Former MasterChef judge Matt Preston wants to show Australians the full potential of cooking with vegetables with the release of his new book.

More explores plant-based recipes to highlight the fun, tasty meals vegetables can make.

Mr Preston tells Deborah Knight adding ingredients like chipotle, smoked paprika and miso can make a vegetarian meal taste almost meaty.

“There’s the idea of no sacrifice. If it’s vegetarian it’s got to taste as good as if it had meat in it, if you come from a carnivorous background.

“When you actually look at how Australians eat now, about half of us have at least one meat-free meal a week.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview