Cook Veggielicious

The ultimate smoky pulled jackfruit tacos recipe with salsa and guacamole

November 13, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious Leave a Comment

When I say that this is the ultimate smoky pulled jackfruit tacos recipe I really mean it. Served with tangy salsa and perfect guacamole this has gone straight to the top of my favourite vegan meals list.

Last month I was asked to go on BBC Radio Berkshire to talk about cooking with jackfruit off the back of an article about how demand for jackfruit is soaring. While jotting down a few notes ahead of my first live radio experience (eek!) I was surprised to see just how much I knew about the fruit.

One of the reasons that jackfruit is so popular is that when cooked it behaves in much the same way as meat – in particular pulled pork. Having never eaten real pulled pork I can’t really vouch for this fact but it certainly breaks down well when cooking. And because it has quite a neutral flavour it soaks up spices really well making it the perfect ingredient to use if you want to make vegan pulled pork tacos.

I like the fact that it’s a fruit as well. It’s not processed, it’s not made with soya (I’m not saying we shouldn’t eat soya products but it’s easy as a vegan to eat a lot of them) and it’s not grown in a lab. That has to be a good thing, right?

What is jackfruit?

My first encounter with jackfruit was in Uganda, about ten years ago. My brother and his family used to live there and they had a jackfruit tree at the end of their garden. The huge, yellowish fruit, which is covered in bumps was so unpopular that they couldn’t give it away and the fruit often rotted at the end of the drive. Jackfruit can grow to an enormous size. In fact they grow so big that people are said to have died by one falling on their head, including a five year old boy in Kerala.

Ripe jackfruit is commonly used in Asian desserts such as ice cream, or can be eaten raw. If you’re looking to create a vegan pulled pork though it’s the unripe, or green, jackfruit that you’ll need.

When bought fresh jackfruit is sometimes said to have a strange smell and to be difficult to prepare. According to my sister-in-law it’s very sticky and it’s best to wear gloves. Read more about how to prepare fresh jackfruit.

You can avoid this by buying tinned jackfruit – the hard work has been done for you and you can get on with creating your delicious pulled jackfruit tacos.

How to cook tinned jackfruit

First of all make sure that you buy jackfruit in water or brine. If you buy the stuff in syrup you won’t be able to use it for this recipe. I buy this variety from my local Asian shop and it costs around £1.30. I have seen it on sale for as much as £4 a tin however so it’s worth shopping around. If you can’t find it near you it’s available on Amazon*.

Your tinned jackfruit will already be cut up into chunks. Open up your tin and drain the jackfruit. Give it a good rinse in a colander and then tip out onto a chopping board.

Slice each piece of jackfruit two or three times so you have smaller chunks. Some recipes say that you should cut out the middle piece (the bit that looks solid) but that seems to waste so much of the jackfruit that I don’t do that.

Your jackfruit is now ready to use to make your jackfruit tacos.

How to make vegan smoky pulled jackfruit tacos

You’ll be surprised how easy this vegan smoky pulled jackfruit recipe is to make. You’ll need a few ingredients such as liquid smoke*, which you might not already have but it’s totally worth making the investment in a bottle as if you’re anything like me you’ll be making this recipe as least once a week!

This pulled jackfruit goes perfectly with avocado. Here’s my recipe for vegan guacamole.

Vegan smoky pulled jackfruit tacos

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword jackfruit tacos

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Cook Veggielicious

Ingredients

For the smoky pulled jackfruit

1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
2 x 482g tins of jackfruit in water drained and sliced (see above)
1 medium onion sliced
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chipotle flakes
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp tomato purée
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp maple syrup
Juice of one lime
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp liquid smoke
250 ml water
Salt and pepper to taste

For the tomato salsa

1/2 small onion finely chopped
3 medium tomatoes diced
Juice of one lime
Small handful coriander finely chopped
Sea salt to taste

To serve

Corn tortillas 2-3 per person
Guacamole
Jalapeños
Fresh coriander chopped

Instructions

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan.
Fry the onion over a medium heat, stirring often for about 10 minutes until soft and golden brown.
Add the garlic and fry for one minute. Add the spices, stir and then add the tomato purée.
Cook for a minute stirring often then add the sliced jackfruit and all the liquid ingredients.
Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes until the liquid has evaporated. Stir and break down the jackfruit with a wooden spoon as you go. This will get easier towards the end of the cooking process as it softens.
Season with salt and pepper to taste

To make the tomato salsa

Mix the chopped onion, tomatoes, lime juice and chopped coriander together. Season with salt to taste. Set aside

To serve

Warm the tortillas. Add a large dollop of the jackfruit mixture and top with the salsa, guacamole and other toppings as liked. Fold in half or wrap up like a burrito and don't worry if it gets messy - it's all part of the fun!

This recipe is adapted from one that I made at Demuths Cookery School. Read my review of their Indulgent Vegan cookery course.

If you like this you might like this vegan jackfruit nasi lemak recipe or these 15 vegan jackfruit recipes.

