The Vegan Experience

All month we're exploring the vegan lifestyle, from dining out to eating in, developing a slew of delicious recipes for vegan appetizers, entrees, and snacks along the way.

Techniques

Techniques

Cauliflower Turns Vegan Green Bean Casserole as Creamy as the Original

Cauliflower once again stands in for cream in this vegan green bean casserole—and it works.
Techniques

It Isn’t Cheese, It Isn’t Steak: It’s Vegan Cheesesteak!

Chewy and meaty strips of yuba are smothered in a mushroom broth for the ultimate vegan sandwich.
Techniques

How to Make Vegan Spinach-Artichoke Dip

The popular party dip gets an animal-free makeover.
Techniques

Homemade Cashew Milk + Green Plantains = Creamy (Vegan) Deliciousness

Hearty green plantains, braised in a creamy and vibrant cashew-herb sauce.
Techniques

Vegan Alfredo Sauce Is All About the Cauliflower and Cashew Purée

Cauliflower comes to the rescue again in this vegan version of the Roman classic.
Techniques

How to Make Vegan Italian-American Lasagna Without Ricotta or Mozz

Texture and flavor cues trick your mouth into tasting what isn't there.
Techniques

How to Make Vegan Lasagna Bolognese

The secret to success is laying down smokescreens.
Salads

This Punchy Tofu and Herb Salad Is a Pick-Me-Up Any Time of Day

A bold, citrusy, garlicky, spicy salad that's fit for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Techniques

How to Make McVitie's-Style Chocolate-Covered Digestive Biscuits

Tender-crisp digestive biscuits, smothered in your favorite chocolate.
Techniques

Kick Off the Weekend With Sweet and Spicy Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Cozy up to the comforting flavors of cinnamon, raisins, and whole wheat.
The Food Lab

How to Make Rich, Savory Vegan Creamed Spinach

As creamy as can be—minus the cream.
Techniques

The Food Lab: How to Make Rich and Creamy Vegan Saag Paneer

A fully vegan saag paneer, so rich and creamy you'd swear there was dairy in it.
Sides

How to Make Rich and Smoky Collard Greens, With or Without Meat

Classic Southern-style braised collards, with or without meat.
Techniques

Accidentally Vegan: Fresh and Light Lemon-Blueberry Scones

How to make fruit scones that taste fresh and bright.
Techniques

BraveTart: Homemade Wheat Thins Are Freakishly Close to the Real Thing

Crispy copycat crackers with whole grains and a sweet 'n salty flavor.
Vegetarian

I Can't Believe It's Vegan Pasta Carbonara!

Silky and creamy, without an ounce of dairy or egg.
Techniques

How to Make Light and Fluffy Vegan Oatmeal Pancakes With Aquafaba

Chickpea liquid is the key to light, fluffy, and vegan oatmeal pancakes.
The Vegan Experience

Use Aquafaba to Make Extra-Light, Fluffy Egg-Free or Vegan Pancakes

The best vegan option for fluffy pancakes.
The Food Lab

The Food Lab: Better Channa Masala With a World Tour of Techniques

Borrow techniques used for Israeli hummus and French onion soup to make delicious stewed chickpeas.
The Food Lab

Heat Up Your Homemade Falafel With Harissa and Black Olives

Add a punch of heat and brine to your falafel balls.
Condiments and Sauces

Meet Zhug, the Yemenite Hot Sauce You'll Want to Put on Everything

A fresh, bright Middle Eastern hot sauce akin to chimichurri, chermoula, and salsa verde.
The Food Lab

The Secrets to the Best Easy Homemade Falafel

A few tricks produce falafel balls that are light and fluffy inside, shatteringly crisp outside.
The Food Lab

The Food Lab: Use Chickpeas to Make the Easiest Egg-Free Mayonnaise

How to make a light, creamy, 100% grease-free vegan mayonnaise in just two minutes.
The Vegan Experience

Phat Phrik Khing: Smash Your Way to a Spectacular Dry-Style Thai Curry

An intensely flavored Thai curry that takes just 30 minutes, plus a little elbow grease.

Features

Recipe Roundups

Vegan Meal Plan: A Week of Delicious Breakfasts, Lunches, and Dinners

Need to breathe some new life into your vegan repertoire? We've got eight days' worth of meals.
Features

Why Is My Vegan Entree as Expensive as the Meat?

Ever wondered what goes into the cost of that pricy vegan restaurant meal? We've got some answers.
The Vegan Experience

The Vegan Experience: Welcome to Year 5

Advance tips for getting the most out of our fifth annual Vegan Experience.
The Vegan Experience

The Vegan Experience: Over 100 Flavor-First Vegan Recipes!

