Vegan Pepperoni Pizza Rolls with Cream Cheese Drizzle

I have a friend named Aurora who used to food blog, but now days is focusing her energy on her newest project, MurderMuder News! The only place you need to go for your True Crime news fix!

I am a true crime fanatic and if you adore a good true crime website/podcast/ documentary as much as I do, then you must, MUST go right now and follow Aurora and Angelina over at MurderMurder News and on their youtube channel for all things true crime related! Also she is just great and I promise you will love her!

That said, she messaged me the other day telling me I really need to veganize this recipe she found over at Thrillist.com. So naturally I knew she was right and decided to give it a go.

After poking around the interwebs I saw this is actually a thing people do…make pizza into a kind of cinnamon roll hybrid. How am I just now seeing this?!?!?

Rolling up pizza toppings into pizza dough and cutting and baking them like a cinnamon roll!! FLIPPING GENIUS, Y’ALL!

Had I known this was a thing years ago, I might weigh a lot more than I currently do, and I would have been making these weekly…I guess I am gonna have to step up my gym game.

Veganizing these was actually pretty easy. After looking around at what is standard pizza roll protocol, I decided I liked that the folks over at Thrillist added a cream cheese drizzle (not the norm elsewhere from what I saw) to mimic an icing if you will. Also I will add cream cheese or sour cream to just about anything so it seemed only right! I also added extra marinara because I LOVE sauce and want to dip alllll the things.

For the filling I used a store bought marinara, some shredded vegan mozzarella, and homemade vegan pepperoni. I guess if you are feeling too lazy to whip up some pepperoni you could add olives, mushrooms, peppers, or whatever you want. Just be careful to keep the stuffing sliced thinly and don’t over stuff!!

If you are into making your own pepperoni, its easy. Our recipe is super easy and will give you 2 “sticks” of pepperoni. You only need half of one for this recipe so you will have plenty leftover to snack on with cheese and crackers, add to a salad, or freeze for later.

So if you want a little something different on pizza night, try rolling that mess up like a cinnamon roll, don’t skip that cream cheese drizzle, and make sure you have extra sauce for dunking. And if you love true crime you can eat these rolls while watching the ladies over at Murdermurder News on youtube. Sounds like the perfect Friday night to me.

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 oz pizza dough ( homemade or store bought)

• 4-6 oz of vegan shredded mozzarella (homemade or store bought)

• 1/2 cup marinara sauce, plus more for dipping

• 1 tablespoon vegan butter

• 2 teaspoon garlic powder, divided

• 1/4 of a batch of homemade vegan pepperoni, thinly sliced (half of one stick)

• 1/3 cup vegan cream cheese ( homemade or store bought )

• A few splashes plant milk

• Dried basil or parsley

• 1/4 cup or so of corn meal

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. If you are using pre-made pizza dough, remove it from the fridge and let it rest for about 10 minutes. It will stretch better if you do. Once it has sat, flour your hands to stretch it out to a large 16x12 inch (give to take) rectangle. You can also roll the dough out using a rolling pin, I just have always preferred to stretch it! It will be sticky so adding flour to your hands and work surface will help.

2. Melt a tablespoon of butter and mix in 1 teaspoon of garlic powder in a small bowl. Brush the dough leaving a 1 inch border around the edge that you don’t brush.

3. Spread the sauce evenly over the dough, remembering to keep the 1 inch border. Lay out the thin pepperoni slices in a single layer, and sprinkle the top with the cheese.

4. Starting at the 16 inch side facing you, roll the dough into a log as tightly as you can. If you don’t roll it tightly enough, the filling will fall out when you cut it ( I may have lived this exact scenario the first batch I made, just trust me.)

5. Using a very sharp knife, carefully cut 10 evenly sized rolls from the dough.

6. Dip the bottoms of the the rolls in some corn meal and place them on a baking sheet or in a 9x13 casserole dish about an inch or so apart. Place the rolls in the oven with the rack positioned in the middle. Bake for 25 or 30 minutes, or unit the dough seems to be browning and done, and the cheese is bubbling and melted. Remove and let cool just a bit.

7. Place the cream cheese along with 1 teaspoons of garlic salt in a small bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds to soften. Mix in about a tablespoon of plant milk or as much as it takes to thin the cream cheese out enough to drizzle over the tops of the pizza rolls. Not too thin, not too thick, about the consistency of icing. It really will depend on the brand of cream cheese you are using as to how much milk you will need to thin it out.

8. You can serve as is, or I like to also drizzle some extra sauce on top and sprinkle with some dried basil or parsley.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Cheese Stuffed Pretzels

Vegan Pizza Nachos

Vegan Stuffed Crust Pizza

Vegan Egg Roll in a Bowl

Lets talk about easy and pretty healthy dinner recipes.

I love them. I mean don’t we all.

Especially on hectic weeknights where we don’t want to eat out but want something more filling than a sandwich.

Well let me introduce you to the vegan egg roll in a bowl!

This recipe has been popular for a while out there on the internet. The low carb crowd has been raving about it for years, and I am just late to the party. I am not sure why I didn’t try whipping this up sooner. I think as I have gotten older I have had to become more carb conscience.

If I want to keep eating donuts at my regular rate, I have to find other places to cut some of those carbs…and I 100% plan on always eating donuts…soooo

Back to how easy this is, oh and tasty…tasty is a bonus to the easy. Lots of recipes are easy but not necessarily tasty. This one is both. As a matter of fact, some of my kids teenage friends were over when I made this, and not only happily ate it, but went back in for seconds.

This vegan egg roll in a bowl recipe will take you a grand total of maybe 20 minutes start to finish. Even less time if you don’t chop the cabbage yourself and you buy that pre shredded stuff. I mean you might wait in a drive thru line longer than that. I am pretty certain my Chinese take out place never had my food ready in 20 minutes.

And when it comes to taste, well iIt taste like all the good parts of the egg roll without the guilt. No frying, not carby egg roll wrapper, just all the goodies from the inside.

I like to add edamame to mine. You could add mushrooms, bean spouts, water chestnuts, whatever you like. The more veggies the merrier.

So if you need quick, easy, and tasty, this vegan egg roll in a bowl is just the thing. And maybe now you will feel less bad about the donuts for dessert?!?!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb vegan ground “meat'“ (I used Beyond meat)

• 4 cups shredded cabbage (green, or a mix of green and purple)

• 2 cups match stick carrots

• 1 small onion thinly sliced

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1-2 teaspoons mined ginger

• 1/4 cup soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 1 teaspoons sesame oil

• 2 teaspoons neutral tasting oil

• Optional: 1/3 cup edamame, sesame seeds, sliced scallions, cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium hight heat. Add oils to a the pan once hot. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the ground “meat” and cook until brown. Add the ginger to the pan.

2. Next, add the shredded cabbage, carrots, and soy sauce. Reduce the heat to medium/low and cook unit the cabbage softens. This can be a preference thing. I like my cabbage to have a little bite so just cook it until it gets to that point. If you like it totally soft, cook until that point, stirring the mixture around to avoid anything sticking and burning to the pan.

3. If adding edema, add towards the end of cooking the cabbage.

4. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions or cilantro to serve.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Lasagna Soup

Unstuffed Vegan Cabbage Rolls

Vegan Cheeseburger Macaroni Helper

Vegan Cheeseburger Macaroni Helper

Raise your hand if you ate your weight in Hamburger Helper as a child….anyone? Beuller?

Maybe it was just me?

My dad was the one who grocery shopped growing up and for the most part, the one who made dinner every night.

Our choices were normally any box of Hamburger Helper in the cabinet, Hormel Chili over rice, or some meat and potatoes. As a kid I had zero complaints. As now a vegan adult, I see the issue.

I do not think I have eaten any Hamburger Helper in nearly 25 years, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss is from time to time, ya know for nostalgia and also because if I am being honest, it really did like it.

Lets break it down shall we. Meat, some kind of carb like noodles or potatoes, and normally some creamy or cheesy sauce. What is not to love, really. Growing up Cheeseburger Helper was my fave! So I felt it was high time I veganize it so I could relive my childhood and share one of my faves with my own kids.

This recipe is super simple. All you need is 1 pound of you favorite vegan ground meat, some noodles and the easiest and most delicious vegan cheddar sauce there ever was.

This dinner comes together quickly, is hearty and full of flavor! Those are my favorite kinds of weeknight dinners.

So even though you can’t dump this all from a box with a smiling white gloved character waving at you, its almost just as easy, and in my honest opinion, way better, and now vegan! Just add a salad or another vegetable side and you have pretty healthy, filling meal in not time at all.

High five to my dad for always cooking for us and teaching me how to grocery shop and coupon, and high five to that white gloved little Hamburger Helper man and his contribution my childhood.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb ground vegan meat (I used Beyond Beef)

• 1 small yellow onion, diced

• 2 cups macaroni noodles

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 1/2 cups water (you can also use veggie stock. If you do, eliminate the Bouillon)

• 2 teaspoons Vegetable Than Bouillon

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 2 teaspoons sugar

CHEESE SAUCE:

• 1 cup cashews or sunflower seeds (plus water for soaking)

• 2 cups water

• 4 talblespoons nutritional yeast

• 4 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 2 teaspoons light miso paste or 1 tablespoon sauerkraut (just cabbage, not the liquid)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add cashews or sunflower seeds to a microwave safe container and cover in water. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Drain water. If you do not have a microwave you can boil the nuts in a small pot of water for three minutes on the stove top.

2. Add the nuts/seeds and remaining cheese sauce ingredients to a high speed blender or food processor and mix on high until the mixture is completely smooth and not bits or nuts or seeds remain. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the onion and and ground vegan meat. Cook unit the meat has browned and seems cooked through.

4. Whisk the Better Than Bouillon into the 2 1/2 cups water (or use vegetable stock.) Add the macaroni noodles, water, seasonings and tomato paste to the pan. Give it a stir. Reduce heat to low and place a lid on the pan.

5. Allow the mixture to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring a few times or until the noodles are al dente, cooked but not quite finished.

6. Pour the cheese sauce into the pan and stir. Allow the sauce to thicken as it heats, stirring as it begins to thicken. Allow the mixture to cook another 5 minutes or so, or until the noodles have finished cooking and the sauce has thickened and is good and creamy.

7. Garnish with fresh parsley or even cilantro (thats my fave) and serve. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Chicken Divan with Jackfruit

Beyond Sausage with Cabbage and Cider

Vegan Cincinnati Pumpkin Chili

Vegan Chicken and Waffles with Strawberry Butter

If you are from the United States, in particular the southeastern region of the United States, you probably know all about chicken and waffles.

