Vegan Recipes from Cassie Howard

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

Easy Cheesy Vegan Quesadillas

4 Comments

Vegan-Quesedillas

I was craving a super quick lunch the other day. I had so many things on my to-do list, and making an elaborate lunch wasn’t one of them. I initially considered pasta, because it’s easy, filling and mighty delicious – but, I was out of pasta.

Dang.

So, I stared in my pantry for a few minutes and then I spotted the tortillas. Ding ding ding!

Cheesy-Vegan-Quesedillas

I almost always have soaked cashews in my refrigerator, since I cook with them a lot, and thankfully, I had some this day, and used them to make the yummy cashew cheese for this quick meal.

Easy-Vegan-Quesedillas

The only thing that took awhile was cooking 4 quesadillas, since they take about 5-8 minutes each. But other than that, this was an easy lunch to throw together, using ingredients I already had on hand.

I’d also like to mention that these vegan quesadillas are kid-approved (and that’s saying something, since my kids want to eat nothing but chocolate, bread, and plain pasta)!

Easy-Cheesy-Vegan-Quesedillas

I used vegan sour cream to dip my quesadillas in, but you can also used mashed avocado (or guacamole!), hummus, vegan nacho cheese, or just eat them plain. No matter how you eat them – they are damn good. Try some for lunch today!

Easy Cheesy Vegan Quesadillas
Recipe Type: Appetizers, Snacks, Lunch
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • Cashew Cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Quesadillas
  • 8 flour tortillas
  • 3/4 cup cooked black beans (if using canned, drain and rinse first)
  • 3/4 cup corn (I used frozen)
  • 1/3 cup black olives, sliced
  • 3/4 cup tomatoes, diced (I used 1 large beefsteak tomato)
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
  • 3 tbsp green onions, chopped small
  • 1 large avocado, pitted and sliced
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
Cashew Cheese
  1. Add all of the cashew cheese ingredients into a food processor or high-speed blender and process/blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Quesadillas
  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the black beans, corn, olives, diced tomato and parsley. Set aside.
  2. Add a generous layer of cashew cheese to a tortilla, top with the black bean mixture, then cover with another tortilla, press down lightly, then set aside. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
  3. Heat a large pan over medium heat, add 1/2 tbsp oil, and add your quesadilla. Cook until the bottom of the quesadillas is golden brown (3-4 minutes), then flip and cook until the other side is golden brown. Repeat with remaining quesadillas.
  4. Plate your quesadillas, and sprinkle some green onions on top of each one. Serve with vegan sour cream, mashed avocado, or whatever else you like with your quesadillas.

 

Healthy & Delicious Trail Mix Cookies

5 Comments

Healthy-Trail-Mix-Cookies

I was trying to come up with a way to get more nuts and seeds into my kids’ mouths, since they usually refuse to eat them unless they’re covered in chocolate.

I tried putting them in oatmeal, in smoothies, in cereal – anywhere I could sneak them in, but they always seemed to know, and they hated that I “tricked” them.

Trail-Mix-Cookies-Vegan

Even though I explained that they needed to eat their nuts and seeds in order to be healthy and get all of the nutrients these foods provided, they didn’t care.

They are kids, afterall. And kids don’t like it when you’re right and they’re wrong.

Trail-Mix-Cookies

I asked them how I could make them eat these seeds and nuts, and the only thing they agreed to try was if they were in cookies.

So, cookies it was. Of course, I didn’t want them to be loaded with sugar, so I loaded them up with lots of healthy options instead.

And a few chocolate chips. Because a few chocolate chips never hurt anybody.

Vegan-Trail-Mix-Cookies

And wouldn’t you know it – they ate the cookies! Which means they ate the seeds & nuts. Success!

The funny thing about this story is that they now ask for raw nuts on a regular basis. These cookies won them over! Thank you, trail mix cookies.

Adapted from Oh She Glows.

Healthy & Delicious Trail Mix Cookies
Recipe Type: Cookies
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 24 cookies
Ingredients
  • 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
  • 1 cup oat flour (just take rolled oats and throw them in your food processor)
  • 1/2 cup almond flour (just take almonds and throw them in your food processor until they resemble a “crumb-y” flour)
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips (or finely chopped chocolate)
  • 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 2 tbsp dried cranberries
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup or agave (I used maple syrup)
  • 1 1/4 tsp vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
  2. Mix together the ground flax and water in a small bowl and set aside for about 10 minutes.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients, including the flax egg. Yes, add every last ingredient to your bowl!
  4. Scoop about 2 tbsp of the cookie “dough” and form into balls. Place them on your prepared baking sheet, and flatten slightly with your hand.
  5. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottoms. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before handling.