A treasure trove of dishes you'll love, whether or not you're cutting back on meat.
The Vegan Experience

2 Vegan Cheeses That Anyone Can Love

Most store-bought vegan cheeses are terrible. These aren't.
The Vegan Experience

Dietary Restrictions and the Three Types of Servers

Some servers are well-informed when it comes to dietary restrictions. Others, not so much.
The Vegan Experience

How to Deal With Airports as a Vegan

Hacking together a meal while you're traveling just takes a little creativity.
The Vegan Experience

Why Does Everyone Assume Vegans Are Health Nuts?

Veganism is not by definition a diet based on health. It's a lifestyle based on compassion for animals.
The Vegan Experience

How to Stock a Vegan Pantry

What you need to create easy, filling, and tasty vegan meals.
The Vegan Experience

Top 10 Tips For a First-Time Vegan

Things I wish I would've known before starting out as a vegan.
Features

Can Vegans Still Enjoy Pizza?

Vegan pizza can be great, but it all comes down to the crust.
The Vegan Experience

Miracle Ingredients and New Pantry Staples for Vegans

Flavor-boosting ingredients for meat-free meals.
The Vegan Experience

Charting My Cravings During Vegan Month

Plotting food on a "meatiness" to "crave factor" scale.
The Vegan Experience

Vegan Eating: Breaking Down Bread

The dos and don'ts of browsing the baked goods section as a vegan.
The Vegan Experience

Where Recipes Come From: The Improvisers And The Tinkerers

The Food Lab's recipe inspiration source.
The Vegan Experience

'That's Really Good... For Vegan Food.'

A broccoli rabe, marinated vegetable, olive-salad panini sounds f*&king great to me, vegan or not.
The Vegan Experience

Vegan Eating: This Is What Happens When I'm Too Busy To Cook

I'm never going to be lazy about cooking or planning my meals again.
The Vegan Experience

Diversity Through Restriction

How going vegan improved the diversity of my shopping list.
The Vegan Experience

Surprise! 7 Foods You Thought Were Vegan!

Animal products, hidden where you might not expect.
The Vegan Experience

Vegan Eating and Nutrition

Beans are your friends. Dark leafy greens are your friends.
The Vegan Experience

Say No To Faux

Why I can't stand fake meat.
The Vegan Experience

What Cuisine Types Are Most Vegan-Friendly?

If a country has a history of vegetarianism at least a couple centuries old, you'll do just fine.
The Vegan Experience

I'll Have That Without [X] Please

The pitfalls of carbo-loading and feeling left out.
The Vegan Experience

The Vegan Experience, Day 0

How it all got started.

Recipes

Vegetarian

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Green beans, fried onions, mushrooms, and creamy texture...without the cream.
Mains

Vegan Cashew Milk–Braised Green Plantains

Hearty plantains are braised in a rich, herbaceous cashew-milk sauce.
Stovetop

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

No butter and no cheese? No worries.
Lasagna

Vegan Italian-American Lasagna With "Ricotta"

Layers upon layers of not-what-it-seems.
Italian

Vegan Lasagna alla Bolognese

We pulled out all the tricks to make a vegan lasagna that's not only believable but delicious.
Other Vegetables

Vegan Seitan and Mushroom Ragù Bolognese

It's all about layering texture and flavor into the sauce.
Vegetarian

Vegan Tofu and Herb Salad

This vegan tofu salad is packed with fresh herbs and tart lime.
Cookies

Vegan Chocolate-Covered Digestive Biscuits

A vegan twist on chocolate digestive biscuits.
Yeast Bread

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Start your day with the cozy flavor of cinnamon and raisins.
Spinach

Vegan Cauliflower-Creamed Spinach

Truly creamy creamed spinach, now in 100% vegan form!
Spinach

Creamy Vegan Saag Paneer (With Tofu)

A fully vegan saag paneer, so rich and creamy you'd swear there was dairy in it.
Mushrooms

Vegan Southern-Style Collard Greens With Mushrooms

Smoky, meaty, and rich...with no animals involved.
Breakfast Sweets

Blueberry-Lemon Scones

Crisp on the top, tender but fluffy in the middle, with a hint of lemon, too.
Snacks

Homemade Wheat Thins

Grainy little crackers just as thin and crisp as you remember.
Stovetop

Vegan Carbonara Pasta

If you didn't know better, you might think it was the real thing.
Sides

Spicy Cabbage and Red Onion Slaw

Fresh, spicy, and crunchy.
Vegetarian

Fluffy Vegan Oatmeal Pancakes Recipe (With Aquafaba)

Chickpea liquid is the key to light, fluffy vegan oatmeal pancakes.
The Food Lab

Vegan Pancakes Made With Aquafaba

Whip up chickpea liquid into a light meringue that delivers tall, fluffy, and moist vegan pancakes.