The Best Vegan Chili

Everybody claims to have the “best” chili, but I promise they are liars! They have to be, because this is hands down the best vegan chili you will ever eat!

I know, I know. I know. That is a lofty claim, but I stand by it.

My mom always has made the best chili. Like award winning quality chili. So when we went vegan I needed to find a way to veaganize her chili without changing too much about.

Well I did, and the only thing I did differently was add cauliflower in the place of ground meat to imitate the texture, and add cocoa powder because its my favorite secret ingredient in any chili!

This chili is packed with flavor, it’s easy to make and comes together quickly. It also freezes well making it perfect for meal prep!

Eat it on its own, on a baked potato, on some fries, over some chip, or on a carrot dog. I will eat chili any day of the week, any time of year! It has always been my favorite and I promise again you will be hard pressed to find a better version than this one!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large 12 oz can crushed tomoatoes

• 1 small can diced tomatoes, drained

• 1 small can green chilis

• 2 cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 small to medium onion

• 1 small head of cauliflower

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• 1-2 teaspoons salt

• 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

• 1-2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional)

• 1 teaspoon vegetable low sodium Better Than Bouillon

• 1/2 to 1 can of beer, or 1/2 to 1 cup veggie broth ( this just depends on how thick you like your chili)

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INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Chop cauliflower to a fine chop, or put it in your food processor and pules until its good and broken down. We are using the cauliflower in place of ground meat, and are trying to get that sort of texture.

2. Dice the onion into a fine dice.

3. Heat a dutch oven or large pot on medium heat. Add a few teaspoons of oil. Once the oil is nice and hot, add the onion and cauliflower. Heat the onion and cauliflower until the onion becomes translucent.

4. Next, add in the remaining ingredients. Add more or less of the beer or broth depending on how thick you like your chili. You can alway add more if it thickens up too much for your liking. Give it a good stir and reduce heat to simmer.

5. A side not about the cocoa powder. I know for some people it will seem like an odd ingredient, but it really does make this chili special. I highly recommend you don't skip adding it! I promise you will never want to make chili without it again.

6. Allow chili to simmer with a lid on for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. I typically start my chili in late afternoon and just let it simmer until dinner.

7. CROCKPOT OPTION: You an easily make this chili in a crock pot. I normally just saute the onion and cauliflower first before adding it. Set your crock pot to medium heat, and allow to cook for 6-8 hours.

8. This recipe makes a large pot of chili. If you are a small family, or single, you can freeze the leftovers for several months. I typically portion the cooled chili in freezer bags, in smaller portions. I will thaw the smaller bags of chili to use for toppings on loaded baked potatoes, chili cheese fries, carrot dogs, latkes, or nachos.

Roasted Red Pepper and Kale Knish

If you have had knish then you know just how delicious they are, and if you haven't, I promise you won't be disappointed. Knish originated as an Eastern European Jewish street food. Traditionally filled with mashed potatoes and minced meat, these days you can them filled with just about anything. Once again, I am southern, so I take every opportunity to smother almost everything in gravy, giving this traditional dish a southern twist. Feel free to omit the gravy! They are just as good without! 

INGREDIENTS:

The filling

• 2 medium potatoes,  peeled and diced
• 1 bunch of washed and trimmed kale, chopped
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/4 cup copped roasted red peppers
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• pepper to taste

Knish dough

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 flax egg
• 1/2 cup oil, I use grapeseed, but you could use vegetable or even coconut oil 
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water 
• vegan butter for brushing

Brown onion gravy

• 3  cups of water
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 small onion, diced 
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons reduced sodium Better Than Bouillon
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Knish Dough

1. First prepare the dough by mixing the dry ingredients together in large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl mix the oil, water, vinegar and flax egg together, then add to the dry mix.
3. Work the dough with your hands until it is well combined.
4. Kneed the dough for a few minutes, just until smooth.
5. Place dough back into the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.
6. Pop it in the fridge for one hour to rest.

The Filling

1. Bring potatoes to boil in a large pot, and cook until you can poke a fork through them.
2. Drain potatoes, and set aside in a bowl.
3. Reheat the pot you used to boil the potatoes, adding a teaspoon of oil, begin sauting the onions and garlic. Once they are translucent, add the kale to the pot and allow to cook until wilted, and tender. Remove from the heat.
4. Return the potatoes to the pot with the onions, and kale, and mash with a hand masher, or use an electric hand mixer.
5. Mix in the roasted red pepper, and seasoning to the mash and allow to cool.

Making the Knish and gravy

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1. Remove dough from the the fridge and roll it out on a big floured surface (a counter top works best, you need a lot of room) into a large rectangle. The dough should be about a 1/4 inch thick. It's ok if you cannot get it into a perfect rectangle, you can trim up the edges with a sharp knife to even it out. You can save the scrap dough and roll it back out, adding any left over filling you may have to yield a few more knish.
2. Now at the edge of the dough closest to you, form a log 2 inches wide by 1 inch thick (give or take) with your filling, the length of the dough. 
3. Once all of the filling is in place, start rolling the dough (starting on the filling end) trying to get the roll as tight as you can, without having the filling squish out the ends. Before you come to the end, brush some water along the edge  of the dough to help seal the seam.
4. You now have a long log of dough. Starting at either end of the dough, measure in about 3 inches from the end and pinch, then twist the dough. Cut the dough on the twist, and place twist side up on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Take your finger and poke the twist down into the center of the knish. Repeat with the remaining dough. You will get about 8 knish depending on the length of your original dough rectangle , and how big you make each knish. You may have some scrap dough, and extra filling that you can use to make a few more, as well.
5. Brush the tops of the knish with some vegan butter and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. You can brush some more butter on mid bake if you like. This will help the knish brown a little better.
6. As the knish are baking, prepare the gravy by sauteing the onions and garlic in the same pan you used for your filling, with a few teaspoons of vegan butter over medium heat. Once the onions are translucent, sprinkle on the flour and stir, letting it cook for a few minutes. Whisk the water, Better than Bouillon, tomato paste, and mustard together, then add to the pan. Reduce the heat to low, add salt and pepper, and let simmer, stirring regularly, until the gravy begins to thicken.
7. Once knish are done, you can top with the gravy, and garnish with some fresh parsley.

The knish freeze and reheat really well. We often make a double batch, and freeze half. They should be good in the freezer for up to one month. 

Potato and Green Chili Taquitos

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 small/medium russet potatoes

• 1 small can of green chilis

• 1/2 onion, diced

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1/2-1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 cup vegan plain yogurt, I like Kite Hill

• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)

• 1 pack corn tortillas

• oil for frying

Avocado Cream:

• 1 avocado

• Juice from 1 lime

• 1/3 cup vegan plain yogurt

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2-1 teaspoon salt

• 2-3 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel and dice potatoes. Bring a medium to large pot of water to a boil, and add the potatoes. Boil until potatoes are soft, and you can get a fork through them.

