A few years ago, a friend introduced me to a potato salad that was so out of control delicious, that I could never get it out of my head. The original recipe was not vegan, but my friend used vegan mayo to make it so, just for me. It was a spicy fried potato salad, and neither of us can find the original recipe. So, I made a version reminiscent of the one I had many years ago. This vegan spicy smashed potato salad is hands down, the best potato salad you will ever eat.
I changed it a lot from the original, and frankly don’t exactly remember what was all in that one, but I have put together something so perfect, that it doesn’t matter that I had no reference material in front of me. The one she made was also fried, and I decided to bake my potatoes instead, making it even better for you.
So, this freaking delicious potato salad is unlike any others I have had. It is a spicy vegan mayo base with smoked paprika and lime! The potatoes are boiled, then smashed and then baked until crisp! Tossed in the best damn sauce ever. It is so not boring. My parents used to make boring old fashioned potato salad, and I hated it. I promise, this is not your Momma’s potato salad!
The spiciness comes from sriracha, which I am in love with. Is sriracha still hip? I don’t really know, and I don’t really care. That mixed with vegan mayo, lime juice, smoked paprika and a wee bit of agave make the most perfect sauce ever. Mix it with the smashed potatoes, and toss with green onions and then prepare for LITERALLY the best potato salad ever. Not just vegan, but better than all other potato salads.
You can use whatever your favorite brand of vegan mayo is. I recently tried the Helmans’ and it is damn good. But I am always into Follow Your Heart products, and Hampton Creek! What is your favorite brand of vegan mayo? Let me know if I am missing out on something!
Spring is here, cookouts will commence soonish. Be prepared to take everyone down a peg when you serve the best thing ever! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!
Vegan Spicy Smashed Potato Salad
Print Recipe
Smashed baby potatoes baked to crispy perfection and tossed with a creamy sriracha lime mayo and green onions! OMG!
Servings 6people
Author Lauren Hartmann
Instructions
Place the baby potatoes in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and reduce so it is just bubbling slightly. Boil until the potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes. Just check frequently with a fork to see when they are ready.
Once the potatoes are tender, drain, and place potatoes onto a baking sheet. Toss with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Then smash each baby potato with the bottom of a cup, just slightly so they still hold their form.
Broil potatoes on high for 10-15 minutes, (keeping your eye on them so they don’t burn) until they are brown and crispy.
Let cool for about 15-20 minutes, you can place in the fridge to speed up the process. Once cooled quite a bit, place the potatoes into a mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and stir everything together.
Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve warm or chill and serve. It is delicious both ways!
These Coconut and Dark Chocolate Macaroons are an absolute delight! Adding to their appeal is the fact that these sugar-free treats are vegan AND gluten-free, meaning they’re perfect for sharing with just about everyone! Go on, you deserve it.
250g desiccated coconut
1 tbsp coconut oil
100g chopped walnuts
7 – 8 tbsp Natvia sweetener
3 tbsp coconut milk
75g vegan dark chocolate (melted)
Begin by placing all of the ingredients into a powerful food processor (minus the dark chocolate), and pulse until the ingredients are well combined and the oils from the desiccated coconut are released.
Roll the mixture into balls pressing tightly so the desiccated coconut sticks together.
Drizzle with melted dark chocolate and place them in the fridge for 2-3 hours to set.
With the holiday quickly approaching, I wanted nothing more than my traditional pumpkin pie. I am a pumpkin pie aficionado. Pumpkin anything really. So this one was near and dear to my heart 🙂
Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Copycat Recipe {Vegan}
If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know I realllllly don’t like using too many alternate ingredients in my cooking/baking. Rather, I prefer to take a non-vegan recipe and find ways to get the same result without the offending ingredient(s).
That being said, I decided to attempt the impossible using Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe as my test recipe. This, in and of itself, presents a few challenges. The first being evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is nothing more than milk with 60% of its liquid evaporated. Condensed milk is evaporated milk with sugar added. Libby’s recipe calls for evaporated milk, but I chose to make the condensed version. I feel like the added sugar aided in the thickening process.
So my experiment began here. I used almond milk for it’s thicker consistency and overall complementary flavor. Not a huge coconut fan, but you could use coconut milk (or really any non-dairy alternative) if you prefer. I would stay away from rice milk as it is rather thin and watery to begin with. If you try it and it works, let me know!
To that, I add sugar and salt. Over a medium-high heat, whisking frequently, I reduced the mixture by 60%. This is the time consuming part, but I was already working around in the kitchen and just had to tend to it occasionally. The best part is that the now condensed milk can be refrigerated for up to two weeks. And it should be refrigerated for at least two hours prior to using to be sure it reaches the correct consistency. I was skeptical, but the end result? Pretty much identical to canned sweetened condensed milk!
