These decadently delicious chocolate lava cookies use my soft, chewy, almond flour cookie dough and a flowy, chocolate ganache filling that oozes out when you break them in half! (gluten-free and soy-free with nut-free options)

It’s cookie season, and I wanted to make a decadent, chocolatey cookie. And what better idea than to convert molten lava cake into cookie form! 

My motto is that baking should be super easy and flexible, so that even if you make a few measuring errors, things still turn out great. Nobody has time to whip up butter and sugar and all that, so I use my trusty almond flour cookie dough, which works every time.

To make this simple dough, you just add all the dry ingredients to a bowl, mix really well, add some melted coconut oil and maple syrup, mix again, and that’s it! You have a dough! 

For this recipe, we’ll add cocoa powder to make a chocolate cookie dough. Then, we make a molten chocolate “lava bomb,” which is a melted chocolate ganache that goes inside the cookie. As the cookie bakes, it spreads and traps the chocolate ganache inside. When you break it open, it’s oozy, melty, and so delicious.

Why You’ll Love Lava Cookies

• easy, flexible, foolproof almond flour cookie dough
• chewy, chocolatey cookie outisde
• oozy, melty chocolate ganache filling
• naturally gluten-free and soy-free with nut-free options

Continue reading: Molten Lava Cookies

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Creamy rich Indian rice pudding rolled into balls and coated in various toppings to make a perfect dessert that’s a hit at any dinner party. These kheer ladoos (rice pudding truffles) have an amazing texture and cardamom flavor! (gluten-free and soy-free)

These are an easy dessert for any festive season or for Diwali. I made this decadent rice pudding flavored with cardamom, which is basically Punjabi kheer. 

Then, I mix it with some cashew cream, chill it, scoop it into balls, and roll them in different toppings like pistachios, cocoa powder, almond slivers, rose petals, melted chocolate, toasted coconut, or anything else you like.

Ladoo are basically Indian truffles, and these are flavored with cardamom for a simple yet delicious dessert.

You can change up the flavor with things like cinnamon or vanilla, and you can play around with toppings and mix-ins to make all kinds of delicious variations! For extra decadent rice pudding truffles, melt some chocolate with a little bit of coconut oil in a double boiler, then coat them in the melted chocolate.

Kheer ladoo are great to serve either as a snack or dessert. They don’t need extra bowls or spoons, and they’re already portioned. You can also make them ahead of time, so you won’t have as much cooking to do on the day of your dinner party.

Why You’ll Love Kheer Ladoo

• creamy truffles scented with cardamom
• easy, make-ahead dessert perfect for Diwali or any dinner party
• versatile! Add mix-ins and toppings of choice to make these your own
• naturally gluten-free and soy-free

Continue reading: Kheer Ladoo (Indian Rice Pudding Truffles)

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This foolproof blender recipe creates perfectly fudgy blondies studded with chocolate chips. Allergy-friendly, protein-packed, and absolutely delicious.

I have used chickpeas and lentils in various ways to make healthier desserts already on the blog. There is my chickpea cookie pie, my chickpea brownies, my lentil brownies, and my lentil cookie dough brownie bars.

There are just so many ways to use all these legumes, so I decided to try using white beans. Chickpeas can sometimes be a little bit more grainy and gritty, even when you blend them That’s because chickpeas have thicker skin. The texture of the bean is also a bit more gritty compared to creamy white beans, so white beans actually are a great option to use in dessert recipes instead of chickpeas.

I made these blondies with white beans and tahini. Usually, I add some kind of nut butter to my brownies or cookie pies. I wanted to keep this recipe nut-free, so I’m using tahini here. But if you don’t want to use tahini, you can just add some smooth almond butter or peanut butter.

It’s a super simple recipe with just a few ingredients. Just add everything to a blender or a food processor, blend, then transfer to a baking pan. Add your chocolate chips and chunks if you want, and bake. That’s it!

These are amazing and super easy, and you’re going to want to make them again and again.

