Vegan Recipes from Cassie Howard

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

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 Comments

Vegan-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies

The other night I had a craving for chocolate (what else is new?), but I didn’t feel like going too heavy on the chocolate – just a hint of it would satisfy my cravings.

Chocolate chip cookies were the answer of course. Nothing is better than a homemade, fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie.

Am I right?

Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-Vegan

I’ve made quite a few vegan chocolate chip cookies, and they would either come out too crispy and flat, or too cake-like. Never anything right in the middle.

With a bit of experimentation, I landed on this recipe. And it’s been my go-to recipe every since. Everyone that eats these cookies loves them, and they can’t even tell that they’re vegan!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe Type: Cookies
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12 cookies
The most delicious vegan chocolate chips cookies I’ve ever had. They’re perfect!
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp water)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/4 cup kamut flour (or all-purpose)
  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the ground flax seed + water for the flax egg, and set aside to thicken (at least 5 minutes).
  2. Add the brown sugar and butter to a large bowl and using an electric mixer, beat them together until creamy. Beat in the flax egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt.
  3. Beat in the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, and then fold in the chocolate chips.
  4. Form the dough into small balls and place on your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.
  5. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.

 

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!

 

Classic Green Monster Smoothie

2 Comments

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.

 

 

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks with Vegan Sprinkles

2 Comments

Chocolate-Pretzel-Sticks

Mmm, pretzels and chocolate. What could be better?

I made these for my 2 year old’s birthday party and they were a huge hit with the kids and the adults! They’re super simple to make, and you can change up the toppings, too, if you want. Chopped nuts, shredded coconut.. even just the chocolate and no sprinkles would taste yummy!

Chocolate-Covered-Pretzel-Sticks

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks with Vegan Sprinkles
Recipe Type: Dessert, Snacks
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 20 pretzel sticks
Put these out at a party and I can almost guarantee there won’t be any left when the party is over! Easy and delicious – my favourite.
Ingredients
  • About 20 large pretzel sticks/rods
  • 1 cup vegan chocolate chips or chunks (I use the Enjoy Life brand)
  • Vegan sprinkles
Instructions
  1. Put a sheet of parchment paper on a large platter or cutting board and set aside.
  2. Using a double broiler on the stove, melt your chocolate. You could also stick your chocolate in a bowl and melt it in the microwave. Just be sure to mix often, and keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn.
  3. Dip about 1/2 of each pretzel in the melted chocolate, and immediately roll in sprinkles.
  4. Place on your parchment paper.
  5. Continue until all pretzels are covered, then stick them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened.
  6. Serve at room temperature (serve them too cold and they will be very hard to bite into).

 

 

Creamy Vegan Ranch Dip

2 Comments

Ranch-Dip-Vegan

I’ve never been a big fan of Ranch dressing on salads, but for some reason, I find it incredible when dipping fresh veggies into it. Which is pretty much the same thing, since salads = fresh veggies. I guess I’m just weird.

The last time I tried my hand at Ranch dip, it was too runny for my taste, so I changed things up a bit, and now this one is much more to my liking. If you don’t like your dip to be as thick, or if you want to use it as a dressing instead of a dip, just add a bit more plant milk.

Vegan-Ranch-Dip

I used cashews for the dip you see in the photos, but I’ve also made it with tofu with great success. If you want to keep things soy-free, just use cashews.

Creamy Vegan Ranch Dip
Recipe Type: Dips/Dressings
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 Cup
This ultra-creamy ranch dip is a much healthier version than the kind sold in grocery stores, and it really cannot be any simpler to make. Yum!
Ingredients
  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours OR 1/2 block firm tofu
  • 1/4 cup plant milk (I used unsweetened almond)
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp dried dill (if using fresh dill, up this to 1 tbsp)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender or food processor and blend/process until smooth & creamy.
  2. Serve with raw veggies, crackers or just spoon it into your mouth. Mmmm.

 

Spicy Vegan Mac & Cheese

3 Comments

Vegan-Spicy-Mac-and-Cheese

Growing up, Kraft Dinner was a staple in our house. Up until I was in my early twenties, I ate that neon-orange pasta on a regular basis. I loved it. Big time. Despite it being filled with so many awful ingredients like artificial food dyes (yikes!).

Since I’ve adopted a much healthier way of eating, this blue box has left my home for good, and it’s not coming back. But I still eat mac and cheese. I just make my own in a much healthier way.

Spicy-Vegan-Mac-and-Cheese

The best part of this dish is that there are not only zero artificial food dyes, but also no milk, butter or flour to be found – and it still tastes delicious!

This pasta is creamy, and hearty, with a bit of a spicy kick from the paprika and cayenne pepper. Yum.

If you have a high-powered blender, like a Vitamix or Blendtec, you should be able to get very smooth cheese sauce, but even if you don’t have one of those, you can still make the cheese sauce in a food processor and though it probably won’t be as smooth, it will be just as tasty!

