Vegitarian Recipe... Vegan Guests

Two of my favorite vegan dishes are lentils (cooked with lots of garlic, onions, and paprika) and rice, and quinoa tossed with stir-fried vegetables.

Instead of cheesy potatoes, how about roasted potatoes and vegetables as a side dish? I would do potatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, onions, maybe even add peppers and turnips. Toss with a bit of oil, salt, pepper and dried spices (basil, oregano, rosemary) and bake at 400 degrees for 40 min. If you like baking, I have some very easy bread recipes that are vegan and would be happy to share. You can still make your ham if you want to for the non-vegans.
Possible menu:
relish tray (olives, cut veggies such as radish, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower), Hummus and possibly ranch for dipping
Ham
roasted potatoes and veggies
Tossed salad
freshly baked bread (oat bread or wheat bread would be yummy)
Fruit for dessert (grapes, strawberries and pineapple?)
I don't have any vegan desserts I have made so hopefully someone else can help you out there.

Just remember, Vegans eliminate all animal products from their diets- no eggs, cheese, gelatin, etc. I think chinese and indian dishes are great as well as things like black beans and rice, lentil soup, kale and white bean pasta. For more of a brunch theme, what about a soy yogurt parfait?

I also totally agree with another poster, encourage them to bring a dish to share.

i notice allot of complicated meat substitutes in answers, which is great if you eat the diet everyday and get bored or miss meat. but allot of vegans aren't interested in meat-like things. plus it complicated.
you don't have to make a whole nother entree, just make sure your veggie "side dishes" (remember they are only side dishes in the eyes of people eating ham, lol) don't have butter or chicken broth in them. and that they are not Boring!
and i doubt you were planning boring side dishes anyway! Right!?

I dated a veggie chef for years, and we just enjoyed simple things.

one of our favorites was curried butternut squash.
dice the butternut squash, toss in a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt, curry powder, paprika, and maybe a little cyan pepper. roast in oven till tender. Mmmm...

also Quinoa is great! you cook it like rice and can use it instead of rice or pasta. it's very pretty, comes in white red and black. works hot or cold, like in a pasta salad, and it is an excellent source of protein! - try cooking it in vegatable broth instead of water.

coconut "milk" is also a good staple. try using it in place of cream for a sauce! YUM!!!

and Horseradish is a great alternative to cheese to spice up mashed potatoes!!

You love to cook, so just be creative!!!
I'm sure if you just play around with spicing up some simple vegetable dishes like squash, eggplant, sweet potato, ect between now and Easter you will come up with things that not only your vegan friends will enjoy, but the rest of your guests as well! you might even end up with some new staples in your own household routine!

Hi Lucky,
Vegetarian is easier than vegan since vegan is no animal by products. I do vegetarian meals for my son and I about once a week - lasagna, baked macaroni - but they include cheese. So I would go with a veggie stir fry with a brown rice or quiona - use olive or sesame oil, and lots of fresh herbs.

Also, I think it would be fine to ask them to bring a dish to share. In my family we all being something to the holiday meal. :)

God Bless

2 ALTERNATIVES WE REGULARLY USE BELOW:

I found this on-line but have made it and it was AWESOME (my daughter is milk, egg, peanut, fish allergic):

Dairy-Free Vegan Lasagna:

This lasagna recipe is quick to make and easy to prepare in advance. For a quick weeknight meal, the lasagna can be prepared through step 3, frozen and baked another day, as it will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month. (If you decide to do this, just be sure to let your lasagna return to room temperature before baking.)

This dairy-free ricotta is easy and healthy to make, and it adds just the right amount of texture to the casserole.

Makes one 9" x 13" lasagna

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutesIngredients:
•¼ cup flour
•1/3 cup nutritional yeast
•1 t. salt
•2 cups almond milk or other non-dairy milk alternative
•1 ½ t. cider vinegar
•1 ½ t. olive oil (optional, but I prefer it!)
•2 cups warm pasta sauce, either store-bought or homemade
•1 9-ounce package no-boil lasagna noodles
•1 Recipe Dairy-free Ricotta Cheese
Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Make the cheese sauce. Combine the flour, nutritional yeast and salt in a small saucepan off-heat. Add ¼ cup of the almond milk, stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture is well combined. Add the remaining almond milk, vinegar and oil, stirring until smooth. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.

