Vegan for Everybody: Foolproof Plant-Based Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and In-Between

Not sure if this book is right for you? Maybe my review can help. A little background on me so you know where I’m coming from: I’m in my 30s and living in Minneapolis, MN I have lived my whole life on a pretty meat and cheese heavy diet. Growing up we had the usual suspects and nothing fancy: spaghetti, pork chops, tater tot hotdish, etc. As an adult I enjoyed cooking from cookbooks and trying some new things but when planning meals there was almost always a hunk of meat on the menu because that’s just what I was used to. Enter this America’s Test Kitchen cookbook and a new resolve to do better for the planet and my personal health. America’s Test Kitchen material is always top notch in my opinion so I’m a little biased. I decided I wanted to make a commitment to a meat and dairy free life a few weeks ago and this book has really been invaluable in helping make that transition. In terms of the complexity or “weirdness” of ingredients they call for I’d rate them a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10, meaning you’re going to be able to make most of the stuff in here with items you can find at your local grocery store. The weirdest it gets is miso paste (find it on Amazon) and nutritional yeast but that stuff is everywhere nowadays (Bob’s Red Mill sells it in bags or your local co-op will have it in the bulk section). So the book gets points for not using a bunch of weird stuff that’s hard to track down and you’ll use once and then pitch the rest of. Note that if you have a nut allergy you won’t be able to fully take advantage of the recipes here as many of them call for cashew-based sauces and nut milk. Second thing is the quality of the recipes. They’re good, and again, not WEIRD. A lot of vegan cooking approaches of old seemed to focus a lot on creating faux meat substitutes like “facon” or a non-beef ground beef. That is not the focus of this book at all. They have created meat and dairy free recipes that are incredibly tasty and satisfying where you don’t miss the meat and you’re not trying to work around a weird meat substitute on your plate either. They emphasize getting comfortable with and liberally using a variety of beans, grains and vegetables instead of trying to find ways to replicate meat. The book gets major points from me for focusing on enhancing the flavors and textures of the products vegans DO eat rather than trying to imitate the products they DON’T eat. That’s the best way to feel fulfilled on this kind of diet rather than frustrated and they nailed it. The book itself is beautiful. I think there’s a picture for every recipe and in my opinion that’s a MUST for a cookbook, and especially a VEGAN cookbook. When someone like me is trying a new way of eating it really helps to be able to see what the finished product can/will look like for inspiration and motivation. They also have a helpful and brief section at the beginning in typical ATK fashion schooling you on the basics of beans, grains, and nut milks. For a beginner this is a very helpful reference - it is succinct and clear. Lastly, you DO need some equipment to get the best results with this cookbook and with any vegan cooking really. If you’ve been trying to eat vegan but it takes you hours to prepare a meal or the sauce just never turns out quite right you just need to invest in a Cuisinart and a Vitamix. Don’t skimp on that stuff as it will make a WORLD of difference in your ability to cook efficiently and get the right flavors and textures. To fully take advantage of the recipes in this book it also helps to have an ice cream maker. I haven’t been disappointed yet with the results. We’ve made: - Black bean burgers with cumin and pub sauce (actually, we’ve made this twice and the second time we doubled the batch to freeze half of the patties for later) - Red lentil soup - Fettuccine Alfredo (pictured) - it gets its rich and creamy sauce from miso, cauliflower, cashews and almond milk! You won’t mistake it for a parm-based dish but you also won’t miss the parmesan cheese at all. This is flavorful and light but filling, the complete opposite of the heavy cream and cheese based alfredo I used to eat. All 25 feet of my intestines thanked me for hours after eating this meal. - Macaroni and Cheese - similar to the fettuccine, this recipe uses a nut and cauliflower base for its cheese sauce plus some "nooch" (nutritional yeast). It was light and satisfying. It came together in about 20 minutes from ingredients we had on-hand, making it an obvious choice for rotation on the week night meal schedule. - Baja coconut cauliflower tacos (pictured) - this was surprisingly good...the cauliflower florets are dipped in coconut milk then dredged with coconut flakes and panko and roasted. They get incredibly creamy and actually are reminiscent of coconut shrimp but BETTER. - Crispy Orange Seitan (pictured) - The crisp cornmeal/cornstarch crust and sweet orange sauce are the stars here and as such we did not miss the chicken. Bonus: 1 ounce of seitan has 21 grams of protein while 1 ounce of chicken only has 8 grams protein! - Pesto Pizza with Fennel and Cauliflower (pictured) - A proliferation of basil in my garden had me thumbing through the book looking for something to use it in. Enter this pizza. If your hangup about eating vegan is giving up cheese-smothered pizza (hey, we all have our foods we're scared to live without!) then you really must try this recipe and you will be a believer. As with every other vegan meal I've assembled the absence of meat and cheese means other ingredients have room to shine. I did slightly modify this to add a cashew cream "mozzarella" drizzle on top for some additional creaminess. You could also use their cashew ricotta (recipe on p. 27) to add a little extra cheesy flavor to this. - Coconut ice cream - we did this one as instructed first, then did a second batch and added a quarter cup of unsweetened baking cocoa and it was AMAZING (pictured). As a bonafide ice cream junkie (an evening wasn’t complete without a big bowl of rich, creamy dairy ice cream!) I can confidently say I’d eat this the rest of my life and never feel compelled to touch another bowl of “real” ice cream. I had tried a couple of other vegan ice cream recipes from other sources prior to this and I can confidently tell you nothing else I tried came close to the lightness of the texture here. Other ice creams come out flatter in flavor and much denser. While the coconut flavor comes through, I’d say this has a texture comparable to Breyers and that’s difficult to achieve with a non-dairy base. All in all I would highly recommend this book for a prominent place in your collection if you’re a seasoned vegan looking for some quality recipes that you don’t need to “tinker” with and especially if you’re a newbie vegan looking to get a solid and positive start to help you make the transition.

