Cookies do not need egg or dairy. Ever.
This recipe will make 12 super tasty vanilla cookies which are soft and just amazingly moreish. Use this recipe as a base for you to then add whatever else you like. Personally I love adding macadamia, vegan white chocolate and dried cranberries, so this is what we're making today! I'll also leave some other examples I've tried and tested. All amazing.
From the moment you enter your kitchen, you'll be done within 45 minutes (even faster if you have a food mixer, which I do not).
Cookies do not need egg or dairy. Ever.
This recipe will make 12 super tasty vanilla cookies which are soft and just amazingly moreish. Use this recipe as a base for you to then add whatever else you like. Personally I love adding macadamia, vegan white chocolate and dried cranberries, so this is what we're making today! I'll also leave some other examples I've tried and tested. All amazing.
From the moment you enter your kitchen, you'll be done within 45 minutes (even faster if you have a food mixer, which I do not).
First thing's first - preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F and prepare a couple of flat baking trays with greaseproof paper (baking paper/parchment paper). Grab a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon.
The cookie dough
Combine the margarine and sugar until creamy. If you're doing it by hand like me, this is the worst bit but it shouldn't take longer than a few minutes. If using a processor, follow the same order of adding ingredients.
Add the milk and vanilla extract and combine.
With a sieve, sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Gently combine the mixture until you find yourself eating the raw dough (don't worry — this is totally normal). Try not to over work it, else you'll get tough cookies!
Optional
Stir in your optional extras.
Bake
With a tablespoon, scoop 6 equally sized balls per tray, about equal distance apart from one another.
They'll flatten out during baking so make sure you leave space! It's worth noting that if you try and cram too many cookies on one tray, you'll end up with a tray-bake of square cookies, which isn't necessarily a problem but just doesn't seem quite right.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until very lightly browned.
I like them slightly soft, so I usually take them out at around 12 minutes.
If you're a fairly inexperienced baker like myself, set a timer on your phone for 10 minutes because these cookies bake fast. An extra few minutes could mean ruined cookies, or at least browner than you might like.
Leave the cookies to cool completely before you attempt to move or eat them. It's very tempting, believe me! Just go away for an hour, then return to place them in boxes as by this point they'll just slide right off the parchment.
If you find yourself eating the whole lot in one evening because they're THAT good, then I apologise.
Recipe Notes
For a slightly crunchier cookie, use golden or regular caster sugar.
Go wild with your optional extras. Try these:
Pistachio & Chocolate
50g shelled pistachios
50g vegan milk or dark chocolate (or white chocolate)
Triple Chocolate
40g vegan white chocolate
40g vegan milk chocolate
40g vegan dark chocolate
Peanut Butter
1 generous tbsp smooth peanut butter (for the best results, make your own!)
This Vegan Chilli Con Carne is made using The Meatless Farm Co's mince, which looks exactly like regular mince in its packet and is available in Sainsbury's. You could use dehydrated soya mince instead, or opt for the various types of "meatless mince" that you can get in many of the bigger supermarkets.
This is a fairly simple recipe with a twist; it's got chocolate in it! A secret ingredient that's not so secret anymore.
Make this recipe in around 15 minutes!
This Vegan Chilli Con Carne is made using The Meatless Farm Co's mince, which looks exactly like regular mince in its packet and is available in Sainsbury's. You could use dehydrated soya mince instead, or opt for the various types of "meatless mince" that you can get in many of the bigger supermarkets.
This is a fairly simple recipe with a twist; it's got chocolate in it! A secret ingredient that's not so secret anymore.
Make this recipe in around 15 minutes!
Boil the kettle. In a large pan, fry the onions for 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the mince and break up any lumps - stir for a few more minutes.
Add the red pepper, garlic, hot chilli powder, ground cumin and paprika and stir constantly for a few minutes.
Add the drained kidney beans and tomatoes and crumble in the stock cubes. Add approximately 200ml of boiling water. Stir well.
Stir in about 2 Tbsp of tomato puree and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Serve with rice and enjoy!
I love creamy pasta, and I love mushrooms! This recipe is incredibly tasty and takes just 15 minutes from start to finish. I used brown rice pasta (available in Tesco) and plain flour as a thickener; the flour can be subbed for cornflour to make the recipe entirely gluten free if you're a coeliac.
I love creamy pasta, and I love mushrooms! This recipe is incredibly tasty and takes just 15 minutes from start to finish. I used brown rice pasta (available in Tesco) and plain flour as a thickener; the flour can be subbed for cornflour to make the recipe entirely gluten free if you're a coeliac.
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions (usually 9-12 mins).
While the pasta is cooking, fry the mushrooms and onions in 1 Tbsp olive oil for 8-10 minutes or until the mushrooms start excreting a lot of moisture. Add the garlic and stir well.
Drain the pasta and set aside. Add the nutritional yeast to the mushrooms and scatter in the flour. Stir well for 30 seconds to 1 minute before adding the plant milk and soy cream.
With a whisk, stir the mixture in the pan until it's smooth and thickened slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the drained pasta and a handful of chopped parsley. Stir well and let sit for a few minutes off the heat. Serve & enjoy!
This sweet chilli tofu stir fry is simple to make and packed with flavour, it's my new favourite! The good thing about tofu is that it doesn't take much effort to turn an otherwise bland ingredient into something amazing. The cornflour coating gives the tofu its incredible crispy texture.
This sweet chilli tofu stir fry is simple to make and packed with flavour, it's my new favourite! The good thing about tofu is that it doesn't take much effort to turn an otherwise bland ingredient into something amazing. The cornflour coating gives the tofu its incredible crispy texture.