Click here to view the complete Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk Recipe tutorial.
The rest of the recipe (aside from the eggs) remains exactly the same. I prepared the entire recipe up to this point and equally distributed the filling between four bowls.
I chose to try this pie using four popular methods of egg-replacers.
1. 1/2 C Silken Tofu, pureed until very smooth. The only way I ever really eat tofu, is as an ingredient and rarely on it’s own. If you can’t find the silken tofu, use soft tofu and blend, blend, blend until smooth. If you puree it enough, it should look like yogurt!
Silken Tofu Version
2. 1/2 C Silken Tofu, pureed until very smooth COMBINED with 2 Tbl Cornstarch.
Silken Tofu PLUS Cornstarch Version
3. 2 Tbl Ground Flax Seeds plus 6 Tbl Cold Water, allowed to sit in the refrigerator for up to 30 minutes. It will be gelatinous similar to the consistency of an egg.
Flax “Egg” Version
4. A Starch Mixture consisting of: 3 tsp Tapioca Starch, 3 tsp Potato Starch, 1/2 tsp Baking Powder, 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum and 6 Tbl Water. Let rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to thicken and then whisk it until it appears lighter in color. It will also slightly increase in volume. The idea is to take advantage of the trapped air bubbles to aid in leavening in the same manner that eggs do.
While this one does require a few specialty ingredients, they can easily be found in most grocery stores these days. Any Whole Foods, Trader, Joes, etc. and of course, my go to…Amazon.com
Starch Mixture Version
Each of these work in very different ways and I was unsure how they would work in this custard-like dessert. I was not only looking for consistency that resembled the original, but also taste.
So how did they perform? Let’s take a look.
Here they all are before baking. Top Left = 1, Top Right = 2, Bottom Left = 3, Bottom Right = 4
You can see that 3 and 4 begin slightly thicker and darker, but all in all – pretty much the same.
Pumpkin Filling Prior to Baking
Now here they are after baking and refrigerated overnight (sorry for the camera flash glare). Again, pretty consistent.
Pumpkin Pies After Baking
I cut a wedge out of each pie. If you had rearranged them, you would not have been able to discern which was which.
Then, a bite from each. Again, very similar but here is where you could taste the texture variances. To me, there was a clear winner. It was number 2. The Silken Tofu plus Cornstarch blend. It was the closest to the original as I could determine.
Texture Test
I do want to mention the runner up. That was number 4. This was the multiple starch mixture. During baking, this one showed the most potential as it had the correct rise, it just looked beautiful. But it was missing something in the end. I am going to do this one in the near future using this starch blend with tofu. I can’t give up on this one based on the appearance during baking. Wish I had snapped a pic…
Before you go, why not check out some of our recent videos and be sure to subscribe to the YouTube Channel! 🙂
Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Copycat Recipe {Vegan}
Author Veg Life Staff
Ingredients
Serves: one 9″ pie
3/4CSugar
1tspCinnamon
1/2tspSalt
1/2tspGround Ginger
1/4tspGround Cloves
15oz. Can of Libby’s Pumpkin Puree
12ozof Vegan Evaporated OR Condensed Milk
Egg replacer of your choosing
*
FOR THE PIE CRUST:
6Tbl very cold Vegan Margarinesuch as Earth Balance
1-1/2CAll-Purpose Flour
1/2tspSalt
1-1/2tspSugar
2Tbl + 2 tsp cup very cold vegetable shortening
3-4Tbl Ice Water
Instructions
Instructions
Prepare ahead the Vegan Evaporated OR Condensed Milk – {101 Series} vegan evaporated OR condensed milk recipe and refrigerate for two hours, preferably overnight.
Prepare pie dough by placing all ingredients into a food processor except ice water. As the dough becomes crumbly and with the processor running, add the water slowly until a ball forms. You may not need all of it. Finish bringing the dough together with your hands. Do not overwork.
Wrap the dough in plastic, shape into a flat disk and refrigerate for two hours.
Prepare egg-replacer of your choosing.
Combine all ingredients, whisking until smooth.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll pie dough on a floured surface to 1/4? thick. Place into your pie dish and create decorative edges.
Pour filling into prepared pie dough.
Bake for 60-70 minutes or until filling tests clean with a knife and dough is golden brown.
If the edges start to get too brown prior to being done, use some foil to protect the edges.
Allow to cool completely on a rack.
