Catholic Fasting Recipes
On Fridays in Lent — and on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the year's two days of both fasting and abstinence — Catholic tables go meatless. Fish, dairy and eggs remain, which is why the Lenten table is a cuisine of its own: chickpea pastas and bean soups from Italy, Friday fish, and the bakes that carry a household through the season. Every dish here is meatless; the mains marked as strict-day dishes are hearty enough to serve as the one full meal on a day of fasting. New to the season? Start with Lent explained for beginners.
Meatless days
Recipe · MeatlessCheese Enchiladas Rojas (Cheese Enchiladas in Red Sauce)Flour tortillas rolled around a creamy two-cheese filling and baked in a homemade tomato-chili red sauce — an honest enchiladas rojas for a meatless Lenten Friday.45 min · 16 enchiladas (8 servings)
Recipe · MeatlessEggplant ParmigianaGolden fried eggplant layered with marinara, mozzarella and a creamy béchamel — a meatless main dish rich enough for a Lent Friday table, with no meat in it anywhere.1 h 25 min · 8 servings
Recipe · MeatlessHot Cross BunsSpiced yeast buns studded with raisins, piped with a flour cross before baking and brushed with orange icing — the traditional Good Friday bake, and meatless by nature.3 h 25 min · 15 buns
Recipe · MeatlessLinguine with Clam Sauce (Linguine alle Vongole)Littleneck clams steamed open in white wine, garlic and parsley, tossed with linguine — a classic meatless Friday pasta, since shellfish is not meat under the abstinence rule.35 min · 6 servings
Recipe · MeatlessShrimp Scampi with PastaPlump shrimp in a garlic-butter and white wine sauce over angel hair pasta — a fast, festive meatless Friday main, because shellfish is not meat under the abstinence rule.30 min · 4 servings
Recipe · MeatlessTuna and White Bean Salad (Tonno e Fagioli)Tonno e fagioli — canned tuna and cannellini beans with red onion, capers and a lemon–olive oil dressing. No cooking, ten minutes of work, and entirely meatless for a Lenten Friday.15 min · 4 servings
Recipe · MeatlessVegetable & Bean BurritosVegetarian refried beans, salsa, rice and cheddar rolled into flour tortillas and baked under more cheese — the Mexican-American Friday-night Lenten staple, entirely meatless.40 min · 12 burritos (6 servings)Ash Wednesday & Good Friday mains
Recipe · Meatless · strict-day mainMediterranean Baked CodCod fillets baked on lemon slices under garlic butter, with cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives and capers — a 30-minute fish Friday main hearty enough, with bread and vegetables, for a fast day.30 min · 4 servings
Recipe · Meatless · strict-day mainMinestrone (Tuscan Vegetable and Bean Soup)A hearty Tuscan vegetable and bean soup in a tomato broth — fully meatless for Lent Fridays, and substantial enough for the one full meal on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday.1 h 5 min · 6 servings
Recipe · Meatless · strict-day mainMushroom RisottoArborio rice cooked in vegetable stock with a full load of golden, garlicky mushrooms stirred through and piled on top — a creamy meatless main substantial enough for a fast-day meal.40 min · 4 servings
Recipe · Meatless · strict-day mainPasta e Ceci (Roman Chickpea Pasta)Rome's one-pot pasta and chickpeas in a garlicky tomato broth — fully meatless for Lent Fridays, and filling enough to carry the one full meal on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday.50 min · 6 servings
Recipe · Meatless · strict-day mainPotato-Leek SoupLeeks sweated slowly in butter, potatoes simmered in vegetable broth, the whole thing blended smooth and finished with cream and buttermilk — a meatless soup substantial enough for a fast-day meal.1 h 40 min · 6 servings