Vegan Recipes from Cassie Howard

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

Quinoa & Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad

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Quinoa-Chickpea-Tabbouleh Oh, how I love simple meals! We visited my mother in law for Mother’s Day this past weekend (the weekend after the actual holiday, because my hubby was sick on that day), and I brought along this dish for two reasons: 1. It’s SO quick and easy to prepare. 2. It’s travels well. 3. It’s freakin’ delicious, light, healthy and tastes good straight out of the fridge. Okay, that was more than 2 reasons. All legit, though, of course. Quinoa-and-Chickpea-Tabbouleh-Vegan We served it along side these oven roasted garlic sweet potatoes, and WOW DELICIOUSNESS. The two went very well together. Vegan-Quinoa-and-Chickpea-Tabbouleh
 This protein packed salad is the way to go if you’re looking for a quick and easy side dish or lunch. I found it very filling, and it’s also healthy enough that you can have multiple servings and not feel guilty about it. I anticipate this dish being our regular potluck contribution to family gatherings! Quinoa-and-Chickpea-Tabbouleh

Quinoa & Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad
Recipe Type: Salad, Side
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (if using canned, drain and rinse them first)
  • 1 small cucumber, sliced
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1 cup green onion, chopped small
  • 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 cup mint leaves, chopped
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice (2 large or 3 medium lemons)
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Put the cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Add the chickpeas, cucumbers, minced garlic, cherry tomatoes, green onion, parsley and mint. Toss well to combine.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and some salt and pepper. Adjust S&P as needed.
  3. Pour the dressing over the quinoa & chickpea mixture and mix well. Adjust seasonings again, if necessary.
  4. Serve cold or at room temperature. *
Notes
*This dish lasts 2-3 days in the refrigerator, so feel free to make it ahead of time to save even more time in the kitchen.

 

Oven Roasted Garlic Sweet Potatoes

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We went to my mother-in-law’s house yesterday, and we brought these delicious roasted sweet potatoes with us. They were so good, that the first thing I’m doing this morning is writing up a post telling you all about them – because – YUMMY.

Oven-Roasted-Sweet-Potatoes

Honestly, I’m not usually big on sweet potatoes because I find them too, well, sweet. Something about a potato that is sweet just weirds me right out.

But – my husband loves them and so does my mother-in-law, so I made them for our visit yesterday. And strangely enough – I actually LOVED these sweet potatoes, too! Hence why I am so eager to share this recipe with you.

Roasted-Sweet-Potatoes

Not only are these sweet potatoes super easy to throw together, but they’re so versatile, that you can serve them with pretty much anything and they will likely go really well (they’re really tasty in a quinoa bowl, that’s how I ate them yesterday, and my husband, mother-in-law, and kids ate them on their own).

Roasted-Sweet-Potatoes-Vegan

You can switch up the seasonings to your own tastes. If you like things really hot, you can add more paprika, or even a dash of cayenne pepper. If you like things sweeter, add a drizzle of maple syrup or agave.

Vegan-Sweet-Potatoes

Oven Roasted Garlic Sweet Potatoes
Recipe Type: Sides, Snack, Lunch, Dinner
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into medium chunks
  • 1/3 cup vegan butter (I used soy-free Earth Balance)
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375F and put your sweet potato chunks in a large bowl.
  2. Add the paprika, salt & pepper to a small bowl.
  3. Add the vegan butter and minced garlic to another small bowl, and melt in the microwave.
  4. Mix together the butter/garlic and spices, and pour over the sweet potatoes. Mix everything really well, so that every sweet potato chunk is covered.
  5. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until you can easily pierce through the largest chunk with a knife.

 

Raw Vegan Lime Tart with Cashew Cream

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Raw-Vegan-Lime-Tart

I saw this yummy dessert recipe on Neely’s site a few weeks back, and added it to my to-make file, until this past weekend when I finally made it.

And oh my, was it ever good. I’m ashamed that I waited so long to make it, because it was incredible.

Lime-Tart-Raw-Vegan

I made a few substitutions and added some ingredients to my preference, and in the end, this turned into one of my favourite desserts I’ve ever made! I thought I was a lemon lover, but… limes are certainly growing on me, that’s for sure.

