This comforting combination—chewy soy curls, cheesy grits, and spinach, all slathered with barbecue sauce—tastes great and delivers legumes, grains, and greens, the healthy plant-based trifecta. Cook the soy curls in the air fryer or oven—your choice. With instant grits and an air fryer, dinner will be done in under 30 minutes!
Read MoreThis plant-based chili’s flavor runs deep, a tough challenge for vegan chili recipes. You might not taste the cocoa powder or cinnamon, but they contribute to the complexity of this flavor profile. A little tahini lends it some creaminess, and cilantro and limes add bright notes at the end. As a bonus, this chili freezes well and makes at least 8 servings, meaning “Leftovers!,” one of my favorite words.
Read MoreThis post includes a recipe for oil-free crisp tortilla shells and a list of plant-based, oil-free toppings, including beans, crumbles, sauces, and garnishes. Use your imagination and customize your approach depending on what you feel like and what you have on hand.
Read MoreThese delicious oil-free crumbles are high in plant-based protein, use whole-food ingredients, and taste great. The nuts provide a wonderful contrasting texture and flavor to the tempeh, creating the complexity needed for the base of tacos, tostadas, nachos, or burritos. I provide a number of suggestions for using these crumbles in various dishes.
Read MoreThis gluten-free, oil-free, plant-based burger has the two characteristics most needed in a good veggie burger: the right texture and an interesting flavor combination. Homemade vegan burgers with beans can be mushy, a real turn-off. These burgers get their structure from sturdy legumes, ground chia “eggs,” oatmeal, and seeds. The flavor comes from ketchup, mustard, and a good dose of dry spices.
Read MoreThis salad takes advantage of freekeh, a grain derived from young wheat that cooks relatively quickly, it has a nutty flavor, and it’s a whole grain. In this salad, which could serve as the main dish of a meal, and would be lovely at a summer picnic, freekeh is tossed together with roasted vegetables, currants (or other dried fruit), lemon zest, and a light dressing. It can be served cold or at room temperature, can be customized, and goes well with many foods.
Read MoreThe filling is a snap to make in the air fryer ( oven directions provided too). It’s oil-free with delightful contrasting textures between the crispy chickpeas and the tender cauliflower. The swoon-worthy crema brings lime and cilantro flavors forward, all against the creaminess of blended raw cashews. Top this with a cabbage slaw and hot sauce, and you have a party in your mouth.
Read MoreThis lovely plant-based curry is a snap to make in the Instant Pot. Pre-soaking the black-eyed peas means that all the ingredients will reach the right texture, without getting over-cooked, in 12 minutes of pressure. This method avoids the need for oil, which saves on fat and calories. Seasonings and heat level can be adjusted to taste. The curry freezes well.
Read MoreThe soy curls bring a welcome contrasting texture to the rice and vegetables in this bowl. The curls are chewy and bursting with barbecue flavor. You can make this bowl your own with your choice of grain, vegetables, toppings, and sauce.
Read MoreSoy curls are a great substitute for chicken in this plant-based recipe. They’re chewy, roasted on the outside, soft on the inside, and they soak up the wonderful flavors of the marinade-sauce. Even without oil, the roasting method works perfectly and yields a lot of color to the soy curls and vegetables. My favorite part is the peanuts!
Read MoreMushrooms and lentils share the spotlight in this stew, with support from tomato and vinegar flavors. The result is a protein-packed, deeply flavorful plant-based stew that tastes great on its own or with spaetzle, rice, or other grain.
Read MoreThese plant-based fajitas have layers and layers of flavors and textures. Roasting brings out the best of all the ingredients, including bell peppers, soy curls, onion, tomatoes, and zucchinis. These are oil-free, but you wouldn’t know it from the flavor and caramelization. If you haven’t tried soy curls yet (a very healthy protein made from soybeans), this would be a great recipe to start with. You control the level of spicy heat.
Read MoreI adapted this recipe from from the New York Times replacing the oil with a combination of tahini and water (saving almost 400 calories) and regular parmesan with vegan parmesan. The freshness of the lemon, the grassiness of the herbs, and the abundant asparagus pieces shout “It’s spring!” This is a perfect brunch dish as well as dinner entree, because it tastes great at room temperature or hot.
Read MoreEggplant, zucchini, and other summer squash are sometimes hard to include in a stir-fry. To get these vegetables cooked well and avoid using oil, I broil the vegetables with a tahini-water mixture instead of stir-frying them. The textures and flavors are spot-on. Everything is cooked right, without mushiness, and the flavor combination is divine.
Read MoreFor this summer entree salad, you can use whatever cooked grain you like, whatever kinds of grilled vegetables, and your choices of greens and dressing. The smokiness of the grilled vegetables and the roasted red pepper dressing give this its unique character. This plant-based salad ticks all the boxes on nutrition as well: healthy grains, vegetables, protein (from quinoa), seeds (from tahini), and dark leafy greens.
Read MoreRolling zucchini ribbons into spirals stuffed with vegan ricotta cheese makes for a perfect casserole. Baked in a simple marinara sauce, with vegan parmesan on top, these spirals taste like lasagna, but without the bulky noodles.
Read MoreTry these easy tacos for an impressive dinner for family or guests. The classic combination of black beans and corn is a crowd-pleaser. This combination is especially great when you can get fresh sweet corn for the salsa, but even frozen corn works well. The bean mixture freezes well.
Read MoreThis tasty noodle bowl contains no oil, meaning it’s healthy and lower in calories than most noodle recipes. The simple sauce packs a ton of flavor, and the variety of textures from the noodles to the vegetables (cooked and raw) makes for a dish that satisfies.
Read MorePut a delicious Indian-spiced potato-pea filling into whole-wheat flour tortillas, and you get a wonderful fusion creation: a samosa-quesadilla! This recipe has no added oil, either, so these are a far cry from the deep-fried samosas in Indian restaurants. Spread your favorite chutney on top, and you’ll enjoy a healthy, heavenly dish.
Read MoreMake pasta alla puttanesca the easy way: in the Instant Pot. You add everything into the pot, program 4 minutes of pressure cooking, and walk away. Top it with vegan parmesan cheese, and you’ll never want to make it the old way again. This plant-based dish is also oil-free, which, in combination with whole-grain pasta makes it healthy, but not at the expense of tasting great.
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