Speedy Plant-Based Recipes (for busy days)
Although sometimes it’s nice to take your time cooking a meal, today’s busy lifestyles means that many people want to find recipes that are quick to prepare and cook, and save on energy bills too. Here are some great books to help you do just that.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. It’s best to just bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) along with rhubarb, tomato and citrus scraps, as acids may harm compost creatures.
Recycle any ready-made food packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside does not recycle.
A One-Pot 20-Minute Pasta Dinner
Try this 20-minute one-pot pasta recipe (Ela Vegan). Uniquely, you don’t have to ‘boil the pasta’ in one pan then make the sauce in another, as everything cooks together. The onion garlic tomato sauce is made creamy with coconut milk, served over plastic-free pasta!
Unless there are medical reasons, use a little salt for your pasta. In Italy, cooking pasta without salting the water, is called ‘silly pasta!’ Conventional Parmesan is not even vegetarian, as by law it contains a cheese made with calf rennet. So use plant-based Parmesan of your favourite grated vegan cheese.
A Few Quick Vegan Recipe Ideas
Spicy Chickpea Breakfast Wrap. Mash drained warm canned chickpeas then warn in a pan with favourite spices or a splash of hot sauce. Lay over a wholegrain tortilla with shredded lettuce.
Quick Peanut‑Banana Smoothie. Blend a frozen banana with plant milk, peanut butter and a touch of cinnamon.
Mushroom & Spinach Toast. Saute sliced mushrooms with spinach in a pan for 3 minutes to soften the mushrooms and wilt the greens. Spoon over toasted sourdough bread, finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
15‑Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta. Stir canned crushed tomatoes and a splash of vegan cream into a pot of drained pasta, then add a handful of fresh basil leaves.
Stir‑Fry Ginger Garlic Veggies with Tempeh. Heat fresh minced ginger and garlic in a pan, then add sliced pre-marinated tempeh and frozen stir-fry vegetables. Stir-fry for 5 minutes, then splash in soy sauce and serve on cooked rice.
15-Minute Vegan Meal Recipes
15-Minute Vegan Meals offers lovely meals packed with plant-based protein and good fats for dinners with taste, and nutrition. Ideal for people low on time and energy, who still want to make their meals with fresh ingredients.
Recipes include:
- Buffalo Tempeh Bowl with Vegan Honey Mustard
- Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Penne with Broccoli
- Spiced Chickpea & Kale Salad
- Spicy Sweet & Sour Tofu with Broccoli
- BBQ Jackfruit & Chickpea Flatbread with Creamy Slaw
- Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad
- Ginger Noodle Soup:
Janet Gronnow is a popular vegan food blogger, whose recipes have been featured in many publications. She lives in Pennsylvania, USA.
It has few pictures, but Vegan in 15 is a lovely little read, an affordable book of easy recipes by Kate, who blogs at The Veg Space.
A Fun Book of 20-Minute Vegan Recipes
The 20-Minute Vegan is a book by new cooking star Calum (we can see him becoming the new Jamie Oliver). These simple affordable meals include proper pastas, creamy curries and fluffy pancakes, all made with easy-to-find ingredients.
Recipes include:
- Proper Porridge with Cherry Jam
- Fancy Apple Cinnamon Oven Oats
- Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes
- Miso Beans & Gnocchi
- Danny Danny noodles
- Silky Chocolate Mousse
This book is really good! Endorsed by Joe Wicks, if you like the Jamie Oliver kind of instructions, you’ll love this book. He can write, cook and also is on a mission to make it simple for anyone to cook.
I believe that with the recipes in this book and a few adjustments to your weekly shop, you’ll be flying and eating more vegan food in no time. And you’ll actually stick with it.
You only need a little bit of prep to make meals that look like the rainbow and taste gorgeous. 20 minutes for me means 15 minutes with time for a little chat and going back to the fridge for an ingredient. I don’t have a stopwatch when I cook, as that would be too strict and I’d have no social life.
Calum’s Proper Healthy Vegan Cookbook
Proper Healthy is the latest book by the ‘new vegan Jamie Oliver’ offering plant-based recipes that just happen to be healthy. Each recipe is designed to give you energy, heal your gut, pack in protein and help you shape up.
Recipes include brunches and quick eats, puds and pick-me-ups including:
- Whipped Butter Beans on Toast
- Cacio e Pepe Leek Rigatoni
- ‘Pretend You’re in LA’ Smoothie Bowl
- Gingery Basil Rainbow Noodle Jars
- Gnocchi Shepherd’s Pie
- Tempeh Taco Bowl with Chipotle Crema
- Shredded Jerk Tofu Bowl
- Kinda Carbonara Vegan Noodles
- Mean & Green Vegan Sandwiches
Desserts include:
- Upside-Down Pistachio Semolina Cake
- Raspberry Miso Blondies
Calum Harris is a popular cook (not a chef) who learned to cook from his mum, then converted recipes after he went vegan after a conversation with a vegan relative at a BBQ.
His recipes went viral on social media (340,000 and counting) and he has ‘won the heart’ of fellow chef Jamie Oliver (he often gets mistaken for being his son!)
A Book of Easy Speedy Vegan Recipes
Easy Speedy Vegan is a book of simple, no-nonsense tasty meals, which are quick to cook and use readily-available ingredients that you can find in any store. Ideal for even non-cooks, to whip up something tasty for dinner.
There is information on common substitutions plus recipes for however much time you have – 10, 20 or 30 minutes. This is a cookbook that won’t get left on the shelf gathering dust! Recipes include:
- Breakfast Banana Split
- Caponata Gnocchi
- Creamy Tuscan Beans
- Chickpea, Carrot & Olive Salad
- Hot & Sour Broth with Tofu
- Roasted Tomatoes on Toast
- Spicy Potato & Pea Wraps
- Aubergine & Lentil Curry
- Allotment Tart
- Jam & Coconut Sponge
Katy Beskow grew up in Yorkshire, and learned to cook while studying physiotherapy in London (inspired by the markets of fresh produce, while having to eat on a budget).
Returning to her home county, her blog led to a cookbook deal which led to another, and now Katy has many top-selling vegan cookbooks under her belt.
