Salads Archives » I LOVE VEGAN

Vegan Broccoli Crunch Slaw

Brittany — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 05:01:56 +0000

Broccoli slaw is a classic summer salad to serve at potlucks and barbeques. This vegan version retains all of the texture, colour, and contrasting flavours of the original. It’s an easy crowd-pleaser that takes less than 35 minutes to toss together.

A sweet and tangy poppy seed dressing and a blend of broccoli florets and slaw are the base of the salad. Roasted sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, crispy tempeh bacon bits, and red onion add flavourful pops of nuttiness, tart sweetness, smoky savouriness, and bite.

Preparing the poppy seed dressing takes just 5 minutes in a blender. Blitz the onion with white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar, and salt. Slowly drizzle in the oil to make an emulsion and add a touch of vegan mayo for extra creaminess. Finish off the simple dressing with a spoonful of poppy seeds.

Adding vegan bacon bits is optional. To make crispy vegan bacon bits, pan-fry the tempeh in a generous amount of vegetable oil. Once both sides are browned, break the strips into bits and continue cooking them until they’re crispy. Once the “bacon” bits are cooked, drain off the excess oil. Using vegan butter/margarine or too little oil makes for a softer texture. Lightlife’s Smoky Tempeh Strips are my go-to for vegan bacon bits and BLT’s.

I use a store-bought broccoli slaw mix because it’s much easier and more convenient than making it from scratch. It’s a colourful combination of shredded broccoli stems, red cabbage, and carrots.

Finish up the vegan broccoli slaw by tossing the florets, slaw, cranberries, sunflower seeds, “bacon” bits, and onion together. Mix in the remaining poppy seed dressing. (Maximize flavour by massaging some of the poppy seed dressing into the tops of the broccoli florets.) Just before serving, garnish the broccoli salad with an extra sprinkle of sunflower seeds and bacon bits.

Broccoli Slaw Tips and Substitutions:

If you won’t be serving the salad to a group of people, don’t mix the dressing into the broccoli salad right away. It’ll last longer if you dress individual portions just before serving.
Mellow the red onion so it doesn't overpower the rest of the salad.
Soak the chopped onion in salt water and give it a rinse before adding it to the broccoli salad.
Swap out the dried cranberries. Add some raisins (golden sultanas are a great option) or dried currants instead. Some chopped apple is another option that adds sweetness and crunch. Choose a super crisp, slightly tart variety like Pink Lady or Honeycrisp.
Swap out the sunflower seeds. Add some green pumpkin seeds or chopped almonds instead. Choose salted and roasted nuts/seeds for the best flavour and crunch!
Use a natural sweetener in the poppy seed dressing. Natural sweeteners with caramel notes (like maple syrup or coconut sugar) compliments the Dijon mustard in the dressing beautifully.

More Vegan Summer Salads

Vegan Broccoli Crunch Slaw

Author: Brittany Mueller
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 10 servings
Category: Salads
Method: Salad
Cuisine: Vegan

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Description

This vegan broccoli slaw salad is full of texture and flavour. Broccoli florets, slaw mix, roasted sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, smoky tempeh bacon, red onion, and a tangy-sweet poppy seed dressing.

Ingredients

Poppy Seed Dressing:

⅓ cup (80 ml) white wine vinegar
¼ cup (50 grams) sugar
2 tbsp (30 ml) finely chopped white or yellow onion
1 ½ tbsp (21.5 ml) Dijon mustard
1 tbsp (15 ml) *coarse sea salt, more to taste
¾ cup (175 ml) canola oil (or other neutral vegetable oil)
⅓ cup (80 ml) vegan mayo
1 tbsp (15 ml) poppy seeds

Broccoli Crunch Salad:

3-4 slices (60 grams) tempeh bacon (optional)
Canola oil, for pan-frying tempeh bacon (optional)
4 cups (340 grams) broccoli florets
4 cups (1 - 340 gram bag) broccoli slaw, packed
½ cup (70 grams) dried cranberries
½ cup (70 grams) roasted, salted sunflower seeds, plus more for topping
⅓ cup (50 grams) chopped red onion, soaked in salt water and rinsed (optional)

Instructions

Poppy Seed Dressing:

In a blender, add white wine vinegar, sugar, onion, Dijon mustard, and sea salt. Blend on high for 20 seconds. Turn speed down to minimum and very slowly drizzle in the canola oil. After incorporating the canola oil, continue blending on low for another 30 seconds. Add vegan mayo and poppy seeds, and blend on minimum until mixed well. Set aside.

Broccoli Crunch Salad:

Optional: Heat canola oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add tempeh bacon strips. Cook tempeh strips until browned, flip, and cook the other side. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break the tempeh into bits. Continue cooking until the tempeh bits are crispy. Drain and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, add ⅓ of the poppy seed dressing to the broccoli florets. Work the dressing into the tops of the florets.
Adding to the broccoli florets and dressing, mix in the broccoli slaw, tempeh bacon bits (reserve some for topping, if desired), sunflower seeds, red onion, and dried cranberries.
*Add enough of the remaining poppy seed dressing to coat the salad. Add more dressing to taste. Chill.
After the salad has chilled, taste and adjust seasoning before serving. Top with extra sunflower seeds and tempeh bacon bits.

Notes

*If using fine sea salt, start with 2 teaspoon and add more to taste.

*Dress the salad just a few hours prior to serving.

