Spice-Rubbed Braised Tofu with Vegetables in a Savory Umami Sauce. A unique delicious holiday entree that all cooks in one pan! (gluten-free and nut-free with soy-free options)

I wanted to make a vegan braised meat-style dish for the holidays, so I came up with this one-skillet meal that’s rich, hearty, and incredibly flavorful. It features an amazing, aromatic spice rub that smells so meaty you’ll be surprised it’s entirely plant-based. The spice rub coats tofu that’s been frozen, thawed, and pressed, giving it a dense, chewy texture perfect for braising.

The base for the braise starts with crisped-up potatoes and carrots. After searing the vegetables, we make a deeply flavorful sauce with caramelized onions, lots of aromatics, and fresh herbs, and flavor boosters. 

The tofu and vegetables braise together in this sauce, allowing the tofu to absorb all that flavor while developing a slightly crispy top and a tender, chicken-like interior.

We use an oven-safe pan to start the dish on the stovetop and finish it in the oven, where the vegetables become perfectly tender and the tofu gets a gorgeous golden top. 

It’s fantastic served with rice, couscous, mashed potatoes or other mashed vegetables, bean purée, some crusty bakery bread, or a side salad. 

A simple herb sauce adds a bright, fresh contrast, but you can enjoy it on its own, too. It’s full of amazing flavors with or without. The herb sauce just bumps up the flavor even more.

Why You’ll Love Braised Tofu and Vegetables

• 1-pan entree that’s perfect for the holiday table
• flavorful braised vegetables in caramelized onion sauce
• big pieces of crisp, herb-rubbed tofu
• naturally gluten-free and nut-free with easy soy-free option

Continue reading: Chicken-Style Braised Tofu and Vegetables (1 pan!)

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Vegan Chicken 555 reimagines a beloved South Indian street-style appetizer. Crisp golden tofu is coated in a richly spiced sauce infused with fennel, ginger, garlic, coriander, and peppers,  and enough heat to make you reach for seconds (and maybe a cold drink).  gluten free, nut free. soy free option.

This is another one in my series creating vegan versions of these amazing, meat-heavy, regional Indian appetizers. There’s just so much variety in all of these super delicious snacks and appetizers, and sometimes you don’t find those flavors and that spice in the vegetarian appetizers.

You can use this recipe with tofu, soy curls, chickpea tofu, chickpeas, or vegetables, like cauliflower. Basically, you coat your protein or vegetables of choice with this amazing, flavorful batter, and either pan fry or bake it. 

Then, we make this easy, spicy, and delicious sauce mixture. It’s kind of a dry sauce, and you toss the crisped tofu “chicken” in it. Oh my god, it’s so incredibly delicious and also pretty spicy!

You can adjust the spice level to your preference. There are four kinds of chilies in this tofu 555: Kashmiri chili powder in the batter, and green chilies, cayenne, and red pepper flakes in the sauce. To get the flavor with less heat, reduce any or all of those. The combination of peppers adds a ton of flavor, so you definitely want to use some of each, even if you don’t use the full amounts. You can use a milder green chili to manage the heat, too,  if you prefer.

Basically, adjust the heat based on your preference, but definitely try this vegan chicken 555. It’s just so fabulously delicious!

Tofu 555 is great on its own or in crunchy salads with juicy fruits like apples, pears, or mangoes, or with roasted or fresh vegetables. A cucumber salad with a simple lime, salt, and pepper dressing also pairs wonderfully with this Indian appetizer. Or, you can make wraps with lettuce, creamy dressing, and fresh green chilis or pickled jalapeños. 

No matter how you serve it, you have got to try vegan chicken 555!

