Vegetarianism is on everyone’s lips and all over the media these days. You probably even have friends or family who have recently converted to a vegetarian or vegan diet. Want to try a more plant-based diet, too, or reduce your meat consumption? To change it up from tofu and chickpeas, here are five lesser-known foods to always have on hand to vary your veggie menu.

1. Creamy soy

So, you’ve decided to eliminate dairy products from your diet, but miss Alfredo pasta? No need to give it up! You can easily replace the cream in many dishes with a creamy soy-based product. Its thickness is close to that of 15% cream, which gives a rich texture to whatever you’re making. Incorporate it into soups and sauces or, for a dinner that will be ready in 30 minutes, try it in a recipe for quinotto, a slightly creamy quinoa risotto. Creamy soy can also be used in desserts like chocolate pudding, or even fudge.

2. Cashew nuts

Everyone knows about cashews. So why do they end up in this list? Because in vegetarian cuisine, they can easily turn into a spread or even a faux cheese. Rich in protein, cashews, after soaking in water for just a few minutes, can be easily crushed in the blender to form a creamy paste. Add lemon juice, nutritional yeast, spices of your choice and spread it in sandwiches or burgers. There are also many commercial brand faux cheeses made from cashew nuts at the grocery store.

3. Textured vegetable protein

This product is often called by its acronym: TVP. Made from dehydrated soybeans mixed with soybean flour that is then dried and crushed into pieces of different sizes, TVP can replace minced meat in classic recipes like spaghetti sauce, quesadillas, chili or macaroni. First you need to rehydrate the TVP by boiling it in water for about ten minutes before incorporating it into your dish. In a liquid recipe like spaghetti sauce, you can skip this step. TVP has a fairly neutral taste, so give it some love with spices and aromatics to maximize its flavours.

4. Seitan

Overshadowed by tofu, seitan is the vegetable protein that best mimics meat. It is composed mainly of gluten—wheat protein. Gluten flour is kneaded and then rinsed with water to give a rubbery, meat-like texture with a neutral taste. You can buy seitan at the grocery store, where it is often sold pre-seasoned, in the form of sausages, small roasts or strips. You can slice it to include in sandwiches or cut it into cubes for a stir-fry. It’s also possible to make your own seitan with gluten flour to make items like patties for burgers.

5. Nutritional yeast

This is the star condiment of vegetarian cuisine. A yellow and flaky yeast that has a slightly salty taste reminiscent of cheese, nutritional yeast dissolves in liquids and incorporates very well into sauces (think mac and cheese!). You can also sprinkle it on pasta or vegetables, as you would with Parmesan cheese, and it gives a lot of taste to breadcrumbs to coat food.