*If you are not serving the entire salad at once: Combine all of the ingredients but do not mix in the poppy seed dressing. Dress individual portions of salad before serving.

Keywords: vegan, broccoli slaw, broccoli salad, vegan broccoli slaw, vegan broccoli salad

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Vegan Italian Pasta Salad

Brittany — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 22:41:55 +0000

Summer is the time for big batch salads! Potato salad, Greek salad, and pasta salads like classic macaroni or this vegan Italian pasta salad are great for summer.

This vegan Italian pasta salad is quick, easy, and full of flavour. Fusilli pasta, fresh herbs, a colourful array of summer tomatoes, tofu “feta”, olives, pepperoncinis, red onion and a basil dressing. It’s perfect for summer barbeques and picnics.

It takes less than 35 minutes to throw together. Make the basil dressing and prepare the tofu while the pasta boils. Prepare the rest of the vegetables while you marinate the tofu and chill the pasta. Once the pasta is cold, toss everything together and you’re done!

5-Minute Basil Dressing

The tangy basil dressing is based on the vinaigrette in our Greek salad recipe. Just throw everything into a blender and blitz until the dressing is a creamy light green with plenty of basil flecks throughout.

Tips for Flavourful Pasta Salad

Cook the pasta longer than the directions suggest. Al denté is ideal for hot pasta dishes, but for pasta salads you want to slightly overcook the pasta. The pasta firms up a lot once it’s cold.
Don’t rinse all the starch off the pasta. Give it a super quick rinse with hot water, just passing it under the water once or twice. It’ll help the dressing cling to the noodles but it won’t pick up so much that it makes the salad dry.
Always mix the dressing into the pasta while it’s hot and then chill it.
Corkscrew pastas like fusilli or rotini are ideal because they have lots of surface area to pick up the flavourful dressing.
Soak raw onions in salt water and then rinse. This tames the onion flavour so it doesn’t overwhelm the whole salad. If you like a lot of onion flavour, just add more!

Customization Ideas

This vegan Italian pasta salad recipe is a great base for you to customize to your liking. Spinach, bell peppers, pickled jalapenos, green olives, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes are all great options.

More Vegan Summer Salads

Vegan Italian Pasta Salad

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

Author: Brittany Mueller
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes + chilling time
Yield: 12 cups
Category: Sides, Salads
Cuisine: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

Basil Dressing:

¾ cup (175 ml) canola oil (or other neutral tasting oil)
⅓ cup (80 ml) white vinegar
⅓ cup (80 ml) water
1 tbsp (15 ml) *coarse sea salt
½ tbsp (7.5 ml) garlic powder
½ tbsp (7.5 ml) onion powder
½ tbsp (7.5 ml) sugar
⅛ cup (30 ml) *fresh basil, add more to taste
1 tsp (5 ml) dried basil, add more to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Vegan Italian Pasta Salad:

1 lb (454 grams) fusilli pasta
175 grams (½ block) firm or extra-firm tofu, *pressed and broken up into small pieces
1 tbsp (4 grams) nutritional yeast flakes
2 cups (400 grams) chopped cherry tomatoes
⅓ cup fresh herbs (I use basil and flat-leaf parsley), packed and chopped
⅓ cup (35 grams) Kalamata olives, chopped
⅓ cup (55 grams) chopped red onion, soaked in salt water and rinsed
¼ cup (4-5) chopped pickled pepperoncinis (optional)

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package instructions, but add an extra minute to the cooking time. The pasta should be just slightly overcooked (past al denté). While the pasta boils, prepare the dressing.
Add all of the dressing ingredients (oil, vinegar, water, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, fresh basil, and dried basil), to a blender. Blend on medium-high speed until the dressing is a creamy light green with plenty of fresh basil pieces flecked throughout.
Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl. Immediately toss the hot pasta with ⅔ of the dressing (enough to liberally coat). Chill.
In a small bowl, mix the *tofu with nutritional yeast. Stir in the remaining dressing and chill.
Once the pasta is cold, mix in the tofu and dressing mixture, tomatoes, olives, chopped herbs, pepperoncinis, and red onion. Chill. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving.

Notes

* Be sure to use coarse sea salt. If using fine sea salt, start with a 1½ tsp. Taste and adjust the dressing with more salt as needed. The dressing should still taste strong and salty to adequately season the large volume of pasta.

*If needed, you can prepare the dressing without fresh basil. Increase the amount of dried basil to 2-3 tsp, add more to taste.

*For best flavour and texture, press as much moisture out of the tofu as possible. I like to slice it up before pressing it to increase the surface area. After that, I break it up into small pieces and briefly press it again (using my hands) to further remove excess moisture.

Keywords: pasta salad, vegan pasta salad, italian pasta salad

The post Vegan Italian Pasta Salad appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

Vegan Greek Salad with Tofu Feta

Brittany — Sun, 17 May 2020 18:48:15 +0000

This vegan Greek salad has everything you’d expect! Cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives, onion, and crumbled chunks of punchy, flavourful tofu feta marinated in a simple Greek salad vinaigrette.

For best flavour, allow plenty of time for the tofu feta to marinate. Overnight will do, but you can marinate the tofu for up to 72 hours. The tofu feta gets firmer and more flavourful the longer it marinates.

Preparing the vegan Greek salad: Marinating the tofu feta and preparing the vegetables.