For what it’s worth, I’m not someone who wants to be vegan, but my body sadly cannot handle any kind of dairy, and I’m allergic to eggs. I kept not fully cutting out egg, cheese, and other dairy because I was convinced there aren’t filling, deeply satisfying meals that are easy to make and I’d just tolerate feeling sick from what I eat. This cookbook proved me so wrong. Now I don’t have an excuse to keep eating foods that aren’t safe for me. Baja- style cauliflower tacos. I made these with my sister and they were so delicious that she has asked me when we are making them again every time I see her, and has told several friends about the recipe as well. My mouth is watering just thinking about these tacos. Both vegan and carnivore approved (they won’t miss the meat)! Chickpea salad sandwiches. Hands down THE easiest homemade recipe I’ve ever made. My food processor is tiny, so I pulsed a blender instead and it turned out perfectly. My friend and I made these together and both ate two sandwiches. Not because they weren’t filling, but because we wanted more. Tastes exactly like a tuna fish sandwich, minus any fishy taste of poor quality tuna, and no fishy smell so it’s perfect to take to work for lunch. Excited to keep trying more recipes from this book! If you’re on the fence about buying, just do it! 😋

very impressed. Knowing the recipes have been tried several times and many ways shows. This is a great book for anyone. If your just wanting suggestions for meatless days. Or a vegan/vegetarian regular. All the recipes are easy and keeps to simple kitchen ingredients. I am impressed by the suggestions for your kitchen and how to use in your daily use . ATK explains what to use in and expains why. Ex milks. You dont need the expensive gadgets. just good food ideas that this book gives. What I really appreciate is this book does not give "tastes like meat" recipes. I always felt if I want a taste like burger or chicken wings then I would eat a burger...... Eating other than meat I dont want the taste of meat. thank you ATK for this. AtK keeps it simple , easy, and good. Great variety for making different burgers, soups, etc. a big yes for this book.

Please with book. Received 2 copies and need to return 1 copy. This book gives suggestions on how to use some spices that I'm not familiar with.

Really love this cookbook. It’s explanatory and it helps new vegans see how to make their food from omnivore to vegan. The recipes are often written with non vegan ingredients but refers the cook to the vegan substitution. Why I love this ? I’m an excellent cook, I don’t use recipes ever! I’m a dump and taste cook. So most vegan recipes I have to follow because I’m not experienced cook and I suck at math! How much Aquafaba to equal an egg again?!? I hate googling 8000X while trying to make dinner! With this I can read the recipe, make it how I would normally dump and the substitution is right there and I can esti-guess how much aquafaba I need! It is helping me think vegan in my everyday cooking! This is what I have needed all along. I probably have 30 other vegan cookbooks. And they have delicious recipes, but I don’t use them. For me this cookbook is a game changer. Regular food, I can veganize and keep the food textures my friends and family are used to so they actually eat the food! Finally thought- only drawback, this is plant based substitutions, but it is not plant based in the health arena- meaning most recipes have oil and organic sugar… if your looking for clean vegan eating this is not the right cookbook. However, if you’re a dump cook like me, this will make it possible to adapt your clean recipes quickly with vegan options. Example, the Belgian waffle recipe calls for all purpose flour, sugar, you can switch out your cleaner ingredients that you normally make your waffles with, it calls for soy milk, I prefer oak for most baked stuff so subbed that… I can cook how I normally cook with better vegan measurements to retrain myself . Happy vegan cooking, baking and most important eating!