I used my food processor to make the crust and my Blendtec blender to make the cashew cream, and both worked well. I wish I had a tart pan, because that would have made my “tart” look better, but I didn’t, so I just used an 8×8 baking dish (which was a bit too large, so I only spread the crust out using about 3/4 of the pan dimmensions).

It worked, and it tasted delicious, and that’s all that really matters anyway, right?

Vegan-Lime-Tart-Raw

Adapted from Neely Wang.

Raw Vegan Lime Tart with Cashew Cream
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-12
Ingredients
  • Crust
  • 1 cup medjool dates, pitted
  • 1/3 cup walnuts
  • 1/3 cup cashews
  • 1/3 cup almonds
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp lime zest
  • Cashew Cream
  • 2 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours)
  • 1/3 cup lime juice
  • 1 tbsp lime zest
  • 1/4 cup agave
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup water + more as needed
Instructions
Tart
  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and process for a minute or two, or until everything comes together into a sticky ball.
  2. Press the processed tart ingredients into a baking dish/pan (I used an 8×8 dish, but an actual tart pan would work better!). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Cashew Cream
  1. Add all ingredients into a food processor or high speed blender and process/blend until smooth and creamy, adding more water, as needed.
  2. Pour cashew cream over tart crust and smooth it out. Add a bit of lime zest on top, and refrigerate for another 30 minutes before cutting into bars/squares and serving.

 

Homemade Peanut Butter in Minutes

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Homemade nut butters have got to be one of the easiest things to make, ever. With only 1 ingredient, you can have delicious, creamy almond, peanut, cashew… any type of nut butter you desire, in just minutes.

Vegan-Peanut-Butter

Skip the store-bought stuff that is loaded with junk on top of more junk. Homemade nut butter is where it’s at.

Not only is it easy to make, and delicious, but it’s also way, way cheaper than buying it from a grocery store.

Peanut-Butter-Vegan

In our house, we go through a ton of peanut butter every week. Our 2 kids eat it almost daily, we have it in oatmeal, in smoothies, and in a lot of baked goods that I whip up. That means I always need to have peanuts on hand to make delicious homemade peanut butter at least twice each month.

Homemade-Peanut-Butter

I use either my KitchenAid food processor or the Twister Jar for our Blendtec blender to make my nut butters (I used the food processors for the peanut butter in these photos).

Both of them work really great for peanut butter, but I prefer the Twister Jar because it usually gets the peanut butter much smoother. If you like a chunkier peanut butter, you can just use a food processor.

When you make this peanut butter, the peanuts will go through various stages:

  • Crushed peanuts
  • Fine peanut powder
  • Peanut paste
  • Peanut butter dough
  • Chunky peanut butter
  • Smooth peanut butter

Once it’s done, it will be pretty thin because of the warmth from the food processor/blender, but let it sit in the fridge for a few hours and it will thicken up.

Homemade Peanut Butter in Minutes
Recipe Type: Condiments
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
Homemade peanut butter in no time flat! Easy, delicious and inexpensive. What could be better?
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of peanuts (I used raw & unsalted, then roasted them in the oven for about 5 minutes and allowed to cool)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar (optional)
Instructions
  1. All peanuts to your food processor or blender, the process/blend until it reaches the smoothness you like, stopping to scrape the sides of the canister if necessary. For me (I like very smooth peanut butter), it took about 7 minutes in the food processor.
  2. Add in the salt & coconut sugar, if desired, and pulse a few times to incorporate.

 

Sweet & Salty Vegan Caramel Corn

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Caramel-Corn

If you’re craving something sweet today, I’ve got you covered. If you’re craving something salty – well, I’ve got you covered, too!

Enter – sweet & salty caramel corn.

Vegan-Caramel-Corn

As someone who has tried to make caramel corn many, many times (and failed every time), I can tell you that this recipe is foolproof. The recipe comes from a non-vegan friend of mine, who uses butter in her recipe, so the only thing I changed is that I used vegan butter instead.

And it worked! It actually worked! I made caramel corn and it didn’t turn into a soggy, mushy mess!