Greek Salad Dressing

The Greek dressing is simple: oil (and optionally, vegan mayo), vinegar, water, sea salt, oregano, garlic and onion powder. Canola oil (or another neutral vegetable oil) and white vinegar make for a clean flavour and sharp tang. A touch of vegan mayo adds a hint of creaminess which helps to change plain tofu into flavourful tofu feta.

Vegan Greek salad vinaigrette.

Making Vegan Tofu "Feta"

Transform mild tofu into a punchy vegan alternative to feta cheese by removing the water and replacing it with the briney Greek dressing.

Choosing tofu:

I use medium firm (or “traditional”) tofu. Before pressing it, medium tofu is silky and full of moisture. Afterwards it’s firmer, spongy, and ready to soak up plenty of the flavourful marinade. A good quality firm pressed tofu works really well too, but some brands of firm tofu can have a slightly grainy texture which isn't ideal for making tofu feta.

Pressing the tofu:

Press the tofu to remove as much moisture as possible but don't let it crumble into bits.

Cut the tofu into rectangles to increase the surface area for quicker pressing. Lay the tofu between layers of paper towel and clean kitchen towels. Top with a few heavy books or use a cutting board to make a flat surface for awkwardly shaped heavy objects. When the tofu feels dry and just barely begins to crumble, it’s ready.

(To minimize waste, let the kitchen towels absorb the moisture from the tofu. A sheet of paper towel provides a barrier between the tofu and kitchen towel.)

Top: Medium-firm tofu pressed until it's dry to the touch and just barely beginning to crumble. Bottom: Before pressing, medium-firm tofu is silky and full of moisture.

Marinating the tofu feta:

Tear the pressed tofu into small uneven chunks. If you’ve used medium tofu, the texture will be almost chewy now. Mix in some nutritional yeast and top with enough Greek dressing to submerge the tofu.

For optimal texture (and flavour), marinate the tofu feta for as long as possible. The tofu feta gets firmer over time. Overnight is the minimum but I aim for 48-72 hours.

As it marinates, taste test the tofu feta from time to time to decide when it’s flavourful enough for you.

Pressed medium tofu, torn into small uneven chunks and topped with Greek salad dressing. The tofu will firm up more and more the longer it marinates.

Preparation Notes

The tofu feta and Greek dressing are the key parts of the recipe but feel free to adjust the ratios and cuts of the vegetables to suit your preference. I prefer my Greek salad to be heavy on the cucumber with halved tomatoes and sliced olives.

Add Greek dressing and tofu feta to the salad just before serving. Once mixed, the dressing begins to break the vegetables down (especially the cucumbers) and they lose their crisp texture.

To prepare individual servings, dish up desired portion of undressed salad and add tofu feta and Greek dressing to taste.

If you’re preparing the salad in advance for a potluck or gathering, you can leave the tomatoes and olives whole and cut the other vegetables into large pieces for more longevity.

Vegan Greek Salad

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

Author: Brittany Mueller
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes + marinate overnight
Yield: 8 servings
Category: Salad
Method: Marinating
Cuisine: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

Greek Salad Dressing:

1 tbsp (15 ml) *coarse sea salt
½ tbsp (7.5 ml) garlic powder or garlic salt
½ tbsp (7.5 ml) onion powder
½ tbsp (7.5 ml) sugar
½ tbsp (7.5 ml) dried oregano
½ tsp (2.5 ml) cracked black pepper
¾ cup (175 ml) canola oil
⅓ cup (80 ml) white vinegar
3 tbsp (45 ml) vegan mayo (optional)
3 tbsp (45 ml) water

Tofu Feta:

1 (1lb/454g) block medium or firm tofu
3 tbsp (12 grams) nutritional yeast flakes
Half of the prepared Greek salad dressing (above)

Greek Salad:

2 cucumbers, quartered and chopped
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or whole
1 green pepper, chopped
½ of a small red onion, sliced
½ cup Kalamata olives, whole, halved, or sliced
Prepared tofu feta and marinade (above)
Remaining Greek salad dressing (above)

Instructions

Greek Salad Dressing:

In a jar with a lid (or a medium-sized bowl) combine sea salt, garlic salt, onion powder, sugar, oregano, and black pepper. Add canola oil, vinegar, mayo, and water. Shake or whisk well.

Tofu Feta:

Cut tofu into rectangles.
Press the tofu between layered kitchen towels and top with a heavy, flat-bottomed object. Leave tofu to press until it appears dry and some pieces just begin to crumble (about 30 minutes to 1 hour).
(You may need to swap in fresh, dry kitchen towels if they become saturated before the tofu is finished pressing.)
Use your hands to tear the pressed tofu into small, irregular sized chunks - do not crumble.
In a food storage container with a lid (or a medium-sized bowl) gently mix tofu with nutritional yeast. Shake or mix Greek salad dressing before pouring ½ of it over the tofu (or enough to fully submerge the tofu).
Marinate overnight, or even longer (up to 72 hours). Taste test as needed to check for desired flavour and firmness.

Greek Salad:

Prepare vegetables. Optional: halve tomatoes and halve or slice olives. Transfer vegetables into a large bowl.
Just before serving, add the tofu and marinade to the salad. Crumble some of the tofu if desired. Add extra Greek dressing to taste. Serve immediately.

Notes

* Be sure to use coarse sea salt. If using fine sea salt, start with a 1½ tsp. Taste and adjust the dressing with more salt as needed. The dressing should still taste strong and salty because it's seasoning a lot of raw vegetables.