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Serve with our]Coconut Whipped Cream or the New So Delicious Coco Whip if you can find it!
“A vegan redux of recipe 251617.
http://www.food.com/recipe/skillet-macaroni-and-beef-251617”
Ready In:
45mins
Ingredients:
10
2
cups textured vegetable protein (hydrate and season to taste before hand)
1⁄2
onion, chopped fine
1⁄2
red bell pepper, chopped fine
3
garlic cloves
1
cup elbow macaroni
0.5
(29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1
cup broth
1⁄2
teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper
1⁄2
cup vegan cheddar cheese (shred)
directions
1. Cook TVP in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat about 3 minutes.
2. Add onion, red pepper, and garlic to fat in skillet and cook, covered, until softened, about 3 minutes.
3. Add macaroni, tomato sauce, broth, and oregano to skillet and bring to boil.
4. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I am originally from San Diego CA and I just moved to Orem UT with my fiance a few months ago. I am vegan and I like to cook things from scratch without weird expensive substitutes. I dislike fake cheese and am rather addicted to coffee. But I am working on the latter. I do not cook with garlic, onions, or mushrooms as the food is not sattvic rendering it unofferable to Krishna. Outside the house I will sometimes eat these foods though. I am owned by two cute cats. 🙂
I held a little Christmas dinner at my flat this week for some of my friends. Since I’m basically veggie and one of my friends is vegan I just went full on plant-based for the meal. I made a super delicious hassleback squash with garlic-sage butter (which I’m hoping to re-make and write up for the blog next month!), 5kg of roasties, shredded Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and coconut ‘bacon’, marmite-y gravy, mushroom + leek + sage stuffing-muffins and vegan cauliflower cheese (another one I’m going to write up for here).
I was determined to challenge myself to make a vegan Yule log cake too – for some reason I like to come up with seemingly impossible things for myself to do? The first trial cracked and fell apart so my boyfriend and I just ate the cake scraps. The next time I slightly adapted a vegan pumpkin roll cake recipe and it worked great for the party! So I made it again today to photograph and for my boyfriend to take into the hospital for the staff.
I decorated the yule logs with little mushrooms made from shop-bought fondant icing and baby faux succulents I bought from etsy last year! A little sprinkling of crushed candy canes and a dusting of icing sugar were the finishing touches – so so cute.
For the cake:
90g(3/4 cup) plain white flour (all-purpose flour)
Grease and line a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13-inch) rimmed baking tray with baking paper.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add the water, pumpkin puree and oil. Stir until smooth. Pour into the prepared baking tray and spread out in an even layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Take a clean tea towel and dust with a generous layer of icing sugar. Tip the hot cake out onto it. Trim the chewy edges of the cake off to make rolling easier. Starting at the short side, roll the cake up (keeping the baking paper on it to stop it sticking to the towel) along with the towel, as though the towel is the ‘filling’ of the cake. Set in the fridge for at least 6 hours to cool completely.
Make the filling:
Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Mix in the coffee, starting with 1 tbsp and adding more if needed to make it spreadable. Chill until needed.
Make the coating:
Mix the melted chocolate with the butter in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the icing sugar then mix in the coffee. Take 3 tbsp of the filling you made earlier and mix it into the melted chocolate mixture. Set aside until later.
Assemble:
Gently unroll the cooled cake. Spread the filling over the cake in an even layer. Gently roll up. Cut 1/4 of the cake off at an angle then stick to the main roll of cake so it looks like a branch. Cover with the coating (you may need to re-warm it if it’s too solid) and use a fork to make ‘bark’ texture in the coating.
It’s best if you chill the cake for a couple of hours before serving so it has time to firm up before you cut it. Dust with icing sugar just before cutting to make it look snowy!
Recipe adapted from here
Most bittersweet chocolates are dairy-free already but just double check the ingredients!
If you don’t need to make it dairy-free, you can use cow’s butter and cream cheese in the filling and coating.
This easy Vegan Minestrone Soup has been our family go to comfort food for as long as I’ve been a mum, so I have to share it here, don’t I?!
Jump to Recipe
Packed with vegetables, pasta and beans this is a satisfying, filling, warming and nutritious bowl of loveliness. It serves four generously, you can halve the quantities easily but it freezes fantastically. Make a big batch, pop some in the freezer and, on an evening when you don’t feel like cooking, it will be ready for you when you need it!
I’m making videos of some of these simple vegetarian recipes to make them even easier to follow. I think it’s far better to have someone show you how to do something rather than just tell you, and any tricky bits in a recipe are much clearer! Here’s my latest video showing you how to make this Vegan Minestrone Soup and you’ll see that the long list of ingredients is actually easy peasy to put together!
