This vegan garbage plate is the ultimate plant-based comfort food that is best eaten when drunk or absolutely ravenous. This veganized garbage plate has vegan mac salad, home fries, a veggie burger or vegan sausage, lentil meat sauce, ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, and raw onions.
If you’re from Rochester, NY then you already know. If not, then let me introduce you to…
✨ The Garbage Plate ✨
What is a Garbage Plate?
Founded by Nick Tahou Hots, the garbage plate is Rochester, NY’s most loved dish. It is a big mess of food, starting with a base combination of either home fries, french fries, macaroni salad, or baked beans. Then it is topped with your choice of a hamburger, cheeseburger, hot dog, or sausage. Then a big scoop of spicy meat sauce is added, followed by a garnish of raw chopped onions, ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce. And we can’t forget the side of Italian bread and butter.
Have I ever tried an original garbage plate? No, I have not. I moved to Rochester for college, and at the time I had been vegetarian for 6 years.
But many restaurants in Rochester have their own garbage plate spin-offs, including vegan and vegetarian versions with clever names like the Compost Plate (see the end of this post for on where to get a vegan Garbage Plate in Rochester). I have had many of these vegan garbage plates and they are just…👌
Are Garbage Plates healthy?
The original meat-based garbage plate could be renamed “the heart attack plate.” But the vegan garbage plates are definitely healthier without sacrificing flavor!
My recipe is made with more wholesome, healthier ingredients than the original garbage plate. I would by no means say that my veganized garbage plate is the epitome of health, but I don’t feel like I need to take a nap after I eat it 😉 The plate is pretty carb / starch heavy, lacking in any real vegetable representation. But who cares! It’s delicious and a wonderful treat meal.
Ingredients for a Vegan Garbage Plate
To save time, I like to use a combination of store-bought and homemade items to assemble my garbage plates. I make my own vegan mac salad, home fries, and lentil meat sauce, but I bought veggie burgers and vegan sausages from the store.
Vegan Macaroni Salad
My vegan macaroni salad starts with elbow noodles. I use a combination of vegan mayo and silken tofu for a “lightened up” mac salad sauce that is lower in fat and calories. If you don’t have silken tofu, you can use more vegan mayo. The rest of the sauce is comprised of sweet relish, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, dried dill, and salt. Chop up some red onion, celery, and bell peppers and you have a crunchy, tangy, sweet vegan macaroni salad.
Crispy Home Fries
I think russet potatoes make the best home fries! Coat with a little olive oil for extra crispiness.
Veggie Burgers, Hot Dogs, or Sausages
If you have time, I suggest making my BBQ Black Bean Veggie Burgers for your garbage plate. But if you want to save time, definitely use store bought vegan burgers, hot dogs, or sausages. In my photos, I am using the Wegmans Don’t Have a Cow Meatless Style Burgers and Tofurky Plant-Based Original Sausage.
Lentil Meat Sauce
All you need for this lentil sauce is dry lentils, a can of crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, onion, garlic, chili powder, paprika, cinnamon, and salt. To make this lentil meat sauce spicy (and more authentic), you can add in a little red chili flake. I skip this step because my heat tolerance is very low 😛
Ketchup, Mustard, Hot Sauce, and Raw Onions
Garnish your plate with raw onions and lots of condiments! I love adding ketchup and mustard, but you can also add hot sauce. Again, I skip this step because I am a heat baby.
Italian Bread with Vegan Butter
Serve your garbage plate with a side of Italian bread with a little vegan butter spread on top. The bread is perfect to scoop up extra lentil sauce!
How to make a Vegan Garbage Plate
After you prep all the ingredients, then you can assemble your garbage plate!
- On a large plate, add the vegan macaroni salad and home fries.
- Next, add a veggie burger or vegan hot dog (or both!) to the plate.
- Then add a generous scoop of lentil meat sauce.
- Sprinkle on some chopped raw onions.
- Add as much ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce that your heart desires.
- Serve with a side of Italian bread and vegan butter.
The perfect vegan party food
If you are having a party or a barbecue, garbage plates would be so much fun to serve to your guests! Prep big batches of mac salad, home fries, and lentil meat sauce, then grill up some veggie burgers or hot dogs. Serve everything buffet-style and let everybody build their own plate. Ugh, I’m such a genius. I wish I had a big backyard (and friends…) to host a vegan garbage plate picnic.
How to make a Garbage Plate gluten-free
Use gluten-free elbow noodles (or any small noodle of choice) for the macaroni salad, or use baked beans as a substitute. Make sure that the veggie burgers or hot dogs you buy are gluten-free. Omit the Italian bread entirely, or use a gluten-free white bread. The rest of this recipe is safe for y’all with celiacs!
Want more vegan hangover recipes?
Although this Vegan Garbage Plate will always be the ultimate hangover food, my Egyptian Koshari recipe comes in second place. Koshari is basically Egypt’s version of a garbage plate.
