Vegan Recipes from Cassie Howard

Vegan Insanity >> Vegan recipes that are delicious and easy to make. Plus, kitchen, cooking & shopping tips!

Best Ever Vegan Fried Rice with Scrambled Tofu

36 Comments

075

I can’t even explain how good this fried rice is. I came up with the recipe on a whim awhile back. It was my first time making fried rice since becoming vegan in September of last year, and I wanted it to taste as good as I remembered fried rice tasting.

Thankfully, with a few additions (and subtractions!), this dish turned out remarkable. Even my husband, who only groans like crazy when his food is MEGA GOOD, couldn’t keep his mouth shut about it.

“You HAVE to blog this”, he said. “You HAVE TO. It’s SO GOOD.”

And so, here I am. Blogging it.

Fried-Rice-Vegan-Homemade

Traditional fried rice is made with fried egg and some kind of meat. Usually bacon – at least, that’s what was always in my fried rice growing up.

So, I had to either eliminate those ingredients, or come up with some substitutions.

I went the substitution route.

Fried-Rice-Vegan

Instead of fried egg, I added scrambled tofu, which gave the dish that yellow colour that cooked eggs do.

For bacon, I had a few options. I could use fake meat, but didn’t want to, I could use coconut bacon – but I’m not a big fan of coconut bacon, and I didn’t feel like making anything bacon-like, so I did the next best thing – I used liquid smoke in the sauce.

And guess what – it worked like a charm. Bacon flavour without the bacon. Hurrah!

Homemade-Vegan-Fried-Rice

Vegan-Fried-Rice

This is now one of my go-to meals when I am too tired to dream up something creative.

If you can cook the rice in advance, that will save you a lot of cooking time, since rice can take up to 45 minutes to cook (depending on the type you use – brown rice takes me 45 minutes to cook).

Vegan-Fried-Rice

Best Ever Vegan Fried Rice with Scrambled Tofu
Recipe Type: Entree
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Whether you serve it for lunch or dinner, this vegan fried rice is one of the best you’ll ever make! It’s simple, delicious, and healthy – what more could you ask for?
Ingredients
  • Rice
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice (I used brown rice)
  • Scrambled Tofu
  • 1/2 block extra firm tofu, pressed for at least 20 minutes
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • Vegetables
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 medium carrot, diced (very small!)
  • 2/3 cup frozen peas
  • Green onions for garnish (optional)
  • Sauce
  • 2 tbsp tamari
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 medium garlic clove, minced or grated
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tsp sriracha sauce (or to the heat of your liking!)
Instructions
Rice
  1. Cook rice according to package directions and set aside.
Scrambled Tofu
  1. Crumble the pressed tofu in a small bowl. Add in the turmeric, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
  2. Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium heat.
  3. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute or so, or until the garlic has browned lightly.
  4. Add in the tofu mixture and cook for about 5-7 minutes more, stirring often. Remove from pan and set aside.
Vegetables
  1. In the same pan that you used to cook your tofu, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat, then add in the carrots and peas.
  2. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the carrots can easily be pierced with a sharp knife. Set aside.
Sauce
  1. Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Putting it all together
  1. In a large pan or wok over medium heat, add your sauce, then the rice, then the vegetables, then the scrambled tofu.
  2. Mix everything together very well, and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
  3. Serve, topped with a sprinkling of chopped green onions, if desired.

 

Homemade Vegan Calzones with Sun-Dried Tomato & Pesto Spread

13 Comments

homemade-vegan-calzones

I don’t think you’ll find many people who don’t like pizza, but sometimes, pizza just ain’t enough – you need something new, something different.

And so, the calzone was born. I’ve never found a store-bought calzone I’ve ever liked, but this homemade version is crazy good.

Calzones-Vegan

The possibilities are endless when it comes to what you can put in your calzone! For this recipe, I chose zucchini, green olives, spinach, and a bit of vegan cheese shreds (mozzarella). Super tasty!

I love how the sauce/spread is used, instead of just regular ol’ tomato sauce. It makes the calzone much more interesting. The flavour of that stuff is incredible!

The dough is flaky, with just enough “chew” to make it taste exactly like pizza crust. What could be better than a pizza folded in half, and stuffed full of all your favourite pizza toppings?

