Vegan Recipes
Easy vegan recipes, including nourishing smoothies, vegan meal prep, and dinners even your meat-eating friends will love! I hope to make this an ultra-informative place for you to come for all things vegan eating.
Vegan BREAKFASTS
Strawberry Smoothie
Tofu Mocha Frappuccino
Tofu Scramble
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Vegan Entrees
Chickpea Tikka Masala Meal Prep
Thai Red Curry Meal Prep
Vegan Tuna Sushi Bowl
Tempeh Chili Meal Prep
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Vegan Desserts
Vegan Marshmallow Coconut Popsicles
The Ultimate Guide to Homemade Popsicles
Mint Chocolate Popsicles
Chocolate Covered Cherry Yogurt Popsicles
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All Vegan Recipes
Easy Chana Dal Recipe
Homemade Garam Masala
13 Vegetarian Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower
Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas
Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
Air Fryer Cauliflower
Air Fryer Kale Chips
Tropikale Smoothie
Oven Baked Kale Chips
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Apple Cinnamon Kombucha
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FOODS THAT MAY CONTAIN "HIDDEN DAIRY"
- Processed breads and bread crumbs
- Breakfast cereals and granolas
- Rice or soy cheese (look instead for the ones labeled “vegan”)
- Instant potatoes
- Some margarines
- Processed meats, deli meats, sausages, and hotdogs
- Any foods listing “casein”, “whey”, or “lactoalbumin” as an ingredient.
Vegan SUBSTITUTES
Egg replacements
- Soft tofu for scramble eggs
- Unsweetened apple sauce for eggs in baking (1/4 cup apple sauce = 1 egg)
- Mashed banana for eggs in baking (1/2 banana = 1 egg)
- Flax seeds for eggs in baking or breading (1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water, mix and let sit 15 minutes in fridge)
Meringues: Use aquafaba (chickpea water) to get a similarly fluffy result!
Whipped Cream: Easy coconut whipped cream
Gelatin: Use agar agar, a seaweed derivative, for thickening similar to gelatin
Yogurt: Dairy-free yogurts are becoming more and more popular, but if you can’t find any, blend 1 cup silken tofu with 2 Tbsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt
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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 Staples
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.