Vegan Recipes

Hello fellow vegans out there in this vegetarian world!  As I was reading through some of the topics and posts, I saw some recipes and recipe books thrown around here and there, and thought it would be cool if we had one ongoing thread to share some of our favorite recipes in.  So, if you just made awesome brownies, or burritos, or anything that you know we'd all love, too, then write them down here!  I know I'm always looking for something new to make!

I'll start with a cake that I made for Christmas.  Even my picky sister and brother-in-law scarfed it down!  It's from the post punk kitchen and here's the link:  Chocolate bomb cake

It is awesome!  You make a chocolate batter, then you melt some chocolate and put it on top of the batter, and bake it.  Then, when you take it out of the oven and release the spring-form pan, all the chocolatey stuff on the top oozes off the sides of the cake.  GREAT with ice cream.  Tastes like a fudgie brownie!  But not exactly the kind of thing you want to log the calories for later!!

Oh, and if there's already a topic for this, then let me know, and I'll just add this recipe to that one!

Enjoy!

Crepes... I always love finding recipes that make do without eggs where eggs seemed to be completely vital. Here's the recipe I used:

1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup margerine, melted

1 T torbinado sugar

2 T maple syrup

1 cup unbleached flour

Stir it up, chill the batter for an hour or so, and make like you'd make any other crepe. 

I just posted this recently and it fits perfectly here (even though when you mentioned cake I automatically thought about a cookie recipe and not something healthy =P)

This is a recipe from Berkoff's Vegan Meals for One or Two, for a soup (about 3 servings) that became a favorite of mine and my guy's.

The best part about it is that even though there is cooking involved it sure does not feel like it. All you do is dump stuff into a pot and then let it cook.

So... in a medium pot/saucepan, you add:

1 1/2 cup of tomato juice

1/2 cup uncooked pasta (like shells, or bows, or whatever)

1 cup of canned chopped tomatoes (include the juice)

3/4 cup of canned beans (kidney and pinto work well)

1 tsp of granulated garlic

1 tsp of dried basil

You bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and you let it cook for about 20 minutes, and that's it.

I usually just end up "dumping" a full can of the tomatoes and a can of beans since it is quicker and I do not need to measure and set aside anything. Hurray for laziness.

Awesome soup though!

Oh... unless of course you don't like the taste of tomato... =P

That soup sounds great lunamagae!  I hope you're planning on posting that cookie recipe too, even if I did just post a cake recipe!  Actually, I've been looking for a good cookie recipe.  I have vegan recipe books, but it's easier to skip to the one that someone has tried and likes!

Edit- I LOVE LVOE LOVE crepes too!!  Thanks for adding!!

I love crepes too but I never tried to make them because they look so difficult to me. All so thin and perfectly round... I don't think I could do those =P I don't even find myself capable of making pancakes haha

The cookie recipe is actually from a peta post on myspace. They had a cookie competition among their staff and I tried some recipes. I did that out of curiosity and boredom and let me tell ya... I found my ultimate vegan cookie "weapon" to take to parties and give to people to show off vegan baking.

Here it is:

Marta's Snickerdoodle Stacks

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar + extra sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1/4 cup vanilla or plain soymilk
Cinnamon to taste
Duncan Hines Whipped Vanilla Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oil, both sugars, vanilla, and soymilk, then mix in flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine extra sugar and desired level of cinnamon-y goodness. Roll dough into small-to-medium sized balls and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Flatten cookies on a greased cookie sheet (I used vegetable oil) and space them out accordingly (For square shaped cookies, the dough can be placed close together. For circular cookies, space them further apart.). Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Once cookies have cooled a bit, take sets of two cookies and frost the top of one with desired amount of frosting, then place another cookie on top. Makes about 10 Snickerdoodle Stacks or about 20 individual cookies.

That's the actual recipe given in their post.

