Being vegan isn't that easy in the beginning. You basically have to build up a new repertoire of recipes. This round-up includes my absolute favorite breakfast, lunch/dinner, snack, bread, milk, condiment, cheese, and dessert recipes.
Whenever you adopt a new diet or lifestyle change, the first days, weeks, or months are the hardest! But I want to make things easy (or at least easier) for you and I've included my favorite basic vegan recipes for new vegans in this round-up! These recipes have helped me in my transition phase!
Here's an overview:
- Breakfast (savory like tofu scramble and sweet classics like pancakes and waffles)
- Lunch/Dinner (lots of pasta (because quick!!), veggie balls and pulled portobello tacos)
- Meat & Fish Alternatives (such as seitan steak, seitan sausages, banana blossom fish and crab cakes)
- Snacks (hummus and crackers are life!)
- Bread (A basic white bread loaf, carrot bread, naan, crispy flatbread,...)
- Milk (almond and hazelnut milk are my favorites for drinking, coconut milk for cooking)
- Condiment/Spreads/Dips (date-sweetened BBQ sauce, garlic sunflower seed dressing, 3-ingredient caramel sauce,..)
- Cheese (cashew and almond parmesan, oooey-gooey nooch cheese and baked almond feta)
- Dessert (muffins, chocolate chip cookies, cake and ice cream - the holy grail of desserts?)
Vegan Breakfast Recipes
Quick & Easy Tofu Scramble
Tofu Scramble is THE perfect vegan alternative for scrambled eggs. A special ingredient will make it taste and smell super eggy!
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Vegan Banana Bread Pancakes with Chocolate Chunks
Looking for a dairy-free and egg-free pancake recipe? Then you'll love these vegan Banana Bread Pancakes with Chocolate Chunks! And you'll never have to decide between banana bread and pancakes again!
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Vegan Chai Waffles
These vegan Chai Waffles topped with maple syrup taste and smell just like Christmas. These are made without eggs or dairy - but 100% flavorful. With cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and all the typical chai spices!
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Vegan Gingerbread Granola
This vegan Gingerbread Granola smells and tastes just like Christmas. It's easy to make and includes all the typical gingerbread spices: ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon.
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Vegan Blueberry Overnight Oats
Recipe for vegan and gluten-free Blueberry Overnight Oats. Prepare the oats the day ahead and top with warm blueberry sauce the next morning. So good!
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Raspberry Chia Pudding
Recipe for a vegan and gluten-free Raspberry Chia Pudding. Chia Puddings are awesome because you can make them the night before and therefore enjoy them in the morning without any hassle.
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Quick & Easy Lunch & Dinner Ideas
Easy Tomato Olive Pasta (Vegan)
This easy Tomato Olive Pasta Recipe is the perfect quick and fuss-free lunch or dinner! Ready in just 15 minutes and made with basic ingredients.
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Vegan Pulled Portobello Tacos
Pulled Portobello is a great vegetarian and vegan alternative to pulled pork. These Pulled Portobello Tacos are easy to make and absolutely delicious!
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Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
Soy granule is the perfect alternative for the traditional meaty Bolognese sauce! This vegan Spaghetti Bolognese is quick to make, tastes like the real deal and no one would think it's vegan!
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BBQ Couscous Bowl
Recipe for a simple BBQ Couscous Bowl with curried couscous, broccoli and tofu, slathered in BBQ Sauce. It's the perfect healthy lunch or ideal to bring to work/school.
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Veggie Balls (IKEA-style)
These IKEA-style Veggie Balls are made with chickpeas, carrots, broccoli, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, corn, and peas. They are flavorful and easy to make. Packed with flavor and nutrients.
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Meat & Fish Alternatives
Homemade Vegan Sausages
No need to buy expensive veggie sausages anymore! These Homemade Vegan Sausages are easy to make and delicious. Thanks to two tricks, they are not tough and rubbery like seitan often is.
