60+ Vegan Recipes for Meat Lovers

Whether you're a vegan wanting to veganize some of your favourite pre-veg recipes or a vegan cooking for omnivores, in this roundup of vegan recipes for meat lovers there's sure to be something for everyone!

For the majority of us, we did not become vegan simply because we don’t like the taste of meat. I’m sure at some point a non-veg has questioned judged you about why fake meat products (or even recipes that emulate typically meat-based dishes) exist, implying that you’re some kind of hypocrite and irrational buffoon for wanting to eat them. The real morons are the ones whose brains are ruled by their stomachs, seemingly blocking them from the capacity of logical and critical thought and reasoning (rant over).

Just because you’ve given up meat doesn’t mean that you don’t crave a killer burger, chili, nuggets or wings from time to time. For most of us, those are the foods that we grew up on and would still be eating today if it wasn’t for all that animal cruelty, environmental destruction and chronic disease that caused you to go plant-based in the first place.

Perhaps you’re like many other vegans living with non-vegan family members and can’t bring yourself to cook meat for them. Or you simply don’t have time to be cooking two separate meals. Perhaps you’re having some “meat-and-potatoes-type” friends or family over for dinner and you’re stumped as to what to serve them.

If you’re looking for recipes that are “meaty” and satisfying for all of you while at the same time being cruelty free, then look no further! I’ve compiled this HUGE list of vegan recipes for meat lovers that will be sure to satisfy your every craving and impress even the most die-hard meat-and-potatoes guy (or girl).

About the Vegan Recipes for Meat Lovers

In keeping with the philosophy of this blog, I’ve chosen recipes that do not make use of packaged and processed vegan meat substitutes. It’s easy enough to go to the store and get a package of Gardein ground beef crumble and throw it into tomato sauce for a veggie Bolognese. You don’t need a recipe for that!

The recipes here use whole foods like mushrooms, lentils, beans and other vegetables to replace the meat in traditional meat-heavy dishes. For an even more meaty texture, some of these recipes call for tofu or seitan. You might consider seitan to be a processed meat substitute, but I don’t. You don’t have to buy packaged, pre-made seitan because it can be made at home. Read on.

How to Make Seitan

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Seitan is a great (maybe the best) meat substitute when you’re after not only the flavour but also the chewy, meaty texture of your favourite vegan meat dishes.

There are two ways to make seitan at home. The easier way is to get a package of vital wheat gluten, either from a supermarket, health food store or online and mix it with your flavour ingredients into a dough. Many of the seitan-based recipes in this recipe roundup include instructions for making seitan with vital wheat gluten. Or you can check out this basic seitan recipe.

The second way to make seitan is by washing white or whole wheat flour until you’re left with just the gluten. This is more labour and time intensive but a good, cheaper alternative if you can’t get your hands on vital wheat gluten. This recipe for homemade seitan with flour gives a good basic overview of the process. Keep in mind that you can also add the appropriate spices, herbs and other seasonings for your recipe to the dough to give it the meaty flavour that you’re after.

Now, on to the vegan recipes for meat lovers!

Cow

1. PF Chang's Vegan Mongolian Beef (pictured) - Girl and The Kitchen 
2. Vegan Beef Bourguignon - Ceara's Kitchen
3. Vegan Plant-Based Jerky Recipes - PETA
4. Vegan Beef Irish Stew - Veganosity
5. Raw Vegan Ground Beef - Happy and Raw
6. Vegan French Dip Sandwiches (pictured) - Connoisseurus Veg 
7. Vegan Faux Beef Stroganoff - Epicurious
8. Easy Grillable Veggie Burgers (pictured) - Minimalist Baker 
9. Perfect Homemade Seitan Steaks - Vegan Sandra
10. No-Seitan Vegan Steaks - Gourmadelle
11. Portobello Steak Fajitas - What The Heck Do I Eat Now
12. Vegan Barbecue Ribs - Baked In
13. Vegan Pasta alla Bolognese (pictured) - Lazy Cat Kitchen 
14. Mushroom Wellington - Delicious Everyday
15. Vegetarian Sloppy Joes - She Likes Food
16. Homemade Vegetarian Chili (vegan option) (pictured) - Cookie and Kate 