2. Drain potatoes in a colander, and set aside still in the colander.

3. In the pot you boiled the potatoes in, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the onion, can of chilis, and spices. Let cook on medium heat until the onions are soft. Add the potatoes back to the pot and mash the potatoes, onions, and peppers with a hand masher, or an electric mixer. If using nutritional yeast, add it in and stir.

4. Add a few tablespoons of the mashed potato mixture to a tortilla. Spread the mixture evenly over the surface of the tortilla then roll it up. Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas. * Tortilla Trick: I microwave my tortillas with a damp paper towel covering them for about 30 seconds before filling them. This tends to help them get a little more flexible and not crack when rolling!

5. In medium skillet with high sides, heat 1/4 to 1/2 inch of oil on medium heat.

6. Add a few tortillas at a time to the hot oil, SEAM SIDE DOWN. Let the taquitos cook for a few minutes before carefully flipping them. It works best to use a pair of metal tongs to flip them. Allow them to fry on the other side for a few minutes until crisp. Once done, remove from oil and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack, with some paper towels underneath. Repeat with remaining taquitos.

7. To make the Avocado cream, add a peeled and pitted avocado, and the remaining ingredients to a food processor and blend until perfectly smooth. Use 2-3 tablespoons of water depending on how thin you want the cream.

8. Serve taquitos with avocado cream, and some salsa, or pico.

serves 4-6

Crispy Tofu with Roasted Pepper Marinara and Quinoa

Crispy tofu on a bed of savory quinoa, covered in a delicious red pepper marinara makes for a quick and filling weeknight dinner.

You can easily makes this recipe gluten free by using a gf flour blend, and gf panko. You could also use an air fryer to prepare the tofu if you have one, or try baking the tofu pieces if you prefer cooking without oil!

I like that this recipe because it comes together fairly quickly, its super flavorful thanks to the sauce, and can be a nice gluten free option for entertaining!

If you bake or air fry the tofu, it is a super healthy dinner as well. I would air fry by giving the tofu a little spray with oil and fry at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until crispy. If baking, I would bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 400, flipping the tofu pieces after 8-10 minutes to crisp up both sides.

No matter how you cook it, I think you will be just as big a fan of this tofu as our family is!

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INGREDIENTS:

The Tofu

• 1 block extra firm tofu

• 1/3 cup all purpose flour

• 1 flax egg

• 1/4 cup plant based milk

• 2 cups panko bread crumbs, regular or gluten free (not all are vegan, be sure and check)

• 1 teaspoon each of salt, paprika, garlic powder, and thyme

• oil for frying

The Marinara

• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

• 1/2 -1/3 cup roasted red peppers

• 1/2 small onion cut in quarters

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon dreid thyme

• pepper to taste

The Quinoa

• 1 cup dried quino

• 2 cups water

• 1/2 small onion finely diced

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon dried time

• 1 teaspoon oil such as grape seed or olive oil

• 2 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)

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INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Remove tofu from package, and wrap in a clean kitchen towel, or a few paper towels. Put a few books on top and let sit for about 15 minutes to remove the excess liquid from the tofu.

2. While tofu is pressing, prepare quinoa by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot, then add the quinoa. Reduce heat to a simmer and put a lid on the pot. Let quinoa simmer, stirring occasionally until all of the liquid is absorbed.

3. While the quinoa is simmering, heat a teaspoon of oil in a small skillet. Add the diced onion, and minced garlic, cooking until onions are translucent. Add in the pine nuts and cook just a few minutes. Pine nuts burn very quickly, so keep moving them around the pan until just until they are toasted, then remove from the heat. Once the quinoa is done cooking, mix in the onion, pine nut mixture, and seasoning. Put the lid back on and set aside.

4. Drain the liquid from the tomatoes, and add them along with all of the other sauce ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend for a few minutes, until the onion, peppers, and tomatoes are broken down. Heat the sauce in a medium sized pot on simmer while you prepare the tofu.

5. Cut pressed tofu into 1/2 inch pieces, cutting from the ends of the tofu block. You will get around 8 or 9 pieces.

6. In a shallow dish, mix 1 flax egg, and 1/4 cup of non dairy milk. Add flour to another shallow dish or plate. Then mix the panko in another dish, or plate with the seasonings.

7. First coat each piece of tofu with flour, next the flax egg wash, and lastly the panko. Make sure to evenly, and fully coat the tofu with the flour, and flax egg wash. The panko will stick best if you press it into the tofu pieces, flipping the tofu to make sure both sides are covered.

8. In a large skillet, heat about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of oil. You just need enough to fry each side of tofu, you do not need to cover the tofu in oil.

9. Once oil is good and hot reduce heat to medium, add the coated tofu pieces and fry each side for 3 - 5 minutes. You want each side crispy and golden brown. Once tofu is finished frying, place on a wire cooling rack with some paper towels underneath for a few minutes.

10. To serve, add a scoop of quinoa to each plate, top with 1 or 2 pieces of tofu, and a few spoonfuls of sauce.

Serves 4 - 6.

Muffin Cup Vegan Lasagna

If you have been looking for the perfect, cheesy, gooey, saucy, vegan lasagna, look no further! Layers of noodles, tofu ricotta, homemade marinara, and the perfect vegan mozzarella sauce make this lasagna the best vegan lasagna I have had, hands down!

It’s my go to dish to bake up for all of our non vegan friends and family, because no one ever even knows its vegan! We are house divided where lasagna is concerned, some preferring veggie lasagna, and others a classic “meaty” lasagna. So I have given instruction on making this lasagna 2 ways! Because two kinds of lasagna are always better than one!! Right?!?!?

You can always bake a lasagna in a 9x13 pan BUT how much cuter is it to make it in am muffin pan?! Everyone gets a little individual lasagna of their own. I love it! These also work great for pot lucks and parties since they are single serving. AND they freeze well for meal prep! Hooray for meal prep!!

I am telling you, you will never want to use store bought shredded mozzarella again after using this perfect cheese sauce. It’s super easy to whip up, and gets ooey gooey, bubbly, and browns. Its magic and it is staple in our house for so many recipes! Sometimes, like right now with this vegan lasagna, the secret is in the sauce!

So bake up a muffin tin for yourself, and one for a neighbor or friend. They will be so thankful for a night off from cooking and so impressed that this lasagna is actually vegan! I always say the way to convince someone that vegan food is just a delicious, if not more, than the non vegan version is by sharing it!! 

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INGREDIENTS:

CHEESE SAUCE:

• 1 cup of cashews (soaked in hot water a few hours, or microwaved in water for 3 mintues)

• 2 cups of water

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 5 tablespoons arrowroot or tapioca starch

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Drain cashews.

2. Put all ingredients into a high speed blender, or food processor, and blend for several minutes until completely liquified. Totally Smooooooth!

3. Heat on stove in a medium sauce pan, on medium heat, stirring with a whisk until it begins to thicken. It will thicken quickly so do not stop stirring! Once it thickens, remove from the heat!