Vegan-Calzones

Homemade Vegan Calzones with Sun-Dried Tomato & Pesto Spread
Recipe Type: Pizza
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
  • Dough
  • 1 1/2 Cups kamut or all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/8 tsp fast acting yeast
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3/4 cup warm water, or as needed
  • Sun-Dried Tomato & Pesto Spread
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours)
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1/3 cup fresh basil, packed
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Assembly
  • Veggies of your choice
  • Vegan cheese (optional, but recommended)
Instructions
Dough
  1. Add the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and oil to a large mixing bowl. Mix until combined.
  2. Add the water, as needed, until the dough is soft and has come together nicely. Form into a ball.
  3. Place the dough ball in a well-oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Allow to rise, until it has doubled in size, which can take up to 1 hour (it was 40 minutes for me).
Sun-Dried Tomato & Pesto Spread
  1. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender or food processor and blend/processed until smooth, adding a bit of water, if needed.
Assembly
  1. Preheat oven to 500F.
  2. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 portions. and roll each one into a thin layer. Be careful not to make them too thick!
  3. Spread the sauce on each calzone, without going all the way to the edges.
  4. Add the “toppings” – veggies and vegan cheese – on one side of the calzone.
  5. Fold into a semicircle and seal the edges.
  6. Poke a few holes into each calzone, brush with a bit of oil, and sprinkle some dried basil on top (or fresh!).
  7. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the bottoms have browned nicely.
  8. Enjoy!

 

My Favourite Vegan Chili

2 Comments

Veggie-Chili

I love chili. I don’t even care if it’s so hot outside that my hair sticks to my face and I can’t breathe if I’m in the sun for longer than 5 minutes.

Chili is another one of my favourite comfort foods. I can eat it all year round. It’s yumminess in a bowl!

Vegan-Vegetable-Chili

Thankfully, this vegan chili is a healthy one. It’s loaded with tons of vegetables, beans and infused with tasty chili seasonings. So go ahead, eat a bowl – or two – and don’t feel guilty about it at all!

Vegan-Chili

I had some leftover vegan nacho cheese, so I topped my chili with that, and a sprinkling of green onions (because green onions make any dish better).

Also? Fresh bread is a must with chili! Although it’s good on it’s own, this chili is extra good slathered on bread. Crushed tortilla chips are also delicious with chili! It gives the dish some crunch, which is nice.

Vegetable-Chili

This dish freezes very well, too, so it’s a great meal to make more of than you need. Pop the extras in the freezer and you have a healthy meal waiting for you on a night you don’t have time to cook dinner!

My Favourite Vegan Chili
Recipe Type: Lunch, Dinner
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/3 cup celery, chopped
  • 1/3 cup red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup onion, chopped small
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 6 cups diced tomatoes, canned or fresh
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup cooked black beans (if using canned, drain and rinse first)
  • 1/2 cup cooked red kidney beans (if using canned, drain and rinse first)
  • 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas (if using canned, drain and rinse first)
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
  2. Add celery, red bell pepper and onions to the pot, and let them cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are lightly browned, and the celery and bell pepper are slightly softened.
  3. Add in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or so, until the garlic has also lightly browned.
  4. Add in the diced tomatoes, chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix well. If it looks too thick, add some vegetable broth or water, 1/2 cup at a time. Remember that it will thicken up as it cooks, so you don’t want it to be too thick when it first goes in there.
  5. Cook for about 10 minutes, then add in the black beans, kidney beans and chickpeas, and stir.
  6. Cook for another 20-30 minutes, or until thickened to your desired consistency.
  7. Serve, topped with vegan nacho cheese, vegan cheese shreds, vegan sour cream, chopped green onions, or whatever else you like on your chili!

 

Quinoa & Black Bean Burger with Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce

4 Comments

Black-Bean-Quinoa-Burger

Now that the weather is warming up (I hope!), I’ve been dreaming of burgers. Burgers of all kinds.

Last week, I decided to make them. Who cares if we were having a huge rain storm that day? Burgers were on the menu, and I was thrilled.

Especially because I was going to slather my burger in spicy vegan nacho cheese sauce. Mmmm, yummy.

Quinoa-Black-Bean-Burger-Vegan

I highly recommend wrapping your burgers in plastic wrap and sticking them in the fridge for an hour or so before you cook them, too. I found that this helped to keep the burgers together better than when I’ve made them before and not refrigerated them first.

Also, you don’t have to bake these in the oven. You can also throw them (gently!) on the barbecue, or fry them on the stove. Cook them however your heart desires. Any way you cook them, they turn out pretty awesome.

Quinoa-Black-Bean-Burger

I topped my delicious burger with vegan nacho cheese sauce, baby spinach, tomatoes and alfalfa sprouts and it was a magical combination. So good. But of course, use whatever you like on a burger!

