Vegetarian Lunches from Around the World
A world of lunches that are naturally vegetarian: 61 authentic dishes, each from a real region with its cultural story and dietary swaps built in. Toggle vegetarian on any other recipe and it rewrites itself to match.
61 recipes · showing 1 to 48
Ta'ameya (Egyptian Falafel)Cairo, Egypt · medium · 1 h 10 minEgypt’s own falafel, made from split fava beans instead of chickpeas, packed with herbs for a vivid green centre and fried to a shattering crisp.
Ta'ameya (Egyptian Falafel) Dholl PuriPort Louis, Mauritius · medium · 1 h 10 minFeather-soft flatbreads with ground split peas hidden in the dough, folded around bean curry and chutney.
Dholl Puri Pasta al Sugo e BerbereAsmara, Eritrea · easy · 45 minSpaghetti tossed in silsi, the Eritrean tomato sauce spiked with berbere, the everyday pasta of Asmara.
Pasta al Sugo e Berbere Arroz de FolhaSão Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe · medium · 1 h 10 minSeasoned rice bloomed in red palm oil, parcelled in banana leaves and steamed until the leaf perfumes the grain, a festive Santomean dish.
Arroz de Folha LoubiaCasablanca-Settat, Morocco · easy · 1 h 45 minWhite beans slow-simmered in a garlicky tomato sauce with cumin and paprika, a humble everyday Moroccan lunch.
Loubia NdambéDakar, Senegal · easy · 1 h 15 minA spiced black-eyed pea stew served in a crusty baguette, Senegal's everyday street breakfast-lunch.
Ndambé Zanzibar UrojoZanzibar, Tanzania · medium · 1 hA tangy turmeric-and-mango broth piled with fritters, potato, and crunchy toppings, Zanzibar's famous mix.
Zanzibar Urojo DikgobeGaborone, Botswana · easy · 2 h 15 minSamp and beans (or sorghum) slow-cooked soft together into a filling one-pot, a staple of the Botswana table.
Dikgobe MadesuKinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 1 h 45 minWhite beans simmered in a savory palm-oil, onion, and tomato sauce, an everyday staple of the DR Congo table.
Madesu Wassa-WassaCotonou, Benin · medium · 55 minSteamed yam-flour couscous tossed with a spiced tomato and onion sauce, a northern Beninese lunch staple.
Wassa-Wassa Gozo with Groundnut SauceBangui, Central African Republic · medium · 50 minSmooth cassava fufu served with a rich, savory peanut sauce, an everyday plate across the Central African Republic.
Gozo with Groundnut Sauce Tsebhi BirsenAsmara, Eritrea · easy · 55 minRed lentils simmered with berbere, onion, and tomato into a warming spiced stew, scooped up with injera.
NyekoeMaseru, Lesotho · easy · 1 h 45 minA filling one-pot of sorghum and beans simmered slow with pumpkin and onion, the warming everyday lunch of the Lesotho highlands.
Nyekoe MkhwaniLilongwe, Malawi · easy · 30 minTender pumpkin leaves simmered with groundnut flour into a creamy green relish, eaten with nsima across Malawi.
Mkhwani Dan WakeNiamey, Niger · medium · 40 minSoft bean-flour dumplings tossed with oil, spice, and onion, a popular Hausa street lunch of Niger.
Dan Wake SidvudvuMbabane, Eswatini · easy · 40 minSweet pumpkin cooked down with maize meal into a smooth, comforting porridge, a traditional Eswatini favorite.
Sidvudvu AseedaJuba, South Sudan · medium · 30 minSouth Sudan's smooth sorghum dough dome, beaten glossy over the fire and eaten by hand from a shared bowl with mullah stew.
Aseeda GitheriNairobi, Kenya · easy · 1 h 45 minBoiled maize and beans finished in a tomato and onion masala, one of the oldest and most dependable Kenyan home meals.
Githeri Malakwang (Sour Greens in Groundnut Sauce)Kampala, Uganda · easy · 45 minTangy malakwang leaves simmered until tender then folded into a smooth groundnut sauce, sweet, sour and nutty at once.
Malakwang (Sour Greens in Groundnut Sauce) Vary Amin'anana (Rice with Greens)Analamanga (Antananarivo), Madagascar · easy · 40 minSoft, soupy rice cooked with leafy greens and ginger, the everyday restorative bowl of the Malagasy highlands.
Vary Amin'anana (Rice with Greens) Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans)Santiago (Praia), Cape Verde · easy · 45 minRice simmered with beans, onion, garlic and bay until glossy and tender, the everyday jag of the Cape Verde islands.
Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans) Hamli (Eritrean Spiced Greens)Asmara, Eritrea · easy · 35 minCollard greens or chard wilted with onion, garlic, ginger and gentle spices, the everyday greens of the Eritrean platter.
Fasoolia (White Bean Stew)Djibouti City, Djibouti · easy · 50 minWhite beans simmered soft in a spiced tomato and onion sauce warm with cumin and cinnamon, eaten with bread or rice.