Although research will tell you that people believe this dish originated in Harlem and there is chatter of it coming from the Pennsylvanian Dutch, way way back in the day.

So who really knows but whoever thought it up, I so very thankful they did.

Growing up outside of Atlanta I was no stranger to the dish but it was not until adulthood that I finally ate it.

We did not eat many waffles as kids, or even pancakes for that matter. We ate cereal or whatever other thing we could make ourselves, or my dad made eggs.

So when I was all grown up and had the chance to finally eat my first plate of chickens and waffles I thought I might have died and gone to heaven.

I am not normally a fan of super sweet breakfast foods first thing in the morning , and if and when I do make pancake or waffles, it is often for dinner.

But chicken and waffles are different. Because it’s fried chicken on a waffle. It’s enough savory to cut the sweet, and that makes it perfect!!!

A local restaurant where we live was my favorite place to order non vegan chicken and waffles back before we were vegan, because they added strawberry butter and maples syrup with hot sauce…if it sounds weird, it’s not. It’s amazing. All hail the Metro Diner for their chicken and waffle genius!! Except theirs is not vegan soooo…

So, I knew I had to make a vegan equal to my favorite chicken and waffle recipes and that is just what I did.

Everyone out here needs to have chicken and waffles this way, even us vegans. So I used my easiest, best seitan chicken recipe, fried it up, tossed it on some waffles with an easy strawberry butter, and drizzed it all with the pure maple syrup spiked with a few heavy shakes of hot sauce.

I could have cried I was so happy we I was eating this! I had been SOOOOO long, TOOOOOO long since I have eaten one of my most favorite pre vegan meals. I could no wait to share this recipe as I feel so strongly that everyone needs to eat this meal at some point in their lives!!

As my mom says, don’t knock it til you try it. So if you are thinking this is not something you would ever want to eat, you are probably mistaken, And if you already know the pure joy of eating chicken and waffles and have waited for the day you could eat a vegan equal, today is your lucky day.

INGREDIENTS:

SEITAN CHICKEN:

• 1 (16 oz) block super firm tofu (in the vacuum sealed package)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons corn or tapioca starch

• 1 tablespoon Not Chicken Better Than Bouillon. You could also use Trader Joes Chickenless season salt or some other no chicken flavoring or bouillon.

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil (replace with water if oil free)

• 1 -2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water

CHICKEN COATING:

• 1/2 cup plain unsweetened vegan yogurt or sour cream

• 1 cup plant milk

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons each, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, onion powder, sugar

• 1 teaspoon each turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, smoked paprika

• 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

WAFFLES:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 4 tablespoons white sugar (If vegan, not plant based, make sure the brand you use is in fact vegan, not all white sugars are. I use Florida Crystals)

• 4 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cup plant based milk

• 2 tablespoon melted vegan butter or oil

STAWBERRY BUTTER:

• 1/3 cup vegan butter

• 2 strawberries, finely diced

*You will also need maple syrup ,and if you can just trust me here, you will need a few splashes of your favorite hot sauce!!

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degress

MAKING THE SEITAN CHICKEN BREAST:

*If you attempt this recipe with REGULAR EXTRA FIRM TOFU you will need to press it well, and reduce the water added to the recipe. Add the water last only a tablespoon at time until the dough resembles the picture. This will cause varying results and I really do suggest finding the super firm, vacuum sealed, high protein tofu if you can. It gives the seitan a far better texture.

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval, flattened out shaped with the dough. Cut the dough into 12 triangles. Using your hands, form the triangles into a fat chicken tender shape. (the pictures above are from when I make regular fried vegan chicken breast. For this recipe I like to form them more into fat chicken tender shapes vs a thin breast. Somehow I lost my pics I took for this recipe so these will serve as a rough guide. Just make them fatter)

4. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or foil, spray with oil. Evenly space out the seitan chicken pieces making sure they are not touching. They will expand as they bake. Spray the tops with oil and tightly cover the entire pan in foil, tucking the edges tightly around the edges of the pan. We want the seitan to steam inside the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

5. Open up the foil and allow the seitan chicken to bake for another 15 minutes uncovered. These chicken seitan pieces are small, if you know your oven cooks hot or the temp is off, you may need to adjust your cook time by 5-10 minutes. If the seitan over cooks it tends to form tiny holes that look like bread. That is often an indication you oven temp is off and you may need a oven thermometer to check the actual temp.

6. Let the seitan cool at room temp them transfer to the fridge for at least 6 hours to rest. I often bake the seitan the night before I wish to fry it. But you could also bake it in the morning and it would be fine to fry by dinner. Seitan requires a nice long rest to firm up and achieve a more meaty texture. The longer you can let it rest, the better!

VEGAN FRIED CHICKEN AND WAFFLES:

1. Begin by making the waffles: In a large bowl whisk the dry waffle ingredients. Add in the wet ingredients and mix until the batter if fully combined and free from most lumps. If the batter seems a little too thick you can add a splash more of plant milk. Heat your waffle maker and make the waffles according to your waffle maker instuctions. I am able to get 4 large waffles from the batter. Half of one large waffle is a serving in our house. If you are making this dish for less people, just half the waffle batter recipe. Once all of the waffles are made, pop them on a baking sheet covered in foil into the oven set to 150-200 degrees so they stay warm while you fry the vegan chicken.

2. Remove the rested vegan chicken from the fridge. In a medium sized bowl or pie pan whisk the plant milk and yogurt for the chicken coating. In another larger bowl mix the starch, flour, and seasoning together. Dip a chicken piece first into the wet mix, then over to the dry making sure to fully coat, then back in the wet, and one more time in the dry mix. Repeat with remaining pieces of vegan chicken. Double coating the vegan chicken pieces will give them a nice crunchy coating.

3. Pepare a baking sheet with a few paper towels and place a metal cooling rack on top. This will be where you place the chicken pieces once they have fried.

4. Heat a large cast iron skillet or other high sided pan with a few inches of oil over medium heat. You can use any neutral flavored oil for frying that you like. I use grape seed but you can use peanut or canola oil. You can make sure the oil is hot enough by poking a wooden chopstick or skewer into the pan. If tiny bubbles form around the stick, the oil hot enough is ready for frying.

5. Add vegan chicken in batches making sure not to over crowd the pan. Fry on each side util crispy and golden brown. Place finished pieces on the wire rack you prepared. Placing the pieces of vegan chicken on a cooling rack vs straight onto a plate with paper towels allows the excess oil to dip off and keeps the pieces crispy. This is true with any food you are frying.

6. In small bowl mash the vegan butter up and mix in the finely diced strawberries.

7. I like to heat a cup or so of maple syrup and add a few splashes of hot sauce. This may sound weird but trust me on top of the chicken, it is so, so, so delicious.

8. To serve, place 1/2 to 1 whole waffle on a plate with 1 to 2 vegan fried chicken strips on top. Top with a scoop of vegan strawberry butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Vegan Cheese Grit Waffles

Vegan Country Fried Steak

Vegan Pepperoni Pizza Nachos

Pizza night just got at lot more fun with these vegan pepperoni pizza nachos.

Sure, you could just go ahead and make a regular pizza but eating pizza that is also a nacho is sorta just better sometimes.

It’s as easy as cutting up your pizza dough into bite size pieces before baking it up, then loading the pizza “chips” with all your favorite pizza toppings.

We topped ours with the best All Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce. It is easy to make and works so well for pizza and even better for these nachos. Just drizzle, pour, drowned these nachos in this vegan cheese sauce and pop them back in the oven until the sauce gets gooey, bubbly, perfectly melty mozzarella like….its magic really.

Next top the pizza with whatever toppings you like. We love vegan pepperoni in this house and it is more than easy to make yourself. If you have never made your own vegan pepperoni or other vital wheat gluten based vegan meats, trust me when I tell you, it’s easy. It mixes up fast, bakes rather quickly as well, but it does need time to rest. So if you want pepperoni for dinner, you better get started at breakfast, or just get in the habit of keeping some in the fridge for pizza, cheese and crackers, or even as a salad topper.

We also added some green and black olives, became I love ALL olives, but you can add any veggie you like. Or if you are a family, or friends divided, just sprinkle the toppings you like on your half or quarter of the pan.

These vegan pizza nachos work well for a snack, lunch, dinner, or even party appetizer. They also reheat just as well as pizza, right in the oven, so don’t fret over any leftovers you may have. Just pop them back in the oven for 10 minutes or so and you are good to go.

So cheers to the marriage of two of the best foods ever made. Pizza and nachos are a match made in snacking heaven!

INGREDIENTS:

This recipe will make enough pizza nachos for 4-6 people as a meal. If you want just a snack or are feeding less people, half the recipe.

• 1/2 batch Easy All Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce

• 1/2 jar vegan marinara sauce

• 1 Vegan Peperoni thinly sliced

• 2 batches vegan pizza dough. Store bought or homemade

• Black and green olives, onions, peppers, mushrooms, or whatever pizza topping you may like

• Fresh basil and vegan parm for garnish

INGREDIENTS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Roll the pizza dough out at thinly as you can and cut it into chip sized triangles. Spread the triangles out in a single layer on several cookies sheets. Pop the cookie sheets into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the pizza dough is cooked though and begging to brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

3. Prepare cheese sauce according to instructions. You can either make full batch of cheese sauce and save half for another recipe (it keeps for a week or can be frozen) or just prepare half a batch.

4. Arrange the pizza “chips” in a pile on one baking sheet. Drizzle with desired amount of marinara and cheese sauce. Top with pepperoni slices, olives, and whatever other veggies or toppings you may like. Place the cookie sheet back in the oven and bake at 425 degrees for 5-10 minutes, or unit the cheese sauce is bubbling and browning.

5. Remove from oven and garnish with fresh basil and vegan parmesan cheese to serve.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Caesar salad Nachos with Fried Soy Curls

Vegan Stuffed Crust Pizza

Vegan Matzah Nachos

Vegan Caesar Salad Nachos with Fried Soy Curls

Lets talk nachos.

Chips, a protein, normally something cold and crunchy like lettuce, some cheese. Nachos.

So when I saw a recipe in some magazine for some grilled chicken caesar salad nachos, at first I was confused, but then intrigued. And then it all made sense that one could make a caesar salad nacho and it probably be delicious.