Why You’ll Love Chicken 555

• crispy tofu in thick, spicy sauce with flavors of fennel, ginger, garlic, coriander, and 4 kinds of peppers
• easily adjust the heat to your preference
• use your plant based protein or use veggies of choice.
• naturally gluten-free and nut-free with easy soy-free option

Continue reading: Vegan Chicken 555 Appetizer

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This hearty bean salad features chickpeas, sweet mango, fresh veggies, and sweet roasted corn in a cumin lime toasted chili oil dressing. Mango chickpea salad is a perfect, one-bowl summer lunch! (gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, oil-free option)

I wanted to make a quick salad that was hearty and not very salad-like. That means not too many leafy greens, because my niece doesn’t like to eat those, but she loves chickpeas. That worked out really well because we added some lime, cumin, and cayenne to give it that Indian chaat-style flavor profile.

This salad is perfect for making the most of ripe, summer mangos and fresh corn on the cob.

It turned out magnificent as is, and then we leveled it up by toasting some red pepper flakes in oil, creating a spiced oil that brought everything together. If you want to make it oil-free, just omit the oil and add the red pepper flakes directly, but the oil definitely adds a nice, smoky, spicy flavor to the salad.

There are three types of heat in this salad: 

1. green chilies
2. cayenne
3. red pepper flakes.

You can adjust the heat by using milder green chilies and reducing the amount of cayenne and red pepper flakes to your preference.

Serve this mango chickpea salad with pita chips, Indian papri/crackers or toasted pita bread for dipping.

Why You’ll Love Mango Chickpea Salad

• easy, 1-bowl salad
• sweet mango, earthy chickpeas, fresh veggies, and sweet, roasted corn
• delicious cumin-lime dressing and red pepper spice oil bring out the flavors
• quick and easy summer lunch
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free
• easy oil-free option

Continue reading: Mango Chickpea Salad with cumin lime toasted pepper dressing

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Lentil trail mix is a super delicious snack, and here I will show you three ways to make it! Peanut gochujang, Indian Chivda, Doritos Nacho flavor! This high protein, savory granola is easy and fun to make and a perfect breakfast or snack. (16 grams of protein and fiber per serving!)

When I shared my red lentil granola recipe, quite a few of you asked for a savory version, and today I’m sharing three different ways to make savory lentil granola/trail mix! Make all three flavors of this delicious lentil trail mix, or triple your favorite flavoring and make one big batch.

Why three ways? Because I just couldn’t decide between these amazing flavors: Indian-spiced, peanut gochujang, and nacho spice. So, I decided to let you choose for yourself!

This trail mix/savory granola recipe uses split red lentils (aka masoor dal) as the base. You cook the red lentils on the stovetop until they are just al dente, and they roast up to be light and crisp in the oven with your seasonings of choice. 

The result is a protein-packed snack that is absolutely full of flavor, no matter which seasoning mix you choose! A serving of this trail mix has around 16 grams of protein and 16 grams of fiber. You can amp up the protein even more by folding in hemp seeds into the granola once it has finished roasting.

The Indian-spiced lentils are inspired by Indian chivda, which usually uses rice flakes or other flaked or puffed grains. It is spicy savory with some balancing sweet from raisins or dates and is fantastically delicious! 

For the nacho spiced savory lentil trail mix, a took inspiration from my nacho cheese granola bars. It’s your favorite snacking chip in crisp trail mix form! you can adjust it to your flavor preference. Add more cayenne for more heat or more nutritional yeast for more cheesiness.

If you love gochujang, definitely try the peanut gochujang lentil trail mix which has an amazing savory-spicy flavor with a hint of sweetness. It pairs so well with the crunchy peanuts! Comment below on which one will you try first!

Why You’ll Love Lentil Trail Mix

• protein- and fiber-packed breakfast or snack with 16 grams each of protein and fiber per serving!
• make all three flavors or choose from 3 amazing flavors: Indian-spiced, peanut gochujang, or nacho cheese
• deep flavors and incredible textures
• naturally gluten-free with soy-free and nut-free options included

Continue reading: High Protein Lentil Trail Mix, 3 Ways Peanut gochujang, Indian Chivda, Nacho cheese flavors

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