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*Disclaimer: this is an affiliate link meaning that if you buy something after clicking on this link I’ll receive a small commission. The price to you remains the same. Thanks for supporting Cook Veggielicious.

The best vegan guacamole with chipotle

November 13, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious Leave a Comment

Anyone else totally addicted to avocados? Great – glad it’s not just me. This is my favourite vegan avocado recipe and I think it’s the best vegan guacamole recipe you’ll find. I’ve given it a smoky twist by adding chipotle. It doesn’t get better than this.

Where do you stand on garlic in guacamole? Personally I’m not a fan. But I know some people consider garlic to be an essential ingredient in guacamole. If that’s you add a clove or two of very finely chopped garlic to this recipe.

The internet has a lot to say about whether guacamole should contain garlic. Amateur Gourmet says that an authentic guacamole shouldn’t contain garlic – but then his recipe uses lemon instead of lime and I’m just not sure how I feel about that. The Healthy Maven claims that garlic was added when guacamole left Mexico and landed up in the United States. But then she also says that lime isn’t a traditional ingredient so there you go.

Many guacamole recipes also contain tomato but I’m just not a fan of that either. I keep my recipe simple – all you need are two perfectly ripe avocados, a small onion, a lime, some coriander (cilantro if you’re in the US), chipotle flakes and salt. Now you’re in avocado heaven.

Is guacamole vegan?

Most guacamole recipes are suitable for vegans. However, I’ve seen recipes for guacamole with feta cheese, crab meat and beef added. I’ve even seen guacamole served inside eggs – something rather 1970s about that isn’t there? You can rest assured however that my guacamole with smoky chipotle is suitable for vegans.

What to eat guacamole with

To my mind guacamole on bread, ideally toasted sourdough, is lunch perfection. Avo toast began appearing on brunch menus several years ago and it’s not showing any sign of going anywhere any time soon. Sometimes you’ll get plain sliced avocado, other times it’ll be mashed. But I think guacamole is the best.

Guacamole is awesome alongside a vegan chili or sweet potato black bean quesadilla. It’s also great with nachos or as part of a Buddha Bowl. Perhaps it actually goes with everything.

But my favourite way to serve this vegan guacamole has to be with my smoky pulled jackfruit tacos. This combo is vegan meal heaven. Trust me.

How to make vegan guacamole

The ingredients and method below are intended as a guide to help you make your own delicious vegan guacamole. However, the key with guacamole making is to taste as you go.

Your onion might be a particularly strong one, maybe you prefer a lot of lime or perhaps you live with a spice fiend like I do and you just need more of a kick to your guac. It’s your guacamole – make it your own.

Vegan guacamole with chipotle

Anyone else totally addicted to avocados? Great - glad it's not just me. This is my favourite vegan avocado recipe and I think it's the best vegan guacamole recipe you'll find. I've given it a smoky twist by adding chipotle. It doesn't get better than this.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword vegan guacamole

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Cook Veggielicious

Ingredients

2 large ripe avocados
1 small onion finely chopped
1-2 limes juiced
sea salt to taste
small handful fresh coriander finely chopped
1 tsp chipotle flakes

Instructions

Cut your avocados in half, remove the stone (the pit) and scoop out the flesh.
Place in a medium-sized mixing bowl and add the onion and the juice of one lime. Mash together until you have a consistency you like - personally I like mine quite chunky. Season with a little sea salt.
Taste and add more lime juice or salt if you like.
Stir through the coriander leaves and the chipotle flakes.
Serve immediately.

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Chestnut and cranberry vegan nut roast

November 8, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious 8 Comments

Delicious chestnuts and cranberries are combined with tasty roasted butternut squash in this vegan nut roast recipe. Perfect for your Christmas dinner.

What are your thoughts on nut roast? There’s just something about the name that conjures up images of a 1970s style vegetarian Christmas. Whether you think this is a good or a bad thing there’s no denying that not all nut roasts are equal.

I’m sure that every vegan and vegetarian out there can remember a soggy, crumbly or tasteless nut roast, probably served with not enough roast potatoes and cold gravy. Chances are you were served this nut roast as the only vegetarian on a work Christmas do. It doesn’t have to be that way though!

My chestnut and cranberry nut roast recipe will transform your feelings about nut roast. It holds together beautifully and is packed full of festive flavours. I’ve designed this recipe with Christmas in mind – hence the chestnuts and cranberries. But it can be eaten at any time – nut roasts are not just for Christmas after all.

What to serve with nut roast?

I think that roast potatoes are essential with nut roast as is a good vegan gravy (watch out for my gravy recipe coming soon). I also like lots of vegetables on the side. Roasted Brussels if it’s Christmas, otherwise some sautéed cabbage or kale, some broccoli and some carrots always go down well. A large dollop of cranberry sauce would complete your vegan Christmas dinner.

How to make chestnut and cranberry vegan nut roast

The key to making a successful vegan nut roast is to make sure that it binds together properly. Here I’ve used flax eggs (you can also use chia eggs). Both chia and flax seeds are miracle vegan ingredients. As well as containing all sorts of nutrients that are good for you, when ground together and mixed with water they go all gloopy and make the perfect substitute for eggs.

