Jamie Oliver brings veggo crusade to Australia with special limited menu

The Naked Chef is at it again with a new food agenda, this time championing meat-free dishes with his latest cookbook, Veg.

But if you're keen to "try before you buy", the celebrity chef's Jamie's Italian Australian outposts willl be cooking up some of the dishes as part of a special "We Love Veg" menu for a limited time.

From September 9-30, diners can select from eight meatless dishes from the cookbook, which can also be made vegan-friendly.

If you're anticipating light salads and tofu mains, think again — the menu's offerings are hearty and Italian proud, with a mix of cheese-laden fresh salads, rich pastas and rice dishes, and warming dessert.

Among some of the stand-out dishes you can try, are: fennel, melon and mozzarella salad (mind those sneaky slithers of chilli), a red sauce mushroom rigatoni, fluffy housemade gnocchi pesto with toasted walnuts, and buckwheat pancakes with fruit compote and creamy yoghurt.

The concept behind the cookbook is to show off how vibrant, tasty and comforting veggies meals can be.

If you like what you're plated up, then you can even buy a copy of the new cookbook instore.

Whether you're a fullblown vego or dabble in meat-free dishes as a flexitarian, the menu is designed to satisfy and open diners up to new flavour combinations.

The "We Love Veg" menu will be available until September 30 at Jamie's Italian restaurants in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Veg by Jamie Oliver (Penguin, RRP $49.99) is available online and at all good bookstores.