This plant-based, gluten-free, oil-free cake shows that you can eat delicious sweets that are also healthy. You can make this in the oven or in the Instant Pot. No oil, refined sugar, eggs, or butter.
Read MoreDukkah is the perfect plant-based seasoning mix! A blend of nuts, seeds, and spices, dukkah is perfect for sprinkling on cooked vegetables, pasta, grains, soups, baked potatoes, or toast with hummus or avocado.
Read MoreThis lovely plant-based curry is a snap to make in the Instant Pot. Pre-soaking the black-eyed peas means that all the ingredients will reach the right texture, without getting over-cooked, in 12 minutes of pressure. This method avoids the need for oil, which saves on fat and calories. Seasonings and heat level can be adjusted to taste. The curry freezes well.
Read MoreMost Indian restaurants serve tamarind sauce as a dipping sauce with appetizers. It has a delicious sweet and sour tang and makes any appetizer more interesting to eat. It goes very well on samosas, pakoras, flatbreads and, in my opinion, as a drizzle on curries as well. This oil- and sugar-free version helps keep the sauce light and healthy.
Read MoreThe soy curls bring a welcome contrasting texture to the rice and vegetables in this bowl. The curls are chewy and bursting with barbecue flavor. You can make this bowl your own with your choice of grain, vegetables, toppings, and sauce.
Read MoreSoy curls are a great substitute for chicken in this plant-based recipe. They’re chewy, roasted on the outside, soft on the inside, and they soak up the wonderful flavors of the marinade-sauce. Even without oil, the roasting method works perfectly and yields a lot of color to the soy curls and vegetables. My favorite part is the peanuts!
Read MoreSpaetzle can be made without eggs! Yes! The gluten in the flour holds them together, and the result is marvelous. These little plant-based noodles go well with a stew, but also taste great with a sauce, vegan butter, or vegan cheese.
Read MoreMushrooms and lentils share the spotlight in this stew, with support from tomato and vinegar flavors. The result is a protein-packed, deeply flavorful plant-based stew that tastes great on its own or with spaetzle, rice, or other grain.
Read MoreTry this plant-based, oil-free version of ranch dressing for the classic flavor along with the creamy texture. The dressing can be used as a dip for vegetables or on any number of salads — from lettuce to chopped salad to cabbage slaws.
Read MoreThis plant-based BBQ sauce goes with everything and makes a lovely gift for friends and family. It’s smooth, thick, and doesn’t have a dominant tomato flavor. With no added oil or sugar, it’s also healthy and can be slathered onto so many foods guilt-free. You can also stir it together with mayonnaise or hummus for fusion sauces and spreads for vegetables, sandwiches, bowls, and more. There’s just so many ways to use it.
Read MoreThese plant-based fajitas have layers and layers of flavors and textures. Roasting brings out the best of all the ingredients, including bell peppers, soy curls, onion, tomatoes, and zucchinis. These are oil-free, but you wouldn’t know it from the flavor and caramelization. If you haven’t tried soy curls yet (a very healthy protein made from soybeans), this would be a great recipe to start with. You control the level of spicy heat.
Read MoreThese plant-based cookie bars are bursting with flavor. They contain no sugar, no butter, or other processed ingredients, but you wouldn’t guess that. The cardamom, orange, and cranberry complement each other deliciously well. These would be especially good for a healthy winter holiday treat.
Read MoreThis recipe offers three flavor combinations for this favorite dish. You can use the recipe as a guide and let your creativity flow to create your own combinations. This plant-based potato salad can also be oil-free if you use a no-oil mayonnaise.
Read MoreThese nuts make any salad more special and impressive. The sweet-salty-spicy (not necessarily fiery) flavors add an outsized impact to salads of all kinds. These clusters would be great for a salad served as an entree, perhaps a green salad with added roasted butternut squash. Plant-based and made without oil, these nuts are also good for your health.
Read MoreWith smoothness from tahini or almond butter, sweetness from maple syrup, and “bite” from balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard, this dressing tastes as good as the tastiest creamy balsamic dressings out there and has a lot fewer calories and grams of fat (per two Tablespoons, this no-oil vinaigrette has 35 calories and 2 grams of fat; Kraft balsamic dressing has 90 calories and 8 grams of fat in two Tablespoons).
Read MoreThis slaw tastes a bit like cold sesame noodle appetizers with its peanut sauce dressing. The gorgeous colors of the vegetables make this as attractive as it is delicious.
Read MoreWhat’s not to like? That gorgeous deep orange color, the subtle chai spices, the creaminess of the (nondairy) milk. Finding some of the ingredients might be challenging if you don’t already have them, but once you’ve found them (locally or online), you’ll have them for many cups thereafter. Powered spices just won’t do.
Read MoreMost Caesar salads are calorie bombs, with some dressing recipes calling for over 1/2 cup of oil (over 1,000 calories). I’ve tinkered a long time with my Caesar salad components and am very happy to say that this plant-based, oil-free solution delivers a bright, fresh, creamy, umami-edged, and all-around wonderful tasting salad. This takes the guilt and confusion out of Caesar salads!
Read MoreI adapted this recipe from from the New York Times replacing the oil with a combination of tahini and water (saving almost 400 calories) and regular parmesan with vegan parmesan. The freshness of the lemon, the grassiness of the herbs, and the abundant asparagus pieces shout “It’s spring!” This is a perfect brunch dish as well as dinner entree, because it tastes great at room temperature or hot.
Read MoreHere’s a simple, classic-tasting Caesar dressing when you want the sharpness of vinegar and Dijon along with the brininess of — not anchovies in this case — capers. This no-oil dressing saves calories and fat. If you make your croutons in the air fryer, you can achieve a completely oil-free Caesar!
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