At Chef V, we’re always looking for the best way to maximize your nutrients and putting only the best things into your body. With that in mind, we’re making a list of some of the best vegetarian dishes from around the world that you may not have heard of.

Why Vegetables Matter

Since we’re all about providing great green drinks and juice cleanse diets, it’s no surprise that Chef V is also enthusiastic about vegetarian dishes. However, there’s more to these meals than just tasting great. Getting your leafy greens are important for a few reasons.

Firstly, it’s all about what they got. Vegetables are packed full of all your body’s favorite nutrients from vitamin A and C to fiber and potassium. This means that veggies are great for helping you boost your immune system and stay energized.

However, vegetables also are very low in things like carbs, fat, and sugar. This is the reason that juice diets as so popular. You get all the good stuff with none of the bad and can make real gains on losing weight.

Our Underrated Vegetarian Dishes List

Some people might think that searching out new recipes that are strictly vegetarian is limiting your options. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a wealth of vegetarian dishes out there that you may have never. While you might be familiar with some, or even most of these, hopefully, there’s at least one new vegetarian dish for you to try out!

#1 Saag Paneer
Many people new to vegetarian dishes might worry that they can’t match the “comfort food” factor of hearty meat-based meals. However, Indian cuisine is busy proving this misconception wrong every single day. There are more great Indian vegetarian meals than we can cover in one article.

If we had to pick one to start, you can find tons of great Saag Paneer recipes online. This is a perfect way to get into vegetarian dishes - you get a lot of greens, and still get the “filling” sensation from the cheese. And if you want to go full vegan there are plenty of recipes that use tofu.

#2 Laab Jay
If there’s one cuisine that can challenge Indian for mastery of plant-based dishes, it probably has to be Thai food. We barely even know where to start with all the great recipes out there. If you are familiar with Laab (sometimes spelled “larb”), you probably know its meat variants best. However, you can make delicious vegan laab as well.

#3 Koshari
Bored of your regular vegan and vegetarian pasta dishes? Then it’s time to give Koshari a try - also known as Koshary or Kushari depending on who you ask. Koshari is the perfect merger of Italian and Arabic cuisine. It features a base of pasta, lentils, rice, and chickpeas, with crispy onions and a truly delicious tomato sauce and garlic vinegar. There are also tons of regional variants of the food, so it’s a perfect one for experimentation.

#4 Urab
When it comes to salads, it’s very hard to beat the wonderful taste of Urab (also known as Urap). This salad comes to us from Indonesian cuisine and is made up of a variety of steamed vegetables. No matter the particular recipe, what really brings Urab together is the shredded coconut. Chef V even has a Balinese version that we’ve spotlit before!

#5 Vinaigrette
Nope, we’re not talking about salad dressing. Vinaigrette is a beet salad that is a staple of Russian and Ukrainian cuisine. There are plenty of variations, but most are pretty easy to whip up. Beets are a super underrated vegetable, and this is a great way to get them into your diet.

#6 Fasolakia You know what’s another underrated veggie when it comes to vegetarian dishes? Those green beans. Too often they’re considered a bland sidekick in bland dishes. However, in Greece, they do green beans a little differently. Fasolakia is an easy but incredibly delicious dish, where green beans are elevated by the inclusion of olive oil and tomato.

#7 Ratatouille
Thanks to the film of the same name, Ratatouille is starting to get a little bit more exposure in North America. There are many versions of this French comfort food, but most of them include indulgently garlicky eggplant and zucchini.

#8 Pelau
Rice is a staple of plenty of vegetarian dishes. Since it shows up so much, it’s easy for it to start to get boring. In Trinidad, however, rice is never even close to boring. Pelau is a rice pilaf made with coconut. While often mixed with meat products, it’s a great base for plenty of delicious vegetarian recipes.

#9 Rösti
Just like rice, potatoes are often the basis of many vegetarian dishes. However, they often get snubbed by many vegetarians for being a little dull, or a little too carb-heavy. However, the Swiss National dish Rösti is one potato dish you can’t miss. The best part? It works great with sweet potatoes just as well! This takes the concept behind hash browns to a whole new level.

#10 Black Bean Stews
Yet another often underrated vegetable is the humble black bean. In Latin American cuisine, however, these little packages of protein and fiber tend to take on starring roles. There are plenty of Colombian recipes that make great use of black beans, such as the classic black bean stew.

Boost Your Weight Loss Goals With a Juice Cleanse Diet

Sometimes you need to kickstart your weight loss plans and new vegetarian diets. Or maybe you need to strike back against the weight gain of the holiday season. Or maybe you just really love the taste of green drinks. No matter what you love about a juice cleanse diet, it’s the easiest way to get all the good stuff and none of the bad stuff. Our green drink also makes a great companion to any of the vegetarian dishes above. And with our green drink plan, it’s easier than ever to add healthy juice to your diet.