Plant-Based Recipes

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Veggie Burger

Yum! Check out this recipe I found on cookieandkate.com for a spicy sweet potato and black bean veggie burger (they are both vegan and gluten-free).

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes (smaller potatoes cook faster)
  • ⅓ cup uncooked millet or quinoa (or 1 cup cooked)
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free oats if you are avoiding gluten)
  • 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups cooked black beans)
  • ½ small red onion, diced
  • ½ cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle powder or smoked hot paprika
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne powder (optional, to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • High quality vegetable oil for cooking burgers (or coconut oil, if you don’t mind the coconut taste, olive oil may burn)
  • 8 whole wheat hamburger buns (optional)
  • your favorite burger fixings (avocado or guacamole, tomato or pico de gallo, lettuce, sprouts, ketchup, hot sauce, mustard, pickles, cheese)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice the sweet potatoes down the center lengthwise. Place the sweet potatoes cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until they yield to a gentle squeeze, 30 to 40 minutes or longer. Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skin (it should pull off easily) and roughly chop the insides. Set aside to cool completely.
  2. Cook the millet: In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to boil. Stir in the millet, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until tender (about 25 minutes). Drain off any remaining liquid and set aside to cool. OR cook the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander, then combine with ⅔ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to boil, then cover and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and let the quinoa steam with the lid on for 5 minutes. Then drain off any excess water and set aside to cool.
  3. Grind the oats: Use a food processor or blender to grind the oats until the flakes are broken up, but not as fine as flour.
  4. Mix the burgers: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your electric mixer, combine the cooled sweet potatoes and millet, black beans, onion, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, chipotle or paprika, cayenne (optional, add to taste for spicier burgers) and salt. Use a potato masher, big mixing spoon or the paddle attachment of your mixer to mix really well. It’s ok if the black beans get smashed in the process.
  5. Mix in the oats: Sprinkle the ground oats over the mixture and mix well with a big spoon until the mixture holds together when you shape a portion into a patty. If possible, cover and refrigerate the mixture for best results (the patties will hold together better during cooking if they are chilled first).
  6. Shape the burgers: Use a measuring cup to measure out ½ cup of the mixture. Gently shape it into a patty about 3 ½ inches in diameter. Use your hands to gently flatten the burgers and smooth out any jagged edges. Repeat the process for each patty; you should end up with 8. If you would like to toast your hamburger buns, preheat the oven to 350 degrees now.
  7. Pan fry the burgers: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, place several burgers in the pan, leaving enough room to flip them. Cook each patty until browned and heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet for each pan of burgers you fry.
  8. Toast the buns (optional): Place the buns on a baking sheet, cut sides up, and bake until lightly toasted, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Tahini-Lemon Quinoa with Asparagus Ribbons

So delicious…I found this one on https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/healthy/a19866004/tahini-lemon-quinoa-with-asparagus-ribbons-recipe/

Ingredients:

  • 1 15-oz can chickpeas rinsed
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • Kosher salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 c. quinoa
  • 1/2 c. tahini
  • 1/4 c. fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1 c. packed fresh mint leaves
  • 1 lb. thick asparagus
  • 1/4 c. shelled pistachios, chopped
  1. In bowl, combine chickpeas, lemon zest, lemon juice and pinch each salt and pepper. Let sit 20 minutes or refrigerate overnight, then drain.
  2. Meanwhile, cook quinoa per package directions and season with pinch salt. 
  3. In blender, puree tahini, lime juice, honey, mint, 1/2 cup water and 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth, adding additional water if needed; set aside.
  4. With vegetable peeler, shave asparagus into ribbons, peeling from woody end toward tip. In bowl, combine cooked quinoa, asparagus ribbons and marinated chickpeas. Sprinkle with pistachios and drizzle with tahini dressing.

