40+ Meatless Meals For Ash Wednesday & Fridays During Lent

If you’d rather just go out to eat today, I don’t blame you. But, if you can’t remember who sells fish, our Where To Get Fast Food Fish Sandwiches For Lent list will help. It’s filled with over 20 fast food chains.

Eggplant Parmesan Pasta

Pasta dishes are perfect for Lent, but they can get a little boring. So instead of plain pasta with meatless spaghetti sauce, add in some eggplant and mozzarella cheese to make this Eggplant Parmesan Pasta.

Mushroom And Rice Casserole

Fresh mushrooms are a great way to mimic the taste of meat in meatless dinners, like in this Mushroom and Rice Casserole. It’s so hearty, you won’t miss the meat.

Vegetarian Couscous with Zucchini, Chickpeas, and Tomatoes

This Vegetarian Couscous is packed with roasted vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes) and roast chickpeas. Crumbled feta and chopped green onions are stirred in to give you a really flavorful vegetarian dinner.

Pasta Alla Norma (Sicilian eggplant and tomato pasta)

I always joke that I don’t know who Norma is, but I love her pasta. But, now, after making this pasta with an eggplant and tomato sauce, I wonder if Norma knows her spaghetti is perfect for meatless Fridays.

Traditional Eggplant Parmesan

Traditional Eggplant Parmesan is a bit of work because you have to bread eggplant slices, deep fry them, then assemble the layers of eggplant, sauce, and cheese, and bake that. If you want something a little easier for a Friday night, you can make our Baked Eggplant Parmesan instead.

Black Bean And Kale Pasta

Black beans and kale are cooked together to make a really flavorful sauce that’s a nice change from the traditional pasta with red sauce that people usually serve on Lenten Fridays.

Baked Ravioli

Baked Ravioli is often referred to as lazy lasagna because instead of pasta layers, you just use ravioli. It’s perfect for Ash Wednesday, which falls in the middle of the workweek, meaning it doesn’t leave you time for an involved dinner.

Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

Spanakopita, a Greek spinach pie, is made of layers of phillo dough, spinach, and ricotta cheese. It’s one of the tastiest meatless recipes on this list.

Garden Tomato Caprese Tart

We usually make this Garden Tomato Caprese Tart with garden tomatoes, which you probably don’t have during the Lenten season. That’s fine. You can make it using tomatoes you find at the grocery store.

Peach, Blueberry And Goat Cheese Pizza

If you don’t want a traditional pizza for every Friday during Lent, make this Peach, Blueberry And Goat Cheese Pizza, which is a recreation of a pizza we had on a food tour last summer.

Chickpea And Spinach Vegan Burger

Veggie burgers are usually fake meat and that’s, well, not delicious. Especially for someone who only eats meatless during Lent. This Chickpea And Spinach Vegan Burger recipe is so much more delicious.

Lentil And Cauliflower Vegan Tacos

Most people fill tacos with ground beef. But, you can’t have that on Ash Wednesday. What you can have are these Lentil And Cauliflower Vegan Tacos, which, you guessed it, use lentils and cauliflower as the filling.

Vegan Penne alla Vodka

Penne alla Vodka is usually meatless, making it perfect for Ash Wednesday. This recipe omits the dairy cream, which makes it vegan too.

Baked Eggplant “Meatball” Parmesan

Instead of using a traditional meat blend to make meatballs, this Baked Eggplant “Meatball” Parmesan recipe makes meatballs out of ground eggplant, which is a delicious meal for a meatless Friday.

Homemade Kale Pesto Ravioli

​Recipes with marinara sauce are usually eaten on Fridays during Lent because they’re easy. But, if you can put a little more effort in, make our kale pesto, then use it to fill and top this Kale Pesto Ravioli.

Fettuccini Alfredo

Lent counts down to Easter Sunday, but you can still make Fettuccini Alfredo, which is also known as Christmas alfredo, during the Lenten season.

Mushroom And Kale Pasta Bake

This Mushroom and Kale Pasta Bake is a great meatless recipe. The mushroom substitute as meat, then you build a cream sauce with heavy cream and ricotta cheese, and bake.

Kale & Bean Soup

Lent and soup season usually happen at the same time, so this Kale and Bean Soup, packed with beans and vegetables, is the perfect recipe for a cold Ash Wednesday.

Portabella Philly Cheesesteaks

Traditionally, cheesesteaks are made with thin-sliced meat. You can’t make that on a Friday during Lent. But you can make Portabella Philly Cheesesteaks, which substitute portabella mushrooms for meat.

2 Ingredient Dough Pizza

If you’re giving into pizza Fridays, but you don’t have pizza dough, you can easily make this 2 Ingredient Dough Pizza with self-rising flour and Greek yogurt. This version tops it with a traditional pizza sauce, but we also have a white pizza version if you’d rather that.

Naan Pizza

If you’re rushing to get dinner on the table this Ash Wednesday and you don’t even have time to make the two ingredient dough above, this Naan Pizza is made on store-bought naan bread.

