Vegan Recipes

HOW TO STOCK A vegan PANTRY

While my pantry is not completely vegan, the following are some of my vegan-specific pantry and refrigerator staples for a well-balanced vegan diet. Note that this isn’t absolutely everything you need in your pantry, just a few very vegan-specific staples to help you keep good nutritional balance and make really tasty vegan food! (Contains affiliate links).

Pantry S​taples

Canned and Dried Beans: These pack a protein punch and provide calcium you may not be getting via dairy

• Canned chickpeas: These make a hearty substitute for meat, like in Roasted Chickpea Gyros!
• Canned black beans, red kidney beans, black-eyed peas, and navy beans: Packed with protein and fiber, beans are an easy way to add a nutritious boost to just about any meal.
• Frozen edamame: I love snacking on these. Just cook ‘em (either microwave or boil, depending on packaging), sprinkle with coarse sea salt, and snack away.

Grains and Flours

• Rice (wild grain, brown, arborio): I use brown rice as a replacement to white rice almost always. Wild grain rice tends to be more fibrous and nutty, which is fun on salads. And arborio is important for tasty risotto!
• Quinoa: Technically a seed but treated as a grain, this contains all the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein source.
• Oats: Rolled, instant, or steel-cut doesn’t make a difference apart from the texture you’re going for! Learn more about them here.
• Oat flour: This is simple oats ground into a fine powder. Perfect for thickening up sauces and stews, and for gluten-free baking!
• Almond flour: Almonds ground into a fine powder. Perfect for gluten-free baking!
• Millet: A nutty grain-like seed that can be made into porridge, breads, and a whole lot more.
• Buckwheat: A gluten-free grain made from a seed. Its groats are great for porridge and its flour is perfect for gluten-free baking.

Nuts and Seeds

• Nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews (especially for vegan dairy alternatives), macadamia, pine): Stock up on nuts for snacking, adding crunch to meals, or for making dairy-free alternatives (like this Vegan Cheesecake from Minimalist Baker)
• Seeds (pepitas, hemp, chia, flax, sunflower): Like nuts, these tend to be nutrition powerhouses that can easily be worked into a lot of dishes.
• Dried cranberries, cherries, raisins: Add sweetness to baked goods, porridge, and salads!

Vinegars

• Apple cider vinegar: Great in salad dressings or to bring a tart sort of bite to vegan cheeses.
• Balsamic vinegar: My go-to salad dressing ingredient/quick flavor-maker on roasted veggies or on savory tomato/strawberry/watermelon dishes.

Oils

• Olive oil: My go to for almost all stovetop cooking.
• Extra virgin olive oil: An important member of the oil team for cold dishes, like salad dressings. This one has a lower smoke point, meaning you can’t heat it quite as high.
• Safflower oil: With almost no flavor, polyunsaturated fats (the good kind of fat), and a high smoke point, this is your oil for healthier frying.
• Sesame oil: This also has a high smoke point, but brings a really sesame, nutty taste. Super tasty in Asian stirfries!
• Coconut oil: This has a high smoke point and a distinct coconut aroma and taste. It’s high in saturated fat, so use it in moderation.

Sweeteners

• Maple syrup: Use a touch of maple syrup as a sweetener instead of sugar for a more rounded taste and more phyotchemicals and antioxidants than table sugar.
• Medjool dates: Soak these to get them nice and soft then remove the pits and blend into a date paste. This paste works wonders for sweetening things like baked goods!
• Stevia: The leaves of the stevia plant are dried, ground up, and sometimes removed of their color to create a substance that can be substituted for sugar.
  

Odds and Ends

• Nutritional yeast: A deactivated yeast that has a cheesy/eggy/savory flavor. Super great for vegan alternatives, like Eggless French Toast.
• Cocoa powder: Low in calories and full of flavor, I always keep cocoa powder on hand.
• Raw cacao nibs or powder: While cocoa has been roasted at a high temperature, cacao is raw, so a lot of the nutrients are still well and intact. You can use cacao and cocoa interchangeably in most recipes.
• Unsweetened applesauce: You can replace butter or oil with unsweetened applesauce (ration 1:1) in many recipes, so I like to keep this on hand!
• Coconut milk (full-fat and light): Skim the cream off full-fat cans to make dairy-free whipped cream, or use light coconut milk to add a lot of creaminess to soups or smoothies.
• Low-sodium vegetable broth or bouillon: Instant flavor for so many dishes!
• Whole popcorn kernels: For when you’re in a snacking mood, popcorn is a healthy whole grain option to have on hand.
• Cornstarch: Use it to thicken soups or as a dusting before frying (like in this Almond Tofu Nuggets)

Refrigerator Staples

Condiments and Sauces

• Miso: An umami-rich paste made from fermented soybeans. It’s great for adding salt/savory/umami to soups, dressings, marinades, the works.
• Dijon mustard: Adds a bit of spicy intensity to dishes. Even if you don’t like mustard (like me), this is an important one to have for general cooking.
• Tahini: Made from sesame seeds, this is a potent little sauce that I incorporate into Asian dishes and baked goods alike.
• Sriracha or chili garlic sauce: Does this one need an explanation? Spice is a necessity in my kitchen. If sriracha isn’t your thing, chili-garlic sauce is a close contender.
• Hummus: Made from chickpeas and tahini, this is a protein-packed spread that’s great in sandwiches or as a veggies/pita bread dip.
• Soy sauce and tamari: Soy sauce is salty and usually contains gluten, while tamari is thicker, less salty, and contains less (or sometimes no) gluten. I always have at least one on hand!
• Salsa: Because sometimes chips and salsa for dinner is just what’s gonna to happen.

Alterna-milks and Dairy

• Soy milk: A protein-rich alternative to cow’s milk.
• Almond milk: Lower in calories and saturated fat than soy and cow’s milk, but a bit lower in protein.
• Oat milk: I love the super oaty taste of this milk…almost like the milk left after a bowl of cereal!
• Rice milk: High in carbs and low in protein, this one is really just good for those with allergies or lactose intolerance.
• Earth Balance or Smart Balance butter: Margarines made from a blend of natural oils, totally dairy-free!

Alterna-proteins

• Tofu: Coagulated soy milk curds (yummm!) I like to keep a few packs in the freezer! They take on a really nice texture when they thaw + you’ll never run out.
• Tempeh: Fermented cooked soybeans. This has an earthier taste and a whole lot more protein and fiber than tofu.
• Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP): A nutrient-dense soy-based meat replacement.