Everyone loves Italian food. So here are some good recipes and books, to take this popular cuisine plant-based .You can buy plastic-free pasta from Northern Pasta or The Yorkshire Pasta Co in most delis and farm shops).
Cooking with Nonna is a fun and unique book to make the best Italian home cooking. Giuseppe is a second-generation British Italian where food and family have always been intertwined.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets.
So when he went vegan, he needed to find a way to cook the flavours of his family. There was only one person who could help; his nonna! Together they learned how to make the authentic Italian and Sicilian dishes that Nonna grew up with, using all plants.
Recipes include:
- Classic Lasagne with Homemade Mince
- Arancini (croquettes) Della Nonna!
- The Perfect Tomato Sauce
- Pasta Aglio Olio & Peperconico
- Homemade Focaccia
- Tiramisu
- Coffee Granita
- Biscotti
Giuseppe Federici comes from a long line of passionate foodies, and only at 15 did he realise that a British roast dinner did not begin with a full plate of pasta!
He has a huge fanbase of 440K Instagram followers and 300K on TikTok, and has hosted supper clubs and been crowned Digital Creator of the Year at Fortnum & Mason food and drinks awards.
A Simple Recipe for Mushroom Risotto
This mushroom risotto (Jessica in the Kitchen) is more akin to an authentic recipe, lots of mushrooms and vegan Parmesan. You have to keep stirring for 20 minutes, so pour yourself a glass of wine!
You need to buy arborio or risotto rice for this recipe, it won’t work for other types. Never eat rice after 24 hours, it can give you food poisoning.
Risotto always uses Parmesan. But know that by law, real Parmesan contains calf rennet, so is not even vegetarian. Something to note for restaurants that promote dishes containing it on their vegetarian menus. Because it’s not.
A Book of Plant-Based Pasta Recipes
The Vegan Pasta Cookbook is the ultimate guide for anyone who loves Italian food. Find 60 recipes from time-honoured fare to Asian-inspired stir-fries and nourishing noodle soups, plus a few plant-powered pasta salads.
Alongside staples like almond Parmesan, vegan fish sauce and coconut bacon, you’ll find unique fusion meals.
Recipes include:
- Creamy Carbonara with Coconut Bacon
- Sundried Tomato Balsamic Pasta
- Vegan Caesar Pasta Salad
- Creamy Stovetop Mac & Cheese
- Spaghetti & Vegan Meatballs
- Miso Garlic Butter Pasta (avoid miso for pregnancy)
- Garlic & Chilli Oil Noodles
- Linguine al Limone with Toasted Pistachios
- Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
- Spicy Kimchi Mac
Rebecca Hinke is a popular recipe blogger, whose work has been featured extensively online. She lives on London.
Vegan Recipes (from an Italian opera singer!)
Plantiful is a book of 75 vibrant recipes. Often inspired by the author’s Italian heritage, these meals focus on comfort, quality and taste.
Transform everyday plant foods into hearty nourishing meals, using highly-accessible ingredients, in a simple format that makes cooking easy and fun.
Recipes include:
- Yellow Split Cannellini Bean Stew
- Vegan Lasagne
- Homemade ‘Mozzarella’
- Zeppole (Italian sweet pastries)
- · Vegan Chorizo and Potato Breakfast Tacos
- Greek Nachos
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Sweet Gochujang Tempeh Bao
- Buffalo Chick’n Sandwiches
Francesca Bonadonna (her name translates to ‘good lady!) is a former ‘meatball-and-mozzarella-loving’ Italian-American, who went vegan as a trial, while training as an opera singer. And never looked back. She lives in New York, USA.
Authentic Italian Vegan Recipes (translated)
Vegan Italiano is an English translation of a simple book by an Italian chef. The recipes all use easy affordable ingredients. Nothing fancy, but this book of seasonal recipes is the bomb!
If you tire of complicated long-ingredient recipes and are on a budget, try this book which is full of recipes that ordinary budget-conscious Italians eat.
The main ingredients are always fruits, vegetables and pasta. Recipes include:
- Crostini with Marinated Courgettes
- Spaghetti with Wild Asparagus
- Cream of Pumpkin & Potato Soup
- Seasonal Cherry Strudel
Rosalba Gioffré is native to Calabria and Florentine by adoption, and author of many cookbooks in Italy. She lives just outside of Florence, Italy.
