Vegan bean recipes

As spring arrives (later here in New England than for the rest of you, I’m sure), I’m feeling inspired break out the peas. Mushrooms and onions are also in season in the spring, so it seemed fitting to combine them all into a pea salad. The vegetables are roasted and combined with the peas, olive oil, lemon juice, and lots of dill for a simple and herb-y medley. This is easy to make, and it’s perfect as a starter salad or a side dish.

I love me some greek salad. There’s just so much flavor there - olives, oregano, red wine vinaigrette… the only thing missing in the vegan version is creamy feta cheese. This vegan greek salad wrap features a vegan tofu feta, so you won’t even miss the real thing.

One of my absolute favorite restaurants serves a broccoli slaw that is to die for, and this edamame salad recipe was inspired by that dish. I added some edamame for heft (and also, I’m the Bean Queen and therefore believe everything is improved by beans). Broccoli florets, shredded carrots, and edamame are dressed with a sesame oil and soy dressing, and dried cranberries add little punches of sweet and tart flavor.

I’ve been really wanting to make a blue potato salad, but alas, there are no blue potatoes to be found in my local supermarkets right now (I even called around). Is there a season for these things? Blue potatoes (like any blue or purple colored version of a vegetable) are higher in antioxidants so you get an extra nutritional boost, and they’re a gorgeous color to boot. Fortunately, I was able to find blue baby potatoes in a bagged tri-color potato medley (red, white, and blue potatoes).

One question we get a lot as vegans is “Where do you get your protein”? An even meat to beans swap is easy to explain, and easy to execute for new vegans. This vegan Caesar salad is a perfect example. Caesar salad consists of just three main building blocks - dressing, lettuce, and croutons - which means the key to a great one is super high quality (read: homemade) ingredients. The chickpeas in this recipe are cooked in vegetable oil until the outside is just crispy, and then tossed in savory spices - onion, garlic, and some nutritional yeast to add depth and umami.