Spicy Vegan Chicken Salad - EASY Lunch Recipe

I swear vegans eat more than salads (lol)

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been loving this simple, delicious vegan chicken salad. It’s full of fresh, healthy ingredients and makes a great quick and easy vegan lunch–the ‘hardest’ part is just chopping up the veggies.

Having quick and light meal options that you can throw together, especially during the summer, is essential to making living a vegan lifestyle accessible and sustainable long term.

You can make all sorts of variations on this salad by switching out the dressing, adding different seasoning, and using a different brand of vegan chicken. Use this recipe as a template and customize it to your liking!

In this recipe, I’m using Gardein Nashville Hot Chick’n Tenders which are made out of pea and wheat protein. Gardein products are some of my absolute favorites and I always suggest Gardein to new vegans since they are so great for replacing animal products with a similar taste and texture while being a healthier, more ethical option.

Want to see a visual for this recipe? Head on over to my YouTube channel to watch the video. 

Vegan Chicken Salad

• Red & green leaf lettuce

• Spring mix greens

• 1 Red bell pepper, chopped

• 1 Green bell pepper, chopped

• Can of black beans. drained and rinsed

• 1/4 Red onion, chopped

• Gardein Nashville Hot Chick’n Tenders

• Cilantro

• Tomato

• Avocado

• Dressing of choice, I used Chipotle Bitchin’ Sauce

Optional additions:

• Garlic salt

• Imperfect Foods Seasoning For All the Things
  

Instructions:

1. Cook the vegan chick’n tenders in the oven or air fryer for about 10 mins.

2. In a large bowl, throw together your greens. I used spring mix & red and green leaf lettuce.

3. Drain and rinse your canned black beans, add to the bowl with the greens

4. Chop your bell pepper, onion, avocado, and tomato to your preference and add to the bowl

5. Remove the vegan chicken tenders from the oven and cut into bite-sized pieces; add to the bowl

6. Top with fresh cilantro, and optional garlic salt and All The Things Seasoning

7. Plate your portion and add dressing of choice

If you are looking for more ways to make veganism fun and accessible, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter below!

Flatbread Sandwich with Hummus & Sprouts | 5-Minute Lunch

When you’re extra with the toppings, so you have to eat your flatbread sandwich with a fork instead of folding it over.

This is my life! 😂

Hummus is much more than a dip for your carrot sticks & pretzels!

It’s delicious on flatbread (get that protein!) with fresh vegetables for an easy lunch.⁣⁣⁣⁣

Here’s what I put on my lightly toasted pita bread:⁣⁣⁣⁣

• 2 tbsp hummus

• A little red onion

• Roma tomato

• A few slices of cucumber, sliced thinly

• 1/2 avocado, sliced

• Sprouts

• Butter lettuce

• A little sprinkle of red pepper flakes for heat & flavor

While on the go the other day, I made an even easier version with just hummus, lettuce & sprouts. I had to plan ahead because I didn’t want to stop off at Chick-fil-A for fries.

What are your favorite flatbread toppings?

Taco Pasta Salad | Veganize It!

To veganize a recipe is to take non-vegan foods (meat, eggs, dairy, etc) and replace them with a plant-based alternative.

This is the perfect time of year for a simple and delicious pasta salad. This quick and easy recipe doesn't require a lot of cooking, has awesome flavor and plenty of delicious vegetables.

This pic is from the first time I made the recipe and the updated recipe (below) doesn't include avocado

I got this recipe from Divas Can Cook last year, but didn't make it until yesterday for the boys' lunch.

How did I veganize it?

It was super simple to veganize this recipe because everything was already vegan expect for the cheese. I used Follow Your Heart vegan cheese and grated a little on top before serving. You can also skip vegan cheese and this recipe will be just as good.

The Verdict

I loved it.

Eric loved it (he ate the leftovers at dinner).

Bran loved it.

Elijah and Jason said it was "okay".

Majority rules in our house, so I'll definitely make it again!

All 3 kids asked that I use more pasta and less vegetables the next time around. Ha!

The original recipe has 8 different vegetables, so I called myself trying to "sneak them in" by chopping them into tiny pieces. I guess that wasn't good enough for my 3...this time. lol I even forgot to put in the corn, so yeah, I guess there were too vegetables for them.

I reduced the vegetables down to 5 and re-wrote the recipe based on the fam's feedback below.

Veganize this delicious recipe today!

Taco Pasta Salad

by Brown Vegan & DivasCanCook

Keywords: entree vegan

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 8 oz rotini pasta, dry
• ¾ cup salsa (can add more)
• 2 teaspoons taco seasoning (can add more)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup black olives, sliced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup vegan cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
• 1/3 cup cilantro, to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package until al dente.

Drain pasta, rinse with cold water and set aside.

In a large bowl, toss pasta with salsa and taco seasoning.

Add in bell pepper, black olives, onion, cherry tomatoes, & black beans.

When ready to serve, top with optional vegan cheese & cilantro

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Vegan Brunch & Making Decisions

I'm not a shy person, but I have a hard time putting myself out there to meet new people...especially in a group setting.  My palms get sweaty, my heart starts to pound, and I talk faster than normal (is that even possible? lol).

Anilia, Tambira,  Rosetta, Wilma, Me

A couple of weeks ago, Rosetta invited me to her place for brunch with her and three other ladies. Instead of talking myself out of the invite (like I usually do when invited anywhere) I pushed passed my anxiety and accepted.

We had an amazing time! Lots of food, music, wine, and discussions about business and life. I'm sooo glad I didn't miss out on this opportunity to hang with Rosetta again and meet some other amazing women.

Let's talk about the food! I never expect people to cater to my vegan diet but it warms my heart when they do.

We started off with a cheese platter, but Rosetta made sure to put almonds, grapes and  dates on it for me.  

Then we cooked (mostly Rosetta lol) fried potatoes, greens and grits. Yummers! The other ladies also had salmon and Rosetta added cheese to their grits after serving mine.

We had a vegan apple pie from Whole Foods and So Delicious ice cream for dessert. OMG!

No one thought it was vegan! :-) 

It's funny how making the decision to get uncomfortable is helping me come out of this self-imposed anxiety bubble. I've been saying I want to change for a long time, but making the decision is what led me to actually stepping out there and doing it.

I know we're talking about anxiety in this post, but this same decision principle applies to everything else in life, too. With food, if you really want to be a vegan make the decision.  Then spend some time researching vegansim, cooking and experimenting. :-)

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to subscribe below to get more updates about our family's vegan journey, recipes, videos and tips. 

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers Recipe

A couple of months ago, I saw Sorted Food make a vegetarian version of this recipe using mozzarella cheese.  I made it vegan and the kids loved it.  These bell peppers make for a perfect lunch or weeknight recipe.  

Watch me make the recipe in the video below, and update me if you try it.

Also, don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more recipes and vlogs. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

by Brown Vegan

Keywords: bake entree vegan

Ingredients

• 3-5 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut in half
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 cups rice, cooked
• ½ cup red onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp cilantro
• ½ cup black olives, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1/3 cup vegan cheese, shredded

Instructions

Preheat oven at 325º

Sprinkle garlic powder olive oil on each bell pepper. Bake for 10 minutes.

Adjust the oven temperature to 375º

Mix all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and spoon mixture into each bell pepper half.

Season to taste.

Bake for 10-15 mins (mine usually takes 13 mins).

Enjoy!

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