Whether you’re a new member of the vegan family or you have decided to start cooking on your own, an excellent vegan cookbook is what you need. The number of mouthwatering vegan dishes is constantly growing and it has become extremely difficult to select only a few to start with. Just like with every cookbook, vegan or not, we offer a few ideas for breakfast, soup, main course, and naturally, snacks and desert. Have fun preparing and enjoying dishes from our vegan cookbook for beginners!
Yummy vegan breakfast ideas
Regardless of your level of culinary prowess, you will certainly enjoy your variation of vegan mac and cheese or vegetable tikka masala once you conquer the cooking basics.
And besides, those recipes are simply too good not to produce delicious meals.
However, you need to start with something, and what better to start with than breakfast.
1. Avocado toast with extras
It is injustice attributing avocado to millennials only; everybody should enjoy this superfood.
Its neutral taste makes it an excellent “glue”, just spread it over toast and stick and stack your favorite veggies or fruits on top.
Our suggestions? Try out a fruity, sweet and sour combination with pineapple and strawberry slices, or a salty one with tomato wedges and a sprinkle of dry oregano or fresh basil leaves on top.
For a hot start of the day, add bell peppers with black beans and a (modest) splash of chili sauce to your toast with avocado paste.
2. Banana oatmeal with chocolate chips
Sweet, light, and refreshing are the words describing this breakfast recipe. You will enjoy it even more because it is easy and fast to make.
Mash one half of a ripe banana and slice the other half, mix it with a few chopped dates, crushed nuts (optional), vegan chocolate chips (not optional!), a cup of almond milk or any other non-dairy milk and a half a cup of oats.
Vegan cookbook for beginners: soup and main dish
There is nothing better and more inspiring than cooking in a clean and cozy kitchen.
Don’t hesitate to give your cooking space a new look before you start trying out our recipes.
It will warm you and your guests for these simple delicacies straight away.
1. Mushroom soup
This creamy soup is delicious, not to mention simple to make and affordable!
Fry one chopped onion in a bit of oil and add 2-3 chopped cloves of garlic when the onion becomes nearly transparent.
Add 2 and a half cups of chopped white mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes before adding two tablespoons of raw sunflower seeds, 2 cups of sliced potatoes, and 4 and a half cups of boiling water.
After you let it boil for around 15 minutes, blend it into a creamy soup. Add salt and pepper and other seasonings to taste.
2. Vegan pasta with lemon sauce
This amazing lemon sauce is oil-free, dairy-free, and yet, creamy and full of flavor.
You can make the sauce in your blender with only a few ingredients: raw cashews, lemon, and parsley.
Add zest and juice of one lemon to the blender, a cup of cashews, a cup of water, and salt to taste.
Prepare the pasta (spaghetti or tagliatelle) separately, put around a cup and a half on each plate, and pour the smooth, freshly made sauce over the pasta.
You can garnish each plate with lemon zest and parsley leaves.
Do not desert before the dessert
A vegan cookbook for beginners wouldn’t be complete without sweets and snacks.
Summer is here and if that’s not sufficient reason to be happy, then here’s another. You can enjoy a delicious vegan ice cream that takes about 5 minutes to make (freezing not included).
1. Fruit ice cream
Get your blender ready again! Should the amount seem too low (they always do when we’re making sweets) you can double or even triple the ingredients.
Blend a cup of full-fat coconut milk, a cup of freshly squeezed fruit of your choice (oranges mix well with coconut milk), three tablespoons of organic agave syrup, and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
You can make popsicles or put a few scoops in an ice cream bowl and decorate with fresh fruit.
2. Almond-filled chocolate-covered dates
It can’t be more simple and tasty. You only need to remove the pits from the dates and replace them with as many almonds (2-3) as you can fit without destroying the date.
Melt chocolate bars or flakes of your choice in a double boiler and dip in the dates.
Put them on a tray covered with baking paper, sprinkle each with coarse sea salt, and let them cool in a fridge for an hour or two.
If kept refrigerated, these sweets can last for a week, but they rarely survive a day.
3. Seasoned snacks
Have you ever tried seasoning your snacks on your own? It is quick and simple and you don’t require too many ingredients.
The best thing is, you can choose any kind of nut and any combination of spices you like the most. We suggest these two combinations:
- almonds with garlic and paprika
- chickpeas with chili and thyme
These are made slightly differently.
To make seasoned almonds, for every cup of almonds you need to mix half a teaspoon of dried paprika and ground cumin, and a quarter of a teaspoon of garlic powder, cayenne, and salt.
Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a pan, add the spice mix, let it cook a minute or two before adding almonds and stirring well.
Let the seasoned almonds cool on a plate before serving.
Chickpeas, on the other hand, are tastier and crispier if baked before seasoning.
Bake 500g (19oz) of rinsed chickpeas in your oven for 30 minutes on 190°C (375°F), shaking the pan occasionally.
Carefully mix the still hot baked chickpeas in a bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil, half a teaspoon of chili powder, thyme leaves, and salt to taste.
Once you thoroughly coat the chickpeas, return them to the baking pan and bake them for an additional ten minutes.
Allow them to cool before snacking!
For more ideas and more detailed explanations, you can always get one of the popular vegan books of recipes. Trust us, they are popular for a reason.
Soon enough, you will be ready to gift the cookbook away and try more challenging dishes, or even experiment with your own recipes.