3. Assemble the lasagna. Pour about ½ cup of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9” x 13” casserole dish, followed by a layer of noodles, followed by some of the dairy-free ricotta, followed by some of the cheese sauce, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat, alternating the pasta sauce with the cheese sauce, reserving the last ½ cup of cheese sauce to top the lasagna.

4. Bake for 40 minutes, or until lasagna is golden brown. Serve warm.

For the Dairy Free Ricotta Recipe:

Healthy and light, this ricotta cheese substitution is great for pasta dishes like lasagna, manicotti and ravioli, and it also works well in vegetable bakes and casseroles. This is also refreshing as a cool and creamy addition to a fresh salad. While most recipes with tofu call for you to drain it, you do not need to do so for this recipe; just open the box!

For strict vegans who do not consume honey, using agave nectar works as well

Makes 2 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutesIngredients:
•2 12-oz. blocks Extra Firm Silken Tofu,
•1 t. honey or agave nectar
•2 t. apple cider vinegar
•2 t. salt, plus more to taste
Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, mash the tofu with a fork or crumble with your hands. Mix in the remaining ingredients until well combined. Ricotta will keep for 3 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

OR A SECOND CHOICE:

Roasted Vegetables & Cous Cous

Cut up veggies like eggplant, onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, zuchinni and squash into 1.5 inch cubes -- put in baggies with olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary and a few cloves of garlic to toss; Roast on parchment paper in the oven on 425 degrees until tender.

To prepare cous cous, buy vegetable broth and prepare the cous cous as directed with the broth instead of with water and toss with a little sea salt at the end. Serve the vegetables over the cous cous -- it is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS, so easy, quick to make, and makes a MEAL! We make 2 or 3 pans of roasted vegetables at a time and a huge pot of cous cous for left overs.

I do not have a recepie but PLEASE, please understand that you may be better off bringing something in from a Vegan place ... your food is "contaminated" in the eyes of many vegans ... there is too much of an opportunity for cross contamination of food and they may not be willing to eat it. It is kind of like making food for my jewish friends who eat Kosher ... I simply order in for them so they can eat w/out me having to freak out about the details of Kosher cooking.

Quinoa is a great option for vegans, being the best non-animal complete protein source. Here's my fave recipe: cook the quinoa in a combination of orange juice and veggie broth in place of the water (to add extra flavor). Toss with chick peas, roasted red pepper, and kalamata olives. Then make a sauce: cilantro, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and a bit of cayenne (more if you like very spicy) in the food processor until smooth. Toss it all together, and, if you want, top with some nuts for extra crunch. Very yummy and filling, totally vegan. Goes great with any regular veggie side (broccoli, green beans, whatever--just remember not to put any butter on them!!) It's adapted from the July 2009 issue of Cooking Light magazine, if you want to look up the original.

vegan lentil meat balls:
(if you are making a Ham, this could be the alternate entre and your other side dishes will go nicely with it- salads, potato, rolls, ...... (I don't eat ham, so when I go to my familie's easter and christmas meals I bring my own vegetarian meat balls because the side dishes go great with it). I second someone elses request that you invite them to bring a dish, making alternate vegan sides dishes in addition to alternate entre is a little much)

The mixture can be made up to 1 day in advance and then formed into balls and cooked.

Serves 4-6

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutesIngredients:
•2 cups red lentils, rinsed
•3 cups vegetable stock
•½ cup finely chopped onions
•2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
•1 T. olive oil, plus more for cooking
•8 oz. crimini or button mushrooms, sliced
•1 t. dried thyme
•1 cup nutritional yeast
•1 cup finely ground flax seeds (also known as flax meal)
•About ¼ cup gluten free flour, such as sorghum or rice flour, more if needed
•Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
1. In a medium-large pot, combined the lentils, vegetable stock, onions and garlic and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, and let the lentils simmer, covered, for about 20-25 minutes, or until very soft. Remove from heat and mash well with a potato masher or fork.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and thyme and sautee until the mushrooms are very soft, about 4-6 minutes.

3. In a food processor or blender, combine half of the lentil mixture with the mushrooms, ground flax seeds and nutritional yeast and process until smooth. Add the processed mixture to the remaining lentil mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Gradually stir in the sorghum flour or rice flour, 1 T. at a time, until the mixture holds together. Allow the mixture to reach room temperature before forming into balls.