When combined with a mashed vegetable – here I’ve used butternut squash – and breadcrumbs you’re guaranteed to get good results.

This Christmas nut roast takes a while to bake – but it’s worth the wait. On my first test I took it out after half an hour as it looked ready on the top but it really wasn’t done inside. I suggest that after half an hour you cover the top with foil to stop it getting too brown.

5 from 4 votes

Chestnut and cranberry vegan nut roast

Delicious chestnuts and cranberries are combined with tasty roasted butternut squash in this vegan nut roast recipe. Perfect for your Christmas dinner.

Course Main Course

Cuisine British

Keyword vegan nut roast

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings 6

Author Cook Veggielicious

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
300 g butternut squash (about half a medium squash) peeled and chopped
2 chia or flax seeds
6 tbsp water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
2 stalks celery finely chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 spring of rosemary leaves picked and finely chopped
180 g chestnuts crumbled or chopped
60 g ground almonds
50 g wholemeal breadcrumbs
100 g dried cranberries
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C(fan)/200°C/ gas mark 6.
Place the chopped squash into a roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30-40 minutes until soft. Stir once or twice.
Make your chia or flax eggs by mixing 2 tbsp ground seeds with 6 tbsp water. Set aside to thicken.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion and celery until soft. Add the garlic and chopped rosemary and cook for 1 minute more.
Remove from the heat and stir through the chestnuts, breadcrumbs, oregano, almonds, mustard powder, cranberries and nutritional yeast.
When the squash is cooked roughly mash and add to the onion and chestnut mixture along with the flax eggs.
Stir well.
Line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper.
Transfer the mixture to the tin and press down well.
Bake for 30 mins. Cover the top with foil and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes.
Leave to rest for 2-3 minutes then carefully remove from the tin and serve.

Recipe Notes

This can be frozen. Once you've put the filling in the tin allow to cool completely then cover and freeze. Defrost thoroughly before cooking.

Other vegan Christmas recipes that you might like

Roasted balsamic Brussels sprouts

Parsnip, chestnut and sage Christmas nut roast (on my other blog sneakyveg.com)

Iced vegan Christmas cake

Roast Brussels sprouts and Jerusalem artichokes with cranberries and chestnuts (on my other blog sneakyveg.com)

Easy Christmas red cabbage (on my other blog sneakyveg.com)

Vegan gravy

Rosemary roast potatoes

And if you’re looking for a gift for your favourite vegan check out my best vegan cookbooks review.

Covers of Vegan in 15, Deliciously Ella Plant Based Cookbook, Vegan Street Food, BOSH!, homemade vegan pantry, Vegan 100, The Wicked Healthy Cookbook and Thug Kitchen

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Vegan salted caramel sauce

November 6, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious Leave a Comment

Utterly decadent and dangerously moreish, this vegan salted caramel sauce ticks all the boxes. Adds a delicious touch to any dessert or pancakes.

Do you love the taste of salted caramel? It’s long been one of my favourite flavours. I don’t have a hugely sweet tooth so the saltiness of it works perfectly for me. Mind you, don’t go thinking this isn’t a sweet recipe – it is extremely sweet!

What is salted caramel?

Salted caramel is a traditional caramel sauce – made traditionally with butter, sugar and cream (although not in my vegan version – see below to find out what I used). Salt is added to the caramel and it tastes absolutely delicious!

It’s often used as a flavour in sweet treats such as salted caramel ice cream or cupcakes.

Salted caramel is extremely moreish. And that’s not just because it tastes fantastic. Apparently because it is sweet, salty and fatty all at once it releases chemicals in the brain that cause a “hedonic escalation” – meaning that we just can’t stop eating it! So now you know why you just can’t put that spoon down.

I love this salted caramel sauce drizzled over pancakes or waffles. I’ve also used it as a drizzle on top of a vegan spiced apple cake (recipe coming soon), which worked perfectly.

If you want a thicker sauce, to use as a spread perhaps, then you will need to cook this for a longer time. It thickens as it cools and is refrigerated too.

This sauce is perfect with my spiced vegan apple cake.

How to make vegan salted caramel sauce

A traditional caramel sauce is made by melting sugar and then adding butter and cream. When I was researching vegan salted caramel recipes I found that there was a lot of variety in how the vegan caramel sauce was made – some used coconut milk, others used nut butter and other still used soya milk. I decided that I’d use oat cream instead. My favourite is the one made by Oatly*.

I then used dairy free spread in place of butter to make my vegan salted caramel sauce. If you wanted to make this a little healthier you could use coconut sugar and to make a lighter caramel use a light brown sugar rather than muscovado.

Vegan salted caramel sauce

Utterly decadent and dangerously moreish, this vegan salted caramel sauce ticks all the boxes. Adds a delicious touch to any dessert or pancakes.

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword vegan salted caramel

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Resting time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 8

Author Cook Veggielicious

Ingredients

175 g light muscovado sugar
200 ml oat cream
75 g dairy free spread
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Place all ingredients together in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil and let it bubble away for for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly
Reduce to a low heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring often. The sauce should start to thicken slightly. If you want a really thick sauce simmer for longer.