I don’t really know what all was going on in that non vegan recipe version, I didn’t really look past the pic, but I knew I could take my favorite vegan caesar salad recipe and add some kind of vegan protein, and probably find my new favorite summertime dinner!

I have tried a ton of vegan caesar salad recipes, and dressings over the years, and until now none have been a winner.

So when recently I was making a caesar salad, and contemplating the protein I would add, I decided on Alabama White Sauce Grilled Tofu, and a light bulb went off.

Alabama White Sauce (AWS) is a a tangy, vinegar and mayo based bbq sauce which originated it Northern Alabama at Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q.

Our AWS is a vinegar and mayo based sauce like the original, with a little kick and has just enough tang to work as a caesar dressing substitute. AWS is a staple condiment in our house because it is delicious and versatile, and not just for bbq!

So after I grilled up the tofu, it occurred to me to take the leftover sauce and turn it into the dressing for this salad .

PURE JOY! It was so good that I will never attempt another “caesar” dressing recipe again.

I also added some carrots to the salad because I’m adult and I can do what I want..right?? And what I want is carrots on everything, even if it's not the norm, who cares if it tastes good.

When making the nachos I first considered adding my grilled Alabama White Sauce Grilled Tofu, and honestly I think that could be delicious too, but I had a bag of Butler Soy Curls staring at me and I was in the mood for some fried soy curl goodness. So that is what I did and I am glad I did because fried soy curls are one of my favorite things.

The chips act as a crouton crunch without adding croutons!!! I imagine you could also toast up some pita bread as well If you didn’t want to sue tortillas, and if you are gluten free you could use corn tortillas!

I served these nacho on a big ol plate and let everyone dig in. I think this recipe would work great for a BBQ or gathering, game night or movie night. It’s light but filling and pretty fun to scoop up that salad and crispy soy curls on a garlicy chip.

This might be how we eat caesar salad in our house for the foreseeable future!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 heads romaine lettuce

• 1/3 cups shredded carrots

• 1 package flour tortillas (you could use corn if GF)

• A few teaspoons garlic powder or garlic salt

• spray oil

• A few tablespoons vegan parmesan cheee

For The Soy Curls:

• 1 (8 oz) bag Butler soy curls

• 3 cups boiling water

• 1 teaspoon Vegetable or Chickenless Better than Bouillon

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 2/3 cups tapioca starch

• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

  ( you could also use the 86eats easy seitan chicken breast, grilled or fried and cut into strips)

Alabama White Sauce Caesar Dressing:

• 1/2 batch Alabama White Sauce

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare the Alabama White Sauce according to instructions. Whisk in the remaining dressing ingredients with 1/2 of the sauce. The other half of the Vegan Alabama White Sauce can be used as a dip for veggies, used to make grilled tofu, or even Alabama white sauce tempe tacos.

2. Cut the entire pack of tortillas into triangle shapes. Arrange them on two baking sheets in a single layer and give them a light mis of oil and good shake with some garlic salt or powder. Bake them at 350 degrees until they begin to brown and get crispy. (about 10 minutes but keep an eye on them.) Remove from oven and allow to cool. Set aside.

3. Pour hot water along with Better than Bouillon into a large bowl, whisking in the bouillon until it has dissolved. Add the soy curls and let them soak for 10 minutes.

4. While the curls are soaking, whisk together the flour, starch, and seasoning in a large bowl.

5. Drain the soy curls in a colander over the sink, return the curls to the bowl they were soaking in.

6. Begin adding a handful of curls at a time to the flour mixture, making sure to fully coat the curls. Place coated curls on a baking sheet pan, and repeat with remaining curls.

7. Line another baking sheet pan with paper towels and place a wire cooling rack on top.

8. HOT OIL COOKING METHOD: Heat a large deep skillet or dutch oven with a few inches of oil, over medium heat. You can poke a chop stick or wooden skewer into the pan, if small bubbles form around the stick the oil is ready. Once the oil is nice and hot begin adding batches of curls to the pan, making sure not to over crowd them. Using a pair of metal tongs, keep the curls moving around in the pan so they cook evenly. Allow the curls to fry for several minutes until golden brown and crispy. Place finished curls on the wire rack and repeat with remaining curls. I like to sprinkle a little extra salt and old bay on the finished curls

9. AIR FRYER COOKING METHOD: Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may have to cook the curls in batches. I have a 7 quart air fryer and can fit them all in at once. Place the coated curls in the air fryer and give them a light spray with some oil. Fry at 375 for 10 minutes, opening and shaking the basket a few times throughout their cooking. I often use tongs and stir them around to keep them from sticking. You may need another 5 minutes on the fry. Just make sure they fry long enough that they are all crispy. You may also want to give them another mist of oil when you open the basket to shake and stir them around.

10. Wash and chop the lettuce. In a large bowl toss the lettuce, carrots, and 2/3 of the dressing.

11. To serve, arrange the chips on a large platter (or if you want individual servings, arrange on single plates) top with salad, some crispy soy curls (I don’t use the entire batch, but my kids always just snack on the leftovers with dip, or I save a reheat what I don’t use later) , sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese, and drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve right away.

Serves 4- 6 (you can half this recipe easily for less nachos)

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Alabama White Sauce Caesar Salad with Grilled Tofu

Veagn Matzah Oven Nachos

Vegan Alabama White Sauce Tempeh Tacos

Vegan Glazed Deli Ham

I make a lot of seitan based vegan meats. So bare with me while I talk turkey for a minute. The ham talk will follow.

I have recipes for a holiday roast, holiday turkey style breast with crispy skin, chicken breast, pastrami, brisket, and even pepperoni. But until our turkey recipe, I had never added tofu to the mix.

If there was ever a sandwich I missed since going vegan it is a regular old turkey sandwich. I used to love a good deli carved turkey sandwich more than almost anything. So I decided I would try to add tofu to my regular turkey style breast recipe to see if I could get it to a more deli sliced texture.

Y’all, the answer is YES! I have seen other people adding tofu to seitan recipes, and obviously Tofurkey lunch slices are a mix of tofu and vital wheat gluten so I decided to give it a go. It only took one experiment and it came out pretty perfect the first time. I was elated.

So once I realized how easy the turkey was, I went on to make a vegan roast beef using the same method!

Ham was my next stop on the vegan lunch meat deli tour, and I knew if I made it the same way as the turkey but changed a few wet ingredients and spices, I would get the same successful results I got with the turkey and roast beef.

Oh and a glaze. Whats a ham without a glaze?!?!

Growing up I LOVED when my parents bought a Honey Baked Ham for the holidays. I was never a fan of packaged deli ham but I lived for leftover Honey Baked Ham sandwiches on a Hawaiian roll with mayo. So that was the kind of ham I was looking to recreate.

You can slice this ham extra thin if that is your preferred texture, or leave it a little on the thick side to mimic more of a holiday ham. And because I loved a glazed ham the most, I gave this one a nice sweet brown sugar glaze with a hint of soy for the salt and to add a little color to the top.

My kids love our easy vegan deli turkey recipe so when I offered them this ham (2 of my kids have only ever had ham once at a friends how when they were really young, the other two, never) they announced “I don’t think I liked ham that one time I ate it.” But since we were out of turkey and they wanted and sandwich, they gave in and made a vegan ham sandwich for lunch.

We were out and about and my 14 year old daughter was super reluctant to eat said sandwich, but y’all, if I could have videoed her face when she took that first bite…priceless. Lets just say she is now a big fan of vegan ham non white bread with mayo and vegan American cheese.

So if you have made any of other vegan deli meat recipe and looking to switch it up, try the ham. Its just as good as the turkey, roast beef, or brisket, just more, well, ham like!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu, 14-16 oz

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup ketchup or tomato sauce

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil ( you can replace with water if you are oil free)

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or corn starch

• 1 tablespoon white sugar

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon coriander

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon allspice

• 1 teaspoon salt is you think it needs more (the bouillon and soy add a bit of salt as is)

• 1 tablespoon Garlic or Vegetable Better Than Bouillon (I used garlic)

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons water if need (add last)

Glaze Coating:

• 2 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons dry mustard

• 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons soy sauce or coconut aminos

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS REICPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

• *If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 50 minutes and open for 10.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! This dough came out stickier than the turkey because of the consistency of the ketchup and I did not have to add ANY water to mine. If your dough seems too sticky, then add 2 more tablespoons of starch.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval shaped loaf with the dough. Using a very sharp knife, score crisscross marks across the top of the loaf about an eighth of an inch deep.

4. Take a piece of aluminum for about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay it out flat. Coat the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Sprinkle the brown sugar, mustard, and salt in the middle of the foil and give a little mix. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

5. Place the loaf back in the center of the foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal it up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

6. Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sealed for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes carefully open up the foil and brush the top with a teaspoon or two of soy sauce, and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

7. Remove finished “ham” and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place the “ham” in the fridge over night to rest. This step is important to get the texture we are trying achieve. If you try and serve it before it rests it will not be nearly as firm.

8. Once the “ham” has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. It should at this point be firm enough to slice using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Vegan Deli Sliced Roast Beef

Vegan Philly Cheese Steak Roll-Ups

I am a big fan of a vegan Philly Cheese Steak, but sometimes all that seitan and all that bread doesn’t make my stomach as happy as it makes my brain.

So the simple solution was to just make Vegan Seitan Philly roll ups, no bread required.

Just perfectly seasoned seitan, veggies, and the best vegan cheese sauce, hands down.

This way I feel like I can eat more of all good stuff, and a nice big side of fries with a little less guilt.

And let me tell you that cheese sauce makes some dang good cheese fries while you are at it….you might just want to go ahead and double that recipe.

This seitan recipe is easy and comes together quickly, and bake up pretty fast too. Since the pieces are thin, they really don’t need to rest like a big piece of setian would. So This recipe is perfect for a fairly quick weeknight dinner.

But by all means, you could bake them the night before, and reheat them the following day for a super quick supper.

We use jackfruit in this recipe for a nice meaty texture, plus its low fat and full of fiber so a nice healthy bonus to bulk up the recipe and use less vital wheat gluten.

So if you are into Philly cheese steaks, then I can not recommend trying this recipe enough! Its easy, filling, and super delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 bell peppers

• 1 medium yellow or white onion

Cheese Sauce:

• 1/2 cup cashews or sunflower seeds (plus water for soaking)

• 1 cup fresh water

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch

• 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/2-1 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1/2 -1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Setian:

• 1 can jackfruit in brine, drained and rinsed (20 oz can)

• 1 and 2/3 cups vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 3 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 1/4 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Cut the peppers into matchstick, long pieces. Cut the onion into rings, then cut the rings in half. Set aside.

2. Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Chop the jackfruit in your food processor by pulsing a few times.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and mix for a minute, until a sort of dough forms.

4. If you do not have a food processor, finely chop the jackfruit using a sharp knife. In a medium bowl add the jackfruit and remaining ingredients. Using your hands, (I promise its just easier) mix all of the ingredients together until a dough forms. Knead the dough by hand for a few minutes.

5. Flatten the dough into a disc shape. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. Flatten and stretch each piece into a flat rectangular shape (see picture, just do the best you can.)

6. Lay 4 pepper pieces and 2 or 3 onion pieces in the middle of each flattened piece of seitan. Roll each piece up and pinch the seam closed.

7. Line 2 baking sheets with foil. Spray or brush some oil on the foil and place the rolled seitan pieces on the pan spaced out an inch or so apart. Give each roll up piece a spray with oil as well. You can sprinkle the rolls with an all purpose seasoning or more garlic and onion powder if you like or give them a brush of soy and Worcestershire sauce. Take a piece of foil bigger than the pan and place on top of the rolls, pinching and tucking the foil around the pan so it is sealed up best you can. We want the seitan to steam inside the pan so try and not leave any gaps or holes when covering the pan.

8. Bake the seitan Philly rolls for 20 to 25 minutes covered. Uncover the rolls, and allow to bake for 10 more minutes.

9. While the the rolls are cooking prepare the cheese sauce. Place the cashews or sunflower seeds in a microwave safe container and cover in water. Heat on high for 3 minutes. You can do this in a small pot on the stove if you do not have a microwave. Just let them boil about 3 minutes. Drain. Add the nuts or seeds and remaining cheese sauce ingredients to a high speed blender or food processor. Blend until there are no more pieces of cashews or seeds and the mixture its totally smooth. Add the mix to a medium sauce pan. Whisk continuously over medium heat until the sauce is a thick queso consistency. If the sauces gets too thick you can whisk in more water and thin it back out.

10. Once the Philly rolls come out of the oven you can serve them by drizzling the cheese sauce over them. We eat our with a side of fries. You can garnish with some chives or diced green onions if you like.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Philly Cheese Fries with Vegan Beer Cheese Sauce

Dry Rubbed Vegan Brisket

Vegan Pulled Jackfruit Torta

Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna

vegan spinach and artichoke lasagna wth jackfruit

I love lasagna. Regular ol saucy, cheesy, vegan meaty lasagna.

Growing up it was not a thing my mom ever made. She grew up on a farm in Alabama so lasagna was never on the menu.

I remember the first time I ever made lasagna I was grown and married and was given a recipe that included a block of Velveeta Cheese. This was pre vegan and clearly mistakes were made. I think my husband ate it, but I am also certain it was just because he was not about to tell his new wife that she had not actually made lasagna but some weird third cousin to lasagna that nobody actually likes. I mean to sum it up, it was gross.

Now days I make a mean lasagna. Its my pot luck, meal train, go to, and I have a whole group of Ukrainian Rabbis that visit our synagogue often that will vouch for it. On their last visit it seems everyone had the same idea to bring them lasagna, but it seems my vegan version was the favorite, and they had no idea it was even vegan!

So deciding to make a spinach and artichoke lasagna was never a thought in my mind. I like marinara sauce…on everything….but my daughter suggested I make it and I decide it might be a welcome change for the rest of the family. It seemed easy enough to whip up a batch of spinach and artichoke dip, add some vegan all purpose cheese and some crunchy panko topping and call it done.

I know that chicken lasagna is a thing so decide to add a can of jackfruit to mimic the texture of chicken and add a boost of healthy fiber to the dish. It worked great but you can skip the jackfruit if you want and just add another can of artichoke hearts as well.

Well, it worked and the kids and husband all loved it. I liked it too. I might not like it more that regular lasagna but it was good for sure and I think 3 out of the 6 of us would choose this one over a traditional lasagna. I have come a long way since that tragic Velveeta lasagna, y’all!

So the next time the Ukrainian Rabbis come to visit I think I will make them this lasagna and see what they think! If they like it, I will know its actually good and my family isn’t just being nice.

INGREDIENTS:

• I package lasagna noodles

• 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs

• 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese, homemade or store bought

• I/2 batch All Purpose Vegan Cheese sauce

• 1 container of plain vegan cream cheese, or 8 oz of homemade cream cheese

• 1 (14 oz) can of artichoke hearts, drained and diced

• 1 (20 oz) can young green jackfruit in brine

• 9 oz container of fresh baby spinach

• 1 small/medium yellow onion, diced

• 1/4 cup vegan mayo

• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic

• juice from 1 lemon

• 2 teaspoons all purpose seasoning ( I use Trader Joes 21 season salute)

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

---

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat eat oven to 350 degrees

1. Prepare cheese sauce according to instructions. If you can’t or don’t eat cashews you can use the same measurement of sunflower seeds in the recipe. Set aside.

2. Drain the jackfruit and rinse. You can chop the jackfruit with a knife or shred it between your fingers.

3. In large skillet add a few teaspoons of oil and add jackfruit and the diced onion. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Remove the onion and jackfruit from the pan and place in large bowl. Set aside.

4. In the same skillet add the spinach with a few teaspoons of water and cook until the spinach has fully wilted. If the spinach will not all fit in the pan, you can add a handful at a time as it will cook down very quickly making room for more. Let the spinach cool completely.

5. Placed cooled spinach in a clean kitchen towel making a pouch. Using the towel, ring out as much liquid as you can from the spinach.

6. In the same bowl with the onions and jackfruit, mix the spinach, artichokes, cream cheese, mayo, garlic and seasoning.

7. In a 9x13 pan, smear about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture on the bottom of the pan. Next add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles ( I use regular lasagna noodles, not the no boil kind. They will not need to be boiled.)

8. Next begin building your lasagna by adding about 1/4 of the spinach mixture over then noodles the evenly spread about 1/4 of the cheese sauce over the spinach. You should be able to get 4 layers of noodles depending on how deep your pan is. You can do 3 layers if you prefer. On the final layer sprinkle the vegan parmesan cheese and panko.

9. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour on the middle oven rack. If the top begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil unit the last 15 minutes of the bake. Slice and serve.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

The Perfect Vegan Lasagna

Vegan Lasagna Soup

Vegan Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole

Vegan Deli Sliced Roast Beef

I want to give credit where credit is due, and this recipe idea gets all it’s credit from a person named J Sweeney! J left me a comment recently about taking our vegan deli sliced turkey recipe and adapting it to make a roast beef.

It maybe took me 2 minutes from the time I read the comment until I was standing over my food processor making this recipe happen.

J had asked for suggestions on turning the turkey to vegan roast beef and I had ideas but needed to test them out. I knew it need a beet for color and a change of spices and seasoning. I have brisket and pastrami recipes where I use jackfruit instead or tofu and that works very well to accomplish the textures I am trying to accomplish there. But tofu would be better suited for deli sliced vegan roast beef. So I that’s what I did, and thanks to J for sparking me to even try to make this recipe, it worked and is delicious.

Vegan deli meats are actually really easy to make at home and way cheaper than buying per made versions. You can control the seasoning, and you know every single ingredient that is going into you vegan deli meats.I love knowing what my family is eating and I love saving a ton of money because with a house full of kids and few teenagers, we go through a LOT of sandwiches!

Now, when I say let this recipe rest, I mean it! If you bake this roast beef and decide to slice it right away, DO NOT COME SASSING ME WHEN THE TEXUTE SEEMS OFF!! It needs to rest. That is what will help the “roast beef” to firm up and slice deli thin. Sorry, I didn’t make the rules about seitan, and I don’t really love rules, but this is one I always follow. It’s for the good of the vegan roast beef, y’all!

If you are not a fan, or never have been a fan of roast beef, try one of our other deli meats, they are linked at the bottom of this recipe. I would go as far as to say you would be hard pressed to find a better vegan turkey recipe anywhere. That’s a bold statement, but seriously, for as easy as it is to make, and for how convincing and delicious it is, you will probably never look for another vegan turkey lunch meat recipe, again. And maybe the same will be true for this vegan roast beef, as well.

So thanks J Sweeney for the inspiration, and I hope y’all are happy with this vegan roast beef effort. I know I was, and am so glad you reached out and that this was the result!

*This recipe calls of super firm tofu, the kind vacuum sealed and not sitting in a tray of water. If you choose to use extra firm tofu packed in water, the results will vary. Too much liquid will alter the texture of this vegan roast beef. I highly suggest looking for the super firm tofu.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu, the kind in a vacuum sealed pack

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup raw beet, cubed (one small beet)

• 2 tablespoons - 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons dried thyme

• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon No Beef, or Vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons corn or tapioca starch

• 2 tablespoon neutral tasting oil

Spice Coating:

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Add the peeled and cubed beet to the food processor. Let it run for a minute and get the beet good and broken down.

2. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor along with the beet. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If the dough seems too dry, you can add water, just a teaspoon at a time until the dough comes together. I added NO water to my dough. The other liquid ingredients and the beet added enough moisture to mine.

4. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval shaped loaf with the dough.

5. Take a piece of aluminum for about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay it out flat. Coat the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Sprinkle half of the spice coating in the center of the foil. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning over the top and press it in. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

6. Place the loaf back in the center of the foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal it up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

7. Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sealed for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes carefully open up the foil, and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes.

8. Remove finished vegan roast beef and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place the vegan roast beef in the fridge over night to rest. This step is important to get the texture we are trying achieve. If you try and serve it before it rests it will not be nearly as firm.

9. Once the vegan roast beef has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. It should at this point be firm enough to slice using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS REICPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

• *If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 50 minutes and open for 10.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Vegan Pastrami

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Southern Fried Chicken

My mom can fry the heck out of some chicken. Pre-vegan, pre-vegetarian, fried chicken was my favorite food.

We are from the south, my parents are from Alabama, so frying foods is something you are basically born doing. My mom taught me young.

I have tried all sorts of vegan fried chicken variations over the years, using tofu, and basic seitan. I have seen people using jackfruit to mimic the shredded texture. But I decide to take my turkey seitan recipe, change a few things and fry that up.

It is by far the most convincing vegan meat recipe I have made to date, and surely it would work well for a vegan fried chicken. And it did!

The basic recipe for this chicken is pretty similar to the turkey, with some changes to certain spices, and the addition of adding rice paper skin when baking to add another element of crunch to the whole thing.