 

Super Cheesy Vegan Pesto Pasta

14 Comments

Cheesy-Pesto-Pasta

I have one of the easiest recipes ever to share with you today.

Easy and tasty – the perfect combo, don’t you think?

Pesto-Pasta

I was craving pasta not long ago, but I wasn’t in a very creative mood, so I looked online for some inspiration.

Pesto pasta kept popping up everywhere, and since I had just made a batch of it the day before for a salad, that’s what I decided to make. I was excited to have such a simple dish for lunch. Cook pasta, add prepared pesto, eat. Easy.

But, as I reached into the fridge to grab the pesto, I noticed the jar of nacho cheese sauce that I’d made for our quinoa & black bean burgers  a few days prior.

Hmmm – “do I dare?”, I asked myself.

Cheesy-Vegan-Pesto-Pasta

And dare, I did.

I warmed up the nacho cheese, then added it to the cooked pasta, along with the pesto. I mixed it all together, crossed my fingers, stuffed a bunch of pasta in my face..

and just about died from the deliciousness.

The spicy nacho cheese with the cool pesto was a surefire winner!

Lunch was awesome that day. Which reminds me, I need to make another batch of pesto…

Vegan-Pesto-Pasta

Super Cheesy Vegan Pesto Pasta
Recipe Type: Pasta
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Creamy, cheese, pesto-y. This dish has it all! Serve it up for lunch, dinner – heck, why not breakfast? You’ll find it hard not to stuff your face with this cheesy pesto pasta, regardless of what time of day it is!
Ingredients
  • Pesto
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh basil
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or hemp oil)
  • 1 cup pine nuts*
  • 4 medium garlic cloves
  • 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Nacho Cheese
  • 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
  • Pasta
  • 3 cups pasta noodles of your choice (I used spelt spiral noodles)
Instructions
Pesto
  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until just a little bit chunky. Set aside.
Nacho Cheese
  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor or high-powered blender and process/blend until smooth. In a small saucepan on low-medium heat, warm the cheese sauce, whisking constantly for about 5 minutes, or until thickened. Set aside.
Pasta
  1. Cook according to package directions. Set aside.
Assembly
  1. Add your pesto and nacho cheese sauce to the cooked pasta. You will likely not use as much as you prepared, so just add a bit of each at a time, and stop when it gets to where you want it.
  2. Season with a bit more salt & pepper, if desired.
Notes
*Almonds also work well in a pesto. As do cashews or walnuts.[br]*Prepare the nacho cheese sauce and/or pesto in advance to save on prep/cooking time!

 

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!

 

Raw Vegan Lime Tart with Cashew Cream

5 Comments

 

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.

 

Vegan Poutine That Will Knock Your Socks Off

4 Comments

Vegan-Poutine

This is one of my favourite comfort foods. When I’m having a bad day, I don’t want a bowl of salad. I want a big plate of fries, smothered in gravy and cheese.

I rarely eat this way, but when I do, I don’t scrimp.

Homemade-Vegan-Poutine

This vegan poutine is really simple, mostly because I cheat by using vegan cheese shreds. The only thing I have to make myself are the fries and gravy.

Which, thankfully, are very, very easy.

Poutine-Vegan

So, if you’re having a bad day, dig in to a plate of vegan poutine. And enjoy every scrumptious minute of it. Then – start eating healthy again immediately afterward!

Vegan Poutine That Will Knock Your Socks Off
Recipe Type: Snacks
Author: Vegan Insanity
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-4
Easy vegan poutine!
Ingredients
  • Fries
  • 2 large or 3 medium russet potatoes, cut unto wedges or thin strips
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • Gravy
  • 3 tbsp vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
  • 2 tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • Other Items
  • 1/2-1 cup vegan cheese shreds (I used Daiya mozzarella shreds)
Instructions
Fries
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 425F.
  2. In a large bowl, drizzle the olive oil over your fries, and mix together well. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.
  3. Arrange on a baking sheet and cook for about 20-30 minutes (depending on how thick you made your fries), turning once. Remove from oven once they are cooked and divide between 2-4 plates.
Gravy
  1. Heat a small pot over medium heat.
  2. Add in the vegan butter, and once it has melted add in the flour. Whisk together until no clumps remain, and cook for about 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add in the vegetable broth, mustard and soy sauce and whisk again.
  4. Let the gravy thicken for a few minutes.
Putting it all together
  1. On top of your cooked fries, add vegan cheese shreds, then pour the thickened gravy over top. Enjoy immediately.

 

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.