Substitutions to Use in Vegetarian Recipes

Just because you’re cooking vegetarian and leaving meat and meat products out of your menus doesn’t mean you have to get rid of your old recipes. You can use the following lists to adapt nonvegetarian recipes to vegetarian versions.

You may have to experiment a couple of times to find the right substitute for a particular recipe, so have patience!

Look through your recipe files or flag the pages of favorite recipes in your nonvegetarian cookbooks to get started. Mark the changes you’d like to try with a pencil. Erase and make adjustments as needed until you get the recipe to come out just the way you like it. You’ll be surprised to see how easy it can be to create great-tasting vegetarian foods out of traditional nonvegetarian recipes.

Substitutes for One Whole Egg

In baked goods:	In burgers, loaves, and casseroles:
1/2 small ripe banana, mashed	2 or 3 tablespoons quick-cooking rolled oats or cooked oatmeal
1/4 cup applesauce, canned pumpkin or squash, or pureed prunes	2 or 3 tablespoons mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, or instant potato flakes
1/4 cup tofu blended with the liquid ingredients in the recipe	2 or 3 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs, cracker meal, or matzo meal
1 1/2 teaspoons commercial egg replacer, such as Ener-G brand, mixed with 2 tablespoons water	2 or 3 tablespoons flour — whole-wheat, unbleached white, or oat
1 heaping tablespoon soy flour or bean flour mixed with 1 tablespoon water	2 or 3 tablespoons arrowroot starch, potato starch, cornstarch, or Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cornstarch beaten with 2 tablespoons water	2 or 3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon finely ground flaxseeds whipped with 1/4 cup water	1/4 cup tofu blended with 1 tablespoon flour

Substitutes for Meat

Textured vegetable protein (TVP) to replace ground meat

Bulgur wheat to replace ground meat

Tofu, tempeh, or seitan

Meatless hotdogs, veggie burger patties, meatless sausages, or bacon alternatives

Beans — rehydrated, canned, or dried flakes

Substitutes for Dairy

Instead of cow’s milk:
Soy, rice, oat, or potato milk or a soy/rice milk blend
Pureed potato with vegetable broth or pureed soft tofu in cream soups
Instead of dairy cheese:
Soy- or nut-based cheese alternatives
Tofu mashed with a few teaspoons of lemon juice to replace ricotta cheese or cottage cheese in recipes for lasagne and stuffed shells

You can use soy yogurt (plain or flavored) instead of dairy yogurt and sour cream, and soy margarine or vegetable oil instead of butter.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/substitutions-to-use-in-vegetarian-recipes.html