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Vegan Seitan Steak
This vegan Seitan Steak is juicy and super easy to make! You can combine all the ingredients in a food processor - so no kneading required! By adding sparkling water and canned chickpeas to the mix, our seitan is softer than many of the tough seitan cutlets you can usually buy in stores. It goes perfectly with roasted potatoes and herb butter.
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Vegan Tempeh Bacon
Real bacon is high in cholesterol and saturated fats! This Vegan Tempeh Bacon is a much healthier plant-based alternative. It's quick and easy and you can make it in the pan. The tempeh slices are smoky and crispy - perfect for breakfast with some tofu scramble or in wraps, burgers etc.!
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Banana Blossom Vegan Fish
This Vegan Fish made with Banana Blossoms is life-changing - especially if you thought that you would never eat anything tastes like fish again! The soft and flaky texture of the banana flowers is perfect as the base!
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Vegan Crab Cakes
These vegan Crab Cakes are quick and easy to make. I've added all the typical ingredients for a fishy flavor: nori, dill, lemon juice, and capers to a hearty base of artichokes and chickpeas. Delicious!
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Vegan Smoked Salmon (Carrot Lox)
You can make delicious vegan Smoked Salmon out of carrots! Everything Bagel + Vegan Cream Cheese + Carrot Lox = HEAVEN!
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Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad
Chickpeas make a great tuna-inspired sandwich filling. The dill, nori, capers, lemon juice, mustard, and tahini add to that typical flavor. The „tuna“ salad is also delicious in wraps!
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Easy Vegan Snack Recipes
The Best Hummus made with dried chickpeas
Say Hello to your new favorite Hummus recipe made from dried chickpeas. Recipe yields 1 ½ cups.
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Vegan Za'atar Crackers
With a few simple ingredients you can make delicious crackers. Top them with za'atar seasoning and you have the best crispy Za'atar Crackers ever! Vegan.
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Better-than-store-bought Vegan Breads
Basic White Bread
You can use this basic white bread recipe for all kinds of breads: bread loaves, burger buns, flatbread, pizza crust, bagels, pretzels,... Anything is possible!
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Mixed Flour Carrot Bread
Recipe for an easy-to-make and super flavorful vegan Carrot Bread using two kinds of flours. With lots of flax seeds and caraway seeds.
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Crispy Sesame Flatbread
Recipe for a crispy, yeast-free, vegan Sesame Flatbread. It's the perfect bread to enjoy with hummus or to serve with soups! So easy to make and it's quite addictive!
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Easy Vegan Naan (Indian Flatbread)
Easy Vegan Naan – if you’re into super fluffy flatbreads, then this is THE recipe for you! The dough is just a simple yeast dough, which you can keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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Vegan Sandwich Bread
Nothing is better than freshly baked, warm, homemade bread! This fluffy vegan Sandwich Bread is easy to make and smells amazing!
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Plant-Based Milk Recipes
Date-Sweetened Hazelnut Milk
Do you want to make your own Hazelnut Milk at home? It's actually super easy! I have a date-sweetened recipe for you, that is super yummy and delicious. It's great for cereals, chia puddings or for hot cocoa.
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Almond Milk
Recipe for homemade, from-scratch Almond Milk. Super silky and better than store-bought! Add sweeteners, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon or whatever you feel like!
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How to make Homemade Coconut Milk
You want to make your own Coconut Milk? Great idea! It's super easy to make and I'll show you how! It is perfect for cooking e.g. curries.
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Condiments and Sauces
Vegan Peppercorn Sauce
This Vegan Peppercorn Sauce is quick & easy and you only need staple ingredients to make it. It's perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts and helps bring them to the next level!
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Vegan Date-Sweetened BBQ Sauce
Recipe for a vegan, date-sweetened BBQ sauce. The perfect condiment for cookouts! It's smoky and sweet, perfect for tofu, tempeh, and grilled veggies!
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Vegan Mango Chutney
Recipe for an easy-to-make and delicious vegan Mango Chutney made with a fresh mango. It's perfect to spread on papadums (crispy Indian bread) or to serve with summer rolls or crispy homemade vegetable pakoras!