If you like this you might like some of my other vegan sweet treats:

Gooseberry crumble with crunchy almond topping

Vegan crepes

Aquafaba pavlova

Vegan pumpkin waffles

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*This is an affiliate link. If you buy something after clicking on this link I will receive a small commission. The price to you remains the same.

Maple roasted swede with cumin

November 2, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious 10 Comments

Got a swede and don’t know what to do with it? Try this delicious recipe for maple roasted swede with cumin. Suitable for vegans.

What is swede?

A swede is a large round root vegetable. The flesh is a yellowish colour and the outside can be a browny colour or sometimes purple. It’s also known as rutabaga or neeps.

What is the best way to cook swede?

Swede is actually very easy to cook. Roasted swede is absolutely delicious – try the recipe below for maple roast swede with cumin if you’d like to give it a go. To prepare your swede you simply need to peel and chop it, drizzle it with oil and spices (if desired), then roast it in your oven until soft. Smaller pieces will go deliciously crispy on the outside. It can be a bit tough to chop so you’ll need a large sharp knife.

Swede also makes lovely wedges or chips. Try my Cajun-spiced swede chips.

Alternatively you can mash your swede. If you want to mash swede you prepare it in the same way but then you’ll need to boil or steam it until soft, before mashing it.

I love this mashed swede with nutmeg recipe.

Finally, you can even make cake with swede. I love this ginger and swede cake (vegetarian) over on my other blog Sneaky Veg.

How to make maple roasted swede with cumin

It really is as simple as peeling and chopping the swede, mixing with the oil, maple syrup and cumin and roasting in the oven. Apart from giving it the odd stir you can then leave it to cook while you get on with the rest of dinner.

I think that roast swede is a great addition to a roast dinner or with some vegan sausages. However, it’s also lovely alongside curry. The sweetness of the maple syrup, mixed with the cumin and the naturally sweet, earthy flavour make it go really well with Indian dishes such as dhal.

5 from 5 votes

Maple roasted swede with cumin

Got a swede and don’t know what to do with it? Try this delicious recipe for maple roasted swede with cumin. Suitable for vegans.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine British

Keyword roasted swede

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4 people

Author Cook Veggielicious

Ingredients

1 medium swede
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6.
Peel your swede, wash and cut into bite-sized chunks.
Place in a roasting tin and drizzle with the maple syrup, olive oil and ground cumin. Stir to mix.
Roast for 40-50 minutes until soft stirring two or three times to avoid sticking.
Serve with veggie sausages, mash and greens or alongside a veggie roast dinner. It’s also great as a side dish with curries.

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Spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup – vegan

November 1, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious 2 Comments

This delicious spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup is hearty, warming and suitable for vegans. It’s the perfect autumn soup recipe – why not give it a try today?

In the UK this autumn we’ve had unseasonably good weather. The Indian summer – a long period of warm, dry weather in autumn – seems to have gone on and on. It’s finally changed though. In the last week or so the heating has come on, the gloves and scarves are out and today it has rained and rained and rained.

Our new bedroom in the loft has a lot of roof above it and when it rains all night we’re treated to the sound of rain drops hitting the roof tiles ALL NIGHT LONG. Which is kind of nice and kind of annoying.

All of this is preamble to say that right now soup season has arrived. Last month I posted a summery recipe for pea and mint soup on my kid food blog Sneaky Veg, inspired by my heavenly bloggers Pilates retreat in France. That is very much a summer soup.

Today I’m sharing with you this – a recipe for spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup. It’s full of warming flavours and spices and is perfect to warm you up on a chilly day.

How to roast butternut squash and sweet potatoes

It’s really worth taking the time to roast the butternut squash and sweet potatoes. If time is short you can boil or steam them but you won’t have the same delicious flavour that you get from roasting your vegetables.

You can eat the skin of both butternut squash and sweet potatoes, as long as it’s been washed. However, for soup making I think it’s better to peel them first. Once peeled simply chop the vegetables up into similar sized pieces, drizzle with oil and the spices of your choice and roast for 30-40 minutes in a hot oven.

In this recipe the squash and sweet potatoes are roasted together with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. These are lovely warming spices that complement the natural sweetness of the vegetables and give them a wonderful flavour.

How to make spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup

5 from 1 vote

Spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup

This delicious spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup is hearty, warming and suitable for vegans. It's the perfect autumn soup recipe - why not give it a try today?

Course Soup

Cuisine British

Keyword spiced butternut squash and sweet potato soup

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 4

Author Cook Veggielicious

Ingredients

600 g butternut squash 400g prepared weight
400 g sweet potato
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
Pinch nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
750 ml-1 litre vegetable stock
salt and pepper
dairy free cream to serve

Instructions

Roast the butternut squash and sweet potato with the olive oil and spices for 40 minutes, stirring halfway, or until soft and golden.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook until soft and golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
Stir in the cooked squash and sweet potato making sure that you get all the spices out of the roasting tin and into the saucepan.
Add 500ml vegetable stock. Bring to the boil then turn off the heat.
Use a hand blender to puree until smooth. Check the consistency and add more vegetable stock if you prefer a more liquid soup.
If you don’t have a hand blender and need to transfer this to a jug blender allow it to cool first.
Serve with crusty bread.

