6 High-Protein Vegetarian Meals That Aren't Just Lentils

A calzone is a pizza that has been folded over to keep the filling in, and the filling here is spinach, mozzarella and pesto. Between the cheese and the dough it comes to 30g of protein a serving, which is the highest on this list.

It is also the one that feels least like a compromise, because nobody eats a calzone out of obligation. Get the oven properly hot before it goes in so the base crisps rather than steams. Worth knowing that these reheat well in a dry pan, which is not true of most things involving melted cheese.

Silken tofu, asparagus and buckwheat soba noodles in a ginger dressing, ready in 25 minutes and carrying 30g of protein for 450 calories. Soba is the quiet contributor here, since buckwheat has noticeably more protein than wheat noodles.

Silken tofu is the right choice rather than firm, because it collapses slightly into the dressing and coats everything instead of sitting on top in cubes. Rinse the soba under cold water after draining or it will keep cooking and turn claggy. Good hot, and arguably better cold the next day from the fridge.

Thick udon noodles in a creamy katsu-style curry sauce with shiitake mushrooms and Quorn, made in the microwave in twenty minutes flat. It lands at 28g of protein, almost all of it from the Quorn.

This is the most convenient thing on the list by a distance, and the one to keep in mind for a night when cooking properly is not going to happen. Tahini is what makes the sauce creamy without any dairy, so do not skip it. Shiitake carry far more savoury depth than button mushrooms, which matters in a sauce this quick.

Golden halloumi and chickpeas with courgette, peppers and herbed rice, all glazed in a zesty herb sauce. Halloumi and chickpeas together bring it to 25g of protein, and it all happens in one pan.

Halloumi is one of the highest-protein cheeses you can buy, which makes it genuinely useful rather than just a nice addition. Dry the slices on kitchen paper before they hit the pan or they will steam instead of browning, and the browning is the whole point. The chickpeas crisp slightly at the edges if you give them room.

Butter beans and celery in a harissa-spiked tomato sauce with eggs poached directly into it. The beans and eggs together reach 25g of protein for 450 calories, in one pan, in half an hour.

Butter beans are a better choice here than chickpeas because they go properly creamy and thicken the sauce from the inside. Make the wells for the eggs deeper than feels necessary so the whites set rather than spreading across the surface. Bread to mop the pan is not strictly part of the recipe but it is clearly part of the meal.

Cubes of golden paneer folded into a silky spinach sauce loosened with cream. At 24g of protein for 470 calories it is the lowest number on this list and still comfortably more protein than most meat-free dinners manage.

Paneer does not melt, which is exactly why it works: it holds its shape and gives the dish something to bite into. Fry the cubes until properly golden before they go into the sauce rather than adding them raw, and they will taste of something. Blending the spinach while it is still bright keeps the colour from going army green.