Taena

During periods of Ethiopian Orthodox Christian fasting, animal-derived foods such as meat, dairy, and eggs are generally avoided. Fasting practices can vary between individuals and communities, but meals during fasting are therefore often entirely plant-based.

The good news is that a vegan diet can provide plenty of protein. The key is not finding one magical “high-protein” food, but regularly eating protein-rich foods throughout the day.

1. Make legumes the centre of your meal

For Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine, this is particularly easy because legumes are already an important part of the traditional diet.

Lentils, chickpeas, split peas, beans, and peas are excellent sources of plant protein. Legumes generally contain substantially more protein than most vegetables and provide additional nutrients such as iron, folate, magnesium, potassium, and fibre.

Traditional fasting dishes such as misir wot, shiro, kik alicha, fasolia, and bean-based stews can therefore be excellent protein sources.

A useful rule is:

If your meal contains injera, try to make sure it also contains a substantial serving of legumes.

2. Don’t be afraid of teff injera

Teff isn’t just a source of carbohydrates. Teff contains meaningful amounts of protein and has a relatively favourable amino-acid profile compared with many other cereals.

Eating injera with lentils, chickpeas, or other legumes creates a particularly useful combination. Cereals and legumes have complementary amino-acid profiles, meaning that eating a variety of both helps provide the essential amino acids your body needs.

You don’t need to calculate amino acids at every meal. Variety over the course of the day is enough for most healthy people.

3. Add soy when practical

Soy foods are among the most protein-dense plant foods. Depending on availability, consider tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy milk, or textured vegetable protein (TVP).

Soy can be particularly useful when someone has higher protein requirements or finds it difficult to eat large portions of beans and lentils.

4. Use nuts and seeds as protein boosters

Peanuts, peanut butter, tahini, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds can add protein, healthy fats, and minerals.

They are energy-dense, so they don’t need to make up a huge portion of the meal. Adding tahini to a dish, having peanut butter with breakfast, or sprinkling seeds over a meal can increase protein intake without dramatically increasing food volume.

5. Build meals around protein—not just vegetables

A common problem with vegan fasting isn’t that plant foods lack protein; it’s that meals can become mostly injera, potatoes, rice, pasta, or vegetables, with only a small amount of legumes.

Instead, think of the meal as:

Protein: lentils, shiro, chickpeas, beans, peas, soy
Grain/starch: teff injera, rice, oats, bread, potatoes
Vegetables: gomen, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, etc.
Healthy fat: sesame/tahini, nuts, seeds, avocado, or vegetable oil

This structure makes it much easier to obtain enough protein without needing supplements.

6. Remember the nutrients beyond protein

A vegan fasting diet can be nutritionally excellent, but protein isn’t the only consideration. People eating entirely plant-based for extended periods should also pay attention to vitamin B12, iron, calcium, iodine, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Teff and legumes can contribute iron and calcium, but plant-based iron is less readily absorbed than heme iron. Vitamin C-rich foods—such as tomatoes, citrus, peppers, and other fruits and vegetables—can help improve absorption of non-heme iron.

For people observing prolonged or frequent periods of vegan fasting, vitamin B12 deserves particular attention, because reliable B12 sources are limited in an unfortified vegan diet.

A simple takeaway

You don’t need to abandon traditional fasting foods to eat a high-protein diet.

Make legumes a regular part of your meals. Eat them alongside teff injera and other grains. Add nuts, seeds, or soy when available. Eat a variety of plant foods.

Traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine already provides many of the building blocks for a nutritious vegan diet—the goal is simply to make the protein-rich components of the meal more intentional.