Meat, poultry and fish alternatives
Making a dish meat-free is not simply about removing the animal products, it's about replacing them. Focus on high-protein alternatives such as beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, fake meats, nuts and seeds, and be generous with these to please your hungry guests, especially if they've been exerting themselves.
In our conversion table here we give ideas for direct conversion to very similar items to meat, poultry and fish, but you can use any of the above substitutes too.
Where to look:
Next to similar non-vegan products, in the chiller, vegetarian sections of freezer cabinets, and in "Free From", Asian and organic sections in supermarkets.
Conversion table
| item | context | vegan version | comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| roast meat | roast dinners | vegan roasts | health food shops and some supermarkets (NB Quorn is not vegan) |
| bacon | frying and cooking | Redwood's rashers, sliced smoked tofu/tempeh | hfs, mail order, supermarkets |
| bacon bits | cooking and salads | "bacon bits" | check ingredients, but usually vegan anyway |
| sliced ham, pepperoni, chicken, turkey, beef | cold and hot dishes | Redwood's Cheatin' Ham etc | can be eaten out of the packet or heated; from hfs or mail order |
| sausages | cold or hot, BBQ-ed | vegan sausages, e.g. VegiDeli, Biona, Taifun, SosMix | supermarkets, mail order and hfs |
| meat chunks | kebabs, stews, curries and stir fries | TVP chunks, plain/smoked/braised/marinated/fried tofu, tempeh, gluten (mock duck) and seitan | supermarkets, hfs, east Asian stores |
| burgers | grilled, fried, BBQ-ed | vegan burgers, e.g. Goodlife, Beanies, Fry's | hfs, and sometimes big supermarkets |
| mince | in chillies, shepherd's pie, moussaka etc | TVP mince, VegeMince, Fry's mince; or cooked/tinned lentils | supermarkets and hfs |
| fish fingers, scampi and fish cakes | quick meals | Making Waves and other brands of Fishless Fingers, Scampi-style pieces and Fishless steaks | hfs and mail order |
| tuna | quick meals, salads and sandwiches | Redwood's Making Waves tuna-style | hfs and mail order |
| fish paste | sandwiches | Redwood's Making Waves salmon-style pate | hfs and mail order |
| meat stock | cooking | vegetable stock, miso | anywhere |
NB Quorn and some Linda McCartney products are vegetarian but not vegan. Quorn contains eggs and the mince used in some L McC products is manufactured using dairy products - her sausage rolls are vegan and tasty, but the sausages are worth a miss anyway.