My out for vegan friends is always that bean, corn, tomato, cilantro, red and green pepper salad and a good hearty bread. and a meat dish for the rest. If your friend is vegitarian a side of mac and cheese too is always an option.

Our favorite lasagna is meatless. I would serve that with a big salad, bread and a wonderful (but light) dessert.

Martha Scott - Would you mind sharing your favorite lasagna recipe?

I make spanikopita with Greek themed sides for mixed groups, or pad thai (if they won't eat fish sauce, I modify) with other Asian vegetarian dishes- both satisfy meat eaters, too. I really dislike it when people serve a separate meat dish - meat eaters can enjoy a vegetarian meal once in a while, at least my meat eating friends do.

Other pasta ideas are cheese or spinach tortellini with pesto sauce, or various vegetarian ravioli - like butternut squash or mushroom/truffle.

Allo vegetarians seem to be offered is lasagne.

Why not try something like this?

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pumpkin-recipes/roasted-baby-pumpkins-with-chestnut-cherry-dolcelatte-stuffing/

Or https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pearl-barley-parsnip-preserved-lemon-tagine

Or https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/garlicky-mushroom-penne

I agree with olychick. Just cook non meat dishes for everyone.

I agree, the same dishes for everyone, although you could add a charcuterie and cheese tray for appetizers for the meat eaters, along with your crudite or hummus or whatever and provide the same crackers or chips for dipping. Watch the crackers, some contain animal fat.

Are the vegetarians actually vegans or "just" vegetarians? Pasta dishes tend to be safe, with things like prima vera or mushroom sauces, even that macaroni and cheese if no one is vegan. Add a salad, good bread, a antipasto tray for guests to pick out what they want and you're good to go.

If your guests are adventurous, much Ethiopian cooking is actually vegetarian, as are things like Indian curries. Even a really good chili can be vegetarian without too much adjustment, and can be served with good bread or cornbread, if you want something more casual.

So, how many guests? How fancy are you thinking? And how long do you have to cook this? Do you have to work that day, then cook after? Do you have to do some ahead, or are you free to cook that day without interruption? Yeah, we want to know everything, LOL.

Annie

I think it depends on the number of guests. For half a dozen people, it doesn't make sense to make two entrees, and I agree about making one dish that will satisfy all. Make sure there's a good protein source in that dish, however. A lot of people--including vegetarians and vegans themselves--neglect the protein content of meatless meals.

For a dozen people, however, I might do two proteins anyway, so I'll do one meat and one vegan.

Other lacto-ovo dishes include baked omelette with fresh salsa or huevos rancheros, savory bread or noodle pudding (easy to do one with and one without sausage (or veg sausage replacement), but the custard is the main protein), quiche, fritatta...

Thank you guys so much for your ideas and advices. I guess the best idea would be lasagne, the same dish for everyone. It'll be 12 of my friends and I am going to have about 3 hours due to my work earlier.

Thank you all once again. I'll let you know how it turned out

Good luck! 3 hours isn't really much time, but lasagna can be assembled ahead of time, as can salad and if there's a good bakery close, bread is easy too.

Have fun, I'll look forward to knowing how it went, although I'm sure it will be wonderful. And dessert? Tiramisu? Or just good coffee?

Annie

Make ahead lasagna is possible and wonderful. Buy a bagged salad too. Good wine and you can do a antipasto platter with meat on it for the meat eaters, and some bean dip (store bought) for the vegans. I'm kind of lazy so I would do some bakery cookies (I'd put them on a cool tray to look snazzy) or some easy peasy home made ones with decaf coffee and liqueur for dessert. You could also do make ahead eggplant parmesean if you are a real masochist. Which reminds me of one of my other favorite "for company" dinners, which is quiche with store bought crust. Easy as pie to make one with ham and one without. Serve with ratatouille and crusty bread and salad, or steamed asparagus. Skip the cheese for an appetizer and maybe do guacamole and corn chips and then the cookie platter again for dessert. Last but not least, baked ziti or penne is even easier than lasagna. Another version of lasagna is also enchiladas, which I sometimes do for company, also can be made ahead. Baked ziti can also be served as a side with a roast chicken, which is just about the easiest and most wonderful thing to make for a dinner party. Can even do it in the crockpot. I make chicken cacciatore in the crockpot and serve it with vegetarian baked ziti for my meat eating family members, and then maybe have baked squash as a side for the vegetarians, which can be done in the oven along with the chicken. These are the tried and trues.