Creamy Vegan Pasta Dinner for the Whole Family!

I know through my years of being in the vegan community that not having easy, family-friendly vegan recipes can turn people off to this lifestyle and cause overwhelm for new vegans. That’s exactly why I centered my live demo around this meal–an easy, one-pot, delicious, creamy pasta that the entire family will love.

If you’d like to see this recipe in visual form, watch it step by step in this video:

Let’s get started with making this creamy pasta with vegan sausage, spinach, mushrooms, and bell pepper.

Ingredients

• 4 vegan sausage links of choice (I used field roast sausage)*

• 1 tbsp oil (avocado oil is great)

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 5 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped

• 2 tsp Dash garlic & herb 

• 2 tsp Italian seasoning

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoon salt

• 8 oz bella mushrooms, chopped

• 3 cups vegetable broth

• 2 cans full fat coconut milk 

• 1 lb farfalle/ bowtie pasta

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• Salt to taste

*Note: If you’ve tried a vegan sausage that you didn’t like, don’t let it stop you from trying others! These days there are so many vegan products with different qualities and flavors. For sausage, I like Field Roast, Beyond Sausage, Impossible, and Jack & Annies.

Instructions

1. Sautee the sausage for 5 mins on medium heat in a large skillet, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick. Set aside for later.

2. Add your chopped onion, garlic, and bell pepper to the skillet and saute for about 5 minutes.

3. Add your spices and salt, stir.

4. Stir in your mushrooms and cook down for about 6 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally.

5. Mix in your vegetable broth and coconut milk, bring to a boil

6. Once at a boil, add your box of pasta and additional spices and herbs.

7. Cover, reduce heat and let set for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

8. Mix in three handfuls of spinach and cook it down

9. At this time, if you need more liquid, add in more vegetable broth 1 tablespoon at a time

10. Optional: make a quick vegan parmesan 

    • In a food processor, combine nutritional yeast with roasted cashews and salt, pulse till you achieve your desired texture.

11. Plate and enjoy!

If you tried this recipe, please let me know what you thought and if your whole family enjoyed this. Will you be adding this to the weeknight meal rotation? 

And if you are looking for more accessible vegan recipes, tips for going and staying vegan, and overall health and wellness content, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter.

Vegan Chili Recipe (Video) Just Throw it in the Slow Cooker

So let's get to the recipe & video....

I love chili! It's easy, filling and versatile.

We usually have it with rice or cornbread the first night and on tortilla chips with lettuce (sometimes this queso recipe) and salsa the next day.

The measurements in the recipe below is enough for one night for us, so I double the ingredients to stretch it out.

Enjoy!

Vegan Chili Recipe - Throw It In the Slow Cooker

by Brown Vegan

Cook Time: 6-8 Hours

Keywords: slow-cooker entree vegan vegetarian

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 1 lb kidney beans, soaked for 8 hours-then drained & rinsed
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 24 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 jalapeño peppers, diced (add seeds based on how spicy you want the chili to be)
• 1 package of vegan meatless crumbles (optional)

Instructions

In a large bowl, soak the kidney beans in water overnight.

After soaking, rinse the kidney beans and boil in a stockpot for 30 minutes in about 10 cups of water.

Add all of the ingredients (except for the vegan crumbles and jalapeño) into a slow cooker.

Turn on and cook for 6-8 hours or until the kidney beans are soft.

During the last 30 minutes, mix in the crumbles and jalapeño.

Also, check your seasoning and add more salt, if necessary.

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Coconut Mushrooms & Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Here's an delicious dinner that doesn't take a million hours to put together and has inexpensive ingredients.

Even though I didn't include this in the directions, I usually add in a teaspoon of cumin because I will find any excuse to use it. I'm addicted!

Never used canned coconut milk in a recipe? You're in for a treat! There's no weird coconut flavor in this dish and it makes a nice light gravy to go with the potatoes.

Enjoy!

Coconut Mushrooms & Mashed Potatoes

by Brown Vegan

Keywords: saute entree vegan vegetarian

Ingredients (Serves 5)

Coconut Mushrooms

• 1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 cups cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 15 oz can of coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Mashed Potatoes

• 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, washed, peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond or soy milk (add more if necessary)
• 1/4 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance and Smart Balance are options)
• 1 teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon more salt for the cooking water)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Mushroom Instructions

Heat a large shallow pan on medium heat with oil. Add in bell pepper, shallots and garlic for about 3 mins. Then add in mushrooms, stirring frequently for 4 minutes.

Pour in coconut milk and bring to a boil until liquid has reduced by half. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mashed Potatoes Instructions

Place potatoes into a large saucepan. Add cold water to the pan until the potatoes are covered by at least an inch. Add in 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Bring the potatoes and water to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low to maintain a simmer and cover.

Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until you can easily poke through them with a fork.

When the potatoes are done, drain the water and place the potatoes back into the pot.

Add in the milk, margarine, salt and pepper and mash with a potato masher.

Add more milk to smooth out the potatoes, if necessary. Don't over­beat the potatoes or the mashed potatoes will end up gluey.

Adjust seasoning.

To serve: Scoop mashed potatoes into a bowl. Top with about 1⁄2 cup of coconut mushrooms and cilantro

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Let me know what you think when you try this recipe :-)

Valentine's Day Dinner & Dessert | Cooking with My Hubby

Valentine's Day is coming, so I thought it would be fun to do some cooking with Eric to celebrate on my YouTube channel.

The menu:

We made kale salad, portobello lasagna & chocolate-covered strawberries.

Kale salad is one of my favorite salads. To prevent the bitter taste and make it easier to chew, we massage the kale for about 5 minutes and let it marinate for at least an hour (so make this dish first).

Portobello lasagna is one of my mom's favorite dishes and she still doesn't believe the Field Roast sausage is really vegan. This dish is simple, delicious and perfect for skeptical male eaters.

For the dessert, we used fresh strawberries, toothpicks & a bag of chocolate chips. Just melt the chocolate, dip the strawberries, place on parchment paper and set in the fridge for about an hour.

Brands of vegan chocolate chips:
Wegmans semi-sweet
Enjoy Life
Sunspire
365 Everyday Value dark chocolate

Check out the video below and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more cooking videos and vlogs. Happy Valentine's Day!

Roasted Mushroom Ragu with Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

I love a nice comfort meal...especially since the snow is back. Sigh

This roasted mushroom ragu recipe hit the spot and I wish I tripled (instead of doubled) this recipe.  It features accessible and inexpensive ingredients and the family really enjoyed this dish. It took me over an hour to put it together. Not to complain though because it was well worth the wait. Save this dish for the weekend and let me know if your fam loves it as much as mine.

Be sure to double (or triple) this recipe for your family, since the original recipe serves only 2 people.

Get the full recipe from Leafy Greens & Me

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