This recipe is the closest I’ve come to replicating tuna salad like I used to eat it when I was growing up. It’s really good in a sandwich, or just with crackers for a snack! This might be too bland for some people, so feel free to adjust the amounts to your liking. If you want it to be more “fishy” tasting, throw in some kelp powder or dulce.

ChickPea “Tuna” Salad

• 1 can of chickpeas (16-ish oz)
• 1/4c-1/2c Vegan mayo (i use veganaise)
• 1 1/2 tbsp dill relish
• 1 tsp yellow mustard
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 or 2 medium sized celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2c walnuts, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Drain chickpeas, and puree with a food processor, blender, or even just a fork. Add remaining ingredients and mix! fast and easy! By the way, that’s just some paprika on top! :) Enjoy.

Fettuccine Alfredo was one of my favorite foods before I went vegan, so I’m surprised it took me a year to get around to veganizing this dish. This recipe isn’t exactly like regular alfredo sauce, but it’s close enough to satisfy my cravings! I like to use cashews for cheesy Italian things (ricotta, alfredo, etc) because I think it works better, taste wise, than soymilk or tofu. So when I found a simple recipe for cashew alfredo on vegweb, it got my gears turning. I tried a few other recipes online before this one, and the cashew recipe was closer to authentic than the others. I’d imagine if you can get your hands on some mimic cream, you could probably substitute that in for the cashews & hot water.

Vegan Alfredo Sauce
makes about 1 1/2 cups of sauce- enough for two people

• 1 cup cashews (I used raw)
• 1-1 1/2 cups hot water (you can even take it straight from the pasta water)
• 1 tsp garlic powder (or 1-2 cloves of fresh)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• juice from 1/4 a lemon (about 1 1/2 tsp)
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance margarine (optional)
• parsley flakes (optional)

I started out by placing my cashews and 1 cup of hot water in my food processor, and pulsed until it was smooth looking. In retrospect, the sauce was kind of grainy from bits of cashews (as seen below), so next time i’ll use a clean coffee grinder on the cashews first, or just a blender instead of a food processor.

once the cashew cream is smooth, add the remaining ingredients (minus the parsley), and blend. If your sauce is too thick, add more hot water. I added the earth balance straight onto the pasta to melt, but if you want to blend it up in the sauce, you can melt it or soften it first. You can also add other ingredients to change the sauce to your taste: a pinch of nutmeg, some vegan Parmesan cheese, your favorite spice!

pour the sauce over cooked pasta of your choice (fettuccine is good, but i only had spaghetti), stir, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately! For me, non-vegan alfredo leftovers were never really as good, so I’d imagine this variation doesn’t reheat well, either.

this is one of my favorite vegan lasagnas EVER! I combined a few recipes: the cashew ricotta is from Vegan with a Vengence, I think. and the “carrot mixture” + base lasagna recipe is from vegweb.

Ingredients:
2-3 jars of favorite spaghetti sauce
1-16 oz bag of spinach leaves
2-3 jars of tomato sauce (optional)
1/2 lb. carrots
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup canned low-sodium veggie broth (optional)
1 lb. firm tofu
8 oz. vegan cream cheese
2 Tblspns. lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
12 lasagna noodles, cooked
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
Vegan Cheese for grating (optional)

for the cashew ricotta:
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup lemon juice (i just squeeze 1/2 a lemon)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 lb firm tofu
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions: Blend up cashew ricotta ingredients in a food processor, and set aside. for Carrot Mixture: Slice carrots and steam, set aside. Add olive oil to a large skillet, place over medium-high heat until hot. Add parsley and garlic, saute for 1 minute.. Add carrots and veggie broth; simmer uncovered for 5 min. Add tofu, vegan cream cheese, and lemon juice; stir well. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until fake cheesy stuff starts to melt.Stir in nutmeg and Nutritional Yeast. Remove from heat and set aside; keep warm.

in an 11 x 7 baking dish, layer lasagna: noodles, pasta sauce, noodles, carrot mixture, spinach, noodles, ricotta, noodles, pasta sauce, chopped cashews, teese cheese. Cover and bake 15 min. at 375 degrees. Uncover and bake an additional 20-30 min.