Quinoa Vegetarian Meatballs

American Heritage Cooking has this AMAZING recipe if you’re feeling meatballs but don’t want the meat! Find it on https://americanheritagecooking.com/2014/09/quinoa-vegetarian-meatballs-gluten-free/

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa [instruction below]
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • ¼ cup asiago cheese, grated
  • ¼ cup fresh basil, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced
  • ½ teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 3 small garlic gloves, minced fine
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 large pinches kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1 pinch to ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. In a fine sieve strainer, pour 1 cup quinoa, pick over for stones, and rinse with cold water. In a medium saucepan mix the quinoa with 2 cups cold water (or broth). Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil and a large pinch of kosher salt, and stir to mix. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stir, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook covered for approximately 30-40 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is soft.
  2. Preheat your oven to 350°. Heat a large cast iron skillet or pan over medium heat until searing hot.
  3. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour a little olive oil into the preheated skillet. Form a meatball a little smaller than a golf ball and place the meatball in the skillet starting in the center. Working as quickly as possible, repeat with the remaining meatballs, radiating them out from the center in a spiral pattern. [You could certainly pre-form all the meat balls and have them ready for this step, but I am all about cutting out wasted time, and that, is wasted time.]
  4. Once you have finished placing all the meatballs in the skillet, it is time to start turning them! Gently turn each meatball once it has browned on the opposite side. My burner causes my large cast iron skillet to be unevenly hot, so I swap some of the middle meatballs for the outer meatballs to ensure an even sear.
  5. Bake in skillet or transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Vegan Lo Mein

This dish is packed with flavor! Props to Allergy Awesomeness for this great recipe! https://allergyawesomeness.com/lo-mein-gf-egg-free-fish-free-peanutnut-free-vegan/

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces gluten free noodles of your choice (we use brown rice spaghetti noodles)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, julienned
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1/2 cup snow peas
  • 1 can water chestnuts, drained
  • 1 can baby corn, drained
  • 3 cups baby romain (spinach is a great substitute if you can do it)
  • Sauce
  • 4 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce, or more, to taste (be sure to use a gluten free one, we use La Choy)
  • 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients; set aside.
  2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package instructions; drain well.
  3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper and carrot. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in snow peas and spinach until the spinach has wilted, about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Stir in the noodles, water chestnuts, corn and soy sauce mixture, and gently toss to combine.  You want everything cooked before you add the noodles, because you don’t want the noodles to continue to cook since g-free noodles become gummy very quickly!
  5. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Tortilla Soup

BudgetBytes has done it again! I could eat this for every meal of the day.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 cup masa harina or cornmeal
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1 15 oz. can black beans
  • 1 medium sweet potato, about 1 lb.
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernels
  • Optional toppings: cilantro, avocado, shredded cheddar, sour cream, crispy tortilla strips, fresh lime

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté both in a large pot with the vegetable oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until transparent.
  • Add the chile powder, cumin, and cayenne to the pot. Continue to sauté for one minute to toast the spices. Add the masa harina or cornmeal and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes to toast the starch. The corn will stick to the bottom of the pot as you sauté, so turn the heat down slightly if needed to prevent it from burning.
  • Whisk the vegetable broth into the corn mixture and allow it to come up to a simmer. The liquid will begin to thicken slightly when it starts to simmer. Add the tomato paste and stir until it dissolves in.
  • Add the can of diced tomatoes (with juices), black beans (drained and rinsed), and frozen corn kernels. Peel and cut the sweet potato into 1/2 inch cubes, then add it to the pot.
  • Cover the pot and allow the soup to come up to a simmer over medium heat. Once it begins to simmer, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes have softened. Stir the soup occasionally as it simmers to keep the corn from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Taste the soup and adjust the salt if needed (this will depend on the brand of broth you use and the canned goods).

Vegan Tofu Scramble with Kale & Avocado

YES. This is a super delicious breakfast meal for vegetarians and vegans! Thanks to Cadry’s Kitchen for this recipe!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Bring a skillet to medium heat with 1/2 teaspoon organic canola oil (or other neutral flavored oil).
  • Add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic to skillet. Saute for a few minutes, until they are fragrant and softened.
  • Move the onion, bell pepper, and garlic mixture to the far side of the skillet. Put the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of oil in the remaining side of the skillet. Crumble tofu into the skillet on top of the oil. Allow the tofu to brown for 3 or 4 minutes. Don’t move it, so that it can get nice color from the pan.
  • After the tofu has started to brown, combine the tofu and vegetable mixture, and spread it evenly across the skillet. Let it cook for a couple of minutes more for even browning.
  • Add kale, water, cumin, ancho chili powder, paprika, and a pinch of salt to the pan. Combine with a spatula, moving it around the pan for even combining of the spices. The kale will wilt and soften as it comes into contact with heat.
  • Cook for a couple minutes more and turn off the heat. Sprinkle nutritional yeast flakes and black salt on the scramble and combine.
  • Transfer the tofu scramble evenly onto four plates. Top each portion of scramble with a quarter of the sliced avocado. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the top of each scramble.