If you know me on here or have been following me on other social media channels (@foodsturvsbyiddy), you would know I am anything but vegan. But here I am, my first experience with vegan dishes. I made vegan banana pancakes and some savory vegan beef pasta.
Now I think of it, why did it take me so long to try anything vegan? I guess I was scared I might regret trying it. This month of July is my birthday month. This year, I have decided to be a little more adventurous, trying out stuff I have yet to try. I challenged myself to eat vegan dishes for 24 hours and here’s what I had.
How I Tried Vegan Banana Pancakes
I made vegan banana pancakes for breakfast. I figured these were going to be a hit given the use of bananas and I was not disappointed at all. They turned out fluffy and sweet. The taste did not leave me missing the non-vegan pancakes I have been used to having.
I have some other non-vegan recipes that may interest you!
- How to Make Delicious Buttery Cornbread
- Warm and Sweet Strawberry Cobbler
- Homemade donuts
- How to Make Caribbean Cassava Pone
Vegan Banana Pancake Ingredients
Some of the ingredients you will need for this recipe include:
Almond Milk
This can be substituted with coconut milk, oat milk, or any other type of vegan milk you are able to lay your hands on.
Flour
I stuck with regular all-purpose flour for this recipe but you are also free to use rice flour, almond flour, etc.
Ripe Bananas
This recipe is not heavy on sugar, this is easier to manage when you also use overripe bananas which are naturally sweet.
Brown Sugar
I did mention we won’t be using a ton of sugar for this recipe. You will however need some brown sugar as it adds a nice caramel-like flavour to the pancakes. It is also known to be healthier than the regular white sugar.
Coconut Oil
While we will not be using regular butter in this recipe, coconut oil can stand in as a great substitute for the fat content required.
Vanilla Extract
Whatever you do, refrain from using the artificial vanilla, use the original vanilla extract.
All these ingredients can be easily sourced at your local grocery store. Let’s get into the recipe.
Vegan Banana Pancake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Overripe bananas
- 1 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
- 2 Tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup dark/light brown sugar
- 1 cup almond milk
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tsp ground cinnamon
- Coconut oil to coat skillet
Instructions
- In a bowl, mash bananas until broken down, should NOT be smooth.
- Add in almond milk, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- Add in the flour and baking powder, mix until just about combined, does not need to be smooth, a few lumps here and there is fine.
- Heat up non-stick skillet and coat lightly with some coconut oil.
- Scoop in some of the batter into the pan and let it cook on one side for 3 minutes before flipping. Repeat till batter is finished.
- Top with some maple syrup.
Notes
Vegan Beef Pasta
For dinner, I made a Vegan Beef Pasta dish, this is where I would say I was blown away. I am amazed at how much the vegan world has evolved. While navigating through the vegan aisle at the store, I saw that there is a vegan version of almost anything you are looking for.
Vegan Beef Pasta Ingredients
Some of the ingredients used were:
Vegan Beef
I saw this vegan beef made by Gardein and was immediately curious to know how it would taste in this recipe.
Since I am yet to try other vegan beef brands, I can attest to only this brand of vegan beef. It had a very similar texture to soft beef and was absorbent of seasoning.
Vegan Penne Pasta
I used a penne pasta made out of chickpea, brand name Chicakapea. A pro-tip is to avoid cooking it as long as you would regular pasta since it is made out of chickpea. 5-7 minutes in boiling salted water is just fine.
Red Pepper Mix
I used a combination of red bell peppers, onion, garlic, and scotch bonnet.
Seasonings
For my choice of seasoning, I decided to use Tabitha Brown’s Sunshine seasoning. This is not a paid ad or anything. The seasoning was giving! It is a spice blend with ground garlic, turmeric, ginger, etc. and I was not disappointed. I listed out the dry spices you would need to add in the absence of the Sunshine seasoning.
My experience having this was a little different from the pancakes. The plant-based beef pieces were unbelievably close to the real taste of beef and spice absorbent in flavour. I could not say the same for the chickpea pasta, was not my favourite part of the dish.
I was not surprised though, as I have never really been a big fan of chickpea in its whole form. So, will I be trying this again? Not sure!
Will you give these recipes a try? Let me know in the comments!
Vegan Beef Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pack Chickpea penne pasta
- 1 pack Vegan beef
- Canned chopped tomatoes will need a quarter of a 398 ml tin
- 1 large white onion/2 small onions
- 1 scotch bonnet
- 1 cup of coconut oil
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- Beef bouillon to taste
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Ginger powder
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Dry parsley
Extras
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Add in 5 cups of water into a pot and let it come to a boil.
- Sprinkle some salt and then add in the chickpea penne pasta, let it cook for 5 minutes, strain and save some of the pasta water.
- Cut up your red bell peppers, scotch bonnet, half of the large onion or 1 small onion, toss into a blender and blend till smooth, set aside.
- Heat up a large pan, add in your coconut oil.
- Toss in your vegan beef cuts, season with a little salt, black pepper and beef bouillon for 3-5 minutes, take out the pieces and set aside.
- Dice leftover onion and add into the hot skillet. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add in a quarter of the chopped tomatoes and fry on medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Add in the blended pepper mix and continue frying for 15-20 minutes making sure to continue stirring with a spatula.
- Season with the spices and seasonings to taste, keep frying till the oil has risen to the surface of the sauce.
- Add your parboiled pasta and beef, combine well and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.
