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Vegan Holiday Feast

I created this complete vegan holiday menu just for you! Yes, meat is not on the menu – but you can still enjoy your favorite holiday dishes. These recipes are easy to follow and you can find all the ingredients at your local market. If you’re serving a small family or a large crowd, adjust the ingredients to your liking to feed all your guests. I hope this helps you feel better about celebrating the holiday season with family and friends. Enjoy!

Smothered Jack-chops (Serves 4)

Directions

  1. drain liquid from jackfruit chunks – add to a small sauce pot, cover with water, sprinkle with salt, and bring to a boil
  2. cook on medium heat for 10 min.
  3. remove from heat, drain water from jackfruit, and pat jackfruit with a paper towel to remove as much liquid
  4. place jackfruit in a medium bowl and add your jackfruit, and cover with spices, liquid smoke, and coconut aminos. set aside to marinate for 15-20 min.
  5. make your gravy
  6. sautee onion and mushroom in a pan set to medium heat with olive oil
  7. add the vegan butter and flour and stir to create a roux – add the soy sauce, veg broth, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper (season to taste)
  8. whisk gravy ingredients together and bring to a boil – reduce to low heat and simmer for 15 min.
  9. resume cooking jackfruit – sautee jackfruit in a pan set to medium heat in olive oil and brown both sides of jackfruit chunks
  10. cover jackfruit chunks with gravy and let simmer on low heat for 5-10 min. Serve warm.

Ingredients

Jack-chops
  • (2) 20 oz cans of unripe jackfruit in brine (I used Trader Joe’s Green Jackfruit)
  • garlic powder, salt, pepper (season to your liking)
  • 1 tbsp liquid smoke
  • 1 tbsp coconut aminos
  • olive oil
Gravy
  • 1/4 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1/4 cup diced mushrooms
  • 2 tsp vegan butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 tsp poultry seasoning
  • salt & pepper

Baked Mac & Cheese (Serves 8)

Directions

  1. Set oven to 350
  2. cook macaroni according to package instructions – set aside
  3. using the same stockpot to cook the macaroni, whisk together melted butter & flour to create a roux, then mix in the coconut milk and spices
  4. fold in 1 cup of vegan cheese, and stir until the sauce thickens – mix in the cooked macaroni
  5. pour the mixture into a baking pan and cover it with the remaining cheese
  6. bake for 20-30 minutes. serve warm

Ingredients

  • 1 lb package of your favorite macaroni pasta
  • 2 packages of vegan cheese shreds (I used Daiya’s Vegan Cheddar Cheese Shreds)
  • 1 tbsp vegan butter
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • garlic powder, black pepper, salt (season to your taste)
  • (1) 13.5 of full-fat coconut milk

Sweet Potato Souffle (Serves 8)

Directions

  1. Set oven to 350
  2. Rinse and dry sweet potatoes – coat with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt – bake for 40 min until soft
  3. peel the skin from cooked sweet potatoes, scoop softened sweet potato into a medium bowl
  4. add in the remaining sweet potato mix ingredients – butter, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, apple sauce, sugar
  5. using a standing or hand mixer, blend the mixture together until smooth – pour the mixture into a baking pan and set aside
  6. make the crumble topping by combining all the ingredients together in a small bowl
  7. sprinkle the sweet crumble mixture on top of the sweet potato mix
  8. bake souffle for 30 min.

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Mix
  • 3 cooked sweet potatoes
  • 1/3 cup non-dairy milk
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup apple sauce (I used one of the premade cups of apple sauce)
  • 1/2 cup organic white sugar
Crumble Topping
  • 3 tbsp melted vegan butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Smoked Collard Greens (Serves 6)

Directions

  1. in a large stockpot over medium heat coated with olive oil, cook yellow onion until translucent – add in minced garlic
  2. add the spices, collard greens, vegetable broth, and water
  3. cover and bring to a boil
  4. lower the heat and simmer for 30 or minutes until collard greens are softened and a dark green color
  5. remove from heat and serve warm

Ingredients

  • 32 oz. shredded collard greens
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 sliced yellow onion
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • season to taste – salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes (optional for a little spice)

Sweet Butter Cornbread (Serves 8)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400
  2. in a bowl, mix all the ingredients together
  3. pour the mixture into an 8×8 nonstick baking pan or muffin pan
  4. bake for 15-20 min
  5. let cool
  6. serve with vegan butter spread and drizzled agave if desired

Ingredients

  • 2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
  • 2/3 cup apple sauce or 2 single-serve apple sauce cups
  • 1 tsp melted vegan butter
  • 2 tbsp agave syrup
  • 1/3 non-dairy milk

Cranberry Sauce (Serves 8)

Directions

  1. add all ingredients to a small saucepan set to medium heat – bring to a boil
  2. reduce heat and cook for 5-10 min
  3. remove from heat and set aside – mash cranberries using a fork or potato masher until the sauce is thick and chunky
  4. pour the sauce into a bowl, cover, and place in the fridge to cool

Ingredients

  • 12 oz fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup organic white sugar sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick

  • Vegan Holiday Feast

    I created this complete vegan holiday menu just for you! Yes, meat is not on the menu – but you can still enjoy your favorite holiday dishes. These recipes are easy to follow and you can find all the ingredients at your local market. If you’re serving a small family or a large crowd, adjustContinue…

  • Vegan Drop Biscuits

    I love a good fluffy biscuit, it just speaks to my southern girl soul. Sometimes it’s a challenge creating vegan-friendly bakery goods, but this recipe is too easy to not try. This biscuit recipe doesn’t require long wait times, kneading, or rolling — simply a quick mix of ingredients, a scoop, and plop onto aContinue…