If you make this recipe, leave it a rating and a comment! You can also tag me @Daughter_of_Seitan on Instagram so I can see your lovely food creations. XOXO
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The Best Vegan Garbage Plate
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan garbage plate is the ultimate plant-based comfort food that is best eaten when drunk or absolutely ravenous. Perfect for parties and picnics.
Ingredients
Home Fries
- 4 large russet potatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Lentil Meat Sauce
- 1 white onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup dry green lentils, rinsed
- 14oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (sub water)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 tsp red chili flake (if you like spice)
Macaroni Salad
- 6 oz elbow noodles
- 1/2 bell pepper, diced
- 2 large stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 6 tablespoons vegan mayo
- 1/2 cup silken tofu (or sub 1/2 more vegan mayo)
- 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Garbage Plate
- 6 veggie burgers or hot dogs
- Chopped raw onions (optional)
- Ketchup, mustard, hot sauce (optional)
- Italian bread + vegan butter
Instructions
- Make the home fries. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the potatoes and cut into 1 inch chunks. Lightly drizzle with olive oil (optional) and salt, then spread on a greased or lined baking tray. Bake for 45 minutes, or until crispy.
- Make the lentil sauce.
- In a medium pot over medium heat, add a little oil or water. Once hot, sauté onions and garlic about 3 minutes or until translucent.
- Add in lentils, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, and all the spices. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Then reduce to low and simmer uncovered 25-30 minutes until the sauce is thick and creamy.
- Make the macaroni salad.
- In salted water, cook elbow noodles al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Chop the celery, red onion, and bell pepper.
- Blend the vegan mayo, silken tofu, and the remaining ingredients until totally smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the noodles, veggies, and sauce. Mix together.
- Cook your veggie burgers or hot dogs according to package instructions.
- Assemble your garbage plate.
- To a large plate, add the vegan macaroni salad and home fries.
- Next add veggie burger or vegan hot dog.
- Then add a generous scoop of lentil meat sauce.
- Garnish with chopped raw onions, ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce. Serve with a side of Italian bread and vegan butter.
Notes
Prep and cook time is estimated assuming you are multi-tasking! While the home fries are baking, make the lentil sauce. While the lentil sauce is simmering, make the macaroni salad. Fry up the veggie burgers and hot dogs at the end. You can prep ingredients beforehand to save time.
Nutrition facts are roughly estimated using the Wegmans Don’t Have a Cow Meatless Beef Style Burgers. If you use a different veggie burger or hot dog, calories will vary. Nutrition facts do not account for condiments or the side of bread and butter.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 668 cals
- Sugar: 12.64g
- Sodium: 1600mg
- Fat: 15.47g
- Saturated Fat: 1.35g
- Carbohydrates: 102.87g
- Fiber: 13.21g
- Protein: 34.57g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: vegan garbage plate, vegetarian garbage plate, rochester new york
Where to get a Vegan Garbage Plate in Rochester, NY
If you live in or plan on visiting Rochester, NY, here are a couple of restaurants where you can order a vegan or vegetarian garbage plate!
The Red Fern (Vegan + GFO “Compost Plate”)
The Compost Plate is totally vegan and comes with mac salad, sweet potato salad, spicy meat sauce, balsamic field greens, focaccia toast, and a choice of protein (lentil burger, spicy buffalo tempeh, lemon maple tofu, seitan steak, or italian sausage). There is also a gluten-free option! This is my favorite dish to order when I go to the Red Fern.
Note: The Red Fern is my favorite restaurant for vegan food!
Dogtown (Veggie Garbage Plate)
Dogtown has a great Veggie Garbage Plate! You can choose between a veggie burger or hot dog, and pick two vegan sides: french fries, home fries, baked beans, or sweet potato fries. If you are vegetarian, you also have the option of mac salad or coleslaw as sides. Order the plate with “everything” on it, which includes mustard, onions, and homemade three bean veggie chili. I usually order this plate with baked beans, sweet potato fries, a vegan hot dog, with everything on it! Plus, lots of ketchup.
Sticky Lips (Vegetarian “Sticky Icky Plate”)
No vegan option, but The Veggie Sticky Icky Plate has a veggie bean burger with black beans, fries, and mac salad topped with veggie etouffee, cilantro, and onions. I’ve had this plate back when I was vegetarian and it is great! I imagine you could order it without the mac salad to make it vegan. Even if you don’t get the Sticky Icky Plate, this BBQ restaurant is very vegan-friendly and has a lot of plant-based options.
4 comments
Made this today and it was super easy and delicious! Living in the UK, it was nearly impossible to find a recipe for a garbage plate, let alone a plant-based one! This recipe was easy to convert to metric and didn’t involve any hard-to-source ingredients – most of the stuff I had in my cupboards already. I particularly found the tofu in the mac salad ingenious 👌 Will be making again!
★★★★★
Yay I’m so happy it worked for you, and that I was able to share a piece of Rochester’s local cuisine with someone all the way in the UK! And yes, I love using tofu to make the mac salad sauce super creamy but not too heavy. Win win!
It’s so good! I’ll definitely be making this again!
★★★★★
Yay!!! I’m so happy you liked it!