4. Cook the lentil balls. Heat a small amount of oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lentil balls to the hot oil, cooking only as many at a time as will fit without touching one another. Cook, flipping the lentil balls to brown them on all sides, until they’re golden brown, about 4 minutes. Repeat until all of the lentil balls are cooked. Toss with a warm pasta sauce like this Dairy-Free Tomato Vodka Sauce and cooked pasta, enjoy them in a sandwich, or eat as they are!

I just made an AWESOME veggie lasanga!! (Even my fiance liked it, and he likes his MEAT!!) PM me if you'd like the recipe, it was pretty easy, and soooo good... the kids loved it too!!

i was going to wait for you to message me if you wanted this, but it's too good not to share ;) the only thing i did different, because i hate mushrooms, i substituted them for a can of unmarinated artichoke hearts :) i also sprinkled some seasoned salt in, and a little crushed red pepper to give it some pop!

prep time: 40min
start to finish 2 hours
serves 8

1 TBSP olive oil
4 med. green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
2 med zucchini, shredded (about 3 cups)
2 med carrots, shredded (about 1 cup)
1 med sweet potato, peeled and shredded (1cup)
1 (8oz) package fresh mushrooms (about 3 cups)
2 gloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup shredded swiss
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves (i think i forgot to add these, LOL)
1 (16oz) jar alfredo (4 cheese is my fav)
1 egg
(15oz) light ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cup water
9 uncooked lasanga noodles
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1- heat oven to 350. spray 13x9 inch (3 quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray

2- in 12 inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. cook onions, zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, mushrooms, and garlic in oil 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occassionally, until shrooms are tender. drain excess liquid.

3-in medium bowl, beat egg. stir in ricotta, swiss, parm, and basil. in separate bowl, mix alfredo and water.

4- arrange 3 uncooked noodles in bottom of baking dish. top with 1/3 of sauce mixture (about 1 cup), 1/2 ricotta mix, and 1/2 veggie mix. repeat layers once. top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining sauce mix. sprinkle with mozz. cover tightly with foil.

5- bake 1 hour, 10 minutes or until bubbly around the edges. sprinkle with parsley. let stand 10 min. before serving.

ANOTHER SIDE NOTE, it was a little runny, maybe only use 1 cup of water instead of 1 1/2 :)

Im a vegetarian who knows and cooked for vegans.First ill say that vegan and vegetarian are VERY different. You can find vegan or vegetarian versions of whatever meat you were going to use "meat wise". Ive tried very tasty fake hams in vegetarian and vegan varieties.

vegetarian- no meat, or by products that require the death of an animal(meat, stocks, gelatin, rennet)
vegan -no animal products at all, (including egg, cheese, butter.....even honey)

a vegan meal will absolutely be ok for a vegetarian, but a simply vegetarian meal will not do at all for a practicing vegan.

i would suggest for a vegetarian dinner party, a vegetable lasagna with salad and garlic bread (cant really go wrong with italian food ive noticed)

for a vegan meal this is a little trickier, you could impress them by finding a pizza crust that does not contain egg, or "l cysteine"(which is often derived from chicken feathers or human hair) put a nice meatless/cheeseless sauce on it, some black olives, spinache and sliced potatos really thin with a mandolin slicer......cook it without cheese of course, or with a vegan cheese, but vegans are very used to pizza without cheese (its actually pretty good), serve with salad.....you can make the dressing yourself with jelly/vinegar/oil and hot sauce

If they are in fact vegans and not vegetarians you may want to see if they are "jayne" which is a type of vegan that doesnt eat garlic or onion either. In which case you will have to hand make the sauce as well, tomato paste, water, italian seasoning,sugar, salt and chopped fresh tomatos will work nicely.

I doubt that jayne vegans would go to a dinner party at a meat eating house, they are so particular.

agree with K R - keep it simple - most pastas are vegan - just look out for eggs. You could make a nice veggie or marinara sauce - or even a cold pasta salad with a really lovely salad.