You see? Easy! Here’s the written recipe for Easy Vegan Minestrone Soup which you can print out if you like or why not start a Pinterest board to save all the recipes you fancy making and pin this one to it?
If you are after more easy, warming, satisfying soups, check out my Collection of 14+ Cosy Winter Soups!
2tbspolive oil
1onionpeeled and chopped
2clovesof garlicpeeled and chopped
300gpotatoespeeled and chopped
100gcarrotsscrubbed and chopped
750mlvegetable stock
1can chopped tomatoes
100gcabbagetough core removed and discarded, leaves chopped
100gmacaroni or small pasta shapes
1can cannellini beansdrained and rinsed
100gfrozen peas
Black pepper and salt to taste
4tspsvegan pesto
To Serve
grated vegan cheeseoptional
Bread rolls
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan
Gently fry the chopped onion until soft and beginning to brown
Add the chopped potatoes, carrots and garlic and cook gently for one minute, stirring
Add the stock and tomatoes, bring to the boil
Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes
Add the chopped cabbage, pasta, beans and peas, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes
Add a little extra water if it is too thick
Add salt and pepper to taste
Spoon into individual bowls and top with a dollop of pesto
Sprinkle with vegan cheese if liked
Serve with warmed bread rolls
This recipe for easy Vegan Minestrone Soup makes a thick, filling, almost stew like soup but feel free to add some extra liquid at the end if you like it a bit runnier!
Tips
You can ring the changes and adapt this vegan minestrone soup to suit your fridge and cupboard contents or the season.
You can swap the cannellini beans for haricot beans or butter beans or even a can of baked beans!
If you need cheering up you could use small novelty pasta shapes – perhaps dinosaurs or teddy bears – just make sure they cook in 5-10 minutes if they are dried or bung them in for the last two minutes of cooking if they are in a tin!
You can swap frozen peas for fresh in season or use chopped french beans instead.
I’ve used a savoy cabbage here but any green cabbage will do and kale makes a nice change.
If anything in the recipe confuses you leave a comment or find me on social media!
This week’s terms and questions are:
What Does ‘tbsp’ Mean?
‘tbsp’ means tablespoon so, if a recipe requires 2tbsp you know it means 2 tablespoonfuls of that ingredient. It is worth investing in a cheap set of spoon and cup measures.
What is ‘Vegetable Stock’?
Vegetable stock is the savoury liquid made when you boil vegetables in water then strain them and use the liquid in cooking. You can make your own but it is much simple to buy vegetable stock cubes, powder or liquid and add water to it according to the packaging instructions.
What is Vegan Pesto?
Most pestos have cheese in them and it is rarely suitable for vegetarians or vegans so do check the label. Sacla make a vegan/vegetarian pesto which is widely available in supermarkets.
Easy Vegan Minestrone Soup – Pin For Later!
I do hope you’ll come back next week for the next recipe in this series– watch out every Wednesday for the latest super easy vegetarian or vegan recipe. Sign up to receive email updates straight into your inbox, follow me across social media and on YouTube and if you have a question…just ask!
“I can’t take credit for this recipe. I’ve done a few minor modifications, but it’s a seriously simple and delicious concoction by Lyndsay at Vegan Yumminess.”
Ready In:
23mins
Ingredients:
11
Serves:
10
1
medium onion, finely chopped
8 -10
fresh garlic cloves
1
tablespoon coconut oil
6
cups cubed russet potatoes (2 large baking potatoes)
7 1⁄2
cups warm water
1 1⁄2
cups organic corn kernels (yellow or white, frozen or fresh)
1 1⁄2
cups warm water
1
cup raw cashews
4
teaspoons sea salt, to taste
3
cubes vegan bouillon (I use Edward and Sons)
1⁄4
cup nutritional yeast
directions
In a large pot, saute your onion and garlic in the coconut oil for a few minutes, just until onions are softened.
Add potatoes to the pot along with the 7 1/2 cups water. Allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Once potatoes are tender, or close enough, add corn kernels and (if using frozen) cook for another few minutes until thawed.
Heat 1 1/2 cups water with vegan bouillon cubes for 1-2 minutes in the microwave (or in a small saucepan on the stove top if you prefer).
In a high speed blender, process 3-4 cups of the soup (make sure to get plenty of potatoes, corn, and onion), water/bouillon mixture, cashews, and nutritional yeast until smooth (if you have a Blendtec, use the Soup button). Pour blended mixture back into the pot and stir until well incorporated.
Serve hot with crusty garlic bread!
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