Why You’ll Love White Bean Blondies

• super easy – you make the batter in the blender!
• lots of protein and fiber from the beans and tahini
• versatile! Make it with chocolate chips or use the snickerdoodle variation
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

Continue reading: Fudgy White Bean Blondies – Soy & Nut Free

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Crispy smashed white beans and Cajun veggies roasted on one sheet pan, then tossed in a creamy, tangy chipotle-lime dressing. A versatile meal you can serve in bowls, tacos, or wraps.

This is a super easy and absolutely delicious meal that comes together fairly quickly. You just chop up all of the vegetables and add them to a pan. Smash the beans using a bowl, and add them to the pan as well. Add some spices, oil, and lime juice, toss well, and then bake until the veggies are tender and the beans are lightly crisp.

Meanwhile, you make this creamy, delicious, spicy, lightly sweet, and tangy dressing. It goes amazingly well over these roasted veggies. I mean, this is a dressing you can use on any salad, wraps. burritos, or any which way. It’s just fantastic with all of that smoky chipotle spice flavor, the tang from the lime juice, the creaminess from the non-dairy yogurt, and some cheesiness from the nutritional yeast. It’s just fantastic.

You can serve this roasted bean and veggie mixture as a bowl, in wraps, stuffed into pita bread, or over a baked potato or rice. There are so many ways to serve this! Do let me know in the comments how you served it as well, because I love hearing from you guys, and many times you surprise me with the creative ways you serve the recipes.

You want the beans to be sort of lightly flattened but not entirely smashed. You’re just trying to increase the surface area, so they can bake up nice and crispy in the oven.

If you don’t want to smash them, that’s fine, too. Just add them directly to the veggies on the sheet pan and bake. The beans on the edges will still get crisp. If you want all of the unsmashed beans to get crisp and act like croutons, then bake them on a separate sheet so that they crisp up nicely.

This dish is spicy, smoky, creamy, and tangy. It’s just an amazing blend of flavors! It has protein from the beans, nutritional yeast, and yogurt.  You can up the protein by adding hemp seeds into the dressing or as a topping.

Why You’ll Love these Smashed Bean Veggie Bowl

• easy meal all cooks on one large or two small sheet pans
• amazing textures from crispy smashed beans, tender roasted veggies, and creamy dressing
• incredible tangy, smoky, savory, slightly sweet flavors
• versatile! Serve as wraps, in pita, in bowls, or over rice, baked potato, or quinoa
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

Continue reading: Smoky Cajun Veggies & Smashed White Beans (All on One Sheet-Pan)

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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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Indian Chaat meets Tostadas! Cilantro mint lime chutney marinated beans on crunchy tostadas with sweet maple lime sauce and cooling yogurt, are an Indian fusion dish that’s a perfect starter, snack, or even entree! No cook (Options for soy-free nut-free gluten-free)

These no-cook tostadas use canned beans, prepared tostadas, and lots of delicious sauces – no cooking needed! The only cooking you’d need to do is if you are making your tostadas from tortillas. Prepared tostadas are readily available in most grocery stores.

I wanted to make a fun dish with beans, and I took inspiration from chaat, which is a family of Indian snacks or street food characterized by these awesome combinations of different textures and flavors. Especially papri chaat which has crisp crackers paired with mashed potatoes or chickpeas or both and chutneys, sauces and yogurt for a fantastic salad like hearty nachos if you will. Many chaat recipes have crispy, spicy, sweet, and tangy all together. They’re great as snacks or can be a refreshing meal.

I took inspiration from those flavors and textures. Usually, I make this chickpea potato chaat with small crackers, where you take some cooked chickpeas and cooked potatoes, toss them with some spices and chutneys, and layer them with yogurt, more chutneys, and some chopped crunchy veggies.

I turned that dish into this tostada, where we take crispy tostadas and make marinated beans that are soaked in a delicious green chutney, instead of chickpeas, along with cucumber and onion. We top the tostadas with these beans and then add a good drizzle of seasoned non-dairy yogurt and this sweet, tangy, maple-lime sauce to bring all of those flavors together. It’s absolutely fantastic and delicious! The maple lime sauce is a sub for tamarind date chutney. If you have tamarind chutney, use that for more Indian chaat flavor.
Try more Indian salads- Mango Zucchini chickpea Indian spiced oil salad and my Kachumber Salad !