I am always preaching about letting setian rest, and it does need to rest. I did find this recipe did well when I baked it in morning and fried it that night. The pieces are thin enough that a 6 hour rest seem sufficient. I do think it would have been even better if I gave it overnight but 6 hours works.

I like to add the coating to a large zip lock bag, although you can use a clean brown grocery bag as well. It just makes for less mess when getting the pieces coated. I also like to double coat them so they are good and crispy. Thats what you want, a nice crispy “skin". You can also cut the pieces once they have rested and make chicken fingers pretty easily.

I have not tried this recipe in the air fryer. It should work just fine, it just won’t be nearly as goo. If you give the pieces a spray with oil, I think you could cook them on 375 for 10 minutes but check on them to see how they are doing. I have reheated the pan fried pieces in the air fryer and that works great.

So if you are looking for a crispy, flavorful, vegan fried chicken, this is my favorite, and now my go to recipe! My only other suggestion is be sure you also bake up a batch of fluffy southern biscuits when you deiced to make this recipe. Every southerner knows you can’t have one without the other.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (the kind that is vacuum packed with little liquid)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons poultry or Trader Joes Vegan Chicken Seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoons onion salt

• 2 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1/2- 3/4 cups water

RICE PAPER SKIN:

• 10 pieces of rice paper, summer roll wrappers

• 1/2 cup warm water

• 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon vegan chicken seasoning or poultry seasoning

COATING:

• 1/2 cup plain unsweetened vegan yogurt

• 1 cup milk

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons each, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, onion powder, sugar

• 1 teaspoon each turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, smoked paprika

• 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

MAKING THE SEITAN CHICKEN BREAST:

*If you attempt this recipe with REGULAR EXTRA FIRM TOFU you will need to press it well, and reduce the water added to the recipe. Add the water last only a tablespoon at time until the dough resembles the picture. This will cause varying results and I really do suggest finding the super firm, vacuum sealed, high protein tofu if you can. It gives the seitan a far better texture.

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval, flattened out shaped with the dough. Cut the dough into 10 triangles. Using your hands, form the triangles into a chicken breast shape.

4. In a shallow dish or pie plate, add the warm water, bouillon and seasoning for the rice papers. Stir well until the bouillon is mixed in. Place one rice paper at a time in the mix until it is super soft and pliable. Lay the rice paper flat on a cutting board. Place one piece of chicken seitan in the middle and wrap the rice paper skin around the seitan. Repeat with process with remaining rice paper and seitan pieces.

5. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or foil, spray with oil. Evenly space out the seitan chicken pieces making sure they are not touching. They will expand as they bake. Spray the tops with oil and tightly cover the entire pan in foil, tucking the edges tightly around the edges of the pan. We want the seitan to steam inside the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

6. Open up the foil and allow the seitan chicken to bake for another 20 minutes uncovered. These chicken seitan pieces are thin, if you know your oven cooks hot or the temp is off, you may need to adjust your cook time by 5-10 minutes. If the seitan over cooks it tends to form tiny holes that look like bread. That is often an indication you oven temp is off and you may need a oven thermometer to check the actual temp.

7. Let the seitan cool at room temp them transfer to the fridge for at least 6 hours to rest. I often bake the seitan the night before I wish to fry it. But you could also bake it in the morning and it would be fine to fry by dinner. Seitan requires a nice long rest to firm up and achieve a more meaty texture. The longer you can let it rest, the better!

FRYING THE SEITAN CHICKEN BREAST:

If you want chicken fingers, you can slice the chicken breast into 3 pieces now that it has rested.

1. In a medium bowl or pie plate, whisk the plant milk and yogurt together.

2. In a large zip lock bag combine the flour, starch, and spices. Shake it up really well to get it all mixed together

3. Take a piece or seitan chicken breast and first dip it in the milk mixture, next shake it in the bag of flour, shake off any excess flour and dip it in the milk again, then back in the bag for another shake. Place on a plate and repeat with remaining pieces.

4. Place a wire cooling rack onto of a paper towel lined baking sheet. This is where the fried seitan chicken will go once its cooked. This helps it stay crispier than if you just placed it on a paper towel lined plate. This method works for all fried foods.

5. Heat a large, deep skillet with 2-3 inches of neutral flavored oil good for frying like canola or peanut, over medium heat. You will know the oil is hot enough if you place a chopstick or wooden skewer in the bottom of the pan and little bubbles form around the tip.

6. Place 3 or 4 pieces of seitan chicken in the pan, careful not to over crowd and let it fry on each side until golden brown. Place the finish pieces on the cooling rack. Fry remaining pieces.

7. Serve with southern vegan biscuits, mashed potatoes, or whatever side you like.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Seitan Ribs

Popcorn Tofu

Fluffy Southern Vegan Biscuits

Vegan Oven Tandoori "Chicken"

Indian food is something my husband and I have never seen eye to eye on. I adore it. I would eat it all the time and be so very happy. My husband will not.

So going out to eat Indian food is something I just stared going to do with my girlfriends. There is no need to drag Dave out and make him eat a food he doesn't like. I am a nice wife. Here is my proof if ever there was any question.

Before we were vegan or even vegetarian, I would go to Indian restaurant near us that served tandoori chicken tikka masala. It was tandoori chicken with a side of the sauce for dipping. I always loved this more than having the chicken simmered in the sauce. The chicken was so delicious and flavorful on its own, that I only wanted a little sauce with it. I have always been one to order sauces, dressing, condiments on the side. I have not found another restaurant near me that serves it this way, and that was always my favorite thing to order.

Making Indian food at home is also something I hardly ever do since 2 out of 6 people in my house actually enjoy it. The handful of times I actually have made Indian food, I have had a ton of leftovers to give away. I also am no expert at Indian cuisine but have always enjoyed trying new Indian recipes.

But the other day I was thinking about how much I miss chicken tikka masala and how I really wanted to make it with seitan vs tofu which is what I have done in the past. I also knew I could make it and share it with my friends next door, Yanira and Dustin, because they also love Indian food! I was confident I could try and make a vegan tandoori chicken that would be super flavorful on its own or could be turned into vegan chicken tikka masala as well. I basically just researched oven tandoori chicken recipes and decided how I could adapt that to work with seitan.

So I made my favorite seitan recipe and did just that. You really do need a roasting pan for this recipe or need to figure out a way to fashion something similar. Air needs to be able to circulate around the pieces of seitan while it bakes and also it needs to be wrapped in foil so it cooks all the way through without drying out. Truth be told, I had to borrow a pan from my neighbor, Fran. I will now be buying one because I will be making this all the time.

Despite my husbands feeling of Indian food, he actually seemed to like this vegan tandoori chicken. I tried to keep the heat down with the spices in hopes that he would actually eat it.

So if you loved tandoori chicken pre vegan, and have wanted to try you hand at making it at home, I think this recipe is a winner! It does take some time to cook it and allow it to rest. Trust me when I tell you to let it rest, as seitan firms up and the texture gets far more meat like if you let it rest!!! Just make this chicken a day or two before you actually want to eat it! Good things come to those who wait and all that jazz!

*You will need a roasting pan with a rack and aluminum foil for this recipe. This recipe will also take some time. Marinating and cook times equal 2 hours. There is also a need for the “chicken” pieces to rest to firm up after cooking. It is best to prepare this dish the day before you wish to eat it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (the kind that is vacuum sealed in little water)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/2-3/4 cups water

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil

• 1 teaspoon salt (optional if they Bouillon isn’t enough for you)

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon No Chicken Better Than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or Trader Joe’s Chickenless seasoning

TANDOORI MARINADE:

• 1 cup plain vegan yogurt

• juice from 1 small lemon

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 3 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1-2 teaspoons Thai chili paste/ garlic chili sauce (its super spicy so add according to your tolerance)

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of flatned oval shaped loaf with the dough. Cut the dough into about 12 chicken breast triangular shapes.

4. In a large bowl or baking dish, whisk the marinade ingredients together. Add the the seitan pieces to the marinade . Place in the fridge for about an hour.

5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees once the seitan is almost finished marinating. Spray the pan rack with some cooking and place the seitan pieces in the roasting pan on the rack spacing the pieces, making sure they are not touching. Brush the pieces of seitan with any leftover marinade from the bowl, covering any bare spots on the seitan.

6. Using 3 or 4 large pieces of foil, completely cover the pan, trying to seal it up the best you can. We are trying to create a makeshift tandoori oven and also make sure the seitan steams inside the pan so it cooks through but doens’t dry out. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for one hour. Do not open the foil to peek! It’s gonna be fine in there, I promise. After one hour remove the foil (Save for wrapping the seitan piece to let them rest later.) Give the seitan pieces a little spray with some oil and flip the pieces. Let it bake uncovered for 30 more minutes.

7. Let the “chicken” pieces cool at room temperature. Once they have cooled off, wrap them in the reserved foil and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours. I normally make this the day before I want to eat it.

8. To reheat the “chicken” preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place “chicken” pieces on a baking sheet and heat until warmed through. Serve as is with rice or you can prepare and serve as Vegan Chicken Tikka Masala.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Garlic Lemon Vegan “Chicken” Breast with Crispy Skin

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Mongolian Beef with Soy Curls

Before we were vegan, my husbands favorite Chinese takeout meal was Mongolian beef.

If you have never had Mongolian beef vegan or otherwise, and you are a fan of garlic, gingery, sweet, sticky sauces, then this is one you need to try!

I was never a big beef eater pre vegan but could appreciate my husbands love for this dish. My go to was always garlic chicken. Being that both of those dishes are a thing of the way back past, I needed to find a way to make my husbands old Chinese takeout favorite a thing of the vegan present.

When it comes to soy curls I have always felt inclined to fry them in to vegan clam strips, or fry them like a “chicken” tender with dip. I LOVE soy curls. They are one of my favorite vegan meat alternative, because they are so tasty, have the perfect chewy texture, are easy and quick to cook, and pretty affordable. But I really never have used them in a saucy recipe. So when pondering what to do with the three bags I had just gotten in from Amazon, Mongolian beef popped into my head.

I knew I wanted to make a Chinese style dish with at least one bag of the curls and knew Dave, my husband, would be thrilled if I attempted to recreate his old fave!

Well y’all, this recipe is just as easy as any other of my go to soy curl recipes and my entire family liked it. That is 6 people y’all, all in agreement. Two teenagers, a super picky 9 year old by and a toddler. Let me tell you something, this says a LOT!! My kids live to be contrary and I am pretty convinced conspire to push me to the edge where dinner likes and dislikes are concerned. I have just resolved to know that at least 2 of us are going to leave the dinner table hungry upon refusal of the dinner placed before them. Its exhausting and frustrating, so when I find a meal everyone likes, it gets put on a regular rotation.