So far I have only made 1 recipe from this cookbook, the pecan pie, but it was so amazing it has officially replaced my old favorite (non-vegan) pecan pie recipe! I’m so glad I chose this recipe to make for Thanksgiving, because I searched for a vegan pecan pie recipe online before I remembered to check this book, and this recipe was quite different - it called for a roux instead of egg substitutes! And it turned out so yummy! Everyone loved the pie, and my sister was so surprised it didn’t have eggs. Unfortunately I looked at the calorie count in the back of the book. I would advise you not to do that. I also used the banana bread recipe from this cookbook to modify another quick bread recipe I had been perfecting (buckwheat “morning glory” bread), and that one turned out better than the original as well! I have been reading through the recipes because I love the way they discuss the various possible ingredients and why their ingredients make the end result better. The pages on baking substitutions alone is worth the price of the book! For example, oat milk is best for baking because things brown better with oat milk than soy. Who knew? I’m looking forward to trying more recipes, and feel confident to look at this book first when I want to make something for company, because I know will turn out right. I’ll try to remember to update this review when I’ve tried more recipes.

I just received this book today so have not yet made any recipes. I did, however, go through it thoroughly and was delighted with the quality. First, the cover is quite sturdy for a paperback, the pages are heavyweight and glossy with lots of colored photos. The first 37 pages are an encyclopedia for new and experienced vegans, with explanations of terms, which foods may not be vegan and the substitutes you can try. There are baking tips with photos of results using various ingredients, sort of a before and after comparison. There is a 2-page layout detailing types of grains, and a chart for cooking grains. There are several pages explaining the various types of vegan protein, how to select and use it, and much more. The index at the back of the book is particularly well thought out. Recipes are cross-referenced so that if you can’t remember the specific name of a recipe, you can still find the recipe under a more general heading. There is a comprehensive listing of all nutritional info for every recipe at the back of the book, leaving the individual pages with a cleaner look. I can’t wait to try all the recipes in this book! It’s a keeper!

I’ve made several recipes from this cookbook and every one has been really great. Great bargain for the price! Some favorites so far are the pinto bean and swiss chard enchiladas, the cilantro sauce, Baja cauliflower tacos, the barley bowl, the thai coconut soup & the tortilla soup.

I have to say this is an excellent vegan recipe book (I probably own 200+ vegan recipes books at present). All that I have made has been outstanding, and also caused my husband to comment on how very good the food is. There is a lot in this fully comprehensive book. A great introduction for those not so much in the know about food, a very good intro to each recipe telling you why the flavours will work and how the recipe developers came to include certain flavours/processes. The flavours are very well thought through. We have been plant-based for over a year, vegetarian since the early 1980s. My profession for 44+ years was food; I ran a cook-school from home for Aga owners and used to also demonstrate Aga cooking to the public at The Scottish Aga shops. Last year I took two vegan cookery courses, via the Rouxbe online platform, The Professional Plant-Based Certification Course by Chad Sarno & Fran Costigan’s Vegan Desserts & Baking Course, so I know my stuff & do highly recommend this book. The pesto pizza with fennel and cauliflower, Baja Style Cauliflower Tacos, Spicy Peanut Rice Noodle bowl & Sizzling Saigon Crepes, to name but a few, are up there with the greats flavour wise, I still have many more recipes to cook from this book, but so far it is a very clear winner. Based on the excellence of this book I have just ordered the vegetarian one, which I can adapt to vegan where required and I am eyeing up the Mediterranean one, also by the Test Kitchen, too. I highly recommend for home use, and if you entertain, you will wow your guests with the food from this book.

So good. Each recipe is worth a try. None have failed me yet in taste, and easily put together recipes. The info block before the recipe is worth it to read and as well many really good info tips scattered throughout. It really is a must in any vegan kitchen.

Me encanto el libro, son recetas fáciles de hacer y con ingredientes fáciles de encontrar en México. Lo que me encanto más fue que pase por el al OXXO y muy amables.

Good informative read.

I absolutely love this book. I've made about a dozen of the recipes now and every single one has been delicious and turned out exactly as we expected. The recipes are well-written and easy to follow. The ingredients are easy to find. (I hate when cookbooks use ingredients I can't get at my local grocery store.) And I'll say it again: The food is delicious. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is vegan, interested in being vegan, or just wants to add more plant-based ingredients into their diet.