This recipe is very versatile. If you want to control the heat, use less of the green chili, and choose a milder chili.  If you don’t have tostadas, you can make your own! Those instructions are in the recipe notes. If you don’t like cilantro, you can make a mint chutney with more mint leaves instead of the cilantro.

Chutney bean tostadas are just fabulously crispy, zesty, refreshing, and hearty. They are a perfect summer meal!

Why You’ll Love Chutney Bean Tostadas

• perfect warm weather meal or snack – no cooking required!
• incredible combination of flavors and textures! marinated beans, sweet and savory chutneys, creamy cooling cumin yogurt drizzle, on crunchy tostadas
• soy-free and nut-free with easy gluten-free option

Continue reading: Cilantro Mint Chutney White Beans over Crispy Tostadas (no-cook! Papri Chaat inspired)

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High protein and fiber. Mix everything right in the pan meal, this Sheet pan roasted veggies and beans with Creamy Lemon Yogurt sauce, has amazing flavor and texture! Wrap it, bowl it, swipe with bread! So good! Gluten-free, options for soyfree, Nutfree

This is an easy, refreshing, spring and summer meal that you can put together within minutes. You make this amazingly refreshing lemon yogurt sauce and pair it with savory roasted veggies and crispy, crunchy beans that have been tossed in spices like paprika, coriander, black pepper, and garlic. They are crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

The warm veggies and the cooling yogurt sauce are just fabulous together.

This is a veggie-heavy recipe rich in fiber, with over 14 grams per serving. It contains 15 to 25 grams of protein per serving, depending on the garnishes and non-dairy yogurt used. The protein in these sheet pan roasted vegetables comes from the beans, yogurt, sesame or hemp seeds, and even the vegetables. For an even more filling meal, serve with whole grain flatbread, pita, or naan.

You can pair them with the sauce in any way you like. You can put the sauce on a plate, top it with the roasted veggies, then top with some seeds and sprouts and a good squeeze of lemon juice. 

Or make a wrap with pita bread or naan bread. Just warm the bread, add the yogurt sauce, the roasted veggies, some more sauce, sprouts, cucumber, and a squeeze of lemon, then serve.

Sheet pan veggies and beans are absolutely delicious any which way you serve it. You can even make small tacos out of it!

Why You’ll Love Sheet Pan Veggies and Beans

• super easy 1-pan meal celebrates delicious spring and summer veggies
• tender-crisp roasted vegetables with crunchy roasted white beans
• creamy, vibrant, 1-bowl lemon yogurt sauce
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

Continue reading: Sheet Pan Veggies and Beans with Lemon Yogurt Sauce

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A fully loaded, flavor packed, protein rich summer spinach salad with an umami-packed crisp chickpea hemp seed olive crumble, nutrient dense greens, and creamy, vibrant tahini lemon dressing. A perfect hot weather dinner. (23g protein and 15g fiber per serving, (gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, high protein)

This is a fantastically hearty summer spinach salad. It has so many textures and flavors, and it has 80 grams of protein for the entire salad. That’s 20 grams of protein per serving. For a salad!

There is protein from the chickpeas, from the hemp seeds, and from the nutritional yeast in the chickpea crumble. There’s also protein from the tahini in the dressing, the non-dairy yogurt (depending on the brand), as well as a little protein from the greens that you use in the salad. You can amp up the protein even more by sprinkling it with some hemp seeds before serving or adding some of my tofu bacon bits, or other high protein toppings.

The salad has this creamy texture from the dressing, the crunch from the fresh veggies, and crispiness from the chickpea crumbles, which we bake until they’re crispy-crunchy. The umami comes from the olives and the sun-dried tomato, and the refreshing, fresh flavor comes from lemon zest, the cucumbers, and any other crunchy veggies and greens. 

It’s just a fabulous combination of flavors and textures. The combination of tahini and yogurt helps mellow tahini’s strong flavor and makes for a rich, creamy dressing.