Vegan Mongolian Beef is now on regular rotation! Hallelujah for small miracles!

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz package soy curls

• 4-5 scallions (green onions)

• 3 cups hot water

• 1 teaspoons vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut amnions

• 1/3 cup all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup corn or tapioca starch

• neutral flavored oil for frying

SAUCE:

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or coconut amnios

• 1 teaspoon Vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 2 teaspoons grated ginger

• 3 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1-2 teaspoons rice vinegar

• 1/3 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large bowl add the bag of dried soy curls, along with 3 cups of hot water, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon better than bouillon. Let the curls soak for 10 minutes.

2. In another large bowl, whisk flour and starch. Drain all of the liquid from the soy curls and add them to the flour and starch. Toss to coat the curls. The curls will still be a little wet so the coating can get kind of of sticky. Thats ok!

3. Prepare a wire cooling rack by placing it on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Placing the curls or the rack after frying, vs just a paper towel lined plate helps them to stay a bit more crispy. This is true with any pan fried food.

4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon or two of oil. Add the coated soy curls in batches to the hot pan, frying on each side until they begin to brown and get a little crispy. Place finished curls on the cooling rack and continue frying all remaining. Add extra oil to pan as needed.

5. You can use the skillet you fried the curls in if its deep enough or use a sauce pan to cook the sauce. I use a large iron skillet and wipe it clean after frying the curls. Add all all of the ingredients for the sauce into the pot/ pan and whisk . Heat the sauce on medium/low util it comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, regularly stirring the sauce unit it has thickened some and seems sticky.

6. Slice the green onions on a diagonal into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces. Toss the curls into the sauce and add the onions. Serve vegan Mongolian beef over rice.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Asian Summer Roll Salad with Grilled Tofu

Crispy Sesame Tofu

Clam Strips with Soy Curls

Vegan Cheeseburger Egg Rolls with Beyond Meat

The other day I stopped by my friend Bevin’s house so my daughter could drop off a beautiful piece of toddler art for her best friend, who happens to be Bevin’s son.

We are in the thick of social distancing at the moment so it was a quick stop to wave between a glass door, drop off the lovingly crafted popsicle, yarn, cupcake liner, BFF rendering she created, cry a little, and wish we could actually hang out, and spend time with the people we love and miss.

This all sucks to say the least. And hopefully one day I will read back over this recipe, read this blurb, and life will be normal again and social distancing will just be a word of the past. A horrible thing that happened and we all survived. But as I write this, life is weird!

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So when I stopped by and Bevin opened the door to quickly grab the picture, the most amazing smell wafted from the house..and I was all “what in the world are you cooking, that smells crazy good?!?!” The answer was CHEESEBURGER EGG ROLLS!! WHAT?!?!?! How has she not told me about this sooner!?!

Bevin is a vegetarian so gave the the basic run down of what she did to make them…and I went right home knowing I was making them the next day!

Bevin and I both used Beyond meat in the recipe. She mentioned diced onions and pickles so I added those as well. I used vegan cheddar shredded cheese to make them vegan and added a few spices and a dash of vegan Worcestershire sauce just like I would if were making vegan burgers. These days it is really easy to find vegan egg roll wrappers as well. My how times have changed.

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Bevin baked her cheeseburger egg rolls, but I live to fry…I mean I’m southern, so I fry all the things, regardless of the knowledge that this is not exactly healthy…but moderation y’all, moderation. That said, I also really do love the ease of my air fryer and the lack of mess involved..also that whole “its healthier” thing. So, I often try any fried recipes I make both ways. Pan fried with oil and in the air fryer. Results are in and it works both ways y’all. I actually really liked the air fried version but my husband preferred the pan fried vegan egg rolls. I think the wrappers cook up really crispy in the air fryer but the texture is more spring roll-ish to me when cooked that way. But I wouldn’t turn away either option. Bevin warned that when cooked in the oven the wrappers were a little weird. So if you decide to bake them, don’t say we didn’t tell you. (the picture below is the air fried version)

These vegan cheeseburger egg rolls are now, without a doubt, my new favorite thing to do with an egg roll wrapper. They are SOOOOO FLIPPING GOOD! I used cheddar shreds but you could use whatever cheese you like. I also loaded them with pickles because I LOVE PICKLES. If you hate pickles, we are not friends, and you can leave them out. You could always add diced mushrooms and some vegan swiss or provolone. That would be amazing too.

We dipped ours in mustard and ketchup but how good would these be dipped in vegan 1,000 island…like a vegan Big Mac egg roll…Y’all….next batch I’m 100% dipping them in 1,000 island dressing.!!!

So everyone says thank you to the beautiful, brilliant, clever, Bevin. Without her, I wouldn’t be sharing this recipe. Although I wish this whole stupid social distancing thing would end and Bevin and I could be eating these together, with our crew of kids laughing and playing and being the goons they are…soon I hope, soon!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb vegan ground meat, I used Beyond ground

• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

• 1/2 cup finely diced dill pickles

• 1 cup shredded vegan cheddar, homemade or store-bought

• 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion salt

• 1 package vegan egg roll wrappers

• neutral flavored oil for frying. I used grapeseed oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add the diced onions, pickles, vegan ground meat, Worcestershire sauce, onion salt, and garlic powder to a large skillet. Cook over medium heat until the vegan meat is cooked through and onions are soft and translucent. Set aside and allow to cool for a bit.

2. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in 1 cup of vegan shredded cheddar cheese.

3. Lay out the an egg roll wrapper to look like a diamond (points up and down) and scoop a heavy handed tablespoon of filling into the center. Fold the bottom corner up, then fold in the sides, and roll away from you. Continue until you used all of the filling. You will have a few wrappers left over.

4. Pan Frying: Heat a large skillet with a few inches of oil. Once oil is good and hot, add a few egg rolls at a time, letting them cook on each side unit crispy and brown. Place finished egg rolls on a wire cooling rack that you have placed on a paper towel lined cookie sheet. Continue until all vegan cheeseburger egg rolls are fried.

5. Air Fryer: Place egg rolls in air fryer and give them a light mist of oil. Cook at 375 for about 10 minutes or unit golden brown and crispy.

6. Server with a side of ketchup and mustard, or vegan 1,000 island for dipping.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Fried Cheese Grits

Vegan Fried Mac and Cheese Balls

Vegan Chorizo Empanadas

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Vegan Eggplant Parmesan

I think you either love eggplant or you don’t.

I would eat eggplant everyday, all the time, anyway you served it to me. Vegan eggplant parm being my fave!

My family that is pretty divided on issue. My neighbors Yanira and Dustin are fans however, and now when I want to bake up a big pan of vegan eggplant parm, I just take 1/3 of it to them!! And truly I just can’t understand why, WHY, my kids don’t adore this cheesy, gooey, saucy, perfect dish like I do.

Next to a “meatball” sub, vegan eggplant parm is hands down my favorite Italian dish. And before I was vegan it was the dish I always ordered when we went out to eat Italian.

I like it best when it is cooked in layers like a lasagna. I like to cut into multiple layers or perfectly fried eggplant, gooey cheese, and marinara. I also like it with a nice big side of pasta!

And here is the thing, vegan eggplant parm is actually easy to make. It’s a little time consuming, so if you have your heart set on a quick weeknight, 30 minute dinner, this isn’t it. You could however prep this vegan eggplant the night before and pop it in the fridge. That way it would be ready for the oven when you get home from work or whenever you are ready to bake it. You can also divide the recipe bake it in two smaller dishes, and pop one in the freezer for later! Especially if you are single or have a smaller family and don’t need a 9x13 pan of eggplant parm at one time.

The all purpose vegan cheese sauce that is used in the this recipe is my go to for dishes like this. I use it for vegan lasagna, to top pizza, for making enchiladas, quesadillas, Mac and cheese, and even grilled cheese. I make a lot of vegan cheese and have almost 40 vegan cheese recipes on the the site including sliceable and shreddable mozzarella, but for recipes like this vegan eggplant parmesan, you want a super gooey, melty vegan cheese, and this cheese sauce is exactly what you want. Its magic and you WILL probably find yourself licking the pot. I don’t judge!!! This vegan cheese sauce recipe easily becomes a staple once you make it and learn the magic that it is. It is cashew bases BUT you can easily swap sunflower seeds in and equal amount if you are allergic or to save money. Its still just as good!!

So if you have been wanting, needing, craving, vegan eggplant parm, get to it! It is saucy, fried, baked, cheesy comfort food with a side of carby noodles for good measure. So basally it’s food perfection by my standards!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium sized eggplants

• 1 batch Easy all purpose vegan cheese sauce

• 2 cups vegan breadcrumbs or matzah meal for Passover

• 1 cup plant based milk

• 1/2 cup vegan plain unsweetened yogurt

• 1/3 tapioca or corn starch

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese, homemade or store bought

• neutral flavored oil good for frying

• pasta noodles (we use spaghetti noodles)

MARINARA SAUCE:

• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes

• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

• 1/4 cup red wine

• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

• 1 teaspoon each, thyme, rosemary, basil, salt

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

*if you don’t want to make your own sauce from scratch you can mix your favorite jar or pasta sauce with one drained 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, and 14 cup wine

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Begin by preparing the All Purpose Cheese Sauce and setting aside.

2. Next make the sauce by adding the diced onion to a medium sized pot with a teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Let the onions cook until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and red wine. Stir and let the onion, garlic, and wine cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and spices and reduce the heat to low. Allow the sauce to simmer while you prepare the eggplant.

3. Next, wash and slice the eggplant lengthwise about 1/4 of an inch thick.

4. Set out three shallow dishes or pie plates. In one dish add the starch. In another add the plant milk and yogurt whisked together. In the last dish add the breadcrumbs, salt and garlic powder.

5. First dip a slice of eggplant in the starch, making sure to cover it completely. Next dip in the milk mixture, and finally into the breadcrumbs, again making sure each piece it coated.

6. Place a metal cooling rack on top of a paper towel lined cookie sheet. If you do not have a cooling rack you can place a few paper towels on a cookie sheet. Placing the fried eggplant onto the cooling rack allows excess oil to drip off and helps keeps the eggplant crispy. Place near stove.

