One of the main criticisms aimed at vegan food is that it’s ‘fake’. Sometimes this is true, but in fact there are many chefs who only use real ingredients, which is ideally what we want, and often they end up tastier too. Try cooking with ‘real ingredients’, that are both kind and healthy, and make use of local fresh produce.
Dreena’s Kind Kitchen is a nice book by one of our favourite cookbook authors, who always uses fresh wholefood ingredients and uses a little oil and maple syrup (she’s Canadian!) with recipes that will appeal to most tastebuds. This book offers 100 easy-to-make and delicious recipes that everyone will love.
Before cooking, read up on a food safety for people & pets (to know choking hazards to avoid and unsafe foods near animal friends).
This is a book you will use, whether you want a quick weeknight supper or a dish for a special occasion. From breakfasts to small bites to dinner and dessert, enjoy recipes for:
- Lemon poppyseed muffins
- Lentil sweet potato meatloaf
- Wow waffles!
- Potato & cauliflower scramble
- Courgette fritters
- Seasoned potato squashers
- A-game Chilli
- White bean corn chowder
- Quicken Noodle Soup
- Beyond Beet burgers
- Fiesta taco filling
- Italian ratatouille
- 1-Minute Alfredo
- Smoky Caesar salad & potato croutons
- Crackle blender brownies
- Charming apple crisps
- Holiday dinner torte
There’s also a troubleshooting section to boost your kitchen skills, with tips on techniques, time-saving skills and suggestions for re-purposing leftovers into delicious new dishes.
Dreena Burton is a self-taught cook and one of North America’s most popular vegan cookbook authors, whose recipes are also recommended by health professionals, due to always using real wholefoods over fake anything. A mother of three children (who she and her husband have raised vegan), she is author of several best-selling recipe books.
A Book of Easy Vegan Comfort Food Recipes
Elly’s Plate is a fun book of easy-to-make plant-based recipes that favour comfort food, over eating salad every day. The author has a background in plant-based recipe development, and offers smart tricks to incorporate nutritious ingredients, without even noticing.
Each recipe is packed with flavour and protein, from 75 main course dishes including 10-minute dinners and dinner party centrepieces.
Recipes include:
- Crispy Satay Burger
- Lasagne with White Bean Bechamel Sauce
- Black Bean Loaded Sweet Potatoes
- Chilli-Jam Tahini Noodles
- Hot ‘honey’ Halloumi-style Burgers
- Double Mushroom Brisket and Lentil Ragu
- Espresso Martini Churros
- Date and Chocolate Banana Bread
Elly Smart left a career in law to pursue food as her passion, and worked as a food economist alongside Welsh chef Gaz Oakley (widely regarded as being the best vegan chef in the world). She then helped developed the burger menu at a top London vegan fast food chain, before becoming a recipe development chef full-time.
Plant-Based Easy Recipes (by Irish twins)
The Happy Pear 20 introduces recipes and stories from ‘The Happy Pear‘, identical twins from Ireland who for 20 years have created plant-based food with real affordable ingredients. Starting with a café, they have millions of fans on their YouTube channel, several best-selling cookbooks, a cooking school, sourdough bakery, coffee roastery and range of ready-meals.
Known for their hearty yet healthy dishes and big flavour, the dishes in this book are inspired by the most requested in their café and food that they (and their children) eat at home. This is healthy home-cooking at its best, with two chefs who have spent 20 years testing and perfecting each recipe.
Recipes include:
- Red Pepper Pesto and Bean Salad
- Chocolate Coffee Caramel Cake
David and Stephen Flynn are known for their no-nonsense YouTube cooking videos, based on real affordable plant-based ingredients (check out this simple recipe for homemade apple crumble). Their energy is testament to how good they feel on the food they cook. They even are experts at yoga and go wild swimming in the cold Irish sea each morning!
Super-Simple Delicious Vegan Recipes
Simple & Delicious Vegan is a self-published book by one of the world’s most popular vegan recipe bloggers. This German woman (who lives in Costa Rica) and went vegan to heal her severe acne, now creates recipes that are quite unique and each page contains a visual of ingredients.
A few of Michaela’s recipes contain sweetener xylitol. It’s best avoided in homes near or with pets. If you use it, keep it well away, as it’s not safe near animal friends.
It’s a bit more expensive due to being self-published, but will provide you with years of lovely recipes including the following:
Michaela Vais is one of the world’s most popular vegan recipe bloggers. Born in Germany, she now lives in Costa Rica, where she continues to teach people how to create delicious vegan food.
Natural Vegan Desserts from Sweden
Naturally Sweet Vegan Treats is a stunning book of desserts that are all naturally sweetened from ‘Miss Marzipan’ of Stockholm! Many are based around seasonal produce, and others inspired by travels in Europe. Learn to make desserts both free of artificial sweeteners, yet low in natural sugars (sweetened instead with maple syrup, coconut sugar or fresh and dried fruits).
Recipes include:
- Roasted peach & banana pancakes
- Vegan Neapolitan ice cream cake
- Blueberry cupcakes
- Figgy energy bars
- Banana ‘kladdkaka’
- Lemon scones
- Pumpkin & candied pecan hand pies
- Chocolate cake batter waffles
- Chocolate celebration cake
- Veggie patch brownies
Marisa’s recipes are amongst the best I’ve come across. Easy to follow yet wholesome and absolutely delicious. You can’t go wrong with this book. Kim-Julie Hansen
Marisa’s book is one of the very few that uses only wholesome and nutrient-dense ingredients, and turns them into sweet treats that taste amazing. Julia Lette (naturopath and nutritionist)
