In this video, I’m cooking up three easy, healthy, delicious vegan dinners for those busy weeknights when your time and energy are in shorter supply. The recipes in this video are actually much closer to how I really cook on a day-to-day basis, with easy and flexible recipes.
The first recipe is for chickpea tacos, seasoned with a cumin seasoning blend, and topped with cilantro lime sauce, red cabbage, and broccoli sprouts.
The next recipe is a tofu and rice bowl which uses purple (aka black or forbidden) rice, fried tofu, roasted cauliflower and sweet potato, and black beans. It’s also topped off with our cilantro lime sauce, red cabbage, and broccoli sprouts.
Finally, we’ll go into a pasta dish with creamy cashew-tomato sauce. This dish also has lentils, roasted red peppers, and steamed broccoli.
Let me know in the comments which one is your favorite!
I don’t have blog posts for these recipes (at least not yet), so here are some basic written instructions:
1. Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce
1 1/2 cups vegan unsweetened Greek yogurt (Kite Hill is a good brand in the US)
30 g. bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice from 1/2 lime
2 tsp. maple syrup
salt & pepper to taste
Blend together in a blender until smooth. Adjust seasonings as needed to taste
2. Chickpea tacos
4 8-inch flour tortillas
1 can of chickpeas, drained (garbanzo beans)
Cilantro lime yogurt sauce
Red cabbage, chopped
Broccoli sprouts
Salt
Garlic powder
Cumin seasoning blend
Cinnamon
Heat the chickpeas in a large nonstick pan over medium heat with a small amount of oil, then season with garlic powder, cumin seasoning blend, cinnamon, and salt to taste.
Warm the flour tortillas in a pan over low heat until flexible.
Add 1/4 of the chickpeas to a flour tortilla, then top with cilantro lime yogurt sauce, red cabbage, and broccoli sprouts.
Repeat with the remaining ingredients and tortillas.
3. Purple rice and tofu bowl
Cilantro lime yogurt sauce
Red cabbage, chopped
Broccoli sprouts
1 cup dry black rice (also known as purple rice or forbidden rice)
(Get it at Amazon here/this is an affiliate link, I will earn a commission if you purchase through this link:
2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 large head of cauliflower
1 can black beans, drained
1 block extra-firm tofu
low-sodium soy sauce
rice vinegar
cornstarch
oil for frying and tossing vegetables
Salt and pepper
garlic powder
cumin seasoning blend
Prepare the rice according to the package instructions
Wrap your tofu in a kitchen towel and place it under light weights (such as a book) to drain some of the water. Chop the tofu into small pieces, then place it in a wide bowl and cover with a mix of half low-sodium soy sauce and half rice vinegar. Toss to coat and let marinate while you prepare your vegetables.
Chop up the sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces and toss in a large bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Chop the cauliflower into bite-sized florets and toss in a large bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin seasoning blend.
Put your sweet potatoes and cauliflower in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake at 400F (205C) for 30 minutes, turning halfway.
Drain the tofu, then coat in cornstarch and fry over medium heat in a non-stick pan with some oil. Turn the tofu until it’s golden brown on all sides.
Use each finished ingredient to build a bowl, you can add as much or as little as you want: rice, tofu, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, black beans (drained from the can), chopped red cabbage, broccoli sprouts, and cilantro lime yogurt sauce.
3. Penne pasta with cashew tomato sauce
3/4 cup raw unsalted cashews, soaked in advance for 2 hours
3/4 cup water
whole peeled tomatoes (canned), or marinara sauce
salt and pepper
garlic powder
nutritional yeast
penne pasta
dry green lentils
2 heads of broccoli, or broccoli florets
roasted red peppers, cut into strips
Make your sauce by blending your cashews and water until smooth. Then add marinara sauce or whole peeled tomatoes and blend. Add salt and pepper, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast to taste.
Cut your broccoli into florets if it’s not pre-cut.
Prepare your penne pasta according to the package instructions. While the water boils, place some of your broccoli florets in a large mesh strainer and place the strainer on top of the pot to steam. Cover the pot and let the broccoli steam for a few minutes, until bright green and tender. Repeat until all the broccoli is cooked.
Prepare your lentils according to the package instructions.
Add your lentils to a large wide nonstick pan, then add some roasted red peppers, and about half of your broccoli. Then pour in the sauce and heat over medium-low heat until everything is warm, stirring constantly.
Toss your pasta and sauce together, then top with broccoli and roasted red peppers.
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:25 Chickpea tacos
6:20 Tofu and rice bowl
13:33 Pasta & creamy tomato sauce