The Best Plant-Based Recipe Magazines
Plant-based eating has grown a lot in popularity lately, with more people wanting fresh ideas for meals at home. While there are plenty of recipes online, magazines offer a reliable source of tested dishes and helpful tips all in one place.
The problem is that some are just packed full of ads, not good value considering they are expensive to buy anyway. Here are some better choices (subscribe online for massive savings, over full-price on news stands). Most are also available digitally too.
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/citrus scraps, as acids may harm compost creatures.
If growing food, make gardens safe for pets (includes indoor plants – avoid facing indoor foliage to gardens, to stop birds flying into windows.
Why Plant-Based Recipe Magazines Matter
There is still a huge market for food magazines, that promote meat and dairy and fish and eggs, without giving a second-thought to source. If you read the average magazine for a chicken stew, it won’t be concerned whether the chicken is free-range organic, or from a factory-farm.
There is no point nagging people. But what is needed are inspirational plant-based magazines to offer a different view, and inspire cooking new dishes, for anyone new to the vegan lifestyle.
Such magazines also include nutrition tips, and the latest brand releases. Once people see it in the magazine, they are more likely to look out for plant-based alternatives in stores.
Vegan magazines also tend to be smaller and more artisan. So unlike the big foodie magazines that just churn out thousands of recipes, you’ll usually find that these ones are created by gifted home cooks or professional chefs, and have been extensively tested, to ensure they work.
They also tend to focus on other environmental issues like seasonal produce. In spring, a vegan magazine is more likely to focus on a tasty asparagus salad, rather than a big magazine telling you to make use of offers on avocados at your local supermarket.
Chickpea Magazine (a beautiful American publication)
Chickpea Magazine is a US magazine, so order discount bundles and paired subscriptions to save on shipping fees, or order the digital version. This magazine makes income from subscriptions so is ad-free and instead the pages are packed with quality articles, recipes and photography.
It also focuses on wholefood recipes (not the ‘latest bag of vegan-flavour crisps etc). Run by three passionate editors and a rotating crew of freelancers, even images are from indie artists, believing that ‘reading should be a source of rest’.
Example themes are low-waste living, ingredient spotlights (oats), how to sharpen a knife, protein from (not boring) beans, sourdough bread renaissance and movie night sleepover recipes. Example articles are:
- Cooking your way to a happier week
- Finding joy (and mushrooms) off the beaten path
- How to enjoy a wild picnic
- The joy of cooking without a recipe
- Deciding our last meal (joyful or not?)
- Recipe for an egg-free Vietnamese omelette
- Recipe for a Snickers-inspired candy bar
VegNews (the world’s most popular vegan magazine)
The USA’s VegNews magazine is another quality stellar publication, packed with informative reportage-style articles and tons of recipes and interviews. It’s worth subscribing too for this quality publication (also available digitally).
This is how to run a vegan magazine – subscribers get discounts and even get together to take holidays through a plant-based travel company.
Editor Colleen Holland is one of our favourite peeps! After travelling the world and attended culinary school in New York, this California native co-founded the magazine which (23 years later) has won nearly every major magazine award and reaches over 5 million people each month.
Vegan Food & Living (the best-selling UK magazine)
Vegan Food & Living brings a slightly different flavour with its UK-based, glossy format. This magazine is packed with practical recipes suited to all skill levels, from beginners to kitchen pros. It often centres on seasonal ingredients, helping you make the most of what’s fresh and local.
Meal planners and up-to-date ingredient tips add to the convenience, making it easier to cook balanced, tasty meals without the guesswork. Readers who appreciate clear, reliable recipes with a British touch will find a lot to enjoy here. It’s ideal if you want step-by-step guidance and ideas that feel both modern and grounded in familiar flavours.
Get The Most from Recipe Magazines
Rather than just reading these magazines and recycling them, you could keep them as gifts, or recycle them onto others (how about doctor and dentist surgeries?) It makes a change from reading about the Kardashians!
Mark your favourite recipes, or cut them out and put them in a scrapbook. Or even better, leave the magazines intact and do what your mum did, copying out the recipe by hand, and placing it in your very own custom recipe book. This recipe journal is printed on recycled paper, and sent in plastic-free packaging.
It can feel good to have a personal kitchen toolkit built from trusted sources. Plus, over time, you can add notes about changes you made or how the dish turned out.
