These plant-based recipes span a world of vegan cooking, from enchiladas and chilled zucchini soup to French toast and blackberry-cardamom cupcakes, covering all kinds of meals in between. Explore smart ingredients like creamy macadamia nut and pea milks, nutritional yeast, and ground flaxseed, which add nuanced flavor and texture to these dishes. Keep reading to choose your new favorite plant-based recipes.
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Bean and Potato Vegan Enchiladas
Combine two kinds of roasted potatoes and zesty spices for this colorful, filling meal from cookbook author and blogger Molly Yeh. Lean on canned black beans and diced tomatoes to pull it together.
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02of 25
Double Drive-Thru Veggie Burgers
Vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli is famous for her deliciously charred veggie burgers. For a "special sauce," she swaps out mayo for silken-tofu mayonnaise to make a tangy-sweet vegan take on Thousand Island dressing.
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03of 25
Creamless Creamed Corn with Mushrooms and Lemon
"My granny taught me that when corn is very fresh, the juices are naturally creamy," chef Kevin Gillespie says. "I took that as the gospel." He grates half of the corn here to make a luxurious puree that thickens without cream. Kevin's tip: Scraping corn cobs with the dull side of a knife removes the juices.
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04of 25
Spaghetti with Sun-Dried-Tomato-Almond Pesto
Salted, roasted almonds and toasted breadcrumbs add a salty richness to this pasta, making it quick, simple, and utterly delicious.
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05of 25
Roasted Carrot and Red Quinoa Salad
Flavors of cumin, coriander, and cardamom along with cranberries and lemon zest punch up this plant-based salad, while toasted walnuts and quinoa provide ample amounts of protein.
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Kimbap (Korean Sushi Rolls)
These vegan rolls from chef David Chang can be served warm.
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Vegan Hot and Sour Soup with Tofu
This vegan version of traditional Hot and Sour Soup bursts with flavor and is very easy to make.
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Sautéed Cabbage with Cumin Seeds and Turmeric
Sometimes the best dishes are the simplest ones. Sautéed cabbage is simultaneously crisp and tender; making it with cumin and turmeric gives it terrific flavor.
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Persimmons, Pomegranate, and Purslane with Pepitas
Chef Suzanne Goin's bright winter salad is a perfectly balanced combination of sweetness, acidity, and crunch.
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Burmese Samusa Soup
This vegan soup from Desmond Tan's Burma Superstar in San Francisco features a broth that's seasoned with black mustard seeds, cumin, and turmeric. Fresh cabbage, herbs, and chiles top each ample bowl, contrasting tender lentils and potatoes with a pleasing crunch. It's substantial enough to be a meal by itself, but try it topped with falafel and wedges of leftover samusas (known as samosas in India), as they do at the restaurant.
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Dinkies Cheezesteak
This gloriously sloppy sub is the creation of Pinky Cole, founder of the popular Atlanta-based slu*tty Vegan, and Derrick Hayes, Philly native and founder of Big Dave's Cheesesteaks. In Cole's Dinkies Cheezesteak, her version of Hayes' meat-packed hoagie, plant-based meat is piled into toasted rolls with tender peppers, onions, and gooey pools of vegan cheese.
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Vegan Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
After meticulous testing, the Food & Wine test kitchen discovered the surprising key ingredient for the creamiest vegan ice cream: pea milk. With the right balance of unsaturated fat and protein and a relatively mild, neutral flavor, it's the perfect base for this sweet, vanilla-flavored treat.
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Steamed Mustard Greens with Balinese Sambal
Here, steamed mustard greens are tossed with sambal matah, a raw Balinese sauce made with shallots and lemongrass. After a little prep work, this dish comes together quickly and easily.
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Blackberry-Cardamom Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting
These lightly spiced, fruity vegan cupcakes have a tender and delicate crumb with a soft texture from the full-fat oat milk and a blend of baking soda and baking powder. The frosting is soft after beating, but will pipe beautifully and is surprisingly stable. Its bright lemon flavor and light, melt-in-your-mouth quality are similar to Swiss or Italian meringue buttercreams.