Why You’ll Love this Summer Spinach Salad

• incredible combination of flavors and textures! Crunchy veggies, creamy dressing, and savory, crisp chickpea-olive crumble.
• easy to make in about 30 minutes
• packed with veggies and protein
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

Continue reading: Summer Spinach Salad with Chickpea Olive Crumble

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Umami-packed puttanesca sauce pairs beautifully with hearty butter beans! Puttanesca beans are a versatile, 1-pot meal that is absolutely full of flavor. Gluten-free Nutfree soyfree

I loved the incredible sauce that I made with my orzo puttanesca, so I decided to add some butter beans to it to make it into a one-pot bean dish. This is a fantastic and delicious pot of beans!

The puttanesca sauce has umami from the mushrooms, the sun-dried tomatoes, and the olives or capers, and it is just so flavorful. It also has Italian herbs and is slightly spicy from the red pepper flakes. All in all, it has a fantastic flavor profile.

Then you add some butter beans to that amazing sauce and simmer them together to meld the flavors. There’s protein and fiber from the butter beans, and it’s just a hearty and delicious stewy bean dish that you can serve with some garlic bread, sourdough or naan. You can also serve it over cooked pasta or a baked potato.

However you dish it up, it’s just fabulously delicious.

Puttanesca beans are also flexible! Use whichever ingredients you have on hand. There are different ways to add that umami using sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and capers. Even if you have two of those instead of three, it will still taste amazing.

If you can’t find butter beans, use other beans, like cannellini beans, other white beans, or use chickpeas. Or add some cooked lentils into the sauce to make it more like a puttanesca bolognese!

Why You’ll Love Puttanesca Beans

• super easy 1-pot 30 minute meal
• packed with protein, fiber, veggies, and FLAVOR!
• umami-filled, tomato-based sauce with tender butter beans
• versatile! Serve with bread to dip or over pasta or a baked potato
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

Continue reading: Puttanesca Butter Beans

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Chataka Dal is a spicy flavorful Dal from the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is made from yellow split pigeon peas simmered along with tomatoes, then seasoned with a spicy chili tempering. Gluten-free, soy free and nut free.

I grew up in Maharashtra state and the dishes of this particular cuisine have a special place in my heart! Simple dals, bhaji like my jackfruit brown chickpea bhaji, saoji , kohlapuri, and Zunka are already on the blog! You can find misal pav and Amti dal  in my cookbook.

This Chataka dal is another dish I love – it’s a simple dal with few ingredients but trust me, it’s far from simple in taste. It’s fiery with the added chili powder tempering. As always, you can adjust the spice level to your preference.

To serve, I serve with flatbread or rice. This dish goes incredibly well with rice but you could also serve this with cauliflower rice.

Dals are soul food with many variations from various states and regions in India.
There are several types of Dals and legumes used in Indian cuisine. You can see a list with pictures here.
This Chataka dal is quick and delicious. Traditionally it used 1-2 tablespoon of the Indian chili powder, but that is going to be a lot of heat for most . So I use less. You can use whichever lentils or split peas you have for this recipe. Just cook them long enough until tender and then add the tempering/Tadka.

More daal recipes:

• Sabut Masoor Ki Daal; Spiced Lentil Soup
• Dhaba Style Butter Dal (vegan)
• Vegan Handi Lentils (Creamy Indian Dal)
• Instant Pot Dal Bukhara; Dump and Done Creamy Black lentils
• Spicy Urad dal

Continue reading: Chataka Dal – Spicy Maharashtrian Toor Dal

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Saag Cornbread Casserole – a fragrant Indian mustard greens stew baked in the oven and topped with a cornbread topping. So flavorful and comforting. Baked Sarson da saag Makki roti casserole. Nutfree Soyfree recipe.  Oil-free and gluten-free versions are included.

I am back with another Indian-inspired casserole dish! To help you try Indian flavors and foods in a a simpler format. Saag Cornbread Casserole – flavorful, super nourishing and oh-so satisfying.