A Fun Book of Vegan Italian Recipes
Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen is a best-selling book from a young classically-trained chef who has adapted recipes from her part-Italian heritage to make them vegan.
Recipes include:
- Butternut Ravioli with Brown Sugar & Sage
- Red Wine Seitan on Ciabatta
- ‘Sausage & Mozzarella’ Pizza
- Squash, Onion & Apple Pizza
- Chloe’s Potato Gnocchi
- Lasagne Bolognese
- Eggplant (aubergine) Parmesan
- Chocolate-Dipped Almond Biscotti
- Mint Chip Gelato Sandwiches
- Banana Coffee Cupcakes
- Pomegranate Mint Italian Soda
- Italian Wedding Cake
Chloe Coscarelli became well-known a few years back in the USA, when she became the first vegan contestant to win the TV series Cupcake Wars. This led to publication of her first cookbook, and there have been more since, plus she now owns a New York restaurant.
Chloe is a classically-trained chef, and the daughter of a Hollywood horror film director!
Vegan Recipes from an Italian New Yorker!
Vegan Italiana is the debut publication from the owner and chef at an esteemed vegan Italian restaurant in the USA. Part cookbook and part ‘love letter to Italy’, the 100 recipes are from a woman who grew up in a big Italian family in New York.
Learn to make:
- Fresh ‘cheese’ Ravioli
- Homemade Vegan Meatballs
- Homemade Vegan Parmigiano
- Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- Roasted Garlic Aioli
- Stuffed Artichokes
- Homemade Minestrone & Sicilian Red Lentil Soup
- Roasted Garlic Creamy Tomato Soup
- Heartbeet Risotto
- Strawberry Almond Ricotta Crostini
Tara Punzone is a professional chef who owns an esteemed vegan Italian restaurant in California.
During the recent wildfires, her restaurant offered all fire-fighters free pizza, while they were saving all species in California.
Vegan Recipes from a Professional Italian Chef
Veganissimo! (if you don’t know your Italian, this is like bellissimo! – very vegan!) If the thought of cooking Italian meals that are both vegan and gluten-free has you running for the hills, then this book is for you. There are even pasta dishes!
From antipasti (starters) to dolci (desserts), award-winning chef Antonio offers stylish modern recipes from pizza to secondi (main courses). Ideal also if you love a big bowl of pasta, but don’t want to fall asleep for the rest of the day! Recipes include:
- Pasta alla Puttanesca (spicy!)
- Asparagus Cacio e Pepe
- Lentil Salad
- Ragu Bolognese (‘meaty sauce’)
- Pizza Primavera (spring pizza)
- Roasted Friggitelli (peppers)
- Panna Cotta (‘cooked cream’)
- Vegan Tiramisu (‘pick-me-up’) Cups
Antonio Alderuccio is an Italian chef who moved to the UK 10 years ago, and began to explore vegan and gluten-free options for a diabetic friend, who found it difficult to eat out.
After testing homemade pizza recipes on friends, he even developed a gluten-free pasta (mamma mia!) in Italy! The first to ever win an award!
The Times has called Antonio ‘the Italian chef who is changing the rules’.
Here’s a chef who loves his job:
The happiness I feel in doing what I love is unparalleled. I fuels my spirit, ignites my creativity, and empowers me to surpass boundaries I never thought possible.
With each step I take, I am reminded that I am living my purpose, and that is a gift I cherish every single day. Antonio
A Brand of Fresh (vegan) Italian Pasta
Sunny & Luna is an alternative brand of authentic Italian pasta. The difference here is that rather than wheat, the pasta is made from fresh vegetables. And vegan too (no egg). Nourishing, full of vitamins and great if you love pasta, but not your waistline!
Recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside does not recycle.
This food brand was founded by a woman who loved food and knew about pasta, due to her Italian heritage.
However as a former New York model who had to keep slim for her job, she knew there must be a better way to keep eating pasta, while not piling on the pounds!
The plant-based range includes:
- Ravioli (packed with real fresh spinach)
- Gnocchi (with fresh spinach & cauliflower)
- Cauliflower gnocchi (if you don’t like spinach!)
- Lentil tagliatelle (peas, cauliflower & lentils for plenty of protein)
Look for all these delicious pastas, sold in local groceries. Serve with your favourite plant-based sauce and vegan Parmesan!