I tried doing the balls first and it was messy and a lot of extra work. Once I tried the recipe again, I found that the best and easiest is to just spread the dough on a rectangular pan, sprinkle the top with cinnamon (I didn't add any extra sugar - no need for it) and bake. Then you can cut them in perfect little squares and it is way easier and neater.

I LOVE those cookies. So damn good... I've baked them twice for my in-laws and they never last long. Everyone likes them so much that these have definitely become my first choice of sweet to give to people.

ummm..... those sound delicious.... I'm a little afraid to make them in fear of becoming addicted! 

The Duncan Hines Whipped Vanilla Frosting is vegan?  That's crazy, I never would've thought that!  I noticed that you there isn't a place in the recipe that you've said to use the frosting, though. 

uhh let me fix that.

PETA mentions Duncan Hines as having several vegan products (not all!) and the whipped vanilla is said to be vegan. They also mentioned another one by Pillsbury (Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla).

I don't know... Every time I see I can't believe it's vegan I get surprised and find it hard to accept. =P Vegan or not... the ingredients list is one of those almost undecipherable ones, so I tend to avoid all that kind of stuff. I bet the cookies are good on their own, so you can probably just skip the frosting part - even though my in laws say that is part of why they love the cookie so much.

These are a couple of recipes for lemon lentil soup and sweet potato chili that I have posted in the CC recipes database - these are favorites for winter!

http://caloriecount.about.com/recipe/82886.ht ml

http://caloriecount.about.com/recipe/71879.ht ml

hi. i am not a vegetarian or a vegan. but I follow these posts because my toddler is allergic to both dairy and eggs and so most baking I do for him is "vegan" by default. my question is, do you get milk free chocolate? because that cake contains chocolate, which I wouldn't think to be vegan, unless I've never seen a chocolate which doesnt contain milk.

thanks in advance!

egan cOriginal Post by jespes:

hi. i am not a vegetarian or a vegan. but I follow these posts because my toddler is allergic to both dairy and eggs and so most baking I do for him is "vegan" by default. my question is, do you get milk free chocolate? because that cake contains chocolate, which I wouldn't think to be vegan, unless I've never seen a chocolate which doesnt contain milk.

thanks in advance!

 There is vegan chocolate =) there's quite a lot of options actually. When it comes to baking I've been using Sunspire's semi-sweet chocolate chips [the ingredients are: Organic chocolate (organic sugar, organic unsweetened chocolate, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla beans, soy lecithin].

When it comes to chocolate bars, I really like Terra Nostra's rice milk choco bars =) I am not a fan of dark chocolate so that is perfect for me. 

Original Post by lunamagae:

egan cOriginal Post by jespes:

hi. i am not a vegetarian or a vegan. but I follow these posts because my toddler is allergic to both dairy and eggs and so most baking I do for him is "vegan" by default. my question is, do you get milk free chocolate? because that cake contains chocolate, which I wouldn't think to be vegan, unless I've never seen a chocolate which doesnt contain milk.

thanks in advance!

There is vegan chocolate =) there's quite a lot of options actually. When it comes to baking I've been using Sunspire's semi-sweet chocolate chips [the ingredients are: Organic chocolate (organic sugar, organic unsweetened chocolate, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla beans, soy lecithin].

When it comes to chocolate bars, I really like Terra Nostra's rice milk choco bars =) I am not a fan of dark chocolate so that is perfect for me.

 thanks so much. i went to the shops and I found Lindt 85% cocoa, and its vegan, and he had a piece which he loved :) i am so happy. i dont like him to have much junk food, but I think a treat now and then is good. 

two recipes i like:

Pancakes/Flapjacks: 

4 oz. (100g) plain white flour

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsps baking powder

Pinch salt

7½ fl. oz. (200ml) soya milk

(to thicken the mixture for flapjacks and to make it healthier, I add an additional cup of oat bran, the soluble fibre) 

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix thoroughly. Mix in soya milk and oil and whisk until smooth. Heat some oil in a frying pan. It is hot enough if a drop of batter on the pan sizzles. Quickly pour some of the batter around the pan to form a thin circle. Shake the pan to stop the pancake sticking and cook both sides for a few minutes. Serve with lemon juice and sugar or any topping you like.

from http://www.simpleveganrecipes.co.uk

and Vegan Ice cream: (can be made without an ice cream machine)

This vegan soy ice cream recipe is easy to make, infinitely customizable,
and has a luxuriously creamy texture.

