From 10best.usatoday.com
By Jacky Runice
Start your plant-based journey in the kitchen
Plant-based cuisine has blossomed into a flavour-packed culinary adventure, taking the food world by storm. But where can you learn to make "dairy" from cashews and tempeh palatable? Whether you're a curious carnivore flirting with vegan Mondays or ready to enter the world of vegan cooking, we've curated a wide variety of plant-based resources, including sage advice from notable chefs, to boost your kitchen confidence.
Tips on how to go vegan, according to chefs
Vegetable bolognese is a good starter recipe for new vegan cooks — Photo courtesy of Le Botaniste / Andrew Bui
Start small
New York's Le Botaniste chef Laurent Francois offers a refreshingly chill approach to going vegan: start small, dream big.
"The best advice I have for starting a vegan diet is not to make a drastic change but rather start by creating a positive habit each day,” he says. "This can be going fully plant-based for just one meal a day. A vegetable bolognese is a good recipe to start incorporating into a vegan diet. It's familiar, very flavourful, comforting, and super nourishing."
Eat whole, plant-based foods
Vegan cooking classes offer building blocks for vegan cooking — Photo courtesy of The Chopping Block
LA's Cafe Gratitude corporate executive chef Seizan Dreux Ellis champions a joyful approach to vegan cooking that celebrates natural choices.
“Focus on eating a wider variety of whole, plant-based foods instead of getting caught up in macro counting and looking for supplements to complete nutritional needs," he says. "I believe that eating according to numbers leads to a disordered diet that robs us of the inherent pleasures of the table.”
The Chopping Block Chicago chef and owner Lisa Counts also celebrates using real vegetables, grains, and legumes over ultra-processed products. “Vegan substitutes have come a long way, and there are some great ‘fake meats’ out there that are delicious, but the way some of the vegan foods are super processed can make them unhealthy," she says.
Her monthly vegan and vegetarian cooking classes teach people how to work with dairy and egg substitutes and use nuts as a thickener. Classes also focus on "veganizing" dishes that people likely already know and love, like sloppy Joes and chocolate whoopie pies.
Focus on seasoning
Seasonings, pickles, oils, and more are great additions to any vegan kitchen — Photo courtesy of My Daddy's Recipes
Nekia Hattley, founder of My Daddy's Recipes, a Los Angeles-area vegan food and wellness company, has a brilliant hack she calls "purse seasoning."
“I don't go anywhere without some seasonings in my purse,” the chef says. “Just a tiny amount of seasoning can do wonders for any sad bagged salad or grocery store lunch. Our vegan, spicy, nutty Parmesan seasoning is a customer favourite. A delicious seasoning readily available will help you perk up healthy foods away from home and eat healthier meals more often.”
Add lots of extras
Vegan cooking doesn't disappoint, like these spinach empanadas from Jezabel's in Philly — Photo courtesy of Lucas Careaga
Jezabel Careaga of Jezabel’s in Philadelphia spills the tea on creating knockout vegan dishes. She advises arming yourself with a flavour arsenal of spices, legumes, nuts, pickles, and seeds to turn humble vegetables into show-stopping meals that won't miss dairy and meat.
"When it comes to a long-term healthier lifestyle, I feel and sleep better after I've consumed broccoli and good proteins versus meat and carb-loaded meals," she says. "Good olive oil is key, and olives — plenty of them. Preparations like escabeche (marinating in spices and an acidic sauce), a high-quality vegan Caesar dressing, and chickpea and lentil empanadas are a must!"
Make easy swaps
Vegan dishes include comforting meatloaf Bourguignon — Photo courtesy of Spirit Elephant
CD Young, founder of plant-based Chicago eateries Spirit Elephant and Elephant + Vine, grew up in Iowa, where she consumed her share of beefy casseroles. When she transitioned into vegan cooking, finding alternatives for everyday dishes became a staple.
“Finely chopped mushrooms of any type are the simplest vegan swaps for any meat casserole or stir-fry,” she says. “They have the chew and texture of meat, and you can flavour them with any meaty seasonings and even steak sauce. And they're so healthy!”
She adds that transitioning to vegan cooking was difficult even 10 years ago. "But now, with so many options, it's a breeze."
Vegan cooking resources for beginners
Introductory vegan cooking classes build confidence in the kitchen — Photo courtesy of The Chopping Block
Nothing beats learning by doing. Here are some highly recommended and popular cooking classes (online or in-person), cookbooks, and more.
On-site vegan cooking classes
- The Chopping Block: Chicago's bimonthly vegan feasts-in-training will have you whipping up creamy, smoky corn and potato chowder faster than you can describe the taste of nutritional yeast.
- Whole Foods Market: You need someone to show you how to handle that jackfruit.
- Sur La Table: Vegetable-focused courses explain how to make dishes like coconut-spring vegetable curry and collard greens salad with peanut vinaigrette.
- Vegan restaurant classes: Check with your favourite local vegan spots to see if they have cooking classes.
- Urban and rural farming centres: These centres understand how ingredients travel from dirt to dinner plate, and some offer classes and workshops.
Online learning platforms
- Veecoco: This is the United Nations of vegan cooking schools. The platform features 800 lessons from 23 online cooking classes.
- Forks Over Knives Cooking School: Learn vegan cooking from master chefs at your own pace.
- Rouxbe: Choose an intro to vegan cooking course, a plant-based pro class with a world-renowned chef, or essential vegan desserts class.
Plant-based kitchen bibles: Essential vegan cookbooks
With modern vegan cookbooks, tofu never looked (or tasted) so good — Photo courtesy of Harold Rail
- "The Complete Plant-Based Cookbook" by America's Test Kitchen: Because science + cooking = vegan magic.
- "Vegan for Everybody" by America's Test Kitchen: Think comfort food, but make it plants.
- "The First Mess Cookbook" by Laura Wright: Seasonal cooking that'll make your farmers' market haul shine.
- "Veganomicon" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz: One of the OG vegan cookbooks that started it all.
- “Big Vegan Flavor: Techniques and 150 Recipes to Master Vegan Cooking" by Nisha Vora: This cookbook has been called the “vegan flavour bible."
Must-visit websites on vegan cooking
Plant-based recipes for beginners are easy to learn — Photo courtesy of My Daddy's Recipes
- Minimalist Baker: An excellent website with easy-to-follow recipes.
- Oh She Glows: Gorgeous step-by-step guides make vegan food look as good as it tastes.
- Pick Up Limes: Where nutrition meets "I can't believe this is vegan."
- Chocolate Covered Katie: Proof that vegan desserts can be virtuous and sinful.
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