When you’re looking for protein packed meatless dinner ideas, there are more options than just veggie burgers. In this blog post, I’ll share some vegetarian protein sources and meat free dinner ideas.

Getting enough protein in meatless meals can be a challenge, but it’s possible when you choose ingredients with intention. An important thing to note with no meat dinners is that they can contain more carbohydrates and/or fats in order to get enough protein. There are many foods that contain protein, but it doesn’t mean they’re a good source of protein. Protein density and availability (how much you actually absorb) are important factors.

Seafood and animal foods are among the most dense, complete and absorbable protein sources. I think there’s more confusion for plant based sources of protein. Tofu and tempeh are dense and complete protein sources, as well as pea protein (powder). I’ve seen some misleading information circulate online about plant based proteins. Broccoli is a good example of this, where many people recommend it as having a lot of protein. To compare, one 4 oz serving of chicken breast has about 30 grams of complete protein. You’d need to eat 11.5 cups of broccoli to get 30 grams of protein, but this protein isn’t complete or as absorbable. Broccoli is very nutritious and anti inflammatory but not protein dense.

Protein pairing can be a helpful tool to meet your protein needs when avoiding meat. Personally, I typically approach protein pairing by choosing a carbohydrate source and a fat source of protein, to keep meals balanced. This might look like combining beans and cheese, whole eggs and beans or whole grain bread and nut butter.