7. Heat a few inches of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is nice and hot, add 3 or 4 slice of eggplant at a time, depending on pan size. Allow each piece to fry on each side for a few minutes or until each side is crispy and golden brown. Repeat with all remaining eggplant, placing fried pieces onto the cooling rack.

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

9. To build the eggplant parm, add about 1/2 cup of marinara to the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Next add a layer or eggplant. Add sauce to the top, then spread a thin layer of cheese sauce over the marinara. If the cheese sauce has gotten too thick after cooling, add a few tablespoons of water and reheat, whisking the water in. The cheese sauce will thin it back out once reheated so it will spread easily.

10. Repeat this process of layering eggplant, sauce, and cheese, the top layer ending with cheese sauce. Sprinkle the top with vegan parm, and a little dried basil if you like. Place pan on middle oven rack and bake for about 45 minutes.

11. If you are serving with pasta, cook according to package directions 20 minutes before eggplant is finished baking.

12. Slice as you would lasagna and serve with a side of pasta.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

The Perfect Vegan Lasagna

Beyond Meatball Filled Bread Bowls

Vegan Stuffed Crust Pizza

Vegan Slow Cooker Brisket

Slow cooker roast is the thing I used to ask my mom to make me ever time she came to visit before going vegetarian then vegan.

My moms roast is better than your moms roast….I mean, that’s maybe kinda of mean, and maybe your moms roast is amazing…so, never mind.

But once you stop eating meat, your moms roast is a thing of the past and you only have memories of the smell and the nostalgia of it all.

Truly my favorite part was always the veggies more than the meat. I LOVE potatoes and carrot that have been cooking in a crock pot all day!

But these days I make a pretty mean vegan brisket, and after many disappointing attempts at a vegan roast, it finally dawned on me that I should just try and use my brisket. The brisket is made with vital wheat gluten and jackfruit. It is covered in a spice rub and is actually one of my favorite seitan recipes! So instead of wrapping in foil to cook in the oven, I seared it, and made my moms roast recipe, just meatless…..and it was amazing.

I cooked my roast for 6 hours on high heat. One thing I have noticed is not all slow cookers/ crock pots are created equal and some cook faster and seemingly hotter than others. My moms crock pot cooks so much faster than mine. So keep an eye on the roast. You may only need to cook it for 5 hours.

This brisket roast is tender, flavorful, and delicious. The veggies are just as good as moms roast veggies and that part made the happiest of all.

Just because you give up meat does not mean you have to give up recipes you always loved. Recipes that remind you of home and family and growing up. You just have to learn how to adapt those old recipes into something new and vegan! This brisket will hopefully bring you back to memories of your favorite old slower cooker roast recipe.

I hope you and your family will enjoy this recipe as much as we have! Happy eating, y’all!

INGREDIENTS:

You will need slow cooker/ crock pot for this recipe.

BRISKET:

• 1 can jackfruit in brine

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup tapioca starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon Vegetable Better than Bouillon

• 2 tablespoons water

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 2 tablespoons oil ( I used grape seed)

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 2 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

DRY RUB:

• 1 teaspoons dried rosemary

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon pepper

• 2 teaspoon dried thyme

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 russet potoates

• 1 yellow onion

• 5-6 carrots

• 4 cups water

• 1 tablespoon Vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine

• 2 teaspoons each, thyme, and rosemary

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 or 2 bay leaves, optional

Instructions:

1. Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Chop the jackfruit in your food processor by pulsing a few times.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and mix for a minute, until a sort of dough forms.

3. If you do not have a food processor, finely chop the jackfruit using a sharp knife. In a medium bowl add the jackfruit and remaining ingredients. Using your hands, (I promise its just easier) mix all of the ingredients together until a dough forms. Knead the dough by hand for a few minutes.

4. Form the dough into a sort of oval shape, mimicking a brisket.

5. Mix up the ingredients for the dry rub in a bowl.

6. Pour dry rub into the middle of a clean surface like a cutting board. Take the “brisket and roll it in the rub to cover all sides.

7. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and give it a spray with some oil. Once it is nice and hot place the brisket into the skillet letting it cook on each side just a few minutes to sear the “roast.” This step just helps give the outside a firmer texture and helps keep the outside coating on while in the crock pot.

8. Wash the veggies. Quarter the potatoes, carrots and onion.

9. Set you slow cooker to med/high heat for 6 hours. Add the water, wine, seasoning, garlic and bouillon to the pot. Give it all a whisk. Place the brisket in the center and spread the veggies around it.

10. My slow cooker seems to cook extra slow. My moms seems to cook way faster. Times may need to be adjusted depending on your slow cooker. But somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 to 6 hours is probably good!

11. After about 3 hours of cooking pull the brisket up out of the liquid and let it rest on top of the veggies for the remainder of the cook time.

12. Serve the brisket as is with veggies or you can serve over rice.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Turkey Style Roast with Crispy Skin

Vegan Pastrami

Beyond Meat Vegan Meatloaf

Herb and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Vegan Turkey Breast

One of the most popular recipes on this site is our Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey. And for good reason! It’s delicious and super easy to make.

We mixed vital wheat gluten, tofu, herbs and spices to create a very convincing vegan turkey breast. The texture and flavor are just spot on!

So when I was thinking over new spring dish ideas, specifically main dishes, I decided I wanted to stuff that turkey breast with some herbs, roll it up, and see how it would turn out.

I had imagined using a variety of herbs and bread crumbs to stuff the vegan turkey breast with, but because I am wrote this recipe durning some very strange, unprecedented, quarantine times, I had to use what I had on hand.

I had a bunch of basil and a bag of sun dried to tomatoes so decided to work from there. I love basil and sun dried tomatoes together and decided the combo would give this stuffed turkey breast and Italian feel. The flavors are bright but also light and zippy.

Even though the filling was not what I had originally dreamed up, it just goes to show using what you have on hand sometimes can create happy accidents….errrr, well, this is less an accident and more a product of availability, and mandatory shelter at home orders. But still the result was happy!

You can use any herbs you have on hand, as well. If do not have sun dried tomatoes you can skip that and just use herbs and bread crumbs.

We ate this vegan turkey breast as a dinner, but you could easily slice it thinly and use it for one dang delicious sandwich, too.

So if you have been thinking about what you would make for your next spring holiday meal, or have some extra time on your hands and want to give seitan turkey a go, there is no better time than now!

This recipe is beyond easy, and so delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block extra firm high protein tofu (14oz -16oz block)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/2-3/4 cups water

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1 teaspoon rosemary

• 1 tablespoon No Chicken Better Than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 1 teaspoon salt optional if you feel like the bouillon is not salty enough

• 3 tablespoons mix Italian herbs for the coating, plus 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

*I used high protein tofu in a sort of vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipe ads a result as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough. Be advised that I have not made this turkey with regular firm tofu and I have gotten several comments that using it has caused the tofu to have more of bread texture with many holes in it. I am sure moisture is what is causing this issue. I really suggest only using the HIGH PROTEIN EXTRA FIRM for this recipe if you can find it.

FOR THE FILLING:

• 1 cup bread crumbs (make sure they are vegan, many brands are not)

• 1/2 cup fresh basil

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley (optional)

• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes

• Juice from 1/2 lemon

• 2-3 teaspoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Begin by adding all of the ingredients for the filling in the food processor. Mix for a few minutes until all of the ingredients are minced up and browned down into a crumb consistency. Place filling in a bowl and set aside. Rinse the food processor.

2. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

4. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute. Flatten the dough out into a regtangle-ish shape. About 12 inches by maybe 8 inches.

5. Spread the filling over the dough leaving some room around the edges so the filling does not spill out.

6. Begin rolling up the dough starting at one of the shorter ends. Once you have rolled it up, tuck in the ends.

7. Take a piece of aluminum for about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay it out flat. Coat the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Sprinkle half coating seasoning you are using in the center of the foil. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning over the top and press it in. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

8. Place the loaf back in the center of the foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal it up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

9. Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sealed for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes carefully open up the foil, and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

10. Remove finished “turkey” breast and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place the “turkey” breast in the fridge over night to rest. This step is important to get the texture we are trying achieve. If you try and serve it before it rests it will not be nearly as firm.

11. Once the “turkey” breast has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. Since this turkey is better hot, Just slice and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until it is heated back through. I like to give it a little spray with oil when reheating and cover with foil to keep it from getting too dry.

*If your oven cooks hotter than the temperature registered, your “turkey” may develop little holes around the edges. If this happens you can decrease the temperature by 20 degrees the next time you make this dish, or cook uncovered for less time . The turkey will still be delicious but this has been a question asked often in our regular deli turkey breast. It could also be a matter of making sure you knead the dough long enough.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey Breast

Garlic Lemon Vegan “Chicken” Breast

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Fried Mac and Cheese Balls

What’s better than creamy, gooey, perfect vegan mac and cheese? Fried vegan mac and cheese, obviously!

I mean, when I said before that I can and will try and fry everything, that was not a lie. I do adore my air fryer and it has been a game changer in my life, but from time to time you gotta bust out a pot of hot oil and make magic happen! Some things just want to be fried in a vat of hot oil and there is not a drag thing any of us can do about that!

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There was once a time in our lives when we thought the Cheese Cake Factory was the bees knees. Never mind that the wait at our local outdoor mall location was always 7,500 hours long, or that you basically have to sit in a strangers lap once seated, or that the menu is so long that you might turn 100 before you ever finish reading it. Like I have never had so much ordering anxiety and decision remorse in my life as I have at a Cheese Cake Factory ordering dinner. Does anyone else feel this way?!?! I feel like I am not alone here.

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Once we went vegan I have never been back. Do I miss it?!?! Well their happy hour was pretty awesome with tasty drinks and cheap apps, but I am not sure in my semi old age I could handle the stress of it all, and I’m pretty sure there is very little there for me to eat these days. But what I really truly miss is their fried mac and cheese balls!

Seriously, if you have never, I am so sorry! But I am only here to help, and I think I have done just that with this recipe.

I have tried my hand at frying Vegan Mac and Cheese pretty unsuccessfully serval times. Until this time!!!

The trick to getting these Fried Vegan Mac and Cheese Balls nice and creamy once you fry them, is making sure they the Mac is EXTRA creamy and cheesy before you freeze them. Lucky for all of us I have the perfect creamy vegan mac and cheese recipe to make this much easier . You need a creamy element, but you also need the shredded cheese mixed in so it melts and adds extra goo when you fry them.