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Vegan 'Meaty' Tomato Dip
This is the perfect smoky & ‘meaty’ Tomato Dip to serve with Tortilla Chips! Thanks to soy granule, no one will know that it’s actually vegan!
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Garlic Sunflower Seed Dressing
This raw, vegan and glutenfree Garlic Sunflower Seed Dressing can be used as a super delicious dip or on a salad as a dressing - you simply adjust the consistency by adding more or less water.
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Vegan (Salted) Caramel Sauce
This is the easiest vegan Caramel Sauce ever! You’ll only need 3 ingredients and 1 minute to whisk it together! Drizzle it over nice cream, pancakes, or crepes! It’s true magic!
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Vegan Cheese Recipes
Vegan Cashew Parmesan
Vegan Parmesan is one of the super-easy-to-make homemade staples. You'll only need three ingredients! Make some vegan Parmesan now because it's perfect for pasta, pizza, risotto and so much more! It keeps for a long time.
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Almigiano - Vegan Almond Parmesan
Recipe for a vegan Almond Parmesan, perfect over pasta, lasagna, pizza or rice-based dishes. This is not only a dairy-free alternative to traditional parmesan, but also gluten-free and free of all animal products.
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Nooch Cheese Sauce
Easy and quick homemade vegan Cheese Sauce. Try this Nooch Cheese Sauce with Nutritional Yeast Flakes. Perfect for Lasagne or Mac & Cheese.
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Baked Almond Feta with Rosemary
Recipe for a vegan Baked Almond Feta with Rosemary. Made with the leftover almond pulp from making almond milk! Perfect to crumble over pasta, lasagna, or risotto!
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Cashew Mozzarella
Easy recipe for a vegan Mozzarella Cheese made out of cashews. You'll only need 7 ingredients! It's perfect for pizza, quesadillas, or grilled cheese sandwiches!
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Sweets and Desserts
Soft Baked Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are the best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies I've ever made. They are soft with a slight crisp on the outside, slightly flaky, slightly fudgy. Plus they are really easy and quick to make. You'll only need 6 basic ingredients!
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Peanut Butter Nice Cream with Magic Chocolate Shell
This Salted Peanut Butter Nice Cream topped with Magic Chocolate Shell and Chocolate Granola is a dream come true! I’ll gladly skip any breakfast/lunch/dinner for this treat!
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Vegan Blueberry Lemon Streusel Muffins
Recipe for vegan Blueberry Lemon Streusel Muffins. The tangy lemon streusel go perfectly well with the sweet blueberry muffins. So easy and so good! You don't need any dairy or eggs for muffins.
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Vegan Rhubarb Crumble Cake
Recipe for a super fluffy vegan Rhubarb Crumble Cake - all dairy-free and egg-free. The cake consists of a simple one-bowl vanilla batter, soft rhubarb pieces and perfectly browned crumble / streusel.
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Vegan Blueberry Ombre Popsicles
You'll only need 2 ingredients for these Vegan Blueberry Ombre Popsicles! They are the perfect summer treat and look so pretty!
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Don’t forget to bookmark or pin this page, so you’ll always have the recipes handy when you need them.
Let me know in the comments below, what are your favorite basic vegan recipes?
The Beginner's Guide to Everyday Vegan Cooking is out now!
Whether you’re trying to make the switch, a struggling vegan or just looking for a way to include more plant-based recipes in your diet – We’ve got you covered!
The book includes:
* 75+ veginner-friendly and well-tested recipes
* Bianca’s Kitchen Hacks & Sascha’s Landmine Situations
* and much more!
Seren says
This list is incredible. Loved it! It is bit hard to be a vegan. I would love to try some of these recipes.
Bianca says
Thank you, Seren!
Ida says
I really loved this list! Went through and saved a bunch of recipes! Thank you so much :)
Bianca says
My pleasure!! :)
Julie Stonestreet says
Thank you Bianca for this amazing site. This is the perfect go-to site for someone who is commencing a vegan diet. I love the fact I can print the recipes so easily - I haven't found that anywhere else. You are doing a grand job on helping the world turn vegan! x