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SAUCE:

• 1 large can crushed tomatoes

• 1 small can diced tomatoes drained

• 1 carrot diced

• 1 onion diced

• 1 cup diced mushrooms (optional)

• 1-2 teaspoons crushed garlic

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon salt

• pepper to taste

• splash of red wine (optional)

“Meaty” option:

If you would rather have a "meaty” sauce, you could omit the carrot, pepper, and mushroom, and add a bag of meatless crumbles, or even use 2 Beyond Beef brand burgers. Simply thaw them, and cook as you would ground meat before adding to the sauce.

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COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large sauce pan, saute all of the veggies and garlic in a few teaspoons of oil until tender. If using meatless crumbles or Beyond Burgers, heat the faux meat, garlic, and diced onion together in a pan until cooked through.

2. Add wine and let cook for a minute.

3. Add both cans of tomatoes, and spices, and let the sauce simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

 

Lasagna

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box lasagna noodles, regular or gluten free

• 1 batch tofu ricotta

• White cheese sauce

• Homemade veggie marinara, or you can use a jar of store bought to save time

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Boil lasagna noodles according to package instructions.

2. Once noodles are drained, and cooled, cut each noodle into 4 pieces.

3. Once marinara, ricotta, white cheese sauce, and noodles are ready, you can begin building your lasagna cups.

4. Prepare muffin tin by spraying with some oil.

5. Start building the lasagna cups by first placing a piece of noodle into the bottom of the tins.

6. Next add a tablespoon or so of ricotta, then marinara, then white cheese sauce. Repeat until cups are full. You should be able to fit 3 layers, ending with white cheese sauce.

7. I like to place my muffin tin on a large cookie sheet while baking just in case any sauce bubbles over.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.

9. Allow to cool some then sprinkle with fresh chopped basil and serve.

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This recipes will yield around 12 lasagna cups. We typically serve 2 per adult, and 1 per child. They will freeze and reheat really well, so we normally just make a full batch and pop the leftovers into the freezer in an air tight container for up to one month. 

You can optionally cut this recipe in half pretty easily and make 6 - 8 cups. When halving the recipe I still make a full batch of marinara, and ricotta, then freeze half for next time. You can easily cut the cheese sauce recipes in half. I do not suggest making a full batch as the cheese does not freeze well. 

Classic Vegan Cranberry Scone

I love to bake, but my 12 year old daughter love to bake more. One of our favorite things to do together is veganize our favorite old treats.

These scones are super simple to whip up. So simple that our daughter did the baking on these beauties.

We mixed in dried cranberries but you could mix in any dry fruit, nut, or even chocolate chips. You could also leave out fruit or nuts and add some almond or vanilla extract for a simple yet still delicious vegan scone.

If a 12 year old can bake up a perfect batch of these cranberry scones, so can you!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of all purpose flour

• 8 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1/3 cup sugar plus 1 teaspoon

• 1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt, I used Kite Hill plain almond yogurt

• 1 flax egg

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Optional Icing:

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon diary free milk

• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. In a medium bowl, combine 1/3 cup of sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.

2. Add the butter, and using your hands, work in the butter until the mixture seem coarse and sort of crumbly. Add the cranberries to the mix.

3. In a small bowl whisk the yogurt and flax egg.

4. Add yogurt mixture to the dry mixture, and stir unitl combined. Knead until a smooth dough comes together. It will seem dry and crumbly at first, but it will come together as you keep kneading.

5. Once it has come together, form a disk with the dough about 7-8 inches wide, and 3/4 of an inch thick. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar on the dough, then cut the circle into 8 triangles.

6. Place scones onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes. You can brush them with a little plant based milk before popping them into the oven to help them brown. We used oat milk, as it browns nicely, but you can use what you have. They are done once they are light brown on top, and firm in the middle.

7. Allow scones to cool. You can optionally top them with an icing drizzle once cooled. Just whisk the sugar and milk and drizzle over the tops of the scones.

8. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

yields 8 scones 

Tofu Japchae (korean sweet potato noodles)

Japchae is a savory Korean noodle dish, made with sweet potato starch noodles. You can easily find these noodles at your local Asian market or online. This dish is pretty quick, and easy, making it a great week night dinner!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package Japchae (sweet potato) noodles, available at asian markets.

• 1 package extra firm organic tofu

• 1 can straw mushrooms, or you can use a few cups of any fresh mushroom you like. I just love straw mushrooms.

• 1 zucchini

• 1 carrot

• 4 cups baby spinach leaves

• 1 small white onion

• 3 green onions

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

• 3 tablespoons coconut aminos or soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• A few teaspoons sesame oil cooking

The sauce

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1/4 cup coconut aminos or soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 3 tablespoons hot water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fill a 9x13 baking dish with hot tap water. Soak the noodles in the water for 20 - 30 minutes.

2. Wrap the tofu in a clean kitchen towel or a few paper towels, and stack a few books on top for 15 - 20 minutes to remove the excess water.

3. Once tofu is done being pressed, cut into 1 inch by 1 inch cubes.

4. Cut all the vegetables, except the green onions into small matchstick sized cuts, including the mushrooms.

5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add all of the spinach and allow to cook just until wilted. Once wilted, move spinach to a colander and run cold water over it for a minute. Wrap the rinsed spinach in a clean kitchen towel then squeeze until no more liquid comes out. Remove the now ball of spinach from the towel and chop it up. Set aside.

6. In a wok, or large skillet, heat a teaspoon of sesame seed oil and add the tofu, 3 tablespoons aminos, and a teaspoon of garlic. Cook until the tofu begins to brown. Remove from pan and place on a plate.

7. In a small bowl whisk the ingredients for the sauce, first adding the sugar, then the hot water to help dissolve it, then the remaining ingredients.

8. Drain the noodles, and with a clean pair of kitchen scissors, cut the noodles in half. They are very long and much easier to work with if cut.

9. Add another teaspoon of sesame oil to the pan or wok you cooked the tofu in, along with all the vegetables except the spinach and green onions. Cook the vegetables for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

10. Once the vegetables begin to soften, add the noodles and half of the sauce. Allow to cook for about 5 - 7 minutes, using tongs to move the noodles around the pan to avoid having them stick. Check the noodles after 5 minutes to make sure they are done. After the noodles seem done, add the tofu back in along with the chopped spinach, and remaining sauce. Heat for a few more minutes, just long enough to rewarm the tofu.

11. Sprinkle with chopped green onions and sesame seed to serve.

Serves 4 - 6.

Vegan Lasagna Stuffed Peppers

 

I love lasagna. Since I was a kid it was one of my top 5 favorite foods.

Cheese, sauce, veggie or “meat,” I will always gladly eat lasagna!

Not to talk myself up, but I make a pretty mean lasagna. I use our all purpose vegan cheese sauce in place of shredded mozzarella and it is truly amazing. Its gooey and extra cheesy, and creamy and perfect!

Depending on my mood, I alternate between craving a veggie or vegan meat lasagna. I give the option for both in this recipe in case you are the same way.