Storage: Store tofu feta and dressing separate from vegetables. Once the dressing is mixed with the vegetables they begin to break down and lose their crisp texture.

Preparing individual servings: Dish up desired portion of undressed salad and add tofu feta and Greek dressing to taste.

If you’re preparing the salad in advance for a potluck or gathering, you can cut the vegetables larger and leave the tomatoes and olives whole for more longevity. Add the dressing and feta to the vegetables shortly before serving.

Keywords: vegan Greek salad, tofu feta, vegan feta

The post Vegan Greek Salad with Tofu Feta appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

Marinated Tofu, Avocado, and Spinach Salad with Creamy Toasted Sesame & Soy Dressing

Brittany — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 21:36:12 +0000

This Spinach, Avocado and Marinated Tofu Salad recipe was originally published on March 13th, 2013. After noticing more people visiting this recipe we decided to update it and repost it on August 30, 2019.

This new and improved version of our Spinach, Avocado and Marinated Tofu Salad features fresh new images, and updated recipe, nutrition info, and a new dressing. The original recipe called for a simple "dressing" of soy sauce and sesame oil. We've stuck to that theme but upgraded it to a creamy toasted soy & sesame dressing. We’ve doubled the marinated tofu portion of the recipe but otherwise kept it the same.

We included the original image at the end of the post to jog your memory if you think you've made this recipe before.

We topped this hearty salad of baby spinach, marinated tofu, avocado, carrot, cucumber, red bell pepper, green onion with a creamy toasted sesame and soy dressing.

This is a great meal to pack for work or school lunches (just pack the dressing on the side). Add some cooked brown rice to turn this salad into a filling vegan lunch bowl. A single serving, made as is, contains 15 grams of plant-based protein (scroll to the end for complete nutrition information.)

Feel free to swap ingredients in and out. I love adding to or swapping the spinach with romaine lettuce for a crunchier salad.

Inspired by the flavours of gomae, a Japanese spinach salad, this toasted sesame and soy dressing is blended and contains cashews for a creamy finish. This versatile dressing is perfect for rice noodle salads, vegan lunch bowls, summer rolls, and stir-fries.

The marinated tofu in this recipe remains the same as before: a simple marinade of soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, and garlic. You can choose to bake or sauté the tofu. Baking takes a little longer but it's more hands-off and uses less oil. Sautéing is quicker, but its uses more oil and requires more hands-on supervision.

As with any marinated tofu recipe, you’ll enjoy the best flavour if you press your tofu first. I’m not a fan of typical pressing methods, they tend to take a while or they don’t work that well. I usually use my “quick pressing method” from my very old “4 Part Tofu Tutorial”. Slice a block of extra-firm tofu into 8 slices and lay them on a clean folded kitchen towel. Top with a second folded kitchen towel and add pressure to draw out excess moisture. Place a cutting board on top and weight it with some heavy things, (cookbooks, cast-iron bakeware, nesting bowls, etc.) for 30 minutes or so. If you're in a hurry you can quickly press some moisture out of the tofu with your hands.

Tofu Pressing Tip (for my fellow cooks with cats and dogs in house):

Pet hair is a fact of life and sometimes kitchen towels aren't 100% fur-free. You can use paper towel to press tofu but you'll need to use a lot of it. Instead, use the kitchen towel method but add a single piece of paper towel wrapped around the tofu. With this method, paper towel is a barrier between the tofu while the kitchen towel absorbs moisture. This ensures that you don’t add any undesired “ingredients” to your tofu with minimal waste.

Alternatively, you can buy a tofu press! It's like a little vice that evenly adds pressure to press excess moisture from a block of tofu.

This marinade is rich enough that you CAN skip the marinating if you’re looking to save time. In this case I’ll whip up the tofu first and let it marinate briefly while I preheat my oven or skillet and prepare the dressing and vegetables. After that, use up remaining marinade in the cooking process. If baking, top the tofu with any leftover marinade before baking. If sautéing, add remaining marinade near the end of the cooking process and cook until it’s absorbed.

Marinated Tofu, Avocado, and Spinach Salad with Creamy Toasted Sesame & Soy Dressing

★★★★★ 4.9 from 13 reviews

Author: brittany mueller
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Category: Lunch & Dinner, Main Course, Salad
Method: Baking
Cuisine: Vegan

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Description

A hearty salad of baby spinach, marinated tofu, avocado, carrot, cucumber, red bell pepper, green onion with a creamy toasted sesame and soy dressing.

Ingredients

Marinated Tofu:

1 block (350g) firm or extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into small squares
2 tbsp (30ml) low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp (30ml) water
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp (10ml) sriracha (more or less to your preference)
1 tsp (5ml) sesame oil
(Optional, for sautéing) 1 tablespoon (15ml) canola oil (or other neutral-tasting vegetable oil)

Creamy Toasted Sesame & Soy Dressing:

3-4 tablespoon (45-60ml) low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup (60ml) raw cashews
¼ cup (60ml) water
3 tbsp (45ml) toasted sesame seeds, divided
2 tbsp (30ml) canola oil
2 tsp (10ml) sugar
2 tsp (10ml) rice wine vinegar

Spinach, Avocado, and Marinated Tofu Salad:

8 large handfuls of baby spinach
1 carrot, grated
½ cucumber, halved and sliced
½ red bell pepper, sliced
1 ripe avocado, sliced
2 stalks green onion, sliced thinly
2 tbsp (30ml) toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Toasting sesame seeds:

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add sesame seeds and cook, stirring often until golden-brown and fragrant. Do not leave unattended.

