TIS THE SEASON OF PUMPKIN SPICE!
Actually, it’s just the third week of fall which essentially means midterms, bleak weather and the slow, toxic build-up of stress until the holidays. So, with that in mind and the cold and rain already beginning to settle in, I’ve compiled my five favourite vegan recipes that actually taste good and will please veggies and carnivores alike this fall season.
Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad (The Lemon Bowl)
Fall actually does offer a lot more than cool breezes and stress, it’s an amazing season for farmers markets and roadside food stands. The fall vegetables are some of my favourite, including squash, carrots, potatoes…pretty much all the starchy comfort veggies. Luckily, this first recipe incorporates leafy greens with the comfort of sweet potato! This is an ideal salad to mix up for dinner and save half to bring to the library the next day. This is a salad that has a bit of everything, sweet, salty and leafy! Good for you and your taste buds.
Vegan Mushroom Wellington (Delicious Everyday)
I knew I had to include this next recipe because it is always my go to around the holidays. Holidays are already filled with awkward conversations with family members asking about your plans after school but in addition to that, us vegans and vegetarians have to face those who fail to understand our diets and hound us with hundreds of questions like how we get enough protein. But recipe to the rescue! This dinner dish has become my saving grace! Warm, flaky pastry and juicy portobello mushrooms–you can’t really get better than this. Top with vegan gravy for extra satisfaction. Who needs turkey?
Vegan Buffalo Wings (The Edgy Veg)
Ale House may have team pitchers but you can have VEGAN BUFFALO HOT WINGS right at home! Although I’ve been vegetarian for ten years now, there’s something about heading to the pub with your pals that’s comforting and with football season upon us and hockey season beginning, beer and wings are a must. For the chicken meat, the recipe calls for vital wheat gluten which sounds scary but is really just a natural protein found in wheat and essentially looks just like flour. The other ingredient is nutritional yeast, which is the same yeast that makes bread rise but does not contain active cultures. So yes they do take a little bit of effort to make but if you’re like me and crave that buffalo-sauciness these are a must.
Loaded Vegan Butter Chicken (The Endless Meal)
To me butter chicken is a dish that you and your girls order in on a rainy night when one of your friends is going through a breakup and is usually followed by sharing a tub of Ben & Jerry’s. It’s spicy yet comforting and let’s be honest who doesn’t love a big piece of naan bread to dip in that bright orange sauce. For this recipe, I followed the steps to make the sauce but for the main part I used cooked cauliflower to add substance, you can also add or substitute with chickpeas for some extra plant-based protein.
Vegan Peanut Butter Cups (It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken)
Of course, what would the fall season be without Halloween? I’m a little biased because Halloween is hands down my favourite holiday so why not include my favourite Halloween candy – peanut butter cups! This recipe is truly fuss-free. Just pick up some non-dairy chocolate chips, some natural peanut butter and some cupcake paper cups and voila, you are on your way to peanut butter cups made with whole simple ingredients! Reese’s got nothing on these babies.