Slice the tofu and set aside. Combine the cornflour, cayenne pepper and salt in a bowl and mix together. Coat the tofu pieces with the mixture and shallow fry for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Set aside.
In a large pan, fry the vegetables in a little oil with a Tbsp soy sauce for 2-3 minutes. Add the noodles and fry for a further minute. Add the sweet chilli sauce, sugar, vinegar and the rest of the soy sauce and mix together well. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce has thickened.
Toss the tofu pieces in the pan for a few seconds and serve immediately. Sprinkle some sliced spring onions and red chilli flakes over the top.
This incredibly nutritious soup tastes great and is easy to make! This recipe uses a slow cooker, but you could just simmer in a large pan for about 1hr instead if you don't have one. I love the slow cooker because you can just chuck in the ingredients and leave it whilst you do other things! It's very hard to over-cook something in a slow cooker. This yields about 6 generous servings, so prepare to freeze some or reduce the recipe if you don't want so much!
This incredibly nutritious soup tastes great and is easy to make! This recipe uses a slow cooker, but you could just simmer in a large pan for about 1hr instead if you don't have one. I love the slow cooker because you can just chuck in the ingredients and leave it whilst you do other things! It's very hard to over-cook something in a slow cooker. This yields about 6 generous servings, so prepare to freeze some or reduce the recipe if you don't want so much!
Turn on the slow cooker to high. Dice the onions and celery and mince the garlic. Fry in a little oil for 10 minutes until the onions are soft and starting to brown.
Add to the slow cooker along with the broccoli, spinach, kale, quinoa, pearl barley and stock. Leave for 2 hours.
Add the orzo and leave for another 20 minutes. Turn off the slow cooker and serve.
Add the soy protein to a bowl and pour over the stock. Allow to soak in for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree, soy sauce, breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder and herbs and mix well by hand. Form into balls.
Fry in a little olive oil for 10 minutes until browned and crispy.
Marinara
Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, onion, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, oregano and red chilli flake into a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
The Sandwich
Slice a sub roll in half and lay down 2 slices of vegan cheese (like they do in Subway!). The cheese acts as a shield preventing the bread going soggy! Add the meatballs and a tablespoon of marinara per ball. Bake for 5-10 minutes until the bread starts to go crispy. Sprinkle over nutritional yeast and fresh parsley.
This curry is made with Rogan Josh curry paste and with the addition of coconut milk it makes for a very creamy and filling meal for 4-6! This recipe calls for a slow cooker, although you could just simmer it on low for an hour in a pan.
This curry is made with Rogan Josh curry paste and with the addition of coconut milk it makes for a very creamy and filling meal for 4-6! This recipe calls for a slow cooker, although you could just simmer it on low for an hour in a pan.
Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large pan and cook the onions with the curry paste for a few minutes until the onions start to brown. Add the chilli, sweet potato and drained chickpeas and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, mix well and bring to a boil. Taste the sauce and season with salt & black pepper accordingly.
Empty the contents into a slow cooker and cook on high for ~3 hours.
20 minutes before the end, slowly stir in the coconut milk. Add the spinach one large handful at a time—it may seem like way too much spinach but it wilts down A LOT. With a handful on top, gently push it down into the curry until it's covered and there's room for more. Repeat until all 400g of spinach has been added. It only needs to be left for a few minutes before it's ready to serve.
Serve with the chopped coriander on top with rice, and poppadoms with mango chutney.
This quick and easy Pesto Pasta is a bit of a cheat, because the pesto comes out of a jar! Although it's fairly easy to make your own pesto, it's actually cheaper to get a jar, and Sacla now have a Free From basil pesto that uses tofu instead of cheese and has a reduced amount of extra virgin olive oil. Personally, I like to add the oil back into it for flavour, but it will still taste pretty great without it.
This quick and easy Pesto Pasta is a bit of a cheat, because the pesto comes out of a jar! Although it's fairly easy to make your own pesto, it's actually cheaper to get a jar, and Sacla now have a Free From basil pesto that uses tofu instead of cheese and has a reduced amount of extra virgin olive oil. Personally, I like to add the oil back into it for flavour, but it will still taste pretty great without it.
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions; usually 10-12 minutes.
While the pasta cooks, griddle the pieces of courgette for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally until both sides are seared nicely and the pieces have softened.
In a separate pan, heat 3-4 Tbsp pesto and add a splash of the pasta water. Add the courgettes and drained pasta and coat well in the sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Heat a griddle pan and toast the bread for 5-10 minutes or until crispy. You could just use a toaster, but the seared lines the griddle pan gives really adds to the flavour. I like to drizzle olive oil over the bread first, but that's completely optional (but very good!)
In a bowl mix the tomatoes with the basil, 1 Tbsp oil and the balsamic with a pinch of salt. Set aside while the bread toasts.
When the bread's done and still hot, rub the garlic cloves over the bread (it's amazing how much flavour comes out!) Spoon the tomatoes over each piece and finish with a drizzle of oil and a twist of black pepper and salt if required.
Caponata is a Sicilian dish with aubergines, onions, tomatoes and black olives in a sweet and sour sauce. This slow-cooked version is amazing, and does not take much work on your part. It's delicious!
Caponata is a Sicilian dish with aubergines, onions, tomatoes and black olives in a sweet and sour sauce. This slow-cooked version is amazing, and does not take much work on your part. It's delicious!
In a pan add 1 Tbsp olive oil and fry the onions and aubergine until slightly browned, 2-3 minutes.
Add them into the slow cooker along with the garlic, stock, vinegar, chilli, olives, capers, pine nuts and chopped tomatoes. Use one of the empty cans to add a can of boiling water. Cook on high for 3 hours.
Add the orzo and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
At the end stir in a handful of fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