Marinated Tofu:

For optimal flavour, press tofu to draw out excess moisture. Check out our tutorial on draining and pressing tofu for a quick and easy method.
Combine marinade ingredients. Add cubed tofu. Stir to coat. Marinate for 1 hour (stirring halfway through). If you're in a hurry, you can skip this step.
Baking Instructions: (Uses less oil, slower method) Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread tofu out in a single layer with no pieces touching. Top with remaining marinade. Bake for 20 minutes (or until tofu is crisp on the outside and tender inside.)
Skillet Instructions: (Uses more oil, faster method) Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil over medium-high heat. Add marinated tofu cubes (reserving excess marinade) and cook, turning tofu as needed, until all sides are golden-brown and crisp on all sides. Stir in remaining marinade and cook until marinade cooks down and coats the tofu.
Chill tofu.

Creamy Toasted Sesame & Soy Dressing:

Set aside half of the sesame seeds. Combine remaining ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add remaining sesame seeds and stir. Chill in refrigerator.

Assembling salad:

In a large bowl, add 2 handfuls of spinach. Top with grated carrot, sliced cucumber, red bell pepper, avocado, and green onion. Add ¼ of the chilled marinated tofu. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with extra toasted sesame seeds.

Keywords: marinated tofu, tofu salad, vegan sesame dressing

The post Marinated Tofu, Avocado, and Spinach Salad with Creamy Toasted Sesame & Soy Dressing appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

Vegan Goddess Bowl

Brittany — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 21:32:34 +0000

Last week I shared my recipe for Tahini Goddess Dressing. Today I’m showing you one of the most delicious (and nutritious!) ways to enjoy it, on this Vegan Goddess Bowl!

This bowl is for everyone, not just those who consider themselves a “goddess”. We’re going with that name because the Tahini Goddess Dressing is integral to this bowl. (Plus, Vegan Brown Rice, Chickpea, Smoked Tofu, Avocado, Cucumber, Carrot, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Pecans and Tahini Goddess Dressing is a little long-winded for a recipe title, don’t you think?) Another alternative name was the No. 2 Bowl (because this IS a copycat recipe to The Chopped Leaf’s No. 2 Bowl) but without the accompanying No. 1 and No. 3 bowl on Chopped’s menu, I didn’t like the connotations that inevitably surround the title of "No. 2 Bowl".

That’s more than enough of my thoughts on recipe naming. Let’s talk about the Vegan Goddess Bowl! I’ve covered all the key ingredients in the second paragraph’s ramblings. So let’s focus on what this bowl has to offer!

The Vegan Goddess Bowl is highly nutritious. I’m now including nutritional information in my recipes (thanks Google!) so you can see how rich in nutrients this bowl is at the end of the post. Here are the highlights:

14 grams of plant-based protein
13 grams of fibre (Maybe The Healthy No. 2 Bowl would’ve been an appropriate name afterall…) (Note to my editor: Please stop me from making a No. 2 joke here.)
Full of vitamins, most notably: Vitamins A, B1, B6, B9, C, and K
Great source of minerals: Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Iron, and Zinc

If you like meal prepping, or need to pack a filling lunch for work or school, the Vegan Goddess Bowl is ideal! You can easily prep the ingredients ahead of time and assemble when you’re ready to eat. I’ve got tips in the recipe notes section for assembling this bowl for packed lunches or meal prep.

This bowl is very satiating. The healthy fats, complex carbs and protein are an excellent combination for a filling a lunch or dinner.

Using cooked brown rice and canned chickpeas, this recipe takes less than 20 minutes to prepare. That includes the time to whip up the Tahini Goddess Dressing.

This bowl is full of flavour and texture. The Tahini Goddess dressing is creamy, tangy and full of punchy flavour from lemon juice, garlic, fresh herbs, and a touch of sesame oil and soy sauce. The toasted pecans and cranberries add a nice mix of nutty and sweet pops of flavour.

Like any power bowl, this recipe is highly customizable. As I mentioned earlier, this bowl is a copycat recipe for one from The Chopped Leaf. In this recipe I used smoked tofu but The Chopped Leaf uses marinated tofu. Sunrise Soya makes an awesome marinated tofu that I would prefer to use but it’s not available in my area. If you can get your hands on some, use that instead! You can substitute pan-fried tofu or our Sriracha & Soy Sauce Tofu instead. Add some prep time if you’re cooking tofu instead of using the store-bought options mentioned above.

More Customization Ideas:

If you’re not a fan of tahini-based dressing our Vegan Ranch Dressing would be delicious on this bowl.
Walnuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, or hemp hearts would be great in place of the pecans.
Omit the dried cranberries if they’re not your thing.
Increase the protein even more with quinoa instead of brown rice. Whole wheat couscous is a great option if you’re looking for something that cooks faster than brown rice.

Vegan Goddess Bowl with Tahini Dressing

Author: Brittany Mueller
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 1 bowl
Category: Lunch and Dinner, Main, Entrée
Cuisine: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

This Vegan Goddess Bowl is full of flavour and textures! This bowl includes brown rice, spinach, chickpeas, cucumber, carrots, avocado, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries with a creamy and tangy Tahini Goddess Dressing. It’s highly nutritious and satisfying with 14 grams of plant-based protein, 13 grams of fibre, and big dose of vitamins and minerals. The Vegan Goddess Bowl is ready to eat in less than 20 minutes. This is a great lunch or dinner for meal prepping or taking on the go!