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Coconut Milk Cake with Pistachios, Whipped Coconut Cream and Strawberry Glaze
Chef Angela Garbacz's coconut milk cake has crunchy edges, a gooey, thick crumb, and just happens to be vegan. Topped with pillowy whipped coconut cream and a gorgeous bright pink strawberry glaze, this cake is a showstopper.
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Ultimate Veggie Burgers
These veggie burgers hit every satisfying, savory note with a hearty mix of pearl barley, chickpeas, mushrooms, and crispy panko. For the sturdiest patties, evenly distribute the panko by stirring the patty mixture until very well-combined.
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17of 25
Vegan Caesar Salad with Chicories and Walnuts
All hail this Caesar salad that features jewel-toned chicories tossed in a creamy, umami-laden dressing with mellow chickpea miso, sweet-tart lemon juice, and maple syrup with toasted walnuts for a salty-sweet crunch. Pro tip: Use a white or chickpea miso here; they're fermented for less time than funkier red misos and won't overpower the dish.
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Tempeh Tacos with Cabbage Slaw
These satisfying vegan tacos are made with tempeh, a protein-packed fermented soy-based product with roots in Indonesia. Tempeh crumbles nicely, making it a great option when you don't want to use ground meat, like in this taco. Flavored with all the classic taco seasonings, plus some fresh bell pepper and onion for flavor and color, the filling is piled onto charred tortillas and topped with a red cabbage slaw. Keep these vegan by passing on the traditional crema drizzle and using almond butter flavored with garlic and lime juice.
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Vegan Pesto Babka
This completely vegan savory babka relies on almond milk and vegetable oil for richness, while the pesto that's braided into it leans on fresh herbs, peppery arugula, and plenty of garlic for flavor. The babka dough is well hydrated, resulting in a moist loaf with a well-developed crumb.
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Vegan Mapo Tofu
Chef Jocelyn Law-Yone of Thamee restaurant in Washington, D.C.created this vegan mapo tofu, for which she cooks finely-chopped eggplant and mushrooms down to a meaty consistency that absorbs a richly-savory blend of broad bean paste and mushroom seasoning. She says those two umami-packed ingredients quickly add long-cooked flavor. "Szechuan peppercorns and fresh ginger are balanced by a touch of sugar to round out this moderately-spicy dish," she adds.
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Creamy Vegan Pasta Primavera
A few smart swaps transform your favorite creamy spring pasta into a vegan-friendly masterpiece. Umami-rich nutritional yeast shoulders the duties of Parmesan, while buttery macadamia nut milk stands in for heavy cream. Check the label when shopping to ensure the macadamia nut milk is unsweetened.
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Creamy Vegan Pasta with Greens, Peas, and Lemon Zest
Quickly blanched greens and sizzling scallions and garlic meet in a surprisingly creamy vegan sauce for pasta, with a touch of white miso for added depth. Feel free to top with your favorite grated plant-based cheese, or just enjoy it all on its own.
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23of 25
Chilled Zucchini Soup with Purslane
Alain Coumont's cool vegan soup gets its creaminess from pureed zucchini, sautéed onion, and garlic. It's brightened with purslane, a lemony weed that Coumont plucks from his Languedoc country garden. If purslane is not available at your local farmers' market, substitute baby arugula leaves instead.
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Vegan Collard Greens
These mildly spicy vegan collard greens from Boricua Soul, a Puerto Rican–Southern restaurant in Durham, North Carolina, achieve a soulful depth of flavor with quality vegetable broth, adobo seasoning, and a hint of liquid smoke. Soak up the juices (potlikker) with cornbread, or drizzle over steamed rice.
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Vegan Sloppy Joes
With jalapeño for heat and brown sugar for sweetness, these vegan sloppy joes will please every omnivore at the table. Highly seasoned tempeh and firm tofu give these sloppy joes a hearty and rich texture.
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