Vegetarians don't eat meat, fish or seafood, but most do eat dairy, eggs and honey. Vegans eat nothing that comes from an animal. In the kitchen, that one difference comes down to three jobs: the fat that makes food rich (butter, ghee and cream), the eggs that bind, lift and set, and the cheese that brings salt and savouriness. Vegetables, grains, beans and spices stay exactly the same, and so do most good techniques. This guide covers what each diet leaves out, what to use instead, the hidden animal ingredients that catch people out, and how to cook one meal that works for both.
The short version
| Ingredient | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Meat, poultry, fish and seafood | No | No |
| Gelatine and animal rennet | No | No |
| Milk, butter, cream, yoghurt and ghee | Yes | No |
| Cheese | Yes, if made without animal rennet | No |
| Eggs | Usually yes | No |
| Honey | Usually yes | Usually no |
| Beans, lentils, tofu, grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds | Yes | Yes |
Plenty of people sit somewhere in between. Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy but not eggs, a pattern common in Indian home cooking, and some vegetarians skip honey too. If you're cooking for someone else, it's always worth asking.
What changes when you cook vegan
The easiest way to adapt a vegetarian recipe is to ask what job each animal ingredient is doing, then replace the job rather than the ingredient.
Richness: butter, ghee and cream
Butter and ghee carry flavour, help food brown, and make pastry flaky. Cream adds body and softens heat and acidity. Here's what does those jobs without dairy:
- For frying and roasting: olive oil, or a neutral oil such as rapeseed or sunflower.
- For tempering spices: a neutral oil or coconut oil, heated until it shimmers.
- For pastry and baking: a plant-based block, not a soft spread. Spreads contain more water and give softer, greasier results.
- For creamy sauces: tinned coconut milk, cashew cream, or blended silken tofu.
A good example is the Dal Tadka with Ghee & Cumin in The Vegetarian Kitchen. The tadka is a spoonful of hot fat with whole spices sizzled in it, poured over the lentils at the end. Ghee gives it a nutty depth, but oil works well. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil until it shimmers, then add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, two dried chillies and a sliced garlic clove. Let it sizzle for 30–60 seconds, until the garlic turns pale gold, then pour it straight over the dal.
Eggs: binding, lifting and setting
Eggs do more jobs than any other ingredient, so work out which one they're doing first.
- Binding (burgers, fritters, bakes): mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water and leave it for 10 minutes. That replaces roughly one egg. Mashed beans, breadcrumbs or a spoonful of chickpea flour also hold things together.
- Lifting (cakes, pancakes): add a little more baking powder, and curdle plant milk with lemon juice or vinegar so it reacts with the raising agent.
- Whipping (meringues, mousses): aquafaba, the liquid from a tin of chickpeas, whips like egg white. About 3 tablespoons is the usual swap for one white.
- Setting (quiches, omelettes, scrambles): firm tofu or chickpea flour. A pinch of kala namak (Indian black salt) adds an eggy flavour.
When eggs are the whole point of a dish, change the dish instead of imitating it. The Classic Shakshuka with Feta & Coriander is built around eggs poached in a spiced tomato and pepper sauce. That sauce is vegan on its own, so simmer chickpeas or crumbled tofu in it instead. The Vegan Kitchen's Chickpea Shakshuka takes exactly that route.
Cheese and savouriness
Cheese brings salt, fat and deep savoury flavour all at once. Vegan cooking builds those up separately, from miso, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, toasted nuts and a squeeze of lemon at the end. A spoonful of white miso in a creamy pasta sauce, or nutritional yeast in a crumb topping, does more than most vegan cheeses.
Fresh cheeses are easier to replace than aged ones. In Palak Paneer (Spinach & Paneer Curry), pressed and pan-fried firm tofu sits happily in the same spinach sauce, finished with a spoonful of coconut or cashew cream instead of dairy cream. Our guide on how to cook tofu covers the pressing and frying.
Hidden animal ingredients
Most mistakes happen with ingredients that don't look like meat or dairy. Vegetarians need to watch for:
- Traditional hard cheeses. Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano and many other classic cheeses are made with animal rennet. Look for cheeses labelled vegetarian.
- Gelatine in jellies, some sweets, mousses and set desserts.
- Fish in disguise. Worcestershire sauce usually contains anchovies, Thai curry pastes often contain shrimp paste, and fish sauce turns up in many South-East Asian dishes.
- Stocks and gravies. Some stock cubes and ready-made sauces contain meat extracts.
Vegans also need to check for butter in pastry and bread, egg in fresh pasta and egg noodles, milk powder, whey or casein in crisps and biscuits, egg-washed buns, ghee in restaurant curries, and honey. Some wines and beers are clarified with animal products too, so look for a vegan label.
Cooking one meal for vegetarians and vegans
The simplest rule is to start vegan and finish vegetarian. Build the base of the dish without animal ingredients, then add cheese, yoghurt or eggs at the end, or put them on the table for people to add themselves.
- Serve a dal or curry with a bowl of yoghurt on the side.
- Crumble feta over half a tray of baked beans or roast vegetables.
- Dress pasta with an olive-oil sauce and pass the cheese round.
Many traditional dishes need no adapting at all. Greek baked butter beans, like the Gigantes Plaki in The Vegetarian Kitchen, are traditionally cooked with olive oil rather than butter, so many versions are vegan as they stand. Just check for a crumble of feta on top. Slow-braised beans with greens are the same.
Season the vegan base properly. If the dish only tastes finished once the cheese goes on, the vegans at the table get the unfinished version. Get the salt, acid and fat right before anything dairy is added.
Nutrition: what to keep an eye on
Both diets can give you plenty of protein, as long as every meal has a real source of it. Vegetarians can rely on eggs and dairy as well as beans, lentils and tofu, while vegans rely on legumes, soya foods, seitan, nuts and seeds. Our vegan protein guide goes through the main sources and roughly what each provides.
The big difference is vitamin B12. Dairy and eggs supply some B12, but it isn't reliably found in plant foods, so vegans typically need to get it from fortified foods or a supplement. Calcium and iodine also need more thought once dairy is gone. Calcium-fortified plant milks and calcium-set tofu can help. This is general information, not medical advice, so speak to your doctor or a registered dietitian about your own needs.
Common mistakes
- Taking the dairy out and adding nothing back. A risotto without butter and cheese needs olive oil, miso or nutritional yeast, and lemon to make up the difference.
- Using a soft spread in pastry. Use a firm plant-based block, kept cold.
- Assuming "vegetarian" means vegan. A vegetarian label says nothing about eggs, dairy or honey.
- Imitating everything. Dishes that were never built on meat or cheese, like dals, bean stews and noodle dishes, are usually more satisfying than copies of dishes that were.
- Forgetting the protein. Our guide to building a satisfying vegetarian plate works just as well for vegan meals.
Questions people ask
Is vegan cooking harder than vegetarian cooking?
Not really, but it takes different habits. Most of the learning is in baking and in replacing the richness of butter and cheese. Savoury cooking from cuisines that were never heavy on dairy, such as much Indian, Middle Eastern and East Asian food, adapts very easily.
Can any vegetarian recipe be made vegan?
Most can. Dishes where eggs or cheese are the main event, such as a soufflé or a fondue, are better replaced with a different dish than imitated.
Do vegetarians eat eggs?
Most do. Lacto-vegetarians avoid eggs but eat dairy, and ovo-vegetarians do the opposite. When you're cooking for guests, ask.
Is honey vegan?
Most vegans don't eat honey because it's made by bees. Maple syrup, date syrup or agave syrup work in most recipes that call for it.