Ingredients

¾ cup (175ml) cooked brown rice
1 cup (250ml) baby spinach
½ cup (125ml) chickpeas
½ cup (125ml) cubed smoked or marinated tofu (or sub with pan-fried tofu or sriracha and soy sauce tofu)
¼ avocado, chopped
⅓ cup (80ml) chopped cucumber
⅓ cup (80ml) grated carrot
2 tbsp (30ml) pecan halves (for optimal flavour, toast them)
1-2 tablespoon (15-30ml) dried cranberries
2 tbsp (30ml) Goddess Dressing

Instructions

Warm brown rice and tofu.
Begin with a bed of brown rice. Add spinach, warm smoked tofu, chickpeas, cucumber, carrot, avocado, pecans, and dried cranberries.
Drizzle with goddess dressing.

Notes

To prepare in advance: Combine all ingredients except brown rice, tofu, avocado and dressing. Just before serving, warm brown rice and tofu before adding them to the bowl and top with avocado and Goddess dressing.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 bowl
Calories: 552
Sugar: 14.3 g
Sodium: 1209 mg
Fat: 25.6 g
Unsaturated Fat: 20.6 g
Carbohydrates: 72.8 g
Fiber: 12.9 g
Protein: 13.9 g

The post Vegan Goddess Bowl appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

Creamy Vegan Mayo-Free Potato Salad

Brittany — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 23:16:30 +0000

This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company.

My Vegan Rainbow Potato Salad is one of my most popular and well-loved summer recipes. Inspired by that recipe I'm coming at you with a new, creamy, mayo-free potato salad to suit all of your end-of-summer barbecue and potluck needs.

Before going vegan I didn't really care for mayo, but since transitioning to a vegan diet and eventually trying a few vegan mayo options, I’ve been totally hooked! So here we have mayo-less vegan potato salad. It's just classic-but-still-vegan potato salad that doesn't require you to buy a jar of vegan mayo. That's it!

This dressing uses typical pantry staples: nutritional yeast, coconut milk (don't run away! I promise this salad does NOT taste like coconut), canola oil (any neutral-tasting vegetable oil will work), pickle juice (or white vinegar), mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper.

We’re also using the usual potato salad-y stuff like dill, celery, grated carrot (optional), green onion, shallots, and dill pickles.

Of course, the star of the show is The Little Potato Company's Blushing Belles. These little red Creamer potatoes are perfect for this recipe. No fuss, no mess, just quick cooking, tender Little Potatoes, ready to soak up that creamy, zesty mayo-free dressing.

This recipe comes together with just 30 minutes of active cooking time, but the salad should chill in the fridge for at least 2+ hours before serving. If you're bringing this dish to a get-together, be sure to make it the night before (or early in the morning if it's an evening shindig!)

This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company.
We love them for their commitment to simple, healthy whole foods like their delicious Creamer potatoes. Thanks for supporting the brands that support I Love Vegan!
Learn more about why we love Little Potatoes at www.littlepotatoes.com

Creamy Vegan Mayo-Free Potato Salad

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 4 cups
Category: side dish
Cuisine: vegan

Print Recipe

Description

Good ol’ potato salad is a quintessential summer salad and a staple at barbeques and potlucks. This creamy vegan potato salad is made without mayo! 30 minutes of active cooking time. Makes 4 cups.

Ingredients

1 - 1.5lb bag of The Little Potato Company’s Blushing Belle Creamer potatoes
½ cup/125ml Coconut milk (full-fat)
⅓ cup/80ml Nutritional yeast flakes
¼ cup/62.5 ml Canola oil (or other neutral-tasting vegetable oil)
3 tbsp/45 ml Dill pickle juice (or 2 tbsp white vinegar)
1 tbsp/15ml Granulated sugar (evaporated cane sugar)
1 tsp/5ml Hot mustard
1 ½ tsp/7.5ml Sea salt, plus more to taste
Black pepper, to taste
¼ cup/62.5 ml Chopped fresh dill
¼ cup/62.5ml Thin-sliced celery (approx. 1 rib celery)
¼ cup/62.5 ml Grated carrot (approx. 1 medium carrot)
¼ cup/62.5 ml Chopped green onion (approx. 4-5 shoots)
2-3 tbsp/30-45ml minced shallot (soaked in salt water) (approx. 1 small shallot)
2 tbsp/30ml Chopped dill pickle (approx. 1 large pickle)

Instructions

Begin cooking the potatoes while you prep the vegetables and the dressing. In a large pot of cold water, heat the potatoes over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the largest potato is fork-tender in the center. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and set aside to cool slightly.
While the potatoes are cooking, combine coconut milk, nutritional yeast, canola oil, pickle juice, sugar, hot mustard, sea salt, and black pepper. Mix vigorously and set aside. Prepare the dill, celery, carrot, green onion, shallot, and pickle.
Once the potatoes are just cool enough to handle, halve them and transfer them to a large bowl. (Refer to recipe notes for tips on changing the texture of the potato salad)
Cover the warm potatoes with dressing and add all of the chopped vegetables. Mix roughly and thoroughly to the help break up the potatoes and thicken the dressing.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (until thoroughly chilled – overnight is best so there’s plenty of time for the dressing to thicken.)
Mix well, taste and adjust seasoning to suit your preferences.