I typically make homemade sauce because it is easy, and I normally have the staple items to make it in my pantry. I often find jar sauce too sweet, or get annoyed at how many of them actually contain dairy (its weird to me the things they throw dairy in for no apparent reason) so it has become my habit to just make my own. You can always double the batch and freeze half for a quick weeknight dinner down the road as well.

Now how did we happen upon stuffing lasagna into a pepper you may ask?!?!? Well one day of of my kids told me they saw lasagna stuffed into peppers online and I got super excited!! Thank goodness my kids love food as much as I do and often find recipe ideas I have yet to stumble upon. So as quickly as she suggested it, I had them made and in the oven!

These stuffed peppers are really simple to make! Don't let the steps below discourage you. It is just as easy as making a big lasagna, you are just building it into a pepper!

These lasagna stuffed peppers are great for entertaining as well because they actually turn out really pretty. I used green peppers but you can use any variety of bell pepper you prefer!

So if you are a fan of lasagna but want to change it up a bit, give these a try! They are delicious, pretty and a fun spin on an original classic!

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Lasagna:

• 4 - 6 bell peppers

• 1/2 box lasagna noodles, regular or gluten free

• 1 batch tofu ricotta

• White cheese sauce (recipe below)

• Homemade veggie marinara (recipe below) or you can use a jar of store bought, you can also add cooked vagan sausage, ground “beef”, or seitan to the sauce if you like

White Cheese Sauce:

• 1/2 cup of cashews (soaked in hot water a few hours, or microwaved in water for 3 mintues)

• 1 cups of water

• 1 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot or tapioca starch

• 1 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Instructions:

1. Drain cashews

2. Put all ingredients into a high speed blender, or food processor and blend for several minutes until completely liquified. Totally Smooooooth!

3. Heat on stove in a medium sauce pan, on medium heat, stirring with a whisk until it begins to thicken. It will thicken quickly so do not stop stirring! Once it thickens, remove from the heat!

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The Sauce:

• 1 large can crushed tomatoes

• 1 small can diced tomatoes drained

• 1 carrot diced

• 1 onion diced

• 1 cup diced mushrooms (optional)

• 1-2 teaspoons crushed garlic

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon salt

• pepper to taste

• splash of red wine (optional)

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This sauce will make more than you need. I often just freeze the other half and use the next time I am making this recipe, or need a marinara sauce.

“Meaty” option:

If you would rather have a "meaty” sauce, you could omit the carrot, pepper, and mushroom, and add a bag of meatless crumbles, or even use 2 Beyond Beef brand burgers. Simply thaw them, and cook as you would ground meat before adding to the sauce.

Instructions:

1. In a large sauce pan, saute all of the veggies and garlic in a few teaspoons of oil until tender. If using meatless crumbles or Beyond Burgers, Heat the faux meat, garlic, and diced onion together in in a pan until cooked through.

2. Add wine and let cook for a minute.

3. Add both cans of tomatoes, and spices, and let the sauce simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

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COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

1. Cut tops from bell peppers and hallow out the insides. Place peppers on a parchment lined cookie sheet turned upside down, and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Turning them upside down will allow the liquid in the peppers to drain out while cooking.

2. While peppers are cooking, boil lasagna noodles according to package instructions.

3. Once noodles are drained, and cooled, cut each noodle into 4 pieces.

4. Begin stuffing the peppers by first adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of marinara to the bottom. Next add a piece of lasagna noodle, ricotta, marinara, cheese sauce, and repeat until the pepper is filled. Repeat with remaining peppers.

5. Place stuffed peppers back on the cookie sheet you used to cook them the first time, and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

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Serves 4 - 6.

Layered Vegan Breakfast Pie with Quinoa Crust

This delicious and beautiful breakfast pie, combines layers of tofu quiche, with roasted tomatoes, and potatoes, all nestled in savory quinoa crust.

INGREDIENTS:

Quinoa crust

• 1 cup dry quinoa

• 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Pie filling

• 1 block firm or extra firm tofu

• 1/4 cup plain plant based milk

• 2 large tomatos

• 2 medium sized russet potatoes

• 3 green onions chopped

• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 1/4 teaspoons tumeric

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon thyme

• 1 teaspoon salt

• pepper to taste

• fresh basil for garnish

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Wash potatoes, and leave the skin on. With a kitchen mandoline, thinly slice both potatoes. If you do not have a mandoline, you can VERY thinly slice them with a knife.

2. Thinly slice the tomatoes.

3. On 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spread out the potatoes and tomatoes in a single layer. Lightly spray both pans of vegetables with some cooking oil, and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.

4. Cook quinoa according to package instructions.

5. Once quinoa is cooled, mix in vegan cream cheese, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon thyme.

6. Press the quinoa mixture evenly into a lightly oiled pie pan, and set aside.

7. Add drained tofu (no need to press it,) milk, nutritional yeast, garlic, and remaining seasonings to a high speed blender or food processor. Blend until mixture is completely smooth.

8. Once the veggies are done, remove from oven and allow to cooled. Turn oven down to 350 degrees.

9. Begin layering the pie by scooping 1/3 of the tofu mixture into the bottom of the quinoa crust. Next add half of the tomatoes in a single layer. Evenly spread another 1/3 of the tofu on top of the tomatoes. Now add all of the potatoes in an even layers, and sprinkle the green onions over them. Top potatoes with the remaining 1/3 of the tofu mixture and spread evenly. Evenly arrange the remaining tomatoes on top.

10. Place pie in the the 350 degree oven and bake for 30 mintues.

11. Allow pie cool a bit before adding some fresh basil leaves on top and serving.

Beyond Meatball Stuffed Challah

 The only thing better than vegan challah may just be stuffed vegan challah! And the only thing better than a meatball sub may just be a whole loaf of soft, delicious bread ,stuffed with cheesy, saucy, meatballs.

You read that correctly! Soft, fluffy, perfect vegan challah, stuffed with vegan meatballs, marinara, mozzarella.

It’s saucy, “meaty”, gooey, vegan cheesy magic, all wrapped into a warm fluffy challah bread.

It’s a meatball sandwich you can eat without worrying about the meatballs falling out the back and into your lap, and that will feed a whole family ( or maybe still just you if you are extra hungry!) This recipe actually makes 2 loaves so you can be stingy and there will still be one to share!

I promise vegan challah is easier than it may seem, and I also promise stuffing it with vegan meatballs (or anything else for the matter) is not that hard either!

We used Beyond Brand Meat for the meatballs because it is my favorite brand to use. You can use whatever is handy or easy to find. You can also use pre-made vegan meatballs if that is easier for you. I like Trader Joes brand if going that route!

For the cheese you can use store bought vegan mozzarella or fry your hand at making your own. We have serval mozzarella recipes on the the site. This vegan mozzarella cheese stick recipe can be molded in a bowl then easily shredded for this recipe. It shreds, slices, and melts really well!