Fasoolia (White Bean Stew) Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot)Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso · easy · 55 minBitter greens and rice simmered with pounded groundnuts and pungent soumbala into a thick, nourishing one-pot meal.
Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot) Imeruli Khachapuri (Cheese-Stuffed Bread)Imereti, Georgia · medium · 45 minA golden, pan-baked flatbread sealed around a molten heart of tangy, salty cheese.
Imeruli Khachapuri (Cheese-Stuffed Bread) SabichTel Aviv, Israel · easy · 40 minPita stuffed with fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, hummus, salad, and a drizzle of tangy amba and tahini.
Sabich Masala DosaTamil Nadu (Chennai), India · medium · 8 h 50 minA crisp, golden fermented rice-and-lentil crepe wrapped around spiced potato, South India's iconic anytime meal.
Masala Dosa Adjaruli KhachapuriAdjara, Georgia · medium · 1 h 45 minGeorgia’s famous boat-shaped cheese bread from Adjara: a molten pool of cheese in a golden crust, finished with an egg and butter stirred in at the table.
FalafelBeirut, Lebanon · medium · 45 minCrisp herb-flecked chickpea fritters tucked into pita with tahini, pickles, and salad, a Levantine street classic.
Falafel SpasYerevan, Armenia · easy · 45 minA warming yogurt-and-wheat soup fragrant with mint and herbs, a soothing Armenian everyday bowl.
Spas HummusTel Aviv, Israel · easy · 1 h 15 minSilky-smooth chickpea and tahini puree pooled with olive oil, scooped up with warm pita, a Levantine lunch of devotion.
Injo-gogi-bapPyongyang, North Korea · easy · 1 h 5 minSheets of soybean 'meat' stuffed with rice and topped with a spicy sauce, a resourceful North Korean street food.
Injo-gogi-bap Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions)Amman, Jordan · easy · 55 minA humble Levantine pilaf of brown lentils and rice cooked together and crowned with deeply caramelized onions, seasoned simply with cumin.
Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions) Puran PoliMaharashtra (Mumbai), India · advanced · 1 h 10 minA soft wheat flatbread stuffed with a sweet, spiced chana dal and jaggery filling, griddled with ghee, made across Maharashtra for Holi and Gudi Padwa.
DovgaBaku, Azerbaijan · medium · 50 minA warm Azerbaijani yogurt soup thick with fresh herbs, rice and chickpeas, stirred constantly so it never splits.
Dovga AshlyanfuBishkek, Kyrgyzstan · medium · 1 hA cold Kyrgyz noodle bowl of wheat noodles and springy starch jelly in a spicy, vinegary vegetable broth with egg ribbons.
Ashlyanfu Varenyky (Potato Dumplings)Poltava, Ukraine · medium · 1 h 30 minHalf-moon dumplings of tender dough filled with mashed potato and fried onion, boiled and tossed in butter, served with fried onions and sour cream.
Varenyky (Potato Dumplings) Tortilla EspañolaMadrid, Spain · medium · 50 minThe potato-and-egg omelette that anchors every Spanish bar, flipped whole, argued about forever.
Tortilla Española Šaltibarščiai (Cold Beet Soup)Vilnius, Lithuania · easy · 2 h 40 minA shocking-pink chilled soup of beets, kefir, cucumber, and dill, Lithuania’s summer in a bowl, with hot potatoes on the side.
Šaltibarščiai (Cold Beet Soup) Tarator (Cold Yogurt and Cucumber Soup)Sofia, Bulgaria · easy · 1 h 15 minA chilled Bulgarian summer soup of thinned yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, dill and walnuts, finished with a drizzle of oil.
Tarator (Cold Yogurt and Cucumber Soup) Pizza MargheritaCampania, Italy · medium · 4 h 45 minThe original Neapolitan pizza: a blistered, chewy base with tomato, mozzarella, and basil, the red, white, and green of Italy.
Pizza Margherita NalysnykyPoltava, Ukraine · medium · 1 h 20 minThin crepes rolled around sweet-savory curd cheese and baked in butter, a comforting Ukrainian home dish.
BoxtyMunster, Ireland · easy · 35 minA soft potato pancake made from both grated raw and mashed potato, griddled golden, an Irish comfort classic.
Boxty Smažený SýrBohemia, Czechia · easy · 25 minA thick slab of breaded, deep-fried cheese served with tartar sauce and potatoes, a Czech pub lunch.
Smažený Sýr Zagorski ŠtrukliDalmatia, Croatia · medium · 1 h 15 minThin dough parcels of cottage cheese baked under cream until golden and bubbling, a comforting Croatian classic.
Zagorski Štrukli FërgesëTirana, Albania · easy · 45 minPeppers and tomato baked with soft white cheese into a rich, bubbling dish, the pride of Tirana's kitchen.
Fërgesë PasulPristina, Kosovo · easy · 1 h 45 minA slow-simmered white bean stew rich with paprika and onion, the everyday food of Kosovo.
Pasul KholodnikMinsk, Belarus · easy · 2 h 5 minA vivid magenta Belarusian summer soup: cold beets in kefir with cucumber, dill and egg, served with hot boiled potatoes.
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