Tag: dinner

Classic Vegan Paella Recipe – Delicious and Filling Meal For A Family

Classic Vegan Paella Recipe – Delicious and Filling Meal For A Family

Easy recipe for delicious vegan paella like in Spain. All you need is a cast iron pan and a few ingredients. Add veg acoording to your own taste and make it your own family paella!

The Best Plant-Based Recipes For Beginners – 12 Easy Recipes

The Best Plant-Based Recipes For Beginners – 12 Easy Recipes

The plant-based diet focuses on foods sourced from plants and many people new to this diet will wonder what they can eat. No don’t worry you won’t just have to eat salads all the time, the plant-based diet is much more varied than that. Below 

Best Vegan Empanada Fillings – 5 Recipes

Best Vegan Empanada Fillings – 5 Recipes

Disclaimer: This post contains affilitate links – I will earn a commission if you buy any item.

I love making empanadas and have started recently to make them vegan. My partner is vegan and I just wanted to come up with a few new vegan empanada fillings so I can vary the fillings.

To make empanadas it would be best to use an empanada press. These are easy to handle and you will get a beautiful shaped empanada.

In this blog post, I am going to share my favourite empanada filling recipes. I love how creative you can get with fillings and the choice is huge. If you want to try some new recipes try the ones below and share in the comments how you liked them. If you made any alterations please share that as well!

Best Vegan Empanada Fillings

Vegan Empanada Fillings

I used to like making empandas with cheese so I always wanted to try make them with some kind of vegan cheese. Preferably homemade of course. Previously I just chopped some veg and used that as fillings but I think fillings work better if they are in spread form. Especially for the small empanadas that we like. They work well as an appetizer or a small snack. I keep them in a freezer for when we need them.

Spinach Pesto Empanada Filling

This was one of my first tries and I loved the flavours. This spinach pesto recipe is easy to make. All you need is a food processor. I made it y bit coarser on purpose but you could always blend it a bit more if you prefer a smoother consistency.

Sundried Tomato Filling

This filling idea was inspired by my partner’s roots in Spain. Tomatoes are a staple in our household and I just had to try and make something special. Again, this filling is easy to make and we also use it as a spread on sourdough which is absolutely delicious.

Tomato And Mushroom Filling

Mushrooms are one of my favourite ingredients. I love them on pizza and as a side so I had to incorporate them in an empanada filling. I chopped them very fine and combined them with the sundried tomato spread and they are divine. If you love mushrooms this is the filling for you!

Vegan Cheese

This was my first time making vegan cashew cheese spread and I am so pleased with the result! It is creamy and complements the empanadas so well! You can also use any bought vegan cheese of course but if you want to try to make it yourself try this recipe.

Vegan cheese and sourdough crackers.

Vegan Cheese and Olives

This idea was again inspired by my partner. The vegan cheese and the olives work well together. Just chop the olives very fine and mix them with the spread. You can also just add them on top as I did.

What are you favourite fillings? Have you tried any of these vegan empanada fillings? Leave a comment below and share your ideas.

If you enjoyed the recipe and want to find more head over to my recipe section and join my Facebook Group which focuses on homemade vegan recipes that are affordable and healthy.

Simple Vegan Food List For Beginners

Simple Vegan Food List For Beginners

When you are starting out on your vegan journey you will ask youself what you should eat. I want to help you on this journey, so here you can find my vegan food list for beginners. Vegan Food List For Beginners Confession time, I am 

Delicious Vegan Roasted Tomato Soup

Delicious Vegan Roasted Tomato Soup

Recently I had lots of overripe tomatoes from a neighbour and wanted to try something new with them. I settled on vegan roasted tomato soup and it was delicious! The tomatoes I got from an app called Olio where I started collecting leftover food which 

Best Family-Friendly Vegan Pizza Dough Recipe

Best Family-Friendly Vegan Pizza Dough Recipe

Have you ever wondered if you could make your own pizza from scratch? The answer is yes and it is so easy! The ingredients are probably already in your pantry so why not give making your own vegan pizza dough at home a try?

Pizza is a go-to quick meal fix for us. We love choosing our own toppings. Preferably simple and just a few toppings to really taste them. Nothing is stopping you though if you want more elaborate pizza topping.

You could even get your family involved. It is so much fun making the dough together. In my family, it was a tradition that we kids would prepare the dough. This gave our parents a break and we kids loooved preparing pizza. After we made the dough, we could always use our favourite topping for our part of the pizza.

Vegan Pizza Dough Recipe

Make Pizza With The Family

Making pizza dough at home is so easy you can even get your kids involved. It’s a lot of fun mixing the dough and then spreading it on a pizza baking sheet (or if you are like me any big baking sheet you have – I love a good thin pizza base).

Now, what do you need to make this vegan pizza dough recipe? Not much actually. Just flour, yeast (or sourdough starter), water, olive oil and a pinch of salt.

I added some pictures so you can see what the dough consistency should look like.

Vegan Pizza Dough Recipe

Here are the ingredients you will need to make pizza at home.

Ingredients

  • 300 g flour
  • 1 pack yeast
  • 200 ml water
  • some olive oil
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

Take a bowl and add the yeast to the water. Wait for the bubbles to form so you know that your yeast is active.