Notes

Depending on your personal preferences, it's easy to adjust the texture of this potato salad. I coarsely mashed the halved potatoes for a thick salad with different-sized chunky pieces of potato. For a more evenly textured potato salad, dice ⅔ of the warm potatoes and thoroughly mash the remaining potatoes. If you prefer a mashed potato salad, fully mash the potatoes.

The post Creamy Vegan Mayo-Free Potato Salad appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

Vegan Gado-Gado Salad

Brittany — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 05:16:36 +0000

This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company.

Are you ready for fresh and hearty veggie-loaded meals? I am! Spring makes me crave fresh vegetables and copious amounts of peanut sauce. Since I've made my veggie spring rolls (and variations) too many times to count, I figured it was time to try something a little different. This Indonesian gado-gado-inspired salad is right up my alley.

Typically, gado-gado (which translates to mix-mix) is a hearty Indonesian salad with cooked and fresh vegetables (customized based on what's available and in season), fried tempeh or tofu, hard-boiled eggs, plenty of rich peanut sauce, and toppings like ground peanuts, fried onion, and prawn crackers. All we have to do to veganize this tasty salad is remove the eggs and swap out the prawn crackers for rice crackers. How simple is that?

Our version is heavy on the fresh veggies: shaved purple cabbage, thin-sliced cucumber and radish, julienned carrot, green onion, and cilantro (if you've got 'em, add some bean sprouts too.) In the cooked veggie department we're using tender-skinned Fingerling potatoes (from The Little Potato Company) and blanched green beans. The Little Potato Company's Fingerlings are perfection in this salad! Alongside protein-rich tempeh and peanut sauce, the Creamer potatoes add a certain "oomph" to this salad. Fingerlings have a wonderful tender-firm texture that's ideal for salads. Little Potatoes do double duty as a comforting source of carbs and a vegetable chock-full of nutrients like potassium, iron, and vitamin C. They cook nice and quickly with no peeling necessary - that means extra fibre for you!

The peanut sauce in this recipe is a little different from my usual go-to. Gado-gado peanut sauce uses ground peanuts, palm sugar, garlic, chilies, tamarind, lime juice, and salt. To save time, we're using peanut butter, sambal + red curry paste (in place of the chilies), and a food processor. Sadly I couldn't get my hands on any tamarind locally, so that had to be left out. If you have some handy, use it! Tamarind adds a nice sweet and sour tang, so you may prefer to reduce the amount of coconut sugar and lime juice to compensate. This zippy, creamy sauce should be served warm. Be sure to taste and adjust the sauce to suit your preferences: sweeten it up with extra coconut sugar, or make it zippier with an extra squeeze of lime.

This is a great build-your-own-bowl meal. The amount of each vegetable can be adjusted however you like (you'll want a total of at least 4 cups of veggies - not including the potatoes). For an extra satisfying meal, add a scoop of brown rice. The peanut dressing recipe makes enough for about 4 large bowls. After you've assembled your bowl, top it with fried onion, crushed salted peanuts, and a squeeze of lime. Hello veggie heaven!

Vegan Gado-Gado Salad

★★★★★ 5 from 6 reviews

Author: Brittany
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 bowls
Category: Lunch, Dinner, Salad
Method: Boiling, Frying
Cuisine: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

This Indonesian gado-gado inspired salad bowl is loaded with healthy fresh and cooked veggies, protein-rich tempeh, and a delicious zippy peanut sauce. Hello veggie heaven!

Ingredients

Gado-Gado Salad

1 cup shaved purple cabbage
½ cucumber, thinly sliced
6 radishes, thinly sliced
1 carrot, julienned
3 stalks green onion, sliced
1 lb of The Little Potato Company's Fingerling Creamer potatoes
½ cup green beans
1 ⅓ cups cubed tempeh
vegetable oil, for frying
1 handful cilantro (optional)
⅔ cup dry roasted salted peanuts, crushed
salted rice crackers
fresh lime juice, to taste
salt, to taste

Peanut Sauce

¼ cup + 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp coconut sugar
½ tsp red curry paste
1 ½ tbsp sambal
¼ cup + 2 tbsp coconut milk
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 ½ tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp water
pinch salt
¼ cup dry roasted salted peanuts

Instructions

Prep all vegetables.
Add The Little Potato Company's Fingerlings to a pot of boiling water and cook for 12 minutes. Add the green beans and continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Strain and rinse under cold water to chill. Halve the Fingerlings lengthwise. Set aside.
In a frying pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the cubed tempeh, season with pinch or two of salt, and cook until tempeh is golden brown and crisp and all sides. Set aside.
Assemble bowls: Divide potatoes and tempeh evenly between bowls. Add desired veggies. Sprinkle with salt. Top with warm peanut sauce, green onion, cilantro, crushed peanuts, rice crackers, and lime juice.

Peanut Sauce

In a food processor, combine peanut butter, garlic, coconut sugar, red curry paste, and sambal. Process well. Add coconut milk, fresh lime juice, soy sauce, water, and salt. Process until smooth. Add the peanuts and process just enough to break them um but not purée them. Warm gently (in microwave or double boiler) before serving.

Keywords: vegan gado gado

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Almond Butter Noodles

Brittany — Sat, 26 Nov 2016 05:58:35 +0000

We made this tasty recipe with help from Sears Canada - we're trying out their new KenmorePro heavy duty professional blender.
Canadians, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the post to enter to win one of these guys!