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

If you’re looking for a unique pasta dish to serve on Ash Wednesday, this lemon ricotta pasta, with a bright lemon sauce, is for you.

Vegetable Curry

Curry is so flavorful. This Vegetable Curry is filled with vegetables and is so hearty, you won’t even miss the meat.

Zoodles With Pesto

If you found this list because you’re just tired of pasta and takeout pizza every Friday, you can make Zoodles (zucchini noodles) with pesto.

Homemade Pizza

If you want to make the whole family happy this Ash Wednesday, go with this Homemade Pizza from store-bought dough. They get pizza, you get to not spend a lot by ordering delivery.

Sheet Pan Eggplant Parmesan

Ash Wednesday is smack in the middle of the week, which means you’re probably looking for an easy weeknight dinner. Look no further than this Sheet Pan Eggplant Parmesan. It has all the flavors of eggplant parm, but it’s made on a sheet pan (so one pan to clean up) and doesn’t require any frying.

Small Meatless Meals For Ash Wednesday

For some, Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting. That doesn’t mean you can’t eat at all, but it means you only eat a small meal. If you’re observing that, this part of the list is for you.

Vegan Chickpea “Tuna” Salad

A lot of people in the Catholic faith are okay with a seafood meal on Ash Wednesday. If you abstain completely from animal products like we do, you can’t have a tuna sandwich. But you can have this Chickpea Tuna Salad Sandwich, which uses mashed chickpeas for the tuna.

Orzo Greek Salad​

Pasta salad is usually a side dish, which makes this Orzo Greek Salad a great small meal for Ash Wednesday. It’s satisfying with the tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and feta, and is really light.

Mini Tomato Pies

One of my very favorite go to small meals is this Mini Tomatoes Pies recipe. We usually use garden tomatoes, which usually don’t grow during Ash Wednesday, so you can make it with store bought ones.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan Bites

If you want the flavors of eggplant parmesan, but not the heavy meal, these Baked Eggplant Parmesan Bites are delicious and very light.

Pizza Bagels

These Pizza Bagels are pizza, which are so popular for no-meat Fridays, but on a smaller scale because, well, they’re bagels not a full pie.

Portabella Mushroom Pizzas

Another small version of pizza, which is good if you’re fasting on Ash Wednesday, are these Portabella Mushroom Pizzas. The mushroom is the pizza “crust.”

Caprese Grilled Cheese

If a small meal to you is a sandwich, but you want something ooey, gooey, and delicious too, you need to make this Caprese Grilled Cheese. It’s amazing.

Cheesy Egg Sandwich

Since you’re only having one meal on Ash Wednesday if you’re fasting, you might be craving breakfast for dinner. If you are, this Cheesy Egg Sandwich will really hit the spot.

Pastina-Stuffed Avocados

If you’re fasting, you want something super flavorful when you do eat. These Pastina-Stuffed Avocados are it. The pastina is cooked in vegetable broth to give it a little more flavor.

Egg Salad Sandwich

One of our favorite go to sandwich recipes, which packs a lot of protein (which is good if you’re just having one meal on Ash Wednesday) is this Egg Salad Sandwich.

Lasagna Cups

A lasagna is really heavy and too much if you’re having a small meal on Ash Wednesday. But lasagna cups, which are all the flavors of lasagna but in wonton wrappers, is perfect.

Pizza Bombs

If your family wants pizza on Ash Wednesday, but you don’t want something heavy, these Pizza Bombs, which are basically an inside out pizza, is a great compromise.

Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups

For something small that’s filled with flavor, these Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups fit the bill. They’re made in wonton wrappers and they’re spicy, so you won’t overeat, but you’ll be satisfied.

Horiatiki (Classic Greek Salad)

If you think a salad is a good idea for a small meal, this Horiatiki, which is a classic Greek salad, is great. It’s filled with a ton of vegetables so it has a ton of flavor. If you’d rather a salad with berries, we have a Kale Salad you might like too (although personally, I eat light and think that’s too light for a meal).

Spanakopita Puff Pastry Bites

One of my favorite snack dinners, which is really what you’re going for if you’re eating a light meal on Ash Wednesday, are these Spanakopita Puff Pastry Bites. It’s basically a small version of Spanakopita, which is perfect.

More Meal Ideas For Lent

Keep in mind that if you’re adapting a recipe to be meatless, you need to take all the meat out of it. That includes broth.

French Onion Soup sounds okay until you realize the base of it is beef broth, and beef isn’t allowed on Ash Wednesday.

If you’re worried about what to cook for Lent, don’t worry. I have a few other posts below to help you out. For lunch ideas, we have a list of Vegetarian Sandwiches That Are Perfect For Lent. We also have a list of Lunch Ideas For Lent.

If it’s cold, our list of Vegetarian Soup Recipes For Lent should be your go to.

If you’re okay with seafood on Fridays during Lent, our Shellfish Recipes For Lent (That aren’t shrimp!) list is for you. And if you’re looking for those missing shrimp ideas, they’re in our Simple Shrimp Recipes For Lent list.

Which of these Meatless Meals For Ash Wednesday are you making this year? Be sure to let us know in the comments.