Other vegan soup recipes

Tomato soup with basil

Jerusalem artichoke and celeriac soup

Pea and mint soup (on sneakyveg.com)

Spinach, borlotti beans and vegetable soup (on sneakyveg.com)

Looking for a new cookbook? Here are 15 of the best vegan cookbooks.

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Easy spiced quince compote recipe

October 30, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious 10 Comments

This spiced quince compote recipe is one of the best ways there is to use this unusual pear-shaped fruit. If you’re looking for an easy quince recipe to make then give this one a try.

What is quince?

A quince is a pear-shaped fruit that grows on a quince tree. Quince trees are part of the same family as apples and pears but quinces are quite distinct from their more common relatives. The quince fruit is green while it’s growing but turns a golden yellow colour when ripe. It’s flesh is quite hard and it has quite large seeds inside. If eaten in large quantities these seeds can be toxic. Read more about quinces on Wikipedia.

Quinces have been used historically in cooking for many years but you don’t see them very much nowadays. I definitely get the sense that people don’t really know what to cook with them any more and to be honest I don’t remember ever seeing them for sale anywhere. Just last week an email went out on our neighbourhood forum offering a large number of free quinces from someone’s tree in their garden. I definitely got the feeling that they were keen to get rid of them!

I ended up with a batch of quinces when a work colleague of my husband brought some in for me from her mother’s garden. They sat looking at me in the fruit bowl for a few days while I decided what to make – I decided that an easy quince compote was a good idea for my first foray into cooking with quinces.

What can you cook with quince?

This is the first time I’ve cooked with quince – in fact I’ve always been a bit reluctant to eat it since trying membrillo in Argentina about a decade ago. Membrillo is a hard paste, which is red in colour. It’s sometimes called quince cheese and it is often served with a cheese course. I was not keen on the texture and it’s not something I’m keen to try again! Check out this quince cheese recipe by River Cottage if you’re tempted.

Jamie Oliver has a few quince recipes online (not veggie) as does Nigel Slater in The Guardian. But on the whole the internet is fairly bereft of quince recipes – especially vegan and vegetarian ones. See below for more quince recipes.

How to make quince compote?

It’s quite simple to make quince compote and I found that it didn’t need as much sugar or as long a cooking time as many recipes suggested. This will of course depend on how ripe your quinces are and how sweet you like your food so adjust sugar and cooking times accordingly.

One thing that it’s worth noting about quince is that it browns very quickly so get your bowl of lemon water ready before you start peeling and chopping. I also found that the quince stained my chopping board so be aware of this and don’t use your favourite brand new board!

Quince compote is really good with porridge (oatmeal) for breakfast. You can mix it with apples before cooking if you like.

5 from 5 votes

Spiced quince compote

This spiced quince compote recipe is one of the best ways there is to use this unusual pear-shaped fruit. If you're looking for an easy quince recipe to make then give this one a try.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine British

Keyword quince compote

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Author Cook Veggielicious

Ingredients

3 quinces peeled, cored and chopped
200 ml water
1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
3 cardamon pods
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp maple syrup or more if you prefer a sweeter taste
100 ml water

Instructions

Squeeze the lemon into the 200ml water and place the prepared quinces in the lemon water immediately to prevent them from browning.
When ready to cook drain and rinse the quinces and place in a medium saucepan with the spices, maple syrup and 100ml water.
Bring to the boil then cover and cook over a low heat for 20-30 minutes until the quince are soft.
Remove the whole spices and serve warm either on their own, alongside a savoury dish or with porridge for breakfast.

Why not try this for breakfast with my vegan granola?

Other quince recipes

Quince and apple sponge crumble by Family Friends Food (vegetarian)

Quince jelly by Honest Mum

Vanilla poached quince by David Lebovitz (vegan)

Pickled quinces by Diana Henry (vegan)

Quince chutney by Seasonal Cook in Turkey (vegan)

Quince jam by Abel and Cole (vegan)

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The best vegan cookbooks: my tried and tested favourites

October 26, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious Leave a Comment

Looking for a gift for a vegan in your life? New to veganism and don’t know where to start? Long-term vegan wanted some new vegan mealtime inspo? Wherever you’re at you’ll find a vegan cookbook to suit you in my list of the best vegan cookbooks. I’ve tried and tested them all and I’m pretty sure there’s something here for everyone.

Covers of Vegan in 15, Deliciously Ella Plant Based Cookbook, Vegan Street Food, BOSH!, homemade vegan pantry, Vegan 100, The Wicked Healthy Cookbook and Thug Kitchen

What makes a good vegan cookbook?