Spicy-Mac-and-Cheese

I only had a small half-empty box of elbow macaroni, so I made that, and then made a large batch of penne pasta to make this dish large enough to feed my entire family. Everyone gobbled it up (and some went back for seconds!).

Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese
Recipe Type: Pasta
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 cups elbow macaroni*
  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • paprika for garnish (optional)
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. While your pasta is cooking, add the rest of the ingredients (raw cashews, garlic, lemon juice, water, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, paprika, turmeric, dijon mustard and a pinch of cayenne pepper) to your blender or food processor. Blend/process until smooth. It should be thick when it’s ready.
  3. Once your pasta has finished cooking, drain, reserving 1/3 cup or so of the cooking water, then add back to the pot, with the cooking water. Mix in the cheese sauce until all of the sauce is evenly distributed.
  4. Serve, with some fresh parsley and more paprika sprinkled on top, if desired.
Notes
*I prefer elbow macaroni, but you can use whatever noodles you have on hand.[br]*Use gluten-free pasta to make this dish gluten-free.

 

 

 

 

Mind Blowing Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

17 Comments

Chocolate-Oatmeal-Cookies

I’m just gonna come right out and say it:

Last week was my “special” time of the month. And during this time, I crave chocolate. Just like every other woman on the planet.

So, I did what any chocolate craving woman would do – I stuffed my face full of chocolate chips. The only thing I had on hand.

But then I thought – there has to be something better than this that I can make, that wont leave me slaving away in the kitchen for an hour (or more)!

Oatmeal-Chocolate-Cookies

I had planned on making chocolate chip cookies, but decided – nope. Not enough chocolate for me. So instead, I made my chocolate chip cookies with a few additions, chocolate CHUNKS (mmmm, more chocolate) and cocoa powder.

I get my ingredients out of the cupboards, and I’m about to grab my whole wheat flour, but then I realize – OMG, I’m out of flour! I’m out of flour! I will never eat cookies again!

After I sobbed for a bit, I put on my thinking cap. There has to be something I can use instead of whole wheat flour. I stared in my cupboards for about 10 minutes and finally I saw them… a big container of rolled oats.

YES! I can make oat flour! That will work!

And, it did. I made these cookies twice last week (don’t judge!), once with the oat flour and once with whole wheat flour (after I made my hubby grab some from the store on his way home from work). I actually liked these with the oat flour more than with whole wheat flour. Imagine that.

Mind Blowing Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe Type: Cookies
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 dozen cookies
If you’re craving chocolate, this recipe is for you, my friend. These cookies come together so quickly and easily and they are loaded with chocolate! Ooey gooey delicious chocolate. Enjoy!
Ingredients
  • 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 2 tbsp water)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter (use sunflower seed butter for nut-free option)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups oat flour
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chunks
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silplat mat or parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the flax and water and set aside to thicken (about 10 minutes).
  3. In a large bowl, add coconut oil, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Mix the ingredients until very smooth.
  4. Add in the baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix again until combined. Add in the oat flour and flax egg, and mix again.
  5. Finally, add in the chocolate chunks and stir by hand. Make sure everything is combined very well. Add a bit of plant milk if your batter is too dry, a tablespoon at a time.
  6. Roll batter into 12 large balls, place them on your prepared baking sheet, and press down gently on each ball, with the palm of your hand, to flatten.
  7. Bake for 12 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
Notes
*Use sunflower seed butter to make these cookies nut-free.[br]*Add a tablespoon or two of plant milk (almond, hemp, soy, etc.) to your batter if it is too dry to roll into balls.[br][br]To make oat flour: Take 1 1/2 cups rolled oats and add to your food processor. Process until the oats resembles flour. 1 1/2 cups rolled oats = 1 1/2 cups oat flour.

 

Strawberry Banana Coconut Smoothie

3 Comments

Banana-Strawberry-Coconut-Smoothie

I had about a cup of coconut milk leftover from a recipe and decided to throw it into my smoothie the other day – and, well, my mind was blown. Why has no one ever told me to put coconut milk into a smoothie before? It’s ridiculously good!

Strawberry-Banana-Coconut-Smoothie

I’ve made this smoothie twice now, and the second time I made it, I added a handful of spinach as well. It didn’t look as pretty, but it tasted just as good, and gave me added nutrients from the spinach!

Strawberry Banana Coconut Smoothie
Recipe Type: Beverages
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1-2
This smoothie is easy, delicious, and a great way to start your morning! Feel free to experiment with the ingredients, as it’s really hard to mess up a smoothie!
Ingredients
  • 1 Cup Strawberries, Sliced
  • 1 Large Banana, Sliced
  • 1 Cup Coconut Milk (I used full-fat coconut milk)
  • 3-4 Ice Cubes
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Pour and enjoy!