How to Make or Buy Vegan Mozzarella
Mozzarella is an Italian mild cheese, sliced and served with fresh tomatoes and basil for a Caprese salad, or melted to use on homemade pizza. Traditionally made from buffalo milk, artisan brands have now created plant-based versions made mostly from cashews, which taste just as good, and melt just as well.
This quick and simple vegan mozzarella (It’s Liv B) only has a few ingredients, and can be sliced or melted, your choice. It’s made with a blend of cashews and coconut milk.
Keep mozzarella balls away from young children and people with swallowing difficulties. Keep away from pets. Read more on food safety for people and pets.
Like any cheese, once opened, use up your vegan mozzarella within a few days. After removing it from the fridge, slice or shred it, if using it to top a pizza or pasta bake. This cheese will melt as it cooks, giving a stretchy texture.
If using it for Caprese salad, just slice with a good knife and add it to sliced heirloom tomatoes and chopped fresh basil, drizzling with a little olive oil, if wished.
This vegan mozzarella (Shane + Simple) is made with wholesome cashew nuts, and melts as soon as you need it. He says you’ll never get a cheese to taste 100%, but this is so close, that nobody will really notice the difference, especially in recipes.
This vegan block mozzarella (Anna Banana) uses cashew milk, a simple recipe for all your Italian foodie needs.
This vegan mozzarella (Carlo Cao) is from a Swiss-Italian chef, a blend of cashews with soy yoghurt and soy milk.
Here are good brands to look for in stores.
You can recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside does not recycle.
Kinda Co Mozzaloumi (England) is from a sustainable brand that aims to be plastic-free, and made in Somerset by an artisan foodie, who runs vegan cheesemaking courses.
This is cooked in a little oil in a pan for a few minutes, then browned on the other side. Add to flatbreads with vegan pesto, fry in cubes and dunk in chilli sauce, or serve with a cooked breakfast. As the name suggests, this can also be used in place of Greek halloumi cheese.
Bluffalo Notzerella (England) is from a London food brand, founded by a couple of foodies (one Italian, the other American), both who did not want to give up cheese!
The mild milky flavour makes it ideal for salads and sandwiches, and it also melts really well for lasagne or pizza.
MozzaRisella is unusual, in that rather than using cashews, it’s based around brown rice, which is sprouted in the manufacturer’s country of Italy, the home of Mozzarella. Free from soy or gluten, slice thinly for this Caprese salad or use to top a pizza. Once opened, consume within a few days.
This brand not only makes the classic mild flavour, but also serves up several flavoured mozzarella cheeses and alternative products including:
- Smoked Mozzarisella
- Blue Cheese Mozzarisella
- Mac and Cheese (meal)
- Lasagne (meal)
- Tagliatelle (meal)
- Ravioli (meal)
Inspiration from Abroad: USA
Miyoko’s (USA) offers three versions of its vegan mozzarella. The original version is sliceable and made with organic cultured cashew milk, ideal for a Caprese salad or sliced for sandwiches.
The brand also offers a pourable cashew milk version. Just pour over your homemade pizza base (after adding vegetables) or pasta bake, and then watch it bubble and bake. Also available in a nut-free version, made with organic watermelon seeds.
4-Ingredient Vegan Panna Cotta Recipe
This vegan panna cotta recipe (Ela Vegan) has just four ingredients, and is a delightful end to an Italian meal.
Just heat dark chocolate with canned coconut milk, maple syrup and agar flakes (a vegan alternative to gelatine that is widely sold). Bring to a gentle boil, stir for a few minutes, then pour into ramekins and chill for a few hours.
Panna Cotta is a popular Italian dessert, meaning ‘cooked cream’. However most versions (including ones sold in shops) are usually made with gelatine (animal bones). So why not try this simple vegan version instead?
A Recipe for Easy Vegan Tiramisu
Try this Easy Vegan Tiramisu (Rainbow Nourishments). Unlike most recipes, there’s no faffing about buying or making sponge fingers, you just need 5 ingredients (no cashews, coconut oil or vegan cream cheese needed). And it’s ready in 20 minutes!
Avoid caffeine for pregnancy/nursing.
Another popular way to end the meal in Italy is a small glass of ice-cold limoncello (a very lemony vodka drink that won’t freeze).
Tiramisu is Italian for ‘pick-me-up’, due to containing chocolate and coffee (lots of caffeine!) Unlike England (where tiramisu is sold in plastic pots), in Italy people make it themselves. A few tries and you’ll have this recipe down pat!