If you don't have an ice cream machine, you can put the finished recipe in the freezer in a plastic bowl, and stir every 15 minutes until it thickens. This is called a semi-fredo.

Ingredients for basic recipe:
1 tetra box firm silken tofu -or- 8 ounces soy yogurt
2 cups soy milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or brown rice syrup
(or a combination)
2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
Combine all 4 ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until thoroughly combined and smooth. Blend in any desired flavoring ingredients (see below). Pour into your ice cream machine, and prepare following the manufacturer's instructions.

For various flavors, add:

For Banana Soy Ice Cream, blend in 2 ripe bananas

For Strawberry Soy Ice Cream, blend in 12-16 frozen and partially thawed strawberries.

For Ginger Soy Ice Cream, add either 1/4 cup preserved ginger or 1 to 2 inches grated fresh ginger (for preserved ginger, add to food processor so it gets ground up).

Use your imagination to come up with new flavors!

Flavored liquers or syrups are a great way to add punch. Try creme de menthe and chocolate chips, or coffee liqueur, or instant coffee powder...

from http://www.goodbaker.com

.......

I know these arent too healthy, but they are nice treats!

Original Post by nautywave:

The Duncan Hines Whipped Vanilla Frosting is vegan? That's crazy, I never would've thought that! 

 I've heard not to trust Peta's list (I personally don't trust peta at all, but this is a forum for food, not politics, so back on track)- they count on the "I can't believe it's Vegan" anything with less than 2% animal products. I can't find a list of the ingredients of the frosting, but chances are it has either granulated sugar (non-vegan, strictly) or confectioner's glaze (non-vegan and non-vegetarian, too- this is ground up insect shells that give frostings and sprinkles a glossy appearance).  So maybe there's no milk and no eggs, but you're probably safer making your own frosting anyway.

VEGAN "CREAM" SAUCE (so flippin' easy)

 Step 1. Your favorite red sauce in a sauce pan

 Step 2. A dollop of your favorite hummus.  

I like spicy food so I usually mix spicy red sauce with spicy hummus.  I put it over whole wheat pasta and mix in peas, tofu or spinach. 

A friend sent me this to try, and usually her recommendations are amazing, so I thought I would pass this along. I've missed these since becoming vegan, I hope they live up to the real thing! I posted this in a past journal entry as well. Obviously these would be a treat :)

Vegan Magic Cookie Bars

• 1/3 cup extra-firm silken tofu
• 1/3 cup vanilla soymilk
• 1/3 cup unbleached sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance Margarine
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (check package ingredients carefully--many aren't vegan)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 2/3 cup flaked coconut
• 3/4 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and spray a glass 8x8-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. In a blender, puree the tofu, soymilk, cornstarch, and sugar until completely smooth.
3. Put the margarine into a bowl and melt it in the microwave (or do this on the stove and pour into a bowl).
4. Add the graham cracker crumbs and mix until well-moistened. Pour them into the prepared baking dish and press evenly to cover the bottom of the pan.
5. Pour the tofu mixture over the crust and sprinkle with the nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips, and press it all into the dish firmly with a fork.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned.
7. Cool completely before cutting into about 16 bars.

Devour AND please let me know what you think if you get to it before I do! :)

Original Post by leazeramanda:

What is torbinado sugar?

We use the brand Sugar in the Raw.  It's basically unrefined raw sugar, but the sugar crystals are slightly brown.  It's very yummy!!!

I love African peanut soup.  It's even better the next day. 

Add tomatoes, rice, broth to a pot and bring to a boil.  Add garlic, red curry paste, and simmer, covered for 30 minutes.  Stir in peanut butter just before serving.