This recipe hands down my favorite stuffed challah to make and eat! If you love challah and you love meatball subs, then this is gonna be your favorite too. I have zero doubts!

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Challah

Follow the recipe for my basic Challah Y'all, Vegan Challah. You will follow the instructions through the first rise, then follow the below instructions for stuffing and braiding.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 thawed Beyond Meat Burgers or 1 lb of vegan ground mince

• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (a mix of thyme, sage, basil, marjoram, rosemary, and oregano) if you do not have Italian seasoning feel free to add a combo of any of the listed spices

• 1 teaspoon tomato paste

• 1 flax egg

• 1 bag vegan mozzarella shreds, like Follow Your Heart brand

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Sauce

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 carrot, diced

• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

• 1/3 cup red wine (optional)

• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

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Meatballs

1. Mix thawed burgers, panko bread crumbs, garlic, spices, and flax egg together in a bowl.

2. Once well combined, form meatballs with a small scoop, or spoon, and place them on a baking pan. You can line the pan with parchment paper for easier clean up.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sauce

1. Sauté onions and carrots in 1 teaspoon of oil until onions are translucent with 1 teaspoon of salt in a large pot for 5 minutes.

2. Add the wine, and let it cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Add the cooked meatballs, and let simmer in the sauce for 15 minutes.

Stuffing the Challah

1. Once Challah has completed its first rise, remove from oven and separate dough in half. This recipe will yield 2 stuffed challah loaves.

2. Cut each half into thirds. (each loaf will have three pieces of dough. Work with one loaf at a time, leaving the other three pieces of dough covered in a bowl until you are ready to use them)

3. Take one piece of dough in you hand and begin to stretch it both length wise, and width wise and the same, time, letting gravity help with the length. You want the dough to be about 12 inches long, and maybe 4 inches wide. Once you have it stretched length wise, you can put it on a floured counter top and press it to get it the width stretched.

4. Once your dough is the correct size, begin adding the meatballs in a row, it works best if you cut them in half. You can add a LITTLE sauce, but if the dough becomes wet on the edges, it WILL NOT seal together when pinched. So do not over fill. Sprinkle with vegan cheese shreds. Save the extra sauce for dipping, later.

5. Once stuffed, bring the outside edges together, and pinch to seal.

6. Repeat with the other two strands.

7. Once all three strands are stuffed, and formed, carefully braid the three pieces together. If the seams begin to open, pinch them back and continue braiding. Tuck both ends of the loaf under when done braiding. Once again I will refer you to Tori Avey's challah braiding guide if you are unfamiliar with braiding challah! She does a fantastic job showing all the different ways to braid your bread, plus she has some really great recipes on her site.

8. Repeat with the second loaf, and place both stuffed loaves on a baking sheet, and back in the oven to rise again for about 45 mintues. Once they have risen, remove from oven and pre-heat to 350.

9. Brush tops of challah with some vegan butter.

10. Bake both loaves for about 35 - 45 minutes. You can tap the tops to see if they sound a little hallow. It is hard to tell when stuffed challahs are done when there are wet ingredients inside, so if they do not seem cooked through after 35 minutes, let them keep cooking for 5 - 10 more minutes.

11. Remove challah from the oven, and allow to cool some before cutting. Serve with reserved sauce for dipping.

Meaty Vegan Potato Knish

If you have had knish then you know just how delicious they are, and if you haven't, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Knish originated as an Eastern European Jewish street food. Traditionally filled with mashed potatoes and minced meat, these days you can them filled with just about anything.

We often fill them with meat and potatoes, or sautéed veggies and cheesy potatoes. The dough is actually really easy to make. The rolling and cutting of the dough is also easy once you understand the process, so we have added step by step pics to help!

Don’t worry if your first batch or two are not super pretty! They will still taste delicious. I think this is just one of those recipes that practice makes perfect. And once you make them once, ou will likely want to make them all the time. So you will be a knish pro before you even know what happened.

Once again, I am southern, so I take every opportunity to smother almost everything in gravy, giving this traditional dish a southern twist. Feel free to omit the gravy! They are just as good without!

Knish also freeze really well, making them a great meal prep item. We normally double our batch and freeze half. Just thaw and reheat in the oven. Cook once, eat twice is my favorite!

Finally, if you are not a fan of faux meat, feel free to replace it in this recipe wth some minced and sautéed mushrooms, or walnut meat. Both would be just as tasty!

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INGREDIENTS:

The Filling

• 2 Thawed Beyond Meat burgers, or half a bag of meatless crumbles, or 1 cup minced seitan flank steak

• 2 medium sized potatoes

• 1/2 onion

• 1/3 cup vegan cream cheese

• 1 teaspoon of thyme

• 1/2 teaspoons salt

• pepper to taste

• 2 teaspoons cooking oil

Knish dough

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 flax egg

• 1/2 cup oil, I use grapeseed, but you could use vegetable or even coconut if you want

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 cup water

• vegan butter for brushing

Brown onion gravy

• 3 cups of water

• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons reduced sodium Better Than Bouillon

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard

• salt and pepper to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Knish Dough:

1. First prepare the dough by mixing the dry ingredients together in large bowl.

2. In a smaller bowl mix the oil, water, vinegar and flax egg together, then add to the dry mix.

3. Work the dough with your hands until it is well combined.

4. Kneed the dough for a few minutes, just until smooth.

5. Place dough back into the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

6. Pop it in the fridge for one hour to rest.

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The Filling:

1. Begin preparing the filling by peelinig, and dicing the potatoes to a very fine dice.

2. Dice onion to a very fine dice as well.

3. In a large skillet on medium heat, add a teaspoon or two of oil, onions, and potatoes. Cook the veggies until the potatoes are cooked through. It wont take too long since they are cut so small.

4. Now add the thawed burgers (breaking them up with a spatula,) or meatless crumbles, and seasonings to the pan with the potatoes. Continue cooking until the "meat" is cooked through.

5. Transfer mixture to a medium sized bowl, and let cool for 5 minutes. Mix in the cream cheese until well combined. Set pan aside to use later for the gravy. Don't wash the pan.

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Making the Knish

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1. Remove dough from the the fridge and roll it out on a big floured surface (a counter top works best, you need a lot of room) into a large rectangle. The dough should be about a 1/4 inch thick. It's ok if you cannot get it into a perfect rectangle, you can trim up the edges with a sharp knife to even it out. You can save the scrap dough and roll it back out, adding any left over filling you may have to yield a few more knish.

2. Now at the edge of the dough closest to you, form a log 2 inches wide by 1 inch thick (give or take) with your filling, the length of the dough.

3. Once all of the filling is in place, start rolling the dough (starting on the filling end) trying to get the roll as tight as you can, without having the filling squish out the ends. Before you come to the end, brush some water along the edge of the dough to help seal the seam.