Mix all the remaining dry ingredients in another bowl and make a well. In this well, you can now add some olive oil and water/yeast mixture and knead until the dough is just a little sticky which should take about 5 minutes. If you are unsure how much oil you will need I suggest to add it at the end. Just a little bit so your dough forms a ball.

Cover the dough with a clean tea towel and let it sit for about 30 minutes.

Now you can roll the dough out or if you are like me just wing it and try your hand at stretching it by hand. Then just push it in the corners of your baking sheet.

Add the toppings of your choice. Get your family involved in this stage. It’s fun if everyone adds their own toppings.

Bake in the oven for about 12-14 minutes at 180ºC.

Yield: 2 Servings

Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough

This recipe is fun to make. Get your kids involved to make the dough and everyone can add their favourite toppings!

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Total Time 53 minutes

Ingredients

  • 300 g flour
  • 1 pack yeast
  • 200 ml water
  • some olive oil
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Add the yeast to the water and wait for bubbles to form.
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well.
  3. Add the oil and water/yeast mixture and knead until the dough is just a little sticky which should take about 5 minutes
  4. Cover the dough and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
  5. Roll the dough out or if you are like me just wing it and try your hand at stretching it by hand. Then just push it in the corners of your baking sheet.
  6. Add the toppings of your choice.
  7. Bake in the oven for about 12-14 minutes at 180ºC.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2 servings

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 612Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 74mgCarbohydrates: 115gFiber: 5gSugar: 0gProtein: 16g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Recommendations

My recommendation for pizza dough is to pre-bake the pizza dough. This will ensure your toppings will not get burned while baking. Recommended baking time is about 12 – 14 minutes and I sometimes find that is not enough for the dough to be crusty. Another trick is to sprinkle some olive oil over the pizza and that will ensure your pizza to be extra crispy.

This vegan pizza dough recipe can be made ahead of time if needed. Just prepare the dough per instructions and then freeze for when you need it. I like to keep my dough either in a ball or already prepared and pre-baked. This way only the toppings have to add.

What are your favourite pizza toppings? Any crazy combinations that your family loves? Share them with us in the comments.

If you enjoyed the recipe and want to find more head over to my recipe section and join my Facebook Group which focuses on homemade vegan recipes that are affordable and healthy.

How To Make Vegan Pasta – Easy And Affordable Recipe

How To Make Vegan Pasta – Easy And Affordable Recipe

For a while, I wanted to make my own homemade pasta. I don’t have a pasta maker but I figured you don’t need and I can tell you, no, you don’t need one. You may need a bit more time but I found it was 

Easy Vegan Leek And Potato Soup

Easy Vegan Leek And Potato Soup

Last week, I found I still had some potatoes that needed to be used up. I used to make soups all the time but recently not so much so I pulled out my immersion stick blender for this oldie but goldie of recipes. This easy 

Easy Vegan Spinach And Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Easy Vegan Spinach And Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Currently, I’m trying to find simple recipes that I can use for a variety of dishes. I used to love pesto for pasta or as a mixture with cheese in my pre-vegan days. So I have been on the lookout for some nice option to make a vegan pesto version. My first try was this vegan spinach and pumpkin seed pesto as these are the ingredients I had at home and with London in lockdown these days I did not want to wait for my next shopping run. I am trying to use as many pantry ingredients as I can and come up with new recipes.

vegan spinach and pumpkin seed pesto

The idea for this recipe came because I wanted to make my own fresh vegan pasta. The combination of pasta and vegan pesto is just delicious and this pesto is actually really quickly prepared.

In the end, I also used the remaining vegan spinach and pumpkin seed pesto as a filler for my vegan empanadas. They turned out great and they are a great meal which can easily be frozen and defrosted when needed. I always like having a few empanadas in the freezer for those days when I don’t feel like cooking or preparing anything.

Vegan Spinach And Pumpkin Seed Pesto

The recipe couldn’t be any easier. All you need is a food processor and it will only take a few minutes to whizz together this pesto.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled and toasted
  • ¼ cup chives, fresh if you have and coarsely chopped
  • ¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2½ cups baby spinach (packed tightly), fresh
  • 1 garlic clove

Instructions

  1. Heat a small pan with 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the pumpkin seeds. Heat them for about 4 minutes, until they start to smell slightly nutty and change colour. Stir them often.
  2. Now in the food processor, combine the toasted pumpkin seeds, chives, oil, garlic, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, and baby spinach. Pulse until the mixture is well combined. Push it down with a spoon if necessary. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Heating the pumpkin seeds in the pan
Had to push down the mixture a few times so the pesto had the right consistency in the end.

Yes, it really is this simple! What are you going to use this simple pesto recipe with? Share it in the comments below.

If you enjoyed the recipe and want to find more head over to my recipe section and join my Facebook Group which focuses on homemade vegan recipes that are affordable and healthy.

The Best Vegan Empanada Dough Recipe – Only 4 Ingredients

The Best Vegan Empanada Dough Recipe – Only 4 Ingredients

This vegan empanada dough recipe is so easy to make I am sure it will become one of your go-to recipes in no time. I love how versatile empanadas are and they make a great side or if you are like us also a great