The breading is also important. You need a thick batter to hold on the dry coating since the fried mac and cheese balls need to be nice and solid before you try and coat them. These ingredients are non negotiable if you want an successful final product. So if you go fussing with the ingredients, and are disappointed with the creaminess of the inside, or the coating on the outside, you were fairly warned.

This recipe makes a lot of fried mac and cheese so I often leave half the batch in my freezer in a large sealed zip lock for another day. If you do this, just half breading and batter amounts. Or fry up the whole batch and reheat the leftovers throughout the week. They reheat well in the oven or an air fryer.

Finally, make sure to have a side of marinara on hand for dipping. These Vegan Fried Mac and Cheese balls are a meal in themselves and sooooo much better if you dip them in the sauce! I mean Cheese Cake Factory would be so disappointed in us if we didn’t!! It’s just how you are suppose to eat them. Serve these with a salad and you have made a full dinner that is sure to make your whole house happy!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 batch Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese

• 1/4 cup vegan mayo

• 1 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese , homemade or store bought

• 1 cup vegan plain yogurt or sour cream

• 1 cup unsweetened vegan plant milk

• 1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch

• 2 cups vegan bread crumbs, plain or panko

• 2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• Oil for frying

• Marinara sauce for dipping

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Begin by preparing the mac and cheese according to the instructions. Add in 1/4 cup vegan mayo and 1 cup shredded vegan cheddar to the Mac and cheese. Mix well, and allow to cool.

2. Using a large kitchen scoop, scoop out Mac and cheese and form a ball. Place the ball into a muffin tin and continue with remaining Mac and cheese. If you do not have a muffin tin you can form a ball with the mac and cheese and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

3. Place the muffin tin or cookie sheet into the freezer and allow the mac and cheese to freeze. You need the mac and cheese to be solid before you batter and bread it.

4. Once the vegan mac and cheese balls are frozen, prepare the batter and breading by combining the yogurt and milk in a medium sized bowl, and combining the bread crumbs, starch, salt, and garlic in a separate bowl.

   *this recipe will yield about 2 dozen Vegan Mac and Cheese balls. I often only choose to fry half a batch at a time. If you wish to do this, you will need to half the ingredients in the batter and breading and leave the other half of the Mac and Cheese in the freezer in an airtight container for up to one month.

5. Remove the Mac and Cheese from the muffin tin. The balls my be a bit stuck but you can pry them out easily using a fork. Begin by dipping each Mac and Cheese ball into the yogurt/milk mixture and fully coating. Next dip them into the breadcrumb and starch mixture, again making sure they are fully coated. Place the coated Macs and Cheese balls onto a baking sheet or back into the muffin tin.

6. Fill a medium sized pot half way with an oil suitable for frying, I use grapeseed or canola oil. Heat the pot over medium heat until the oil reaches 350-375 degrees. If you do not have a kitchen thermometer you can place a wooden chopstick or wooden skewer into the oil touching the bottom of the pot once the oil seems good and hot. If tiny bubbles form around the chopstick, the oil is ready.

7. Prepare a baking pan by lining it in paper towels and placing a wire cooling rack on top.

8. Add a few mac and cheese balls into the hot oil and allow them to fry for 3-5 minutes. Since the mac and cheese is frozen, you have to make sure they are cooked through without allowing the outside to burn. If the oil seems too hot and the outside is getting too brown, you can reduce the heat at bit. You may have to test one after it has fried for about 3 minutes to see if the inside is done. This will help you gauge how long you will have to let them cook.

9. Continue until all vegan mac and cheese balls have been fried, placing the finished balls on the cooling rack.

10. Serve with warmed marinara sauce.

11. If you wish to reheat leftover fried vegan mac and cheese balls, you can do so in an air fryer at 350 for about 5 minutes, or in a preheated, 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Buffalo "Chicken” Mac and Cheese

Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese

Easy Vegan Macaroni Salad

Vegan Beyond Meatball Filled Bread Bowls

I love meatballs. Vegan “meatballs” that is.

I love that Beyond Meat can be used to make a deliciously convincing meatball so I can still enjoy one of my all time favorite pre vegan foods.

Before Beyond started selling the beyond meat in a 1 lb. block, I simply bought the burgers and thawed them, mixed them all up and used them as I would ground meat. It works really well and 4 burgers equal 1 lb. of vegan ground. You can use any brand of vegan mince you like. I prefer Beyond but I know there are a lot of new brands popping up these days, so use your fave or what you can find locally! What a glorious time to be a vegan!

So, that said, what do you do with your vegan meatballs? Add them to spaghetti? Sure, I guess, I do love spaghetti and meatballs. Put them on a sub roll and make a sandwich? Sure, It’s one of my favorite sandwiches. OR, you can bake up you very own homemade bread bowls and fill it with vegan meatballs.

Hear me out. These are way BETTER than a sub! For starters it’s less messy, and also you can pile up a LOT of meatballs into a bread bowl. Then you can smoother it, cover it, drowned it, in vegan cheese sauce and bake it up til it’s bubbly brown, and extra gooey. You will likely look a little more classy eating this than you would with marinara running down your chin as you chomp on a meatball sub. Just saying.

Bread bowl meatballs get my vote!

If you don’t want to make bread bowls, you can go buy some smaller round loaves of bread at the bakery and use those. I have done this with a giant round bread loaf and just made one giant bread bowl for sharing. “Sharing” sure…. if you even believe me, then yeah, I shared it.

Anyways, our all purpose vegan cheese sauce gets extra stretchy and gooey, and is perfect for topping these meatball bread bowls. Also, you are going to want to lick the pot you cook it in, so just a heads up, it’s actually that good. You can use the bread scraps to clean up the cheese pot. I am a genius like that, y’all!

So I you are a fan of meatballs, then try them in a bread bowl. Bread makes all meals better and carbs are for sure my love language. Can you even eat a meatball without bread? I would strongly argue that you for sure can not!

INGREDIENTS:

You will need one batch of our Easy Vegan Bread Bowls or 4-6 store bought bread bowls

• 4 thawed Beyond Beef burgers, or 1 lb block of Beyond Meat

• 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

• 1/2 batch All Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce

THE SAUCE: ( or use a favorite pre-made sauce)

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

• 1 small 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes

• 1/3 red wine (optional)

• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

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INSTRUCTIONS:

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: (you can also easily use store bought sauce)

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, sauté onions and garlic in 1 teaspoon of oil, and a teaspoon of salt, until onions are translucent.

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.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Prepare cheese sauce according to directions, allowing it too cook until it is thick and stretchy.

2. Cut tops of bread bowls and hollow them out. You can save the extra bread to make croutons, or just save the scraps to dip in extra sauce. No judgments from me. It’s what I do. Fill the bread bowls equally with vegan meatballs and marinara sauce.

3. Evenly top the bread bowls with dollops of the cheese sauce, and sprinkle with some parsley if you like.

4. Place bread bowls on a baking sheet.

5. Place in the oven on the top rack just until the cheese starts to get extra melty and gooey.

6. Allow to cool a bit before serving. You don’t want to burn you mouth ( I am a mom of 4, I can’t help but give this warning)

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If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Beyond Meatloaf Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

Minestrone Soup with Vegan Meatballs

The Perfect Vegan Lasagna

Vegan Beyond Meatloaf Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

Here we go again, stuffing meatloaf into things. Not unlike our meatloaf stuffed peppers, except not everyone likes peppers, and who doesn’t love a potato!?

The other night there was debate in between our kids over what was for dinner. It was a house divided between Beyond Meat Meatloaf or vegan twice baked potatoes. So I just decided I’d put the meatloaf into the potato and top them with creamy, cheesy, vegan mashed potatoes. Problem solved. I should get some kind of trophy for this parenting win.

I mean, you are more than likely going to make mashed potatoes with meatloaf anyway, why not make it all in one and add some vegan cream cheese, and sour cream to the mash! Now you have cute little individual servings of meatloaf topped with the most glorious mashed potatoes.

We also do this with bell peppers, but not all of my kids like bell peppers. That means several of the kids are just scooping out the insides and wasting a perfectly good bell. This breaks my pepper loving heart, but I get it. So this solution works super well for any pepper haters out there. Nothing is being wasted in this recipe and I love that.

So the next time you go to make meatloaf and mashed potatoes, try making them all in one. I promise your family will think you are a genius, you will feel like a genius, plus they are just flipping delicious.

I make a pretty mean meatloaf if I do say so myself, and the creamiest mashed potatoes in all the land. So It’s really just a win win here! And we all need a win sometimes!

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 large russet potatoes

• 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese

• 1/2 cup vegan plain yogurt or sour cream

• 2-3 teaspoons vegan butter

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Beyond Meatloaf:

• 1 pound vegan ground “meat.” You can also use 4 thawed Beyond Burgers

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (gluten free bread crumbs work, too)

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch, plus 3 tablespoons water

• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoons dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon all purpose greek seasoning

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• dried parsley, chives, or green onion for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Wash the potatoes, leaving the skin on. Pierce each one serval times with a sharp knife and place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft on the inside. You can insert a knife or skewer through the top of one and if it goes through easily, they are done. Let the potatoes cool completely.

2. Once potatoes are cool, carefully cut an oval around the perimeter of the top of the potatoes. Remove the tops and scoop out the insides (not the skin, unless you like the skin in your mashed potatoes) using a spoon, placing the insides into a medium sized bowl.

3. Add the sour cream, butter, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the potato bits in the bowl. Use a hand masher or electric mixer to mash them all up. You want them on the thicker side, if they seem too thick you can add a splash of plant milk to thin them out some, just don’t get them too thin. They need to sit nicely on top of the meatloaf.

4. To prepare the meatloaf, add the ground meatless “meat” to a large bowl. If you are using thawed burgers then break them up with a spoon.

5. Mix in the diced onion, garlic, tomato paste, and seasonings.

6. Next, mix in bread crumbs, starch mixed with water, and Worcestershire sauce.

7. Divide the mixture between the hollowed out potatoes, gently pressing it into the potato shells, careful not to break or tear the potatoes. Spread ketchup over each meatloaf potato.

8. Place meatloaf filled potatoes back on the baking pan and place in the oven to bake for 25 minute. After 25 minutes, carefully remove. Divide the mashed potatoes evenly and top each potato with the mash. Place back in the oven for another 15 minutes or until a skewer poked all the way into the meatloaf comes out clean.

9. You can garnish the potatoes with diced chives or green onions.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Beyond Meat Vegan Meatloaf

Vegan Meatloaf Stuffed Peppers with Beyond Meat

Unstuffed Vegan Cabbage Rolls