4. You now have a long log of dough. Starting at either end of the dough, measure in about 3 inches from the end and pinch, then twist the dough. Cut the dough on the twist, and place twist side up on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Take your finger and poke the twist down into the center of the knish. Repeat with the remaining dough. You will get about 8 knish depending on the length of your original dough rectangle , and how big you make each knish. You may have some scrap dough, and extra filling that you can use to make a few more, as well.

5. Brush the tops of the knish with some vegan butter and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. You can brush some more butter on mid bake if you like. This will help the knish brown a little better.

6. As the knish are baking, prepare the gravy by sauteing the onions and garlic in the same pan you used for your filling, with a few teaspoons of vegan butter over medium heat. Once the onions are translucent, sprinkle on the flour and stir, letting it cook for a few minutes. Whisk the water, Better than Bouillon, tomato paste, and mustard together, then add to the pan. Reduce the heat to low, add salt and pepper, and let simmer, stirring regularly, until the gravy begins to thicken.

7. Once knish are done, you can top with the gravy, and garnish with some fresh parsley.

The knish freeze, and reheat really well. We often make a double batch, and freeze half. They should be good in the freezer for up to one month. 

Easy Tofu Quiche Cups

Tofu, it’s magic, am I right?!?!?

You can sauté it, fry it, bake it, turn it into cheese, and even use it as a really convincing egg substitute.

Did you know you can blend it right up with a few more ingredients and get an amazing and healthy quiche?

And for all of you that are gluten free, just skip the crust and bake your tofu vegan quiche right in a muffin pan. Aren’t they cute??

You can add any veggies you like to the recipe, whatever you have on hand, vegan sausage, bacon, or cheese The sky, errrrr, the muffin pan is the limit. What I meant to say is just don’t overfill the cup or you will have a mess on your hands.

These little beauties reheat like a dream and that makes them perfect for meal prep and an easy grab and go breakfast or lunch!

So for all of y’all that think tofu is gross or boring or you just don’t know what to do with it, here is a solid idea for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s easy, healthy, and super delicious! So really these are a no brainer!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package extra firm tofu

• 1/4 cup plant based milk

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1 teaspoon powder garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 2 cups chopped brocoli

• 1/2 medium onion diced

• 1/4 bell pepper

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COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium sized skillet, spray a little cooking oil and add the veggies. Sauté until the onions become translucent, then remove from heat.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to a food processor, or a high speed blender, and blend until the mixture is completely smooth.

4. Dump the veggies into the tofu mix, and pulse just a few times to mix them up.

5. Spray a muffin tin with some spray oil, and divide the mixture evenly. The mixture will yield 6 - 8 cups depending on how full you fill the muffin cups.

6. Bake the quiche cups for 25 - 30 minutes. They are done once they begin to brown, and you can pull them away from the side of the pan easily.

7. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Vegan Spanakopita Triangles

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 package phyllo dough 
• 1 pound baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 cup vegan feta
• 1/3 tofu ricotta
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (or 2 cloves garlic minced)
• Juice from half a lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Following phyllo package instructions for thawing the dough. Normally the package says to thaw in the fridge over night. If you did not do that, you can leave it on the counter, and allow to thaw for 2 hours, still in the box. 
2. Heat a large skillet on medium heat, add a few teaspoons of oil, and saute the onions and garlic for a few minutes.
3. Begin adding the spinach in batches to the pan, allowing it to cook down before adding more. Continue until all of the spinach has been added, and it has just wilted. 
4. Crumble up the feta a bit in a large bowl, then mix in the ricotta, lemon, dill, salt and pepper. 
5. Add the spinach mixture to the bowl and stir.
6. Carefully remove the thawed phyllo from the package, and lay it out flat.
7. You want 4 sheets stacked together, so carefully remove one sheet at a time, lay flat, and spray or brush with some cooking oil. Repeat until you have 4 pieces stacked. Be sure to also spray or brush the top sheet. Repeat this process with the remaining sheets of phyllo dough.
8. Using a pizza cutter, or a sharp knife, divide and cut each stack of dough into 4 - 6 equal strips, the strips should be about 3 - 4 inches across each.
9. Take about 2 tablespoons of filling, and place at one end of a dough strip. Form the filling into a triangle shape, and start folding the dough over, from one side to the other, until you reach the end.
10. Repeat with remaining strips, and place triangles on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
11. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.
12. Serve with Lemon tahini dip.

Yields about 2 dozen triangles.

Grilled Watermelon and Tofu Tacos

Ok, so I know watermelon and tofu tacos may seem weird, but trust me, they are delicious!

When the weather is nice, I would way rather grill than cook in my kitchen. I love to be outside and love not having a mess to clean up inside.

I will now speak for my husband and say watermelon is maybe one of his top 3 favorite foods of all time. When watermelon is in season, we always have one sliced up in the fridge! If I am being honest, on its own, its not my fave. I don’t dislike watermelon but I don’t normally crave it, either.

In an effort to use up the piles of watermelon on my counter or in my fridge, I decided to get creative. I have seen other grilled watermelon dishes and decided what the heck….why not tacos, and why not paired with tofu! I really liked the idea of a savory marinade of the tofu paired wit the sweet watermelon, and y’all, it WORKS!! It works and I really, really love it!!

Seriously, just toss the marinated tofu on the grill with the water melon slices. So easy. You can heat the tortillas right on the grill, too. I used corn but if you prefer flour, thats fine too! The sauce is also super simple and really quick to mix up. The tangy balsamic mixed with the creamy mayo and garlic is just simple perfection!

So, don’t be weirded it out and just try these tacos. I think you will be super surprised how good grilled watermelon on a taco actually is! Change up that taco Tuesday with these grilled watermelon and tofu tacos!!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package extra firm tofu

• 4-5 slices of watermelon with the rind still on

• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

• 1 avocado, thinly sliced

• corn or flour tortillas

• jalapeño slices (optional)

Sauce

• 3 tablespoons vegan mayo

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• salt and pepper to taste

Tofu Marinade

• Juice from 1 lime

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vingar

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

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COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Wrap tofu in a clean kitchen towel or a few paper towels, and place a few books on top for about 15 minutes. This helps remove excess liquid.

2. Cut tofu into 1 inch strips, and soak in the marinade for 15 - 20 minutes.

3. Heat your grill and place a cast iron, or an oven safe skillet on the grill to heat. If you do not own either skillet, you can cook your tofu on the stove top in whatever frying pan you have.

4. Once the grill, and pan have heated, add tofu and the marinade to the pan, and close the grill lid.

5. Check on the tofu in about 10 minutes, turning the pieces. Continue letting the tofu cook until all the marinade is absorbed, and the tofu begins to brown. You may need to turn pieces several times.

6. Spray or brush the watermelon with some cooking oil, and add the slices to the grill. Allow them to grill for several minutes on each side or until they have nice grill marks on them.

7. You can add the tortillas to the grill on the top rack for a few minutes if you have room, or heat them in your oven.

8. Once watermelon and tofu are done, carefully remove from grill, (make sure to grab the pan handle with an oven mitt,) and cut watermelon off the rind in bite size pieces.