Well this is really going to depend on you. How long you’ve been vegan for, whether you miss meat and dairy, how spicy you like your food, whether you’re an experienced cook, how much time you have – all of these will have an impact on what is the best vegan cookbook for you.

I’ve tried to include a range of different books here so whether you’re new to vegan cooking or a long-term vegan who’s looking for some new kitchen inspiration I think you’ll find a book that you love.

Have I missed anything off my list of the best vegan cookbooks? If I haven’t included your favourite vegan cookbook let me know what it is in the comments below and I’ll add it to my wish list!

Covers for Vegan 100, Vegan Street Food, The Homemade Vegan Pantry and Vegan in 15 – four of my 15 best vegan cookbooks

NB: this post contains affiliate links. If you buy something after clicking on one of these links I may earn a small commission. The price to you remains the same.

Here are 15 of the best vegan cookbooks that I’ve found:

Peace and Parsnips by Lee Watson

This is one of the first vegan cookbooks I bought when I started eating more vegan food and it’s still one of my favourites. It’s full of delicious recipes from around the world and has a whole chapter dedicated to veggie burgers. What’s not to like?! It also has an incredible vegan chocolate cake recipe. Some of the recipes are quite involved and while not necessarily difficult use a lot of ingredients and take ages to prepare. Despite this it’s still an excellent book.

Best for: a semi-experienced vegan looking to take their cooking up a notch

BOSH! By Henry Firth and Ian Theasby

The Vegan YouTuber duo’s first cookbook contains plant-based versions of many classic recipes. This is a great book for a new vegan and is definitely one of the best vegan cookbooks to be published in 2018. It has a useful intro where the authors talk about what equipment they have in their kitchen and some staple ingredients that you’ll need to stock up on to be a successful vegan cook. I also like how the book is divided up into quick eats, big eats and showstoppers so you can easily tell which recipes you can make quickly and easily. There are lots of Asian recipes in this book as well as pasta dishes, hearty British pies and Mexican feasts. Some of the recipes eg the seaside pie don’t work that well for me as I haven’t eaten meat or fish since 1991 and so recreating the taste of a fish pie isn’t that appealing to me but I can see how this would work for someone who is new to eating meat free. As well as meals there’s a good section of side dishes, some healthy salad based bowls and loads of sauce and hummus recipes. A fairly extensive cocktail section is followed by some desserts and breakfast ideas. The book finishes off with a brief but useful nutrition section which tells you which plant based foods will give you protein, vitamins and other nutrients.

Best for: new vegans who love to cook

Vegan in 15 by Kate Ford

Food blogger Kate Ford’s first book contains lots of quick and easy recipes as well as a very useful section on stocking your store cupboards. There’s a good range of recipes made using beans, tofu and vegetables and recipes come from many different cuisines. NB: this is a paperback book and there aren’t photos for every recipe.

Best for: vegans looking for quick, tasty meal ideas

Afro-Vegan by Bryant Terry

Published in 2014 the book aims to share the vast and diverse food history of African-Americans. This is a lovely book for anyone who likes to cook food from other cultures. Most of the dishes are very vegetable-centric. Beans and tofu do appear but vegetables are really at the heart of this book and you won’t find any attempts to recreate meat here.

I also love that this book suggests a song to listen to with each dish!

Best for: established vegans looking to learn about food from another culture

Thug Kitchen by Matt Holloway & Michelle Davis

I really want to love this book but to be honest I’m put off by the sheer amount of swear words. There’s at least one swear word on every page and while of course there’s a time and a place for an expletive I just found that this distracted me from the food. If you think you can get past that then you’ll probably like this book. The message, swearing aside, is that we should all eat more veg and be a bit healthier. It’s an American book and this shows in the recipes (everything’s in cup measures FYI). I love the Mexican influences like chilaquiles which I haven’t heard of before, pozole rojo and flautas. There are lots of Asian inspired recipes too. I particularly like the how to bake tofu section with marinade ideas. I sometimes feel like I’m on a one-woman mission to make tofu more interesting so this was good to see. There are also some cool graphics and type faces in this book making it an appealing book to look at.

Best for: people who love cooking (and swearing)

Vegan cupcakes take over the world by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Isa Chandra has published a lot of vegan cookbooks over the years. I like this little book of cupcakes for its sheer simplicity. There are 75 vegan cupcake recipes inside as well as a good introduction to vegan baking, ingredients and decoration. NB: all measurements are in cup measures.

Best for: vegans with a sweet tooth

The Wicked Healthy Cookbook by Chad Sarno & Derek Sarno

First of all this cookbook has the best front cover of any vegan cookbook I’ve ever seen. Like Thug Kitchen this is an American book so you’ll need to be prepared to adapt the cup measures.It’s a shame that they haven’t bothered to adapt the recipes to metric for this UK version. This is an extremely comprehensive book and is a good option for a serious cook. It includes things like sourdough starters, taco bar recipes, vegan meringues, dumplings and even vegan scallops. The book contains lots of useful info about stocking a pantry, cooking skills and getting healthy.