Quinoa & Black Bean Burger with Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Recipe Type: Dinner
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 5-6
Ingredients
  • Nacho Cheese Sauce
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • heaping 1/4 tsp paprika
  • heaping 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • heaping 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 large roasted red pepper
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • Quinoa & Black Bean Burger
  • 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp water)
  • 1 1/2 Cup Cooked Black Beans (if using canned beans, rinse & dry them first)
  • 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup bell pepper, minced (I used red)
  • 2 tbsp onion, minced
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • Burger Ingredients
  • 5-6 burger buns
  • Toppings of your choice
Instructions
Nacho Cheese Sauce
  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor or high-powered blender and process/blend until smooth,
  2. Pour mixture into a medium pot over medium heat and warm it up for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
Quinoa & Black Bean Burger
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 400F.
  2. Whisk together the ground flax seed and water for your flax egg. Set aside.
  3. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a small pot, then cover and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked. Set aside.
  4. Mash up the black beans in a bowl, using a fork. Don’t use a food processor because I’ve found this to make the burgers difficult to form into patties. You don’t have to mash every last bean, but do your best.
  5. In the bowl with the black beans, add in the bread crumbs, minced bell pepper, minced onion, minced garlic, cumin, salt, hot sauce, cooked quinoa and your flax egg. Mix together with your hands and them form into patties. You should be able to get 5-6 burgers, depending on how large you make them.
  6. Place your burgers on a baking sheet with a non-stick mat or parchment paper. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until browned on the bottom, then flip and cook another 10-15 minutes, or until browned on both sides and cooked through.
Putting it All Together
  1. Put your burger on a bun, top with vegan nacho cheese sauce and your choice of toppings (I used alfalfa sprouts, baby spinach and tomatoes).
Notes
*You can store any extra nacho cheese sauce in a mason jar in the fridge for up to 5 days. Simply re-heat it on the stove.

 

Vegan Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese

Leave a Comment

Vegan-Lasagna-Homemade

If I was given the chance to choose my last meal in life, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask for lasagna.

Lasagna is, hands down, my favourite meal on the planet.

And this vegan lasagna with homemade ricotta cheese is freakin’ amazing.

Vegan-Lasagna

I used my food processor to whip up my vegan ricotta cheese, but a high-powered blender would work, too.

Lasagna-Vegan

I kept things simple and just added spinach as my veggie of choice, but I often add a whole heap of veggies, such as bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, and anything else I have sitting in my fridge.

Add whatever you love.

I also sprinkled a bit of fresh parsley on top, but this is optional. I just love the little flecks of green.

Homemade-Vegan-Lasagna

Vegan Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese
Recipe Type: Pasta
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-12
Ingredients
  • ½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • Veggies of choice (I just used spinach to keep things simple, but you could also add mushrooms, bell peppers, and more!)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 cups pasta sauce (homemade or store-bought)
  • 1 box lasagna noodles (buy oven-ready to save some time)
  • 1 batch vegan ricotta cheese (link at end of post)
  • 1-1 1/2 cups vegan cheese shreds (I used Daiya Mozzarella)
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
  2. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, then saute your vegetables until they are cooked to your liking. Add in the minced garlic and cook for a few minutes more. Season well with salt & pepper.
  3. Add a layer of pasta sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. This will help prevent the lasagna noodles from sticking to the dish.
  4. Add a layer of noodles, vegan ricotta cheese, and some vegetables.
  5. Repeat with more pasta sauce, noodles, ricotta cheese and vegetables, until all of your ingredients are gone.
  6. Top with vegan cheese shreds, cover the pan with foil (poke a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape), and bake for about 40 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven, take off the foil, and broil for another 5 minutes or so, until the lasagna is lightly browned.

Recipe: Vegan Ricotta Cheese

Super Simple Quinoa Bowl with Roasted Veggies & Cashew Dressing

Leave a Comment

Roasted-Veggies-Quinoa-Bowl

I love me some quinoa bowls.

Not only are they delicious, but they are so simple to throw together. Simply add a bed of quinoa to a bowl and top with whatever veggies you have on hand! To make it extra yummy, a cashew dressing is an awesome idea.

Getting ready for my grocery shopping trip the other day, I looked in my fridge to see what I had to use up before refilling it with more goodies.

Broccoli, cauliflower and a container of cooked chickpeas looked me right in the eye and begged to be used in a quinoa bowl.

So I obeyed. I never say no to a quinoa bowl. Especially when it’s covered in a tangy cashew dressing.

Yum yum yum.

Quinoa-Bowl-with-Roasted-Veggies

You don’t have to follow this recipe exactly – use whatever veggies you happen to have on hand! I’ve made quinoa bowls with green beans, edamame, zucchini, kale, collards, black beans, and so much more. Let your imagination run wild!

But please use the cashew dressing. It is out of this world amazing!