9. Whisk together the ingredients for sauce, and build your tacos by adding a slice of tofu, some watermelon, avocado, onion, and cilantro.

10. Drizzle with creamy balsamic sauce, and top with jalapeño slices.

Tofu Bibimbap

Bibimbap is a Korean rice bowl that is normally served with beef and fried egg, but it is super easy to veganize this dish. Tofu is a great protein substitute for biminnbap, plus you can add any veggie you like or that you have on hand, making it a perfect, quick weeknight dinner.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block extra firm tofu
• 2 carrots 
• 1 cucumber
• 4 cups spinach
• 4 scallons 
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 4 cups rice 
• cilantro(optional)
• vegan kimchi (optional)

Tofu marinade

• 3  tablespoons coconut aminos
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• juice from 1 lime

Bibimbap sauce

• 4 tablespoons sweet chili sauce 
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos 
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons rice or apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds (optional)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Prepare rice according to package instructions, or in a rice cooker.
2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
3. Wrap tofu in a few paper towels, or a clean kitchen towel, and stack a few books on top for about 15 minutes to remove excess liquid. Once ready, cut tofu into small cubes.
4. Whisk together the tofu marinade and let tofu marinate for about 15 minutes while you prepare the veggies.
5. Thinly cut carrots into match sticks.
6. Thinly slice the  cucumber.
7. Chop the green onions, white ends included.
8. In a large frying pan, on medium heat, add a few teaspoons of oil, tofu, and the marinade. Cook until all of the liquid is absorbed and the tofu begins and starts to crisp.
9. Once the the tofu is done, remove from pan, and add 1 tablespoon of water back to the same pan. Begin adding the spinach in batches and let it cook just until it begins to wilt.
10. Begin building your bowl by first adding rice, then arranging the veggies, and tofu around the bowl. 
11. You can sprinkle some sesame seeds and chopped cilantro on top if you like. You can also add some vegan kimchi for some spice.
12. Drizzle with sauce and serve.

serves 4-6

Vegan Pigs in a Blanket (carrot dogs)

We regularly make carrots dogs, so making vegan pigs in a blanket with tiny carrots seemed like the perfect party idea.

This recipe is quick and easy.

The best kind!

Just boil, and marinate the carrots, wrap them in some crescent dough, bake, and you are good to go.

These pigs in a blanket are perfect for parties, or just a healthy little snack!

Just add mustard and you are ready to snack

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package baby carrots (you need 32 baby carrots, which is about a small bag)

• 2 cans of store bought crescent dough (most brands are plant based, but read the ingredients on the back to be sure)

• 1/2 cup vegan parmesan (optional)

The carrot marinade

• 1/4 cup coconut aminos

• 1 table spoon maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon of the following: garlic powder, salt, mustard powder, smoked paprika, turmeric

• 3 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1 tablespoon grape seed oil

• 2 tablespoons water

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COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix marinade ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish, or a large zip lock bag.

2. Boil baby carrots until they are just soft enough to poke a fork in. Be careful not to get the too soft though.

3. Drain carrots and add them to your marinade.

4. Let the carrots marinate at least 6 - 7 hours. You can start them in the morning and have them for dinner, or marinate them over night for the next day.

5. Remove crescent dough from package and cut each triangle of dough in half, creating 2 triangles from each crescent.

6. Place carrot on the widest end of the triangle and roll to the end.

7. Arrange pigs in a blanket on a cookie sheet. Two packs of crescents yields 32 pigs in a blanket, so you will need 2 cookies sheets. (You can easily half this recipe, and use only one can of crescents, and half the carrots)

8. Bake according to crescent package instructions, or for about 10 - 15 minutes at 350.

9. Once pigs in a blanket are done and cooled, you can roll them in some vegan parmesan for extra zip, or leave them as is!

Vegan Seitan Ribs

In college I worked at Chili’s. You know the place with the song about the ribs.

At the time I ate meat and I loved ribs, so other than the annoying song I was often asked to sing by customers, it was a pretty sweet gig. Never mind the fact that I still have nightmares to this day, 20 plus years later, about being the only person working and waiting on a full restaurant. I mean It actually happened once 5 minus before close when a convention of people came in and I was the last server there to close…..needless to say I have some PTSD about ti.

So once going vegan and learning all of the wonders of vital wheat gluten, I knew I wanted to learn to make ribs. And I did.

Once again I turned to Robin Roberson and the Veganze it cookbook (buy this book..trust me) and internet to investigate vegan ribs. What I learned is that most recipes I looked at, including the vegan queen Robin’s, were all pretty much spot on, so I married several of the recipes that seemed very much the same, and made adjustment according to what had on hand and made ribs. I was not disappointed.

I would say this is one the easiest seitan recipes I make! Mix, baked, then grill. Its not hard at all y’all and I have even watched a non vegan 9 year old boy tear a plate of these up.

Vital wheat gluten can be found in most health food stores or on line. If you have never worked with it, it’s just the gluten part stripped from the wheat. It is like making any kind of bread, as you are just making a dough out of the wheat gluten. Once you add liquid and knead it, It becomes stretchy and that texture is what give seitan its remarkable ability to mimic meat.

So fire up the grill and get ready to be wowed! And just as friendly suggestion, never ever ask me to sing that rib song. I promise it won’t end well.

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NGREDIENTS: 

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 3/4 cups vegetable broth

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons nut butter (I use almond butter)

• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos

• 1 - 2 cups BBQ sauce

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COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add all ingredients except for the BBQ sauce in a food processor, and blend until a sort of dough forms. Let the dough mix for about a minute.

2. If you do not have a food processor, you can combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, combining until forming a dough. Kneed the dough for several minutes by hand.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. Press dough into an 8x8 baking dish. Score the dough with a sharp knife, cutting only about halfway through the dough (don't cut to far, you want then to hold together through grilling.) 8 lines down, then one through the middle making 16 ribs. This will make it easy for them to pull apart after you grill them.

5. Bake ribs for 25 minutes

6. Remove ribs from oven, and let cool enough to handle.

7. Baste ribs with BBQ sauce, then transfer to a heated grill.

8. Grill on each side for about 5 minutes, adding more sauce while grilling. You just want to get a little char on them, and some nice grill marks before taking them off of the grill.

9. Once done pull the ribs apart, and serve with extra BBQ sauce for dipping.

Serves 4.

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Seitan Lemon Piccata with Mashed Potatoes

The first seitan I ever leaned to make was a basic, simmered seitan.

If you don’t know, then seitan is basically wheat meat made from vital wheat gluten. And as long as you do not have a gluten intolerance, its an excellent source of vegan protein! It is also really inexpensive so an added bonus for sure!

Noting fussy, just make the dough, divide it, simmer it, and its ready to go.

This seitan works well for all kinds of recipes like this piccata. It is pretty versatile and we use it in fajitas, cheese steaks, fry it up to make wings, stir fry, all kinds of things.