Pig

1. Vegan Pulled Pork Wrap with Avocado - Vegan Heaven
2. Vegan Pork Buns with Oyster Mushrooms (pictured) - Olives for Dinner 
3. Vegan Pigs in a Blanket - Vegan.com
4. Vegan Pork and Cabbage Dumplings - East Meets Kitchen
5. Faux Tempeh Pulled Pork (pictured) - Nourish Atelier 
6. Vegan Chorizo - Serious Eats
7. Vegetarian Pine Mushroom Minced Pork and Beans - Wholesome Cook
8. Vegan Char Siu Bao (pictured) - The Woks of Life 
9. 7 Homemade Vegan Sausage Recipes - Vegan Food Lover
10. 15 Plant-Based Bacon Recipes - One Green Planet

Birds

1. Vegan Chicken Fingers for Kids - Ordinary Vegan
2. Chicken McNuggets (pictured) - The Edgy Veg 
3. 13 Meat-Free Wings - Hellawella
4. The Best Vegan Chicken Burgers Ever - The V Word
5. Vegan Crispy Chick'n Caesar Salad (pictured) - I Love Vegan 
6. Vegan Kung Pao Mushrooms - The Woks of Life
7. Healthy Chickpea Chicken Salad - Whole Living Lauren
8. Vegan Tofu and Vegetable Pot Pie - The Kitchn
9. Vegan Chicken Parmesan (pictured) - Connoisseurus Veg 
10. Vegan Chicken Jackfruit Noodle Soup - Cooking Light
11. Vegan Turkey Roast with Stuffing - Vegan Yumminess
12. Peking (Not Really) Duck (pictured) - Planticize 
13. Yakisoba with Easy Homemade Seitan Mock Duck - Ciao Veggie

Sheep

1. Vegan Greek-Style Roast Lamb (pictured) - Mouthwatering Vegan Recipes 
2. Roast Mock Lamb Seitan with English Mint Sauce - The Gentle Chef
3. Vegan Gyro with Homemade Seitan and Tzatziki Sauce - Delightful-Delicious-Delovely
4. Irish Lamb Stew (pictured) - Holy Cow Vegan 
5. My Special Vegan Kofte - Jamie Oliver
6. Vegan Doner Kebabs - Food Network

Fish

1. Vegan No-Tuna Salad Sandwich - Forks Over Knives
2. Easy Vegan Sushi with Tomato Spicy Tuna (pictured) - Carrots and Flowers 
3. Vegan Fish Sticks - Fork and Beans
4. Baked Fish Cakes with Lemon Herb Mayo - One Green Planet
5. Vegan Crab Cakes with Horseradish Dill Tartar Sauce - Hot For Food Blog
6. Vegan Ceviche - The Mess is Ours
7. Carrot Lox (pictured) - Olives for Dinner 
8. Filet O'Chickpea Sandwich with Tartar Sauce Slaw - Keepin It Kind
9. Super Comforting Vegan Fish and Chips - The Debrief
10. Vegan Fish Tacos with Avocado Slaw (pictured) - Eat Figs Not Pigs 
11. Watermelon Tuna Ahi Poke - BitterSweet
12. Jackfruit Tuna Melt Sandwich - Keepin It Kind

Mystery Meat

1. Vegan Spam - East Meets Kitchen
2. Vegan Spam Musubi - Miss Kitchen Witch
3. Smoky Southern Style Meatless Meatloaf (pictured) - Veganosity 
4. Not Your Typical Meatloaf - The Flaming Vegan
5. Portobello Pups (pictured) - Love and Lemons 
6. Homemade Veggie Dogs - Fat Free Kitchen
7. Vegan Hot Dogs / Scallion Seitan Sausages - Mary's Test Kitchen
8. The Vegducken (pictured) - Hot For Food Blog 
9. Vegan Liverwurst - Vegan Feast Kitchen
10. Phony Bologna - Compassionate Cuisine

Know a good meaty recipe for this collection? Let me know in the comments below!