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In my post yesterday, 5 Ways to Afford Real Food on a Meager Budget, I talked about how we ate less meat but still had high-quality meals. In this post, I share a few of our favorite meat-free meals.

Creamed Onions

Creamed Onions with Thyme and Sage

This is a dish that we love and I don’t make near often enough. The original recipe is from Food & Wine. I change it slightly work better for us.

Creamed Onions with Thyme and Sage

Millie Copper
A wonderful creamy combination. Serve over new potatoes, mashed potatoes, spaghetti squash, or rice for a satisfying main dish.
Course Main Course

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 large onions cut in 1 inch dice
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup broth *
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Additional sea salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Melt butter in a large pot.
  • Add the onions and cook over very low heat until they are soft and slightly caramelized (about half an hour) stirring occasionally.
  • Add seasonings, stir and cook for a minute or two.
  • Add the broth and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat and add the cream.
  • Stir well.
  • Add additional sea salt to taste.
Keyword creamed onions, nourishing meat free main dish

 

Coconut Soup

Coconut Soup

This is a soup I discovered in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.  It is super easy and tasty. It is a thin soup, so I usually serve it in mugs alongside a salad or a savory custard.

This soup has a small amount of spice. The original recipe called for using dried pepper flakes. The first time I made this soup, we didn’t have any pepper flakes, so I used a whole hot pepper and removed it at serving time.  That worked well. One day when I was cutting hot peppers for cortido, I wondered if I could use the top of the pepper instead of throwing it in the trash in this soup. So I stashed my pepper tops in the freezer and pulled one out the next time I made Coconut Soup. It worked perfectly!

Coconut Soup

Millie Copper
This is a soup I discovered in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It is a super easy and tasty. A thin soup, so I usually serve it in mugs alongside a salad or a savory custard. See the recipe notes for a heartier version.
Course Soup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 quart broth
  • 1 can whole coconut milk
  • Pinch dried chile flakes OR a whole hot pepper, or the top of a hot pepper; add additional if you'd like it hotter.
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger fresh is best or 1/3 teaspoon powdered ground ginger
  • sea salt
  • 3 tablespoon lemon juice about 1 fresh lemon

Instructions
 

  • Boil broth.
  • Add remaining ingredients.
  • Simmer for 15 minutes.

Notes

Variation

Add veggies for a heartier soup to eat with a spoon;
Saute 2 or 3 peeled and sliced carrots, 1 small chopped onion, and around 1 cup sliced mushrooms in  2 tablespoons butter until soft.
Proceed with recipe as above.
Keyword coconut soup

 

Eggs

Savory Custard

This yummy main dish custard was inspired by Nourished Kitchen. A couple of years ago, she did a Food Stamp Challenge. Low-Cost Acorn Custard was on her menu plan (click here and scroll down until you find the recipe). I use that concept and make savory custards out of just about anything! This is a meal we especially love during the spring when the chickens and ducks start laying well.

Savory Custard

Millie Copper
I use that concept and make savory custards out of just about anything! This is a meal we especially love during the spring when the chickens and ducks start laying well. For more main dish egg ideas, check out my book Design a Dish.
Course Main Course

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tablespoons butter or combo of butter and coconut oil
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1-2 cups veggies cooked*
  • 6 eggs beaten
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions
 

  • Cook onion in oil until soft.
  • Combine cooked onion, veggies, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
  • Put mixture into well buttered casserole dish, baking pan, or cast iron skillet.
  • Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes until eggs are solid.

Notes

*Veggie Notes:
You can make this savory casserole out of just about any vegetable as long as it isn't too wet. I like to use this recipe to use up leftovers that are lurking in the fridge.
The following vegetables are best pureed or mashed; acorn squash, butternut squash, sweet potato, spaghetti squash (I don't puree this one), and carrots.
Chopped and cooked works well for these; broccoli, summer squash, greens (collard, mustard, chard, etc), and cabbage.
Keyword savory custard

 

Red Beans: Rajma Style

Beans

Substituting beans and legumes for meat is very well known.  Beans are also an excellent source of many minerals and B vitamins (read more about beans here).

Almost every week we have a Stretchy Bean of the week.  I’ll ask my husband, “What kind of bean do you want this week?” Then I’ll make a big pot of beans and we’ll turn that into three or four different meals.  I usually cook the beans in bone broth to help with the nutrition.

Sometimes, instead of cooking the beans, I’ll sprout them and use them that way.  Some of our bean-based dishes do have small amounts of meat added to the final dish, but the bulk of them are just the beans cooked in broth.

Check out my 13-week menu plan for lots of ideas, plus these bean recipes that my family loves:

 

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Inside Stretchy Beans: Nutritious, Economical Meals the Easy Way, you’ll discover:

  • How to cook healthy, affordable beans with amazing flavors
  • How to make one pot of beans each week and turn it into 3+ delicious meals the whole family loves—without feeling like you’re eating the same thing every night
  • How to spend less time in the kitchen, while still getting dinner on the table every night
  • Weekly Stretchy Beans meal plans that you can adapt to fit your family
  • And much, much more!

Get your copy of Stretchy Beans here!

 

Please share your favorite meat-free meals in the comments!

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