I love vegan taco salad... morningstar soy crumbles made like ground beef with a taco packet, with fresh lettuce, tomato, avocado, black beans, etc... you can use a "fake" cheese and sour cream if you like also... and add things like corn, bell pepper etc. Also you can't go wrong with a grilled portabello/roasted red pepper sandwich or a grilled romaine salad (you just put a little olive oil and salt on a piece of romaine cut vertically and slap it on the bbq for a few mins until the edges are wilted and very slightly charred)... serve with a light vinegrette and some hearts of palm and cherry tomatoes.

In addition to whatever others suggest, I would invite them to bring a dish to share. I know that there are those who think that this is rude, but if they are close enough to you that they are coming for Easter, I don't think it's inappropriate to call and ask them to bring something to share. I have a niece who was a vegetarian for a period of time and it was always very helpful when she brought something to share- plus it kind of changed the way my husband viewed "veggie" meals. Vegan is a whole different ball game, but it may be enlightening for some guests too!

I'm veg, and this is a recipe that can be entree or side dish-- I serve it with sausages or salmon when I host. I've cut and pasted it from an old email I'd sent out.

Oven-Roasted Veggies with Kalamata Olives and Mandarin Oranges

This "recipe" is merely a blueprint...I rarely cook with actual recipes, more the ideas for flavors. Therefore, you can play with quantities and ingredients all you like. The oranges bring out the sweetness of the carrots, red and sweet potato. The olives add a savory complement to the meatiness of the mushrooms. The below info is merely suggestion--that's what works for me! ~~H.

Ingredients:

~red potatoes, scrubbed (or peeled, only if necessary)
~sweet potatoes, peeled
~carrots, peeled
~red bell peppers, seeds removed
~white or crimini mushrooms
~good olive oil
~one red onion
~red wine vinegar (3 to 4 teaspoons, more if you are feeding an army)
~thyme, small handful of fresh sprigs or 1-2 teas. dried
~basil, about 1/4 cup fresh slivered or 1-2 teas. dried
(if using both herbs, reduce each to 2/3 original suggestion)
~garlic, optional
~at least one 12 oz container of pitted whole Kalamata olives
~at least 1 or 2 12-14oz tins of mandarin oranges

(note: you will want your quantity for this to be around 5-7 cups chopped veggies. If you cook a significantly smaller or larger amount, adjust herbs, olives and oranges in reasonable proportion.)

1. Cut veggies (all potatoes, red pepper, carrots and mushrooms) into bite-sized pieces. Be sure to cut carrots a little smaller; mushrooms and peppers, a little larger. This will help them cook more evenly with the other ingredients.

2. Now, mince up some red onion (vary this quantity as you wish, onions will soften and sweeten delightfully when cooked) place in a smaller bowl. Add thyme and basil. Like garlic? You can try a little bit of it crushed for a stronger flavor or use those smaller cloves whole and peeled as a nice aromatic. --it's all up to your taste! Stir in a little olive oil and red wine vinegar and set aside.

3. Back to the big bowl. Give your veggies a nice drizzling of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and a few good turns with a wooden spoon to coat them up nicely. Now add in the contents of the smaller bowl until they are evenly dispersed among the veggies. Let sit at room temp for an hour or so...marinating isn't necessary, but I like to do it. (Or you can prep this earlier and keep it in the fridge until you need it later that day, if that works better for you.)

4. Preheat your oven to 375.
.
5. Open up olives and at least one tin of oranges. Drain both, then gently fold in with the contents of the big bowl. Transfer all of this into glass baking pan(s) of adequate size. Do not pile higher than the sides of the pan! Better to use another pan if needed.

6. Bake'em up! I like to check on my veggies from time to time, stir them to moisten and keep them tender. (You can use foil toward the end if veggies seem a little dry.) Cook until tender--about 40-55 minutes (or more, if you have mass quantities.) Remove when done..don't overcook.

7. You will notice the cooked mandarins are now mush. For a fancy approach, open up a second can of oranges and either fold into the cooked veggies or use as a garnish. You may want to pick out thyme springs or whole garlic cloves before serving, depending on the elegance of the evening. Dish up! (For non-vegan, I love to serve this with some chevre or feta crumbled on top. Heavenly!)

Added: for a protein, I'd suggest some Tofurkey sausages, which I believe are vegan. (You can double check.) Their brats or sundried tomato varieties are fine. Check package instructions for preparation. (We just microwave them, unless we're already grilling.)