The old worry about vegetarian eating — "where do you get your protein?" — is easy to answer once you know which ingredients pull their weight. A well-built vegetarian dinner clears 25–35g of protein without any meat, and it does it with everyday groceries.
The ingredients doing the work
A few plant and dairy staples carry most vegetarian protein:
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Lentils and beans — roughly 15–18g of protein per cooked cup, plus fiber that keeps you full.
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Tofu, tempeh, and edamame — tempeh is the density champion at ~30g per cup; firm tofu lands around 20g.
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Greek yogurt and paneer — dairy protein that anchors sauces, bowls, and breakfasts-for-dinner.
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Eggs — ~6g each, and the fastest weeknight protein there is.
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Whole grains — quinoa and farro add a few grams and make a bowl feel complete.
Stack two of these in one dish — a lentil curry over quinoa, a tofu stir-fry with edamame — and you're comfortably past 30g.
Build the plate, don't chase a number
Aim for a protein base, a whole grain, and a pile of vegetables. The base sets the protein floor; the grain and vegetables handle fullness and fiber. If you want the numbers checked for you, every recipe in our high-protein recipes collection shows its real per-serving protein, and the vegetarian recipes collection filters the meat out entirely — the overlap between the two is where these dinners live.
Make it a week, not a one-off
The reason most people fall back on the same two vegetarian meals is planning, not cooking. Pick four or five from the collections above, size them to your household, and let Grocerplan aggregate one grocery list — then send it to Instacart or your Kroger cart. Start from the vegetarian meal plan for a done-for-you week, or the vegan recipes collection if you're skipping dairy and eggs too.