Cooking vegetarian meals is easy. From main course to dessert, vegetables add colour and flavour to your plate, while legumes provide you with all the protein you need for a well-balanced diet. Here are some practical ingredients to have on hand to help you make various vegetarian recipes you’ll love for the comfort they bring and for their price! Seasonal vegetables and plant-based proteins are always economical.

ADD FALL'S HARVEST TO YOUR MENU

1. FALL SQUASH

Squash is fat free and rich in vitamin A and potassium. Add butternut squash to your grocery list to add comforting, exotic aromas to this season. For a quick Indian dish, try this butternut squash-based dahl. Cut the squash into small dices and sautée it with onions. Next, add garlic, ginger, and spices. Simmer with coconut milk and vegetable broth for approximately 20 minutes. And there you have it: a delicious dahl all ready to go!

For a healthier alternative to pasta (think capellini), try spaghetti squash. Easy to cut and to cook, it’s a must on your weekly fall menu. Cooking tip: for the squash to shred easily, it needs to be cut in half and cooked cut side down, for quite a long time.

2. LOADED POTATOES

Mashed potatoes never go out of style, but there’s another version you can try, with even more vegetables! Add some collards, kohlrabi, celeriac, and garlic to your mashed potatoes for a unique fall celebration.

3. KALE

Kale doesn’t fear the cold. Feel free to leave it in your garden even after the first frost. At breakfast, it can easily be added to a fruity green smoothie. You can also use it to add some green to your sautéed tofu! 

4. BEET

The beet is a powerful antioxidant that is rich in vitamins and minerals. Plus, it adds a beautiful splash of colour to your dish! As a soup, it blends perfectly with apples and cabbage. If you want to add some brightness to your dish, serve beets as a side salad, with a plain yogurt, honey, and dill vinaigrette.

5. LENTILS

Shepherd’s pie is a Quebec food staple. Try our vegetarian version, made with lentils, sweet potatoes, and button mushrooms! This reinvented dish is sure to become the highlight of your fall and winter family dinners!

Chefs agree that the key to a mouth-watering Shepherd’s pie lies in the quality of the mashed potatoes. Take the time to peel and cut the potatoes into 2-cm chunks. Cook at least 15 minutes. And last but not least, add a finely chopped green onion and some lemon zest to your mash to spice up your classic Shepherd’s pie.

6. CHICKPEAS

Chickpeas are good any time of year: fresh and crunchy in a summer salad, or warm and flavoured in a late-fall meal. Now’s the perfect time to discover this legume in a very filling main course dish, like a General Tao stir-fry. Stock up on Sambal oelek this fall. This chili paste will make all the difference in your next stir fry!

From November to March, the sun goes down earlier and so do our energy levels. How about a little caffeine to reenergize? Baked coffee chickpeas cooked in a dark beer broth is, without a doubt, one of the most unique ways to cook this legume. This hearty dish takes about 40 minutes to make, but its comforting effect will last for hours.

7. BEANS

Versatile and rich in proteins, beans add loads of flavour to your fall dinners and snacks. Red bean brownies are an unusual yet delicious treat to take along on your next fall or winter hike, or even a ski outing. With its creamy frosting and nut topping, just one portion will leave you satisfied!

We love Compliments legumes

Compliments offers a wide selection of delicious and nutritious dry and canned legumes at great prices! Choose from green or red lentils, chickpeas, whole yellow peas, split green peas, or even white, dark red, black, Pinto, Lima or Romano beans.

8. VEGEAT: AN ALTERNATIVE FOR MEAT LOVERS

Chili: The most popular red-bean dish. Consider swapping the meat with plant-based ground protein by Vegeat. The meat texture and flavour you know and love are present in this delicious product prepared with great respect for the environment. You can also prepare these meat substitutes in a more traditional way. For instance, a Vegeat-based macaroni recipe will convert even the most avid meat lovers.