Saag is a dish from the northern part of India that uses greens. It can use different types of greens that are locally available. The most common version uses either all mustard greens or a mix of mustard greens and spinach or bathua (a type of amaranth) leaves. It is often slow cooked for a while then mashed and cooked again to make a spiced mashed greens stew that is served topped with vegan butter, Indian pickle and with flatbread.

Saag is usually served with a maize flour/fine cornmeal based flatbread (called Makki ki roti).

Makki/makai ki roti (corn flatbread) is somewhat similar to Mexican corn tortillas but uses maize flour that hadn’t been nixtamalized.  Hence it has a different flavor and texture from corn tortillas. The process for making both the roti and saag can take quite some time, so I converted this delicious Punjabi comfort food staple into a simple casserole dish that you can make in a baking dish!

The greens used in this casserole are chopped up and placed at the bottom of the casserole dish alongside the tempered spices and flavors of Saag. I add some quinoa to increase the protein content of this vegan casserole dish. You can use split red lentils instead or some potatoes.

While our saag casserole bakes, we make a cornbread-type topping using Indian spices and cornmeal instead of making corn flatbread on the side.

Then we layer that cornbread mixture over the pre-cooked greens,  cover it with parchment paper and bake the whole assembled casserole again until the cornbread sets.

I love to serve this as is or with some vegan butter on top. It’s hearty, delicious and checks all the Makki ki roti and sarson da saag flavor and the ease of a casserole.

More vegan casserole dishes:

Shahi Tofu Kofta Casserole

Jalapeno Chili Cornbread Casserole

Lentil Curry Casserole

Baked Kitchari Casserole (Spiced Lentil Rice Casserole)

South Indian Eggplant Curry Recipe (Baked Casserole)

Madras Curry Tofu Casserole

Baked tofu curry – makhani 

Continue reading: Saag Cornbread Casserole

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This rich and creamy Caramelized Onion Dal is the perfect comfort food for a cold day! It is bursting with flavor from caramelized onions and whole spices which are tempered in oil! Serve with rice for a delicious Indian meal.

Coming at you with a simple lentil dal that is bursting with flavor. This is another dal that I just made one night when I was craving a light dal and rice meal.

This caramelized onion dal is a creamy concoction of two types of lentils – red and yellow ones – which are cooked on the stove or using an Instant Pot and then simmered along with fragrant seasoned oil – tadka (tempering).

The caramelized onions add a whole bunch of umami flavor while the cumin and black pepper mixture added to the tempering provide some heat and a refreshing flavor!

To take this dish to the next level of deliciousness we serve this lentil dish drizzled with another round of tempering. This second mix of whole spices fried in oil until sizzling and aromatic gets folded through the creamy dal just before serving

Use whatever lentils you have on hand. I used a mix of yellow and red lentils. You can cook them on the stovetop or in the instant pot.

More daal recipes:

Dhaba Style Butter Dal (vegan)

Sabut Moong Dal  Creamy Green Mung Beans

Vegan Handi Lentils (Creamy Indian Dal)

Masoor Dal Tadka (Indian Split Red Lentil Dal)

Spicy Urad Dal (Black Gram Lentil Dal)

Continue reading: Caramelized Onion Dal

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These easy vegan Peanut Butter cookies require no flour, need just 6 ingredients, and are the Peanuttiest! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with a sprinkling of crunchy chopped peanuts on top. Gluten-free vegan Peanut butter cookie

Meet the peanut butter cookies to beat all peanut butter cookies. No flour is added to these cookies meaning these babies are PACKED with flavor as they are pretty much pure peanut butter

Some chopped peanuts on top provide crunch and if you use salted, toasted ones, you get a nice contrast of sweet and salty. These are seriously delish along with a cup of  Chai !

This easy peanut butter cookie recipe needs no flour and uses only 6 ingredients and take just 5 minutes to put together! It could not be easier and within minutes you will end up with the most decadent cookies.

More cookie recipes:

Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies

Miso Lemon Pepper Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Almond Joy Cookies Gluten-free Vegan

Snickers Cookies Gluten-free

Baklava Cookies

Continue reading: No Flour Peanut Butter Cookies

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