10 plant-based cookbooks & blogs for home cooking
PHOTO: REPRINTED FROM THE VEGAN MEAT COOKBOOK. COPYRIGHT © 2021 BY MIYOKO SCHINNER. PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT © 2021 BY EVA KOLENKO. PUBLISHED BY TEN SPEED PRESS, AN IMPRINT OF RANDOM HOUSE.
By Avery Yale-Kamila
WINTER IS A SEASON filled with celebration and loaded with party food. It also serves up long, dark nights when we huddle with a good book, our families or our housemates against the storm and crave warm, healing recipes.
This festive yet contemplative season can be an excellent time for nourishing both body and soul by loading up on vegetarian and vegan eats. Whether you’re planning a party menu or a quick dinner for one, serving and eating plant- based dishes helps lower inflammation and boost immunity. Both come in handy when the snow flies.
Should you need inspiration to up your plant-based game, a helpful place to start is by picking up a comprehensive vegetarian cookbook or clicking around a well-curated veg food blog.
These days, bookstores and the internet are crammed with vegetarian and vegan offerings, making selecting the right one more of a challenge than ever before. No worries. We’ve done the heavy lifting for you, sorting through hundreds of titles and blogs to select these six vegetarian cookbooks and four plant-based food blogs perfect for boosting the beans, grains and vegetables on your table. Each is guaranteed to add color, warmth and inspiration to these darkest, coldest days of the year.
Vegan and vegetarian cookbooks
The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook
By the editors at America’s Test Kitchen
This A-to-Z cookbook from the experts at America’s Test Kitchen dishes up 700 vegetarian recipes (including 250 vegan ones and 500 that are gluten-free), while also packing in countless tips and illustrated instructions for prepping all the most common vegetables. More specialized tips include how to make gnocchi ridges and assemble potstickers. Along with recipes for dishes such as Tex-Mex cheese enchiladas, Thai red curry with cauliflower, mushroom bolognese and Ultimate Veggie Burgers, there are how-tos for making homemade pantry staples, including paneer, tofu and pasta.
Veganomicon
By Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero
The 10th anniversary edition celebrates the book’s original, groundbreaking publication that signaled the rising sophistication of vegan foods, recipes and cookbooks. The new edition adds numerous photos, 25 recipes and retains the same sassy style. Dishes include seitan potpies, lasagna marinara with spinach and chili-cornmeal-crusted tofu po’ boys. Desserts range from chocolate chip cookies and ice cream sandwiches to deep chocolate bundt cake and jelly doughnut cupcakes. The authors don’t forget brunch, with banana-nut waffles and Greek tofu Benedict on the menu.
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
By Mark Bittman
Another 10th anniversary reissue, this classic packs in 2,000 recipes and adds full-color photos to the original drawings. The book really functions as both cookbook and encyclopedia, where tips on buying, storing and preparing vegetarian foods mingle with recipes for how to use them. The comparison charts for topics likes grilling fruits, cooking grains, making sandwiches and using chilies come in handy. The book closes with desserts—including pistachio meringue, chocolate vanilla layer cake and apple cobbler—and six pages of themed menus.
The Vegan Meat Cookbook
By Miyoko Schinner
The owner of vegan cheese company Miyoko’s Creamery published her latest cookbook this year, tackling the hot topic of plant-based meats. (Her previous cookbooks covered vegan cheeses and vegan pantry staples.) This book gives recipes for handcrafting plant-based meats (including Charbroiled Succulent Steak, Juicy Chicken, Pork Tenderlove and Quick Buttery Scallops) and then includes dozens of recipes that call for using either homemade versions from the book’s recipes or store-bought vegetarian meats. Recipes include a number of classic dishes, such as beer-battered fish and chips, sausage calzones, boeuf bourguignon, lobster thermidor and pad Thai with chicken.
At My Table
By Mary McCartney
The daughter of the vegetarian music legend Paul McCartney shares 75 vegetarian recipes intended for feasting, organized into 12 menus, which include a celebration brunch, an afternoon tea party, dinner for two and a bonfire party. The book shares photos of and tidbits about the author’s celebrity parents. While Dad is British, mom Linda was an American and the family cook. Savory recipes include one-pot chili, festive roast, moussaka, super mac ’n cheese and celebration stuffing. Those looking for sweets can enjoy spiced poached pears, white chocolate chunk cookies, and cherry and chocolate roulade. The book also includes directions for mixing Paul McCartney’s favorite margarita.
Incredible Plant-Based Desserts
By Anthea Cheng
Proving desserts can be colorful, decadent and kinda healthy, this book by an Instagram star
portions out one mouthwatering sweet treat after another, all made without animal products and many without any refined sugars. Simple desserts include chocolate cups, banana pancakes, cookie dough bars and classic buttery scones, while more sophisticated confections range from pomegranate yogurt cake and berry chocolate mousse tart to tiramisu trifle with caramelized popcorn and baked cinnamon doughnuts with a strawberry glaze. A final chapter on frostings, sauces and spreads brings chocolate ganache, classic caramel and American-style buttercream to the table.
Plant-based blogs
Plant Based RD
plantbasedrdblog.com
Written by a registered dietician, this blog serves up nutrition advice and practical tips, such as how to shop as a new vegan. The site is packed with recipes that center whole plant foods on the plate. You’ll find lots of breakfast bowls (high- protein strawberry oatmeal, caramel macchiato overnight oats, orange ginger granola clusters, apple cider oatmeal), warming meals (chipotle pumpkin chili, black bean butternut squash stew, garlic chili chickpea patties, sriracha noodles with tofu and broccoli) and even desserts (chickpea cookie dough bites, snickerdoodle cookie mug cake, chocolate chip quinoa cookies).
Love & Lemons
loveandlemons.com
The author of two vegetarian cookbooks, the Love & Lemon’s Jeanine Donofrio dishes out classic veg recipes, organized by recipe type, season and type of vegetable you may have on hand. The recipes have simple preparation techniques and are accompanied by bright, cheery photos. For instance, cauliflower translates into more than 30 recipes, including cauliflower rice, cauliflower steaks and cauliflower po’ boys. Notable baked goods include homemade soft pretzels, easy sugar cookies, jalapeño cornbread, raspberry vegan cheesecake, molten chocolate cake and butternut squash crumble bars. “How To” posts tackle such subjects as how to make almond milk, julienne carrots, cut a mango and soft boil eggs.
Justin + Lauren Adventure & Kind Travel
justinpluslauren.com
A Canadian travel writer caters this blog for those seeking plant-based eats in charming destinations around the world. In addition to vegan restaurant and outdoor adventure recommendations, the blog offers sightseeing tips and guides to the best vegan breweries, wineries and coffee shops. In 2021, Justin + Lauren created a guide to the best coffee shops in Portland, and in 2019 the blog created restaurant and sightseeing guides to Portland and Portsmouth, N.H. Guides are further broken down into City Guides, Small Town Guides and Cruise Ship Guides. Also available on the site: Guides to volunteer travel and wildlife tourism.
VegBlogger
vegblogger.com
This blog has a little something for everyone: book reviews, vegetarian news, vegan travel tips, restaurant reviews and recipes. VegBlogger also reviews new vegetarian products, such as plant- based meats, boxed mac and cheese and pancake mix—a helpful service, considering the number of new veg products flooding grocery store shelves. Recipes include crockpot carrot dogs, beefless vegan stew, coconut bacon and pumpkin pie. Other highlights: its selection of kid-friendly recipes and posts on topics such as lunchbox ideas and snacks for student athletes.
Read more about eating plant-based in Maine
Plus over a dozen more Vacationland eateries serving all plant-based dishes.