Caramel-Corn-Vegan

If you’ve never made caramel corn before – or if you did, but it didn’t turn out right, I beg you to give this recipe a shot. It’s perfect, it’s easy, and it’s freakin’ delicious.

Sweet & Salty Vegan Caramel Corn
Recipe Type: Snack
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 10-12 cups
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup popcorn kernels, popped and ready to eat
  • 1/3 cup vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 250F and lay a Siplat baking mat down on 2 large baking sheets (or you can lightly oil them). Make sure your popcorn is in a large bowl, waiting to be covered in this yummy caramel sauce.
  2. In a medium pot, melt the vegan butter over medium heat, then add in the salt, brown sugar, vanilla and maple syrup. Bring to a boil.
  3. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat and add in the baking soda. Mix well, and pour over your popcorn right away.
  4. Mix in the caramel, making sure to cover all of the popcorn. Then, pour the popcorn onto the 2 baking trays and bake for 30 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and stir, then allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

 

How to Make Vegan Ricotta Cheese

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Vegan Ricotta

Oh a whim, I decided to make lasagna last week. It was a cold, dreary day, and I was seriously craving some comfort food – and lasagna is my comfort food of choice!

The only thing standing in my way of a delicious pan of hot lasagna was that I didn’t have any cheese to use. I only had a bit of Daiya shreds left (and I don’t like to eat much processed food, so I keep my Daiya consumption to a minimum, even though it’s delicious!), so that wouldn’t work.

After a bit of pondering, I figured I’d make my vegan ricotta cheese to spread throughout the lasagna. Thankfully, I had already soaked some cashews early that morning to use for something at lunch, which I never ended up making, so I used those cashews to make the cheese.

Ricotta-Vegan

It came together so easily, and in no time flat. After making this in my food processor, I scooped the ricotta into an air-tight container and let it sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes, while I prepared the lasagna noodles and marinara sauce. This gave the ricotta ingredients a bit more time to marinate.

This cheese spreads on lasagna very well, but – it’s not just for lasagna! Use this ricotta as a dip, spread on crackers, or even add a dollop to your salad. It’s very versatile. Any way you choose to eat it, this cheese is incredible!

Vegan Ricotta Cheese

Vegan Ricotta Cheese
Recipe Type: Vegan Cheese
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: Just over 2 cups
Use this vegan ricotta cheese in lasagna and pastas, as a dip, spread on crackers, or even in your salad. It’s very versatile!
Ingredients
  • 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours, then drained
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup plain non-dairy milk (I used soy)
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp dried basil
  • 1/3 cup fresh chives
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Add soaked cashews, garlic, emon juice, non-dairy milk, maple syrup, oil, basil, and chives to your food processor.
  2. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. If your ricotta is too dry, add a bit more non-dairy milk. It took me about 5 minutes to process my cheese until it was smooth enough for me.
  3. Season with salt & pepper, to taste.
Notes
*You can easily change up the herbs in this recipe to suit your liking. [br]*You can use agave instead of maple syrup.[br]*You can use apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice.

 

The Big Vegan Salad Plate with Creamy Tahini-Dill Dressing

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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!

 

Classic Green Monster Smoothie

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Green-Monster

If the 15 year old me could only see me now.. drinking spinach. I would have had my jaw on the floor, that’s for sure.

This smoothie, though – it’s amazing. Chock full of nutritious and delicious ingredients, it’s a surefire way to drink yourself happy!

This recipe is totally customizable, too. Use what you have on hand, but I always suggest a green (kale works well) and a banana (for creaminess), at least. If I really feel like something sweet, I will add in 2-3 dates as well. Or some agave. Or maybe syrup. You get the idea.

Have you had your green monster smoothie today?

Green-Monster-Smoothie

Classic Green Monster Smoothie
Recipe Type: Smoothie
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 cup almond or soy milk
  • 1 ripe banana, peeled
  • 2 large handfuls of spinach
  • 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 tbsp ground flax seed
  • 1 tbsp nut butter (optional)
  • 3 or 4 ice cubes
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients (in the order listed) into your blender and blend until smooth.
Notes
*You can also add in 1 tbsp protein powder for an added protein boost! I often add hemp protein to my smoothies.