Specialty veggie-focused dishes allow for culinary creativity and variety


By Kristin Menas
March 9, 2016
Top vegetarian entree

The top type of vegetable entrée is the “other vegetable dish” category with 480 listings. This indicates that operators are offering a wide variety of vegetable dishes and getting creative by introducing their own specialty vegetable-focused entrées. Some of the leading types of vegetables spotlighted in the “other vegetable dish” category include spinach, peas, eggplant and mushrooms. Many of the entrées listed under this category are ethnic specialties, such as falafel, dolmas and vegetable stir-fry.

We also see that tofu is a popular variety of vegetable entrée, with 233 appearances on menus. Also known as bean curd, this meat alternative is frequently found in Asian dishes. The natural blandness of tofu allows the ingredient to easily take on the flavour of the food in which it is being used. For example, Spring Rolls serves tofu in a Szechuan sauce, and Umi Sushi Express offers tofu teriyaki.

Additionally, veggie bowls are among the top types of vegetable entrées on Canadian menus. Bowls have been a craze in food preparations in recent years. Often, bowls are served up as a healthy option, particularly ones that are packed with veggies, such as Toronto-based Live Organic Food Bar’s Trainers Bowl with collards, kale, carrots, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, burdock, tempeh and mixed seeds.