I'm not usually the type to stray from good ol' peanut sauce. It's perfect just the way it is and I love it to death.

Recently, the unthinkable happened, I was struck with the strongest of peanut sauce cravings and all I had in my overflowing cupboards was almond butter. Sometimes you've just got to work with what you've got. And sometimes that works, like, really really well. Trust me, almond butter sauce works.

Armed with salty-sweet spicy almond butter sauce I wanted to make almond butter noodles - which quickly morphed into almond butter noodle stir-fry. Marinated tofu, lightly stir-fried vegetables, rice noodles, sweet and spicy almond butter sauce, and lots of toppings. 'Cause we ♥ toppings around here.

This recipe comes together very nicely. To start the almond butter sauce we begin by marinating the tofu. (For quickest preparation and maximum flavour, be sure to press your tofu before marinating it.) Afterwards you'll use the leftover marinade as the base for your almond butter blender sauce!

Combine the leftover marinade with a few toasted sesame seeds, a hefty scoop of almond butter and just enough water to thin. Blend on high until it's smooth and steaming hot. That'll be less than 5 minutes with the KenmorePro blender we're going to tell you about!

Once the sauce is smooth and hot, toss in a few extra sesame seeds and salted peanuts before giving them a quick pulse on low speed for texture.

Now let me tell you about this blender! The KenmorePro Blender couldn't be easier to use. The interface is minimal with just 2 switches (power: on/off and pulse: on/off) and a speed dial. The jug is super easy to clean, (and that's coming from someone who hates cleaning blender jugs) the angled shape of the base makes getting a cloth underneath the blades as easy as possible.

The 6 blades make quick work of smoothies (and while it has a tamper, one of my favourite features in a blender, the shape of the jug seems to be just right and I don't find I need to use it much.) It purées and heats soups, sauces and dips in a quick 5-7 minutes.

The KenmorePro heavy duty professional blender is available exclusively at sears.ca for $149.97.

PS: We're giving away a KenmorePro Blender to one lucky Canadian reader. Be sure to scroll to the end of the post for all the details. Giveaway wraps up on December 12th at 11:59PM EST.

Once you've boiled and rinsed your rice noodles, fried your marinated tofu, stir-fried your veggies, and prepared your almond butter sauce, you're ready to assemble. Combine the noodles, veggies, and almond butter sauce. Top with sliced marinated tofu, green onion, thai basil, chopped salted peanuts, and an extra drizzle of sauce. Serve with a wedge of lime if you want to liven things up a bit more.

This recipe can be served cold too! Blend the sauce until smooth (not hot!), skip the stir-frying, chill your tofu after marinating and frying it, and assemble it as usual. Bam! Almond butter noodle salad!

Giveaway details

One lucky Canadian reader will win a new KenmorePro Blender from Sears Canada.
Must be 18 years or older.
Giveaway ends Monday December 12th at 11:59PM EST.
Winner will be announced below and contacted directly via email. Winner has 48 hours to claim their KenmorePro Blender.
Prize will be mailed by Sears Canada the week of December 19th.
Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is sponsored by Sears Canada.

Check out the KenmorePro heavy duty professional blender, available exclusively at Sears!

Almond Butter Noodles

★★★★★ 4.8 from 6 reviews

Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Category: Main Course, Entrée, Stir-fry
Cuisine: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

Marinated tofu strips, lightly sautéed veggies, and rice noodles in a sweet, spicy almond butter blender sauce.

Ingredients

¼ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of half lime
black pepper, to taste
1 block extra-firm tofu, sliced and pressed to remove excess moisture
olive or sesame oil, for stir-frying
⅓ cup almond butter
½ cup water
2 tbsp salted peanuts
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, divided
½ yellow bell pepper, julienned
½ red bell pepper, julienned
1 large carrot, julienned
6 green onions, sliced
1 cup spinach, julienned
4 cups cooked rice vermicelli noodles

To serve:

green onion, green parts only, sliced
salted peanuts, chopped
sesame seeds, toasted
lime wedges
thai basil chiffonade (optional)

Instructions

In a shallow dish, marinate pressed tofu slices in soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil, minced garlic, lime juice, and black pepper, for 1-12 hours. (Tofu will be more flavourful the longer it's marinated.)
In a large skillet heat sesame or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add marinated tofu, reserving all of the leftover marinade. Fry tofu on both sides until crisp and browned. Afterwards, cool and slice into thin strips.
In blender, combine leftover tofu marinade with almond butter, water, and 1tbsp toasted sesame seeds. Blend on high until hot (about 5 minutes,) Add 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds and 2 tablespoon salted peanuts. Pulse on low for texture.
Boil rice noodles according to package instructions. In a strainer, rinse well under hot water.
In the same skillet, heat olive oil or sesame oil over high heat. Add the sliced bell pepper and julienned carrot. Cook for 2 minutes, Add the green onion and spinach and cook for 1 minute. Turn heat off.
Add the boiled rice noodles to the stir-fried vegetables. Add almond butter sauce (enough to generously coat noodles) and combine.
Serve and top with sliced marinated tofu, sliced green onion, chopped salted peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, lime juice, thai basil (optional), and extra almond butter sauce.

Notes

This recipe can be served cold too! Blend the sauce until smooth (not hot!), skip the stir-frying, chill your tofu after marinating and frying it, and assemble it as usual.

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