Best for: someone who’s serious about upping their vegan kitchen skills

The Vegan Pantry by Miyoko Schinner

This is another one of my favourite vegan cookbooks. This book covers all the things you need to know how to make if you want to make your own staples without having to pay for expensive brands. Think vegan butter, cheese, stock, soup, brownies, bread etc. I use this book weekly.

Best for: established vegans who want to make their own staples

The Deliciously Ella Plant Based Cookbook by Ella Mills

The latest offering from Deliciously Ella this books aims to be a comprehensive vegan cookbook covering everything from breakfast and snacks to midweek meals and dinner parties. Like her other books this isn’t a great book for families but suits younger single people or couples better. My kids love some of the sweet recipes but aren’t keen on the dinners. The book also shares the story of Deliciously Ella and gives some insight into the business which I found an interesting read.

Best for: people who are interested in veganism for health

Vegan 100 by Gaz Oakley

This is a lovely book with stunning photos, although many of them are of Gaz and his hipster friends hanging out looking cool. I am personally not a big one for meat substitutes but if you’re a new vegan who is looking for meat replacements then this is the book for you. The seitan burgers are well worth making as are the Kentucky BBQ pulled jackfruit wraps and the Moroccan eggless omelette. Some of the recipes have a lot of ingredients and will take you a fair while to put together. Gaz also has a vegan Christmas book out this year.

Best for: vegans who miss meat and those with time to spend in the kitchen

Vegan Street Food by Jackie Kearney

Remember Jackie? She was the first, and possibly only, vegetarian to get to the MasterChef final. That was back in 2011 and since then she’s published three books. This is her first book and is a great choice for anyone who loves Asia and Asian food. It’s full of stories and photos from her travels as well as lovely recipes from India to Indonesia. Some of the recipes are a bit fiddly but the ones I’ve tried have all been delicious and so it definitely deserves to feature amongst the best vegan cookbooks.

Best for: vegans who love to travel

The New Vegan by Aine Carlin

The New Vegan is Aine Carlin’s second book and it’s full of lovely recipes. With less meat substitutes than some of the other books featured here this book suits me much more. The smoky orzo jamabalaya and the black bean taquitos are both awesome. Her third book, Cook Share Eat Vegan, came out this year (2018).

Best for: vegans who don’t want to recreate meat

Feed Me Vegan by Lucy Watson

Once I got over the weirdness of the fact that this book is written by someone from Made in Chelsea I soon realised that this is actually one of the best vegan cookbooks I’ve tried. It’s got loads of staples in it that I regularly come back to and the vegan waffles are the best I’ve ever made.

Best for: someone looking for a general introduction to vegan cooking

15 Minute Vegan by Katy Beskow

I can’t guarantee that all the recipes actually take just 15 minutes to make but they’re definitely quick and the ingredients lists aren’t intimidating. The Pad Thai and the Kerala cauliflower curry are my favourites.

Best for: those looking for quick vegan dinners

The Green Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer

This is the only book I’ve featured here that isn’t exclusively vegan. It’s half veggie and half vegan but I think it deserves a space on my list of best vegan cookbooks because the half that is vegan is absolutely brilliant. Think smoked tofu with fennel and pak choi or all in one sweet potato Thai curry – delicious recipes that are cooked in one dish in the oven.

Best for: people who love sticking dinner in the oven and letting it cook

Still can’t decide which of the best vegan cookbooks to buy? Take a look at my recipe index while you decide.

If you like this you might also like these cooking gifts for kids who love helping in the kitchen or this iced vegan Christmas cake.

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Iced vegan Christmas cake

October 25, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious Leave a Comment

An easy vegan Christmas cake that’s rich, delicious and tastes just like a traditional festive bake. This dairy free and eggless Christmas cake is perfect for any festive celebration.

Is it easy to make a vegan Christmas cake?

It was easier than I thought to make a vegan Christmas cake. Simply substituting the butter for dairy free spread and the eggs for flax eggs makes a perfect vegan Christmas cake that holds together and has all the flavours of a rich traditional Christmas cake.

Other than this there are some ingredients that you need to check are suitable for vegans. This will include the alcohol you use if you choose to use any to make this a boozy vegan Christmas cake. It also includes the marzipan and fondant icing. Homemade almond paste (marzipan) usually contains eggs, as does fondant and royal icing. This means that they’re not suitable for vegans. However, most shop bought marzipan and fondant icing is suitable for vegans. I’ve chosen to use both shop bought marzipan and fondant icing for this easy vegan Christmas cake recipe.

Is brandy vegan?

To make a boozy vegan Christmas cake you need to add some alcohol such as rum, sherry or brandy. I prefer to add brandy. Many types of brandy are vegan but you can check on the Barnivore website.

How to make a fruit cake without egg

Since I became vegan and began experimenting with vegan baking I’ve tried many different egg replacements. Different types of egg replacements work better for different recipes. Aquafaba, the water from a tin of beans (usually chickpeas), works really well for meringue as in this vegan aquafaba pavolva recipe. Many cakes actually work without any kind of egg replacement – such as this vegan pumpkin loaf. However, for my festive eggless Christmas cake I have used flax eggs – chia eggs would also work well. Both flax seeds and chia seeds can be ground down and mixed with water to make a thick paste which acts as a binding agent.

