Category Archives: vegan

Vegan BBQ Chickpea Salad

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Today is Good Friday, the last Friday of Lent – which means it’s time to wrap up this year’s Lenten Friday series. I hope you’ve enjoyed the vegan meal ideas I’ve shared over the last six weeks! I’m closing out this year’s posts with a great recipe for the meal I struggle with most on Lenten Fridays – lunch.

For me, breakfast is always easy. Dinner is always well planned. Lunch, though? Lunch is always just grabbing whatever – and not usually plant based in this house so vegan lunches have been lackluster at best.

Salad with bbq chickpeas, corn, cucumber, pickles, red onion, carrots, and tahini ranch dressing.

This salad, though, was the best lunch I had during Lent this year hands-down. It doesn’t take long to make, but the elements are also perfectly meal-prep friendly if you want to make it ahead. The warm, bbq chickpeas paired with all my favorite barbecue-inspired flavors (including dill pickles!) was such a satisfying mid-day meal.

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Vegan Teriyaki Eggplant & Pineapple Skewers

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It feels like summer here today so it felt appropriate to share the most summer-worthy recipe of this year’s Lenten series!

When most people think of grilling, they think meat – steaks, burgers, etc. – but fruit and veggies are also also fabulous grilled.

This beautiful grilled skewers are simple, packed with flavor – and plant based. Chunks of eggplant and pineapple and grilled and glazed with a quick homemade teriyaki sauce. This is the perfect vegan option for your next cookout!

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Vegan Cauliflower Gyros in the Air Fryer

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My most productive time of the day is the morning. The more I can get done before lunch, the better – and that extends to dinner prep too. This meal was a hit here not only because it was delicious, but also because a vast majority of the prep could be done ahead of time.

Cooked, marinated cauliflower in a pita with cucumber, tomato, and black olives.

I set the cauliflower up to marinate early, and by the time dinner rolled around all I had to do was toss it in the air fryer and assemble the sandwiches. It was packed with flavor and super hearty – a perfect Lenten Friday dinner.

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Vegan Black Bean & Quinoa Tacos

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These are meaty tacos – without any meat! The fully plant-based filling is stick-to-your-ribs hearty, with all the classic flavors of the ground beef taco you grew up with and it won’t take you any longer to make.

Three flour tortillas in a grey bowl stuffed with a mixture of quinoa and black beans in a seasoned tomato sauce. The outside tortillas are topped with lettuce and black olives. The bowl rests on a napkin with colorful stripes.

Of all the vegan meals I’ve made, this might be my family’s favorite – it’s become part of our regular rotation.

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Vegan Spring Minestrone

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This winter has been crazy. Here in central NJ, we’ve seen more snow this year than we have in at least a decade. The kids no longer get excited when it’s snowing – it’s happened than often. And I know other parts of the country are dealing with an unexpectedly harsh season too, and not fairing as well as we have been.

I take heart knowing spring is around the corner.

Even with spring on the horizon, it’s still soup weather. Lots of my favorite soups are very wintery – so I decided I needed one that was more spring-appropriate. This vegan soup is packed with spring veggies – and flavor.

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Vegan Hummus and Herb Pizza

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For me, pizza is synonymous with Lent so even though this year’s Lenten series is vegan, I had to include a pie that fit the bill.

Instead of cheese, this pie has a layer of creamy hummus. Instead of meat or extra cheese, it’s topped off with sliced grape tomatoes, herbs, and toasted pecans.

The result is a beautiful pie – perfect crispy crust, creamy layer, and lots of toppings!

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Individual Vegan Pot Pies

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Since so much of the country is dealing with snow, it seemed appropriate to kick off this year’s Lent series with some cold-weather comfort food. These pot pies are warm and hearty – even meat lovers won’t miss the meat here!

With hearty veggies, a creamy sauce, and a flaky crust, this falls into you’d-never-guess-it’s-vegan territory. But it is, and it’s good.

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15 Vegan Dinner Ideas

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Today is Ash Wednesday, and the official kick off for my annual Lenten dinner series. It is my 10th year sharing meatless meals on Lenten Fridays and, my, have we come a long way.

When I started this series a decade ago, we were not good at eating meatless. Friday dinners consisted mainly of spaghetti with jarred sauce or pizza. I decided that I needed to get out of that rut, and turned it into a yearly blog project. These days, meatless meals are no problem – they’re regularly in rotation even when it’s not Lent.

Meatless Fridays are supposed to be a sacrifice, and I realized as I was planning this year’s series that in many ways, they wouldn’t be for us. I decided to take things one step further this year and make all of our Friday recipes vegan. While the extra restriction is surely not necessary for Lent, I wanted to be sure our Friday meals were something that required planning – like they were when I started this series.

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Vegan Chickpea Shawarma in the Air Fryer

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Happy #Veganuary! When’s the last time you had a vegan meal?

Our family is not vegan, but I do try to mix vegan meals into our meal plan regularly. I both appreciate the lessened environmental impact of these meals and like exposing the kids to lots of different cuisine options.

This vegan meal is perfect for a busy family because it comes together in less than 30 minutes and is made with things I always have in the fridge or pantry.

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Vegan Butternut Squash & Apple Burgers with Balsamic Caramelized Onions

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I feel like I’ve been avoiding fall. The weather has been really mild here – enough that I haven’t even had to break out a sweatshirt most days and I’ve still been picking tomatoes from the garden regularly. It’s made it easy to pretend summer is just ending.

But, I can’t pretend forever – our first frost is coming tonight and it’s finally kicked my brain into fall mode. I’m officially craving all the autumn flavors – and this vegan burger just hits the spot.

These have just a few simple ingredients but they flavors are incredible – fresh, and perfectly seasonal.

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