The beauty of it is how easy it is, and how well it freezes! If you have ever made dough of any kind, you can make seitan. There are so many methods for making faux meats but this basic method is still my go to.

I often make 2 batches and toss them in the freezer. I quarter each batch so I can thaw smaller portions quickly for fast weeknight dinners.

If you are feeling like make a more traditional vegan chicken piccata you can try making my easy vegan chicken breast. It really is easy, and although you do bake it verses simmering it, it is a very convincing chicken seitan. And it is very, very simple and easy to make. It does contain soy, so if you are soy free the easy basic seitan is probably a better choice.

This piccata is so flavorful and the seitan gets so nice and crispy on the outside. The buttery, lemony, garlicky sauce is perfection and who doesn’t love a glorious creamy pile of mashed potatoes.

So if you have been looking for the perfect vegan piccata, look no further. And I can not encourage you enough to just make a double batch of the seitan so recipes like this are twice as easy and quick when you are ready to make them!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 batch seitan (all 4 pieces) or 4 easy vegan chicken breast cut in half length wise for 8 thin breasts.

• 2 lemons

• 3 tablespoons capers

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter, like Earth Balance

• 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup olive or grape seed oil (this amount depends on the size of the pan you are using to fry the seitan )

• 1 cup vegetable broth

• 3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1/3 cup four

• 1/3 cup organic corn starch

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup white wine (optional)

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Mashed Potatoes

• 6 medium russet potatoes

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese or vegan sour cream

• 1/4 cup plant based milk (give or take)

• salt and pepper to taste

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COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. With a very sharp knife, carefully slice all 4 pieces of seitan into cutlets. You should be able to get about 3 cutlets from each piece.

2. Mix flour and corn starch in a shallow dish, and dredge the cutlets in the mixture. Make sure you fully coat each piece.

3. Heat oil in a med/large skillet on medium heat. You may need more or less oil depending on the size of your pan. You need just enough oil in the bottom of your pan to quickly fry each side the seitan cutlets.

4. Once the pan is good and hot, add the cutlets and cook each side a few minutes, or until they begin to brown and get crispy.

5. Place finished cutlets on a paper-towel-lined plate.

Mashed Potatoes

1. Peel, dice, and boil potatoes in a large pot while preparing the piccata sauce.

2. Once potatoes and soft enough to pierce with a fork, drain the water, and return potatoes to the pot you boiled them in.

3. Mix in cream cheese or sour cream, and butter. Mash with a hand masher, or use an electric hand mixer.

4. Add enough milk to get the potatoes to the consistency you prefer using 1/4 cup of plant based milk, give or take.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Piccata sauce

1. Wipe out the pan you just used for the seitan.

2. Reheat the pan on medium heat, and add the 2 tablespoons of vegan butter.

3. Add the garlic, and wine if using. Let the alcohol cook out of the wine for a few minutes, then add the juice from 1 and 1/2 lemons, vegetable broth, capers, half of the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Let sauce simmer for about 5 minutes on low heat.

Prepare you plates by adding mashed potatoes, topping with a few cutlets, and drizzling the piccata sauce over each plate. Garnish with the remaining parsley and a thin lemon slice (using your remaining half a lemon)

Serves 4 - 6.

Vegan Alabama White Sauce Tempeh Tacos

I have talked about this delicious sauce before, and I'll do it again! You can use this magic sauce on so much. It's not limited to its BBQ roots. In fact, it makes a super tasty tempeh marinade, and taco topping! Add some fresh crispy slaw, tangy lime, and creamy avocado, and I promise you will not be disappointed.

INGREDIENTS: 

• 2 packages of tempeh
• 1 batch Alabama white sauce
• 1/2 bag of slaw mix, or a few cups chopped cabbage
• 1 lime
• 1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 - 2 avocados
• 8-12 corn tortillas 
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Cut tempeh into cubes, and place in a shallow pan or a large zip lock bag. Add half of the  Alabama white sauce to the tempeh, and marinate for at least an hour in the fridge.
2. In a large skillet, heat a few teaspoons of oil on medium/high.
3. Add the tempeh, and the marinade to the pan, and fry tempeh on each side until tempeh browns, and begins to get crispy. 
4. In a bowl, mix together slaw mix, onion,  juice from 1 lime, and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder.
5. Heat another large pan or griddle, adding a little vegan butter or oil to the pan. Use this pan to heat the tortillas on each side until they begin to crisp. I like to sprinkle a little chili powder and cumin on my tortillas while they are cooking for flavor. 
6. Add some tempeh, slaw mix, and sliced avocado to each tortilla, drizzling some of the remaining Alabama white sauce on top.
7. Top with some fresh cilantro 

Serving size 4-6 (depending on if you eat 2 or 3 tacos.) You can use one pack of tempeh, and half the amount of Alabama white sauce for a smaller serving size.

One Pot Creamy Vegan Chicken Pasta

I love one pot meals!

They are quick, easy, and don’t make a ton of dishes you have to clean up.

So yeah, I am here for it, always.

This creamy vegan chicken one pot pasta dish is no exception.

It is all the things…..quick, easy, one pot required, and most importantly it is delicious.

You can use our easy vegan chicken breast in this recipe or a can of jackfruit in brine. Both work well and both are tasty. The jackfruit is a great gluten free alternative to chicken if you can’t eat seitan and the seitan is super easy and freezes beautifully for recipes such as this. I often make a big batch of the chicken every week or 2 and freeze half for easy week night dinners like this!

If you are not a fan of mushrooms (my family is pretty evenly divided on this topic) you can replace them with a can of drained chicken peas, or any other veggie you may like! No need to complicate things, use what you have or what you like.

So if you were looking for an easy weeknight dinner you can toss together in no time, but is still healthy and tasty, here you go. I hope you love it as much as my family does!

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INGREDIENTS:

• I package spaghetti noodles (you can use gluten free as well)

• 1 can jackfruit in brine, or 2-3 easy vegan chicken breast

• 1/2 onion diced

• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained

• 2 cups chopped white button mushrooms

• 1/2 cup cashews soaked in hot water for an hour, or you can microwave them in some water for 3 minutes (you can also use sunflower seeds if you have a nut allergy or just don’t have any on hand)

• 1 cup water

• 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

• A splash of white wine (optional)

• Fresh basil to garnish (optional)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Start by adding your soaked and drained cashews, and 1 cup of water to a high speed blender or food processor. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth.

2. Drain the jackfruit and break up the pieces between your finders, or using a fork. If using easy vegan chicken breast just dice them up into small bite size pieces!

3. Now add a few teaspoons of oil to the bottom of a large deep skillet (a skillet that has a lid).

4. Next add noodles, then the remaining ingredients on top of the noodles, adding the broth last.

5. Turn pot on medium/low heat and let pasta cook with a lid on top for 20 - 25 minutes.

6. You will need to stir several times during the cooking process to keep the noodles from sticking to the bottom on the pot.

7. Serve topped with fresh basil and vegan parmesan.