switch things up? Try this vegetarian version with beets as the star.

→ Get the Recipe: Beet Bourguignon from Green Kitchen Stories

(Image credit: Sobremesa)

3. Mushroom (Meat)Ball Sandwich

Mushrooms have a wonderful texture that kind of resembles tofu. This vegetarian meatball recipe has you combine white beans with mushrooms in a food processor to create a moist dough. This dough is then rolled in spices and bread crumbs before being baked in the oven.

→ Get the Recipe: White Bean and Mushroom “Meatball” Subs from Sobremesa

(Image credit: The Little Things)

4. Carrot Tartare

I first heard about using carrots in place of meat for tartare from Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park. It’s a simple but brilliant idea: Run your carrots through a meat grinder or food processor, then add your egg and a whole bunch of spices.

→ Get the Recipe: Carrot Tartare from The Little Things

(Image credit: Karen Biton-Cohen)

5. Grilled Eggplant Burgers

No need to buy veggie burgers this summer! One of the best ways to prepare eggplant during the summer is on the grill. Eggplant has a meaty texture that makes it an ideal candidate for a simple burger substitute.

→ Get the Recipe: Grilled Eggplant Burgers with Halloui Cheese from The Kitchn

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