Vegan recipes that are… inherently vegan?

March 6, 2023 1:25 PM

I made this amazing vegan Thai Peanut Tofu Wrap recipe, and would like more. But faux substitutions for meat and dairy are a little… eh, to me.

I’d like some fun and exciting recipes that lean into vegan ingredients because that’s how best to treat them, rather than trying to recreate a non-vegan dish.

To make it an even pickier ask, I’m not a big soup person. And salads and grain bowls are everywhere online, so I’m not looking for those!

Thanks!

posted by functionequalsform to Food & Drink (25 answers total)

Response by poster: To be clear, I’m totally into tofu, seitan, etc. but using them to make faux scrambled eggs, for example, are eh. To me.
posted by functionequalsform at 1:28 PM on March 6, 2023

Best answer: Knish via Smitten Kitchen - just use vegetable oil for the crust (recipe suggests using rendered chicken fat (schmaltz) if you can, so you just don't bother with that), and don't glaze the knish before they go in the oven and you're good.

Chickpea cutlets - kind of ends up being a meat form factor, but they're actually really good on their own without feeling like a meat substitute.
posted by LionIndex at 1:42 PM on March 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Rainbow Plant Life, Nisha Vora's website, is awesome. Her Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook is fantastic too. Everything I've made from both the website and cookbook has turned out perfectly. There's no processed fake meat, but lots of creative ways of turning things like mushrooms, lentils and eggplant into 'meaty' alternatives if you need them for a chilli, lasagne, moussaka, etc.
posted by essexjan at 1:51 PM on March 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Sorry, hit 'post' too soon.

Most of the Rainbow Plant Life recipes are designed to highlight the ingredients, rather than disguising them as something else. And there are tons of tofu recipes.
posted by essexjan at 1:55 PM on March 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: A delicious traditional way to eat tempeh in Indonesia is deep fried with some chili sauce. Also tempeh kecap.
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:05 PM on March 6, 2023

Best answer: This is a pretty broad question, but here are some vegan recipes I make regularly that don’t use faux products, aren’t soup or salads, and are tasty and flavourful:

- Chana masala. I like the Serious Eats recipe. For a different flavour profile on chickpeas, I love their recipe Spanish-style chickpeas with smoked paprika.

- A classic pasta puttanesca and the Alison Roman shallot pasta are both delicious and vegan if you simply omit the anchovies.

- If it isn’t too substitution-y for you, vegan mapo tofu with mushrooms in place of the meat is really good. If you’re more into firm/crispy tofu, this recipe from the same website is delicious.

- Ratatouille is vegan by nature. If you’re a fan of eggplant, I’d also try Imam Bayildi.
posted by vanitas at 2:05 PM on March 6, 2023 [5 favorites]

Best answer: If it's not too obvious, this is my go-to tofu fried rice.
posted by FencingGal at 2:15 PM on March 6, 2023

Best answer: Nthing Serious Eats - Kenji shares your philosophy towards meat analogues. Here’s one compendium.
posted by alexandermatheson at 2:30 PM on March 6, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: I can't speak to any recipes, but if you haven't eaten Ethiopian food their vegetarian options are vegan and amazing and involve no protein substitutes. Here's some descriptions from a local favorite joint:

Bamia: Fresh cut okra in our spicy homemade sauce. Served spicy.

Gomen: A delicious medley of chopped greens sauteed in olive oil, garlic, onions and fresh ground spices.

Misser Wot: Split red lentils stewed in onions, olive oil and our own spicy red sauce. Served spicy hot or not.

Shiro Wot: Ground peas spiced with berbere, seasoned with onions, garlic and ginger. (there's a variation of this last one whose name unfortunately is homonymous with a slur so it's not included)

All served with injera, a flatbread or pancake that I believe also is vegan. If you have a place near you go give it a shot.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 2:42 PM on March 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: This silken tofu with onion/soy sauce is surprisingly good, particularly with some steamed rice and wombok.
posted by kjs4 at 3:31 PM on March 6, 2023

Best answer: Black Bean & Artichoke dip (or sandwich spread)

1-½ cups cooked or canned black beans
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 6-oz (156-ml) jar artichoke hearts, chopped

In blender or food processor, blend together the beans, garlic, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper until coarse. Stir in the artichoke hearts. Serve chilled. Makes approx 2 cups.
posted by Juniper Toast at 3:44 PM on March 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Highly recommend Amazon Cake: a delicious chocolate cake, no eggs or milk required. I sometimes make a variant with 1 tbsp of cinnamon in place of the cocoa.
posted by May Kasahara at 4:59 PM on March 6, 2023

Best answer: Hummus and falafel, with olive salad, in a pita. Most of which can be store bought if you're feeling lazy, so you need only make the bits that call to you, or simply assemble the parts.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 5:50 PM on March 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You could look into Jain cuisine; while they traditionally allowed milk many Jains no longer permit it since they cannot know how it was produced (particularly in the West, but even in India nowadays a non-trivial number of Jains shy away from milk unless they personally know the cow and how it lives). They have, for example, never allowed eggs so if you find a non-milk Jain recipe you're in the clear (Jains do not even allow root vegetables as that often kills the plant, and is thus impermissible).