Super Simple Quinoa Bowl with Roasted Veggies
Recipe Type: Lunch or Dinner
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • Quinoa & Vegetables
  • 4 cups [b]cooked[/b] quinoa (1 cup dry)
  • 2 cups cooked chickpeas (if using canned chickpeas, drain & rinse them first)
  • 3-4 cups broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 3-4 cups cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt & pepper, to taste
  • Cashew Dressing
  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 medium garlic cloves
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 cup water + more, as needed
Instructions
Roasted Vegetables
  1. Preheat oven to 400F and line two large baking sheets with a non-stick mat, or coat with coconut oil.
  2. Divide the chickpeas, broccoli and cauliflower between the 2 baking sheets, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle on some salt & pepper, and then use your hands to make sure all vegetables are coated with the oil and salt & pepper. Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring about halfway through the cooking process.
Cashew Dressing
  1. Add all dressing ingredients to a food processor or blender and process/blend until smooth. Set aside.
Assembly:
  1. Divide the quinoa among 4 bowls (about 1 cup cooked quinoa per person), add the roasted veggies on top, and drizzle with cashew dressing.

 

Potato, Black Bean & Avocado Burritos

1 Comment

Burritos-Vegan-Beans

I’ve never really been big on burritos. In the past, the ones I’ve eaten have been bland, flavorless and in all honesty, a pain in the ass to prepare.

So a few weeks ago, I made it my mission to make the perfect vegan burrito.

And I think I’ve done it.

Bean-Potato-Burrito

I filled this burrito with all of my favourite things: potatoes, red pepper, black beans, tomato and avocado. I added some spicy seasonings, and that was it! Easy to make, and it was mighty delicious.

Finally – a burrito I actually want to eat!

Potato-Bean-Burrito

Potato, Black Bean & Avocado Burritos
Recipe Type: Entree
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 3 medium potatoes, chopped into small pieces (I used organic red potatoes)
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 small red pepper, seeded & chopped small
  • 1 small tomato, chopped small
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (if using canned, drain and rinse the beans first)
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste)
  • Tortillas
  • 1 small avocado, sliced
  • Fresh parsley (optional)
  • Vegan sour cream (optional)
Instructions
  1. Cook your chopped potatoes in a large pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes minutes, or until softened. Drain and set aside.
  2. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat, add your oil and potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Add in the red pepper, tomato, chili powder, cumin and lime juice. Mix well, and cook for a few minutes more. Add salt & pepper to taste.
  3. Stir in the black beans and cook just until heated through.
  4. Scoop mixture onto tortillas, top with avocado and chopped, fresh parsley, wrap up your burrito, cut in half and serve (with a dollop of vegan sour cream, if so desired!).
Notes
*Add any other toppings you wish, such as salsa or other fresh herbs.

 

The Big Vegan Salad Plate with Creamy Tahini-Dill Dressing

3 Comments

Vegan-Salad-Plate

Who is ready for some healthy summer salads? Even though it’s still spring (and even though it was snowing 3 days ago!), I am pretending it’s summer. This winter has gone on long enough.

After a week of eating way too much junk food and way too much comfort food, it was time to get back on the healthy bandwagon.

Enter – this awesome salad. I made it for lunch the other day.

The-Big-Vegan-Salad-Plate

I looked in my fridge and grabbed pretty much any vegetable I could find, added some nuts, seeds, hummus and avocado, then drizzled on a delicious creamy dressing.

Salad-Plate

Ah-mazing! I felt so good after eating this plate of nutrients, and was so incredibly stuffed that I didn’t eat again until dinner at 5pm. Coming from someone that usually needs to eat something every 2-3 hours, that says a lot!

The Big Vegan Salad Plate with Tahini-Dill Dressing
Recipe Type: Salad
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • Creamy Tahini-Dill Dressing
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
  • 3 tbsp flax or hemp oil
  • 1/2 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tsp dried dill weed (or 1 tbsp fresh)
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • Salad Plate
  • 2 cups mixed salad greens
  • 1 small tomato, chopped into bite-size pieces
  • 1/2 cup cucumber, sliced
  • 1/2 tbsp hemp seeds
  • 1/2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • 1 tbsp slivered almonds
  • 1/4 cup carrots, shredded
  • 1/4 cup beets, shredded
  • 1/2 small avocado, sliced
  • 1/4 cup hummus (homemade or store-bought)
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • Poppy seeds (or black sesame seeds)
Instructions
Creamy Tahini-Dill Dressing
  1. Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender and process/blend until smooth. If the dressing is not getting smooth enough, you may need to add a bit more water.
Salad Plate
  1. Add a bed of salad greens to your plate, making sure to cover the plate completely.
  2. Add the other ingredients, layering them nicely around the plate. Make it pretty! Pretty food is fun to eat.
  3. Drizzle on a bit of the creamy tahini-dill dressing, sprinkle on some green onions and poppy seeds (or black sesame seeds) and enjoy!