3 Vegan Recipes That Even Non-Vegans Will Love

We’ve got 3 delicious recipes that your non-vegan guests will be surprised to learn are vegan dishes.

• Sweet Potato Alfredo

This Sweet Potato Alfredo dish from Love and Lemons proves that less can sometimes be more.

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 2 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup cashews, soaked (ideally) overnight, then drain
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• salt & pepper
• 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
• ⅓ cup water, to thin (more as necessary)
• 1 lb brown rice fettuccini (or any pasta you like)
• ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
• ¼ cup chives
• a few pinches of red pepper flakes

Instructions

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.    Peel the sweet potato and slice into quarters. Peel the shallots and slice in half. Leave the garlic in its paper, and place the sweet potato and shallot pieces on a foil-lined baking sheet. Toss it all with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast, removing the garlic after the first 15 minutes. Roast until the sweet potatoes are tender and the shallots are browning around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
3.    Meanwhile, cook your pasta until al dente, reserving some of the starchy pasta water.
4.    Drain your cashews and place them into a high-speed blender with the sweet potato, shallots, (peeled) garlic, olive oil, balsamic, tomato paste, rosemary, and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Puree, adding water as needed to get the blade moving. Taste and adjust seasonings.
5.    In a large skillet (or a bowl) toss the cooked pasta with some of the sauce. Add pasta water as needed to loosen, and add more sauce to your liking Add chopped chives, toasted pine nuts and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust seasonings and serve.

• Hearty Vegetable Pot Pie

The VegKitchen takes the nostalgic pot pie classic and turns it into a dish that vegan and non-vegans will love. This dish is perfect for the upcoming holidays:

Ingredients

• 8 medium potatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, quartered and finely chopped
• 3 cups diced vegetables of your choice (choose 3 or 4 from among cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, leeks, peas, corn kernels, zucchini, yellow summer squash, mushrooms, kale, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
• 1 cup vegetable stock (homemade or store-bought)
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast (optional but highly recommended)
• 1½ tablespoons all-purpose seasoning blend (such as Frontier or Mrs. Dash)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Two 9-inch prepared good-quality pie crusts, preferably whole grain
• 1 cup fine whole grain bread crumbs
• Paprika for topping

Instructions

1.    Cook or microwave the potatoes in their skins until done. When cool enough to handle, peel them. Dice four of them and mash the other four coarsely. Set aside until needed.
2.    Preheat the oven to 350º F.
3.    Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden. Add the vegetables of your choice, layering quicker-cooking vegetables like peas, corn, and zucchini over longer cooking ones like cauliflower, broccoli, and leeks. Add a bit of water; cover and cook until the vegetables are tender but not overdone – about 5 minutes.
4.    Sprinkle the flour into the skillet, then pour in the stock. Add the optional nutritional yeast. Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly until the liquid thickens.
5.    Stir in both the diced and mashed potatoes. Heat through gently. Stir in the seasoning blend, thyme, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and pat in.
6.    Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over each pie, then top with a sprinkling of paprika.
7.    Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Let the pies stand at room temperature for 10 minutes or so, then cut into wedges and serve.

• Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is classic comfort food. But how do you achieve that creamy, cheesy texture without dairy? The Viet Vegan shows us how:

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp flour + 1 tsp
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (to taste, you may need to up it to 1 tsp)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or another milk alternative)
• 2.5 cups macaroni elbows

Instructions

1.    Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent. Add in flour, garlic powder, and chipotle pepper and stir until butter is absorbed into the flour. Add 1/3 cup of milk and stir until incorporated. Add the remaining milk and stirring occasionally until completely incorporated and thickened (about 5 minutes).
2.    Meanwhile, cook macaroni elbows in a pot of water at a rolling boil until cooked to preference (al dente or otherwise). Strain and rinse under lukewarm water to get rid of the starch. Transfer back to the pot and set aside.
3.    Stir in the nutritional yeast and salt to the sauce, tasting and adjusting as necessary. For more thick and cheesy flavor, add an extra tbsp or two of nutritional yeast. Pour over cooked macaroni elbows, stir and serve immediately!

What’s your favorite vegan recipe? Tell us about it.