...they have many interesting recipes, and they do not try to mimic "forbidden" food objects because that would be philosophically wrong.
posted by aramaic at 5:55 PM on March 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

[NB: when I say "non-milk" I mean no milk and no milk derivatives, not merely whole-milk]
posted by aramaic at 6:01 PM on March 6, 2023

Best answer: Home style tofu is easy to make, stands up to endless variations, and is vegan if you skip the oyster sauce.
posted by kingdead at 6:37 PM on March 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I love this recipe so much: zucchini butter. Despite the name, it has no butter unless you choose to use that instead of olive oil. I have always used the olive oil option and it is delicious.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:14 PM on March 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: African peanut stew is so good
Buddha bowls
this chickpea, sweet potato mushroom bowl was weirdly good
tabbouleh
falafel, hummus, baba ghanouj, other mediterranean recipes
tom kha (with veggies + tofu), thai eggplant stirfry
chana masala, aloo gobi, daal, curried red lentils, lots of indian recipes fit the bill
hoppin john (minus the bacon)
a greek quinoa salad (only a salad by name)
roasted cauliflower with romesco is amazing (I like the romesco with capers and almonds, there are lots of versions, but all pretty similar)
truffle roasted cauliflower
curry roasted carrots (finish them with a squeeze of lemon)


Oh she glows has some really good recipes. All vegan
posted by CleverClover at 9:46 PM on March 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Folks above have mentioned Kenji but this recipe in particular, for Crispy Tofu Spring Rolls With Peanut-Tamarind Dipping Sauce is a go-to for me!
posted by kserra at 3:42 AM on March 7, 2023

Best answer: These are recommendations I always make for this type of question: kung pao mushrooms and fish fragrant aubergine. Both recipes are on constant rotation here, and for a feast, I may make both (the eggplant dish is fine lukewarm or at room temp). In general, The Woks of Life are really good for recipe ideas.
Pasta alla Norma is a frequent dinner here too. You don't really need the cheese on top, but there's an Italian tradition where you sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs instead of cheese, and it works very well here. Caponata is an other Italian vegetable dish that has a great mixture of tastes and textures.
Samosas are good, maybe more lunch than dinner, I guess that depends on you. When I was a single mother who never knew how many people would be over for dinner, I made them with store-bought pie dough. Not as good as made from scratch, but good enough to keep those kids coming over.
We very regularly make "shepherd's pie" (gardener's pie?) with lentils instead of meat. For Christmas, I added in both fresh and dried (soaked) mushrooms for extra taste. We don't have a recipe, but there are many online.
My grandmother loved stuffed bell peppers. I wasn't a big fan when she was still alive, but recently I've developed a nostalgia for them, and all the other stuffed vegs. I stuff them with a mix of rice, onions, garlic and tomato paste and some paprika. I par cook the rice, so they are neither entirely raw or entirely cooked. This is again something you can easily find on the internets. I'm still in an experimental stage, and haven't chosen a favorite recipe. In general, you might want to explore Turkish cuisine for vegan ideas. The mezze, that are normally served before the main meals, or for snacks, are full of interesting and inventive vegetable servings.
Apropos your wraps: soba noodles with some Asian pickled vegetables and crushed peanuts can always make me instantly happy.
posted by mumimor at 6:45 AM on March 7, 2023

Best answer: African squash and peanut soup is quite delicious and honestly, it's stew not soup.
Bindhi Masala is terrific - recipes abound for it - look them over for one that looks like it works for you. I love okra, but I understand a lot of people done.
Mushroom Mutter is similarly wonderful.
Chili is something that also works amazingly well as vegan. What makes chili good is the spicing. I use this recipe, but I will tell you ahead of time that it's note quite the best. I made the following changes: I use about 3/4C of dried TVP rehydrated in 2C low-sodium vegetable broth, 2C of veg broth instead of water, add 2-3T unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper.
posted by plinth at 9:29 AM on March 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: You can always become a bean person like me. I highly recommend the cookbook Cool Beans. This recipe, for instance, seems simple but made with high quality beans such as Rancho Gordo is amazing.

Lukas Volger also writes veg-focused cookbooks that don't use meat substitutes. His Smokey Confit Beans is a classic.
posted by tofu_crouton at 9:53 AM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: aramaic: You could look into Jain cuisine

I recommend Manjula's Kitchen on Youtube as a source for recipes and technique!
posted by capricorn at 4:32 PM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Seconding Manjula's Kitchen and Ethiopian cuisine. You might also like Eat With Afia or Panda Cub Stories (her mom is vegan) on Instagram, Buddhist temple cuisine (ex: Tassajara cookbook), and any legume based recipes where the animal products is a largely a flavoring or texture agent that can be swapped with a vegan ingredient (ex: omitting pork in mapo tofu, duck in cassoulet).

Sincerely, someone who has a similar ethos and just doesn't really like the flavor of modern meat analogs.
posted by OhHaieThere at 10:41 AM on March 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My copy of Cool Beans arrived today. Thanks, tofu_crouton! Sure, it has plenty of great bean recipes. There are also wonderful recipes for condiments, sauces, and more.
posted by kingless at 5:10 PM on March 9, 2023 [1 favorite]