Roasting the carrots whole before they ever touch the marinade is what makes this vegan smoked salmon work. A raw carrot ribbon stays crunchy no matter how long it soaks, but a roasted carrot turns silky and supple, so it drapes over a bagel and drinks up the smoky marinade the way you want it … Read more
Most mac and cheese recipes go one of two ways when you take out the dairy. Either the sauce turns gritty the second it hits the pan, or it sets up into a gluey paste by the time the bowl reaches the table. This vegan mac and cheese avoids both, with a cashew cream that … Read more
This vegan banana bread is the one I make when the bunch on the counter has gone past the point of no return, the skins freckled and sweet enough to smell from across the kitchen. It comes out exactly the way banana bread should, deeply golden outside, tender and moist in the middle, with a … Read more
Classic vegan potato salad is the dish I bring to every cookout, and it’s usually the first bowl to come back empty. The version I make here skips the thick, gluey texture of old deli potato salad and uses a bright dressing built on vegan mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar, with plenty of celery and dill … Read more
Are Lemonheads vegan? No. Both the original hard candy and the Chewy Lemonhead Fruit Mix list confectioner’s glaze on the ingredient label, and that glaze is shellac, a resin an insect secretes rather than anything grown from a plant. Almost everything else in the candy is plant-based, so this one ingredient is what rules it … Read more
This vegan ranch dressing comes together in about ten minutes with no cooking involved, which makes it one of those condiments I always keep in the fridge. The base is vegan mayonnaise loosened with a quick homemade vegan buttermilk, and the whole thing gets finished with fresh dill, chives, and parsley. Once you’ve made it … Read more
This is the seitan recipe I go back to whenever a recipe on this site calls for a chewy, savory protein and I don’t want to rely on a store-bought package. Vital wheat gluten is the whole trick here: mix it with a little seasoning and broth, knead it briefly, and it turns into a … Read more
Is lager vegan? Most of it is, but not automatically. The grain, water, hops, and yeast in lager are all plant-based on their own, but some breweries clarify their beer with isinglass, a fining agent made from fish, so whether a specific lager is vegan comes down to how that particular brewery filters it, not … Read more
This is the vegan turkey I make whenever I want a centerpiece-worthy roast without the fuss of a whole vegan turkey substitute I didn’t make myself. It starts from the same vital wheat gluten base as regular seitan, but I season the dough with the sage-thyme-rosemary flavor of classic poultry seasoning and add a spoonful … Read more
This is my go-to way to make vegan bacon at home, and the whole thing comes down to two things: pressing the tofu really well, and not skimping on the marinade time. Extra-firm tofu, sliced thin and dried out under some weight, soaks up a smoky, savory marinade almost like a sponge, and once it … Read more