A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée ("entry") course, and the salad course. In North American usage it may in fact be called the "entrée".
- The main course is usually the heaviest, heartiest, and most complex or substantive dish on a menu. The main ingredient is usually meat or fish; in vegetarian meals, the main course sometimes attempts to mimic a meat course. It is most often preceded by an appetizer, soup, or salad, and followed by a dessert. For those reasons the main course is sometimes referred to as the "meat course".