Whether you are a longtime vegetarian or a newbie, going all-in on plant-based cooking, or just trying to adopt a Meatless Monday tradition, having some secret weapons for amping up flavor in your vegetarian cooking is always a great idea.
One of the issues with vegetable cooking is that often, even when the dish is balanced with the basic flavors of salt, sweet, sour and bitter, it is missing umami, that savory flavor so associated with meat, which is often the thing that is the difference between an okay dish and a great one. That little something extra that makes dishes soul satisfying. Luckily, there are a lot of things you can add to bring that umami back into your dishes, and still be on the program! Here are some of our favorite ways to bring the umami to your plant cooking.
How to Add Umami to Meatless Dishes
Nutritional Yeast
This flaky pantry product brings a parmesan cheese-like flavor to dishes and is a wonderful way of adding some complexity to your cooking, especially in pastas and bean dishes.
MSG
There is a reason that the vegetable dishes at Asian restaurants often taste so much better than when we make them at home, and MSGis the reason. The negative press around this naturally occurring salt has long been scientifically debunked, so don't hesitate to pick some up and add a small pinch when cooking things like stir fries, stews or vegetable chilis or soups.
Dried Mushrooms and Mushroom Powder
Whether you are soaking dried mushrooms to add whole to a dish, or using dehydrated mushroom powder as a seasoning, mushrooms are one of the meatiest most umami packed things you can add to your vegetables.
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
While regular sun-dried tomatoes are great for adding sweetness, the smoked version is my secret weapon for replacing bacon or ham in a vegetable dish. For example, braised collard greens, traditionally slow simmered with a smoked ham hock, still get that wonderful smoky flavor by simmering a handful of these flavorful nuggets in the braising liquid.
Soy sauce or liquid aminos
These dark brown liquids bring both saline punch and some welcome caramelized flavor to dishes, along with a good boost of umami. Don't just think of them for Asian cooking, think of using them instead of some of your salt in all sorts of dishes, including soups and stews, salad dressings, and as a last-minute drizzle on cooked vegetables.
Toasted walnuts
Whether you grind them fine to add texture and flavor to things like vegetable chilis, use them as a crunchy topping or garnish, toss whole halves into a sauté or stir fry, or even braise them with beans, walnuts bring a wonderful combination of meatiness and a subtle bitterness to your dishes.
Miso Paste
The rich, fermented flavor with some slight sweetness of miso paste is a wonderful way to bring some umami to your dishes. Whether you use the mild flavor of white miso to the intense punch of darker versions, keeping a tub of this in your fridge means that you can add terrific complexity to your cooking. Especially useful in making vegetable stocks and gravies.
Maggi Seasoning
This Swiss liquid flavoring agent is the vegetable version of those liquid gravy boosters and is an easy way to add just a fast dash of flavor to any of your cooking. Use sparingly, a little goes a long way, and there is a reason it comes in a bottle with a very small dispenser tip. Start with just a dash and taste as you go.
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FAQs
Lift your flavors with acids: Marinades, vinegar, and spritzes of lemon will help get tastebuds happy without reaching for added salt or sugar. Load in extra veggies: Double up the veggies in your sauced dishes, or sneak in more veggies by blending them seamlessly into sauces.
How do you add Flavour to vegetarian dishes? ›
Lift your flavors with acids: Marinades, vinegar, and spritzes of lemon will help get tastebuds happy without reaching for added salt or sugar. Load in extra veggies: Double up the veggies in your sauced dishes, or sneak in more veggies by blending them seamlessly into sauces.
How do I make my dish more savory? ›
Add umami-rich sauces
Use umami-rich sauces like soy sauce, miso paste or fish paste/sauce when cooking, and your vegetable dishes will be decidedly more flavorful. Adding as little as one tablespoon of one of these will make your dish more savory and complex.
How to get umami in vegetarian dishes? ›
To add umami to vegan food, incorporate ingredients like mushrooms, nutritional yeast, sun-dried tomatoes, soy sauce, miso paste, and fermented vegetables such as kimchi and sauerkraut.
What makes food more savory? ›
The most basic ingredient used in savoury food products is salt (sodium chloride), which gives the salty and long-lasting flavour to food that we all enjoy. It also gives the added bonus of functionality in some products, preservation (antimicrobial) and binding of water in the product.
How to add savory flavor? ›
How to Add Umami to Meatless Dishes
- Nutritional Yeast. ...
- MSG. ...
- Dried Mushrooms and Mushroom Powder. ...
- Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes. ...
- Soy sauce or liquid aminos. ...
- Toasted walnuts. ...
- Miso Paste. ...
- Maggi Seasoning.
Boost the Umami of Vegetable Broth
Soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos add great depth, but watch out for using too much—you'll end up making the stock only taste like super-salty soy.
What is umami secret ingredient? ›
Seaweeds and umami are intertwined topics. Seaweeds like Kelp and Kombu offer concentrated, plant-based sources of umami taste. 'Umami' is regarded by many Japanese as 'critical to delicious cooking'.
How to add umami flavor without MSG? ›
Soy sauce is a good substitute, rich in umami. As with broth cubes, first check the list of ingredients to ensure that there is no MSG added. Oyster sauce, fish sauce (nam pla), and Worcestershire sauce can also be used to enhance the taste of dishes. Being high in salt, they should be used in moderation.
Which vegetable has the most umami? ›
Tomatoes are abundant in the umami substance glutamate. The drying process decreases moisture and concentrates the glutamate. In addition, drying creates the umami substances nucleotide and guanylate. When cooking, dried tomatoes are used for salads as a topping in strips.
Glutamate is an amino acid that is found in virtually every food. It's a big part of protein-rich foods like meat, eggs and cheese, but is also found in fruits and vegetables. And, it is what's responsible for giving foods the umami (savory) flavor that makes them taste delicious.
What is the most savory flavor? ›
Umami is described by Marcia Pelchat, a sensory psychologist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in a San Francisco Chronicle article as “that meaty, mouthfilling, savory sensation.” As with the other four tastes, it is difficult to describe umami without identifying representative umami foods.
What makes things taste savory? ›
Umami enhances the palatability of a wide variety of foods. Glutamate in acid form (glutamic acid) imparts little umami taste, whereas the salts of glutamic acid, known as glutamates, give the characteristic umami taste due to their ionized state. GMP and IMP amplify the taste intensity of glutamate.
How to make vegetarian food taste better? ›
Add some herbs & spices.
Play around with different fresh herb and spice combinations. Dried herbs work, too. Follow a recipe, use pre-mixed seasoning blends, or be creative and add your own. Bonus tip: restock your spices every once in a while for an extra kick (they do expire eventually!)
How do you add flavour to veg? ›
Salt is the bare minimum, and the right amount will make a huge difference. Add salt gradually and taste as you go, they should taste more flavourful but not outright salty. Try herbs and spices like paprika, cumin, oregano, chilli powder, curry powder, basil and more.
How can I make my dishes more flavorful? ›
Acidic ingredients help lift and balance flavor. Use small amounts of ingredients with bold flavors such as pomegranate seeds, chipotle pepper or cilantro. Give a flavor burst with condiments such as horseradish, flavored mustard, chutney, wasabi, bean purees, tapenade and salsas of all kinds.
What ingredient enhances flavour? ›
5 Most Common Flavor Enhancers and What They Do
- Monosodium glutamate. ...
- Honey. ...
- Citric acid. ...
- Corn syrup. ...
- Salt (Sodium Chloride)