I hope you enjoy this dairy free and eggless Christmas cake – let me know how it goes in the comments!

How to make a vegan Christmas cake

Vegan Christmas cake

An easy vegan Christmas cake that’s rich, delicious and tastes just like a traditional festive bake. This dairy free and eggless Christmas cake is perfect for any festive celebration.

Course Cake

Cuisine British

Keyword vegan christmas cake

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Soaking time 12 hours

Total Time 3 hours

Servings 12

Author Cook Veggielicious

Ingredients

150 g light brown sugar
100 g glacé cherries washed and quartered
100 g candied peel
400 g mixed dried fruit
2 tbsp brandy use orange juice instead if you prefer a non alcoholic cake
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
6 tbsp water
225 g softened dairy free spread or melted coconut oil
225 g self raising flour
60 g ground almonds
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp apricot jam
500 g vegan golden marzipan
450 g vegan ready rolled fondant icing

Instructions

Start making your cake the day before you want to bake it.
Place the sugar, dried fruit and brandy (or orange juice if preferred) together in a large mixing bowl overnight. Still well then cover and leave to soak.
When you’re ready to bake your vegan Christmas cake pre-heat the oven to 150°C fan/170°C/gas mark 3.
Grease a 20cm/8 inch round cake tin. Line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.
First put your ground flax seeds in a small bowl and add the 6 tbsp water. Stir well and leave to rest until it thickens and forms a paste.
Beat the dairy free spread or coconut oil into the soaked fried fruit. Next add the flax eggs and stir well.
Finally add the self raising flour, ground almonds and spices to your dried fruit. Stir well to combine and pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth over the top.
Place the tin in the middle of the oven.
Bake for 2-2.5 hours or until the cake is firm and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cover the top with foil if it’s starting to look too brown.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin then cover with a layer of greaseproof paper and wrap up with tin foil. If you wish you can feed the cake with 1-2 tbsp brandy every week until you’re ready to ice it.
When you’re ready to add your marzipan heat the apricot jam carefully in the microwave or a small saucepan. Push through a sieve and set aside for a moment.
Remove the cake from the tin and brush the apricot jam over the top of the cake. Roll out your marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar and carefully lift on top of the cake. Trim any extra marzipan from the cake and if you want you can save this to make shapes from to decorate the cake.
You can rewrap the cake for up to a week before adding the icing or do it immediately.
When you’re ready to ice your cake if you wish you can brush a little sherry over the top of your marzipan to help the icing stick but this isn’t essential. Unroll your icing and place carefully over the cake, using your hands to smooth it down. Trim off any excess.
Decorate with holly leaves, a ribbon and any marzipan shapes you might have made.

If you like this you might like this…

Chestnut and cranberry vegan nut roast

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Check out my list of 15 of the best vegan cookbooks for inspiration.

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20 easy vegan pasta recipes

October 18, 2018 by Cook Veggielicious 8 Comments

What’s your go-to easy vegan pasta recipe? I have several – a butternut squash bechamel for vegan macaroni cheese, a simple vegan tomato sauce, kale pesto and my new favourite – vegan alfredo sauce.

How to make a vegan pasta sauce

Many pasta sauces lend themselves perfectly to being veganised. Take alfredo sauce for example – it’s usually made with butter, parmesan or cream – and sometimes all three. Occasionally meat is added to the sauce as well. Replace these non-vegan ingredients with cauliflower and cashews and omit the meat and you have the perfect vegan pasta sauce.

Many pasta sauce recipes are vegan, or close to being so anyway. Most tomato based sauces are made with olive oil, onions, garlic, herbs and tomatoes. There might be vegetables added to this sauce as well. Perfectly vegan-friendly pasta dishes without any adjustments needed.

Creamy sauces need a little more adjustment. Butter can be replaced by dairy free spread or oil, cream by a vegan cream such as Oatly or by a homemade alternative using cashews and cheese can be replaced with a vegan alternative or nutritional yeast can be added to the sauce to give a savoury cheesy flavour.

It’s also worth mentioning that when you buy your pasta it’s always worth checking the ingredients. Most dried pasta is vegan but fresh usually contains egg and sometimes milk powder as well.

Easy vegan pasta recipes

I’ve gathered together 20 easy vegan pasta recipes to share with you. I hope that you find something to inspire you and that maybe you’ll try something new.

I’ve left out lasagne as it is quite a fiddly dish and never seems to me to be that easy. Kate from the Veg Space agrees and her vegan lasagne recipe looks like a lovely one to try if you have a little more time on your hands. Let me know if you have an easy vegan lasagne recipe that you’ve tried and testing – I’d love to know! There are several vegan spaghetti sauce recipes, a vegan pesto and a vegan pasta bake. You’ll also find a vegan mushroom pasta, some spicy vegan pasta dishes and several vegan tomato pasta sauces.

Some of these blogs contain non-vegan recipes as well.

I hope you find something you love.