  • Blood Orange Loaf Cake (Vegan)

    Let’s spring into this light and fluffy blood orange loaf cake. This is the perfect dessert for cocktail hour, brunch, or a mid-day gathering on the patio. It pairs perfectly with a glass of white wine or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you enjoy this recipe, please share! Here’s what you will need:Continue…

  • Vegan Soul Food

    Here’s a sample of some fire soul food, made with uncommon ingredients! Also, let me share a cultural note with you. In Black culture, certain dishes are already assigned to family members when planning the next gathering. It’s improper to bring an unsolicited dish to dinner on a whim. So, imagine what a disrupter itContinue…

  • Vegan Holiday Feast

    I created this complete vegan holiday menu just for you! Yes, meat is not on the menu – but you can still enjoy your favorite holiday dishes. These recipes are easy to follow and you can find all the ingredients at your local market. If you’re serving a small family or a large crowd, adjust

    Read more

  • Vegan Drop Biscuits

    I love a good fluffy biscuit, it just speaks to my southern girl soul. Sometimes it’s a challenge creating vegan-friendly bakery goods, but this recipe is too easy to not try. This biscuit recipe doesn’t require long wait times, kneading, or rolling — simply a quick mix of ingredients, a scoop, and plop onto a

    Read more

  • Blood Orange Loaf Cake (Vegan)

    Let’s spring into this light and fluffy blood orange loaf cake. This is the perfect dessert for cocktail hour, brunch, or a mid-day gathering on the patio. It pairs perfectly with a glass of white wine or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you enjoy this recipe, please share! Here’s what you will need:

    Read more

  • Vegan Soul Food

    Here’s a sample of some fire soul food, made with uncommon ingredients! Also, let me share a cultural note with you. In Black culture, certain dishes are already assigned to family members when planning the next gathering. It’s improper to bring an unsolicited dish to dinner on a whim. So, imagine what a disrupter it

    Read more

  • Strawberry Pastry Twist 🍓

    Are you craving a treat soft and sweet? This toasty, comforting pastry is perfect for that cup of coffee or after-dinner dessert. I made these as a grab-and-go treat to accompany my morning tea. I’m such a fan of strawberry desserts and this definitely satisfies my obsession. The sweet strawberry jam combined with the flaky

    Read more

  • Is it possible to shop vegan on a low budget?

    Recently, I watched a Breakfast Club interview featuring Bakari Sellers, a political commentator, discussing social and political trends. On the topic of inflation and being more health conscious, he posed the question, “How am I suppose to eat healthy with a budget of $15?” Luckily, I’ve been planning a little experiment to test this out.

    Read more

Featured

Vegan Drop Biscuits

I love a good fluffy biscuit, it just speaks to my southern girl soul. Sometimes it’s a challenge creating vegan-friendly bakery goods, but this recipe is too easy to not try.

This biscuit recipe doesn’t require long wait times, kneading, or rolling — simply a quick mix of ingredients, a scoop, and plop onto a baking sheet. All you need is a mixing bowl, a sturdy spoon, and a standard size ice cream scooper for even portion biscuits. These are great to make and freeze later. Feel free to set some scoops to the side and freeze, they lasts a good month and comes out fresh and fluffy as if you just made them.

Mix it up and add in some garlic, vegan cheese & herbs or maple syrup for a twist. No need to buy the premade biscuits, now you have an easy recipe to try for your next breakfast spread!

Ingredients (8 biscuits)

  • 1 cup non dairy milk
  • 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
  • 1 stick of cold vegan butter (1/2 cup)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • pinch of salt

Directions

Prep time 5 min/Total time 20 min
  • set your oven to 400 degrees
  • combine non dairy milk and apple cider vinegar in a bowl and set to the side, allow it to sit until you see it curdle
  • break up and mash the cold vegan butter in a mixing bowl
  • add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt to the mixing bowl
  • with your hands or a sturdy spoon, begin folding the butter in with dry ingredients, should see clusters of butter and flour
  • pour in the non dairy milk and apple cider vinegar mixture into the mixing bowl with the butter and flour
  • mix until it forms a thick, fluffy dough like mixture
  • using your ice cream scoop, begin scooping equal size lumps of the biscuit dough onto a greased baking sheet
  • bake in oven for 15 minutes (if baking from frozen – 15 – 20 minutes)
  • serve warm
Featured

Blood Orange Loaf Cake (Vegan)

Let’s spring into this light and fluffy blood orange loaf cake. This is the perfect dessert for cocktail hour, brunch, or a mid-day gathering on the patio. It pairs perfectly with a glass of white wine or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you enjoy this recipe, please share!

Here’s what you will need:

  • 9 x 5 inch nonstick loaf pan
  • 4-5 blood oranges
  • handmixer or standmixer
  • parchment paper

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice
  • 1/2 cup non dairy milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 tsp orange zest

Sweet Orange Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp fresh squeezed blood orange juice
  • sliced blood orange and zest for garnish (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder) in one bowl
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (juice, milk, vanilla extract, olive oil, zest)
  4. Fold wet mixture in with the dry mixture and blend using a hand mixer or stand mixer
  5. Pour cake batter into a nonstick loaf pan lined with parchment paper
  6. Bake 50 – 55 minutes
  7. Once cake is fully baked, remove and cool for an hour or more
  8. While cake is cooling, mix glaze ingredients together in a small bowl
  9. Only when cake is cooled, spread glaze over cake; garnish with sliced blood orange and zest if desired
  10. Slice and serve

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Order here
Featured

Vegan Soul Food

Here’s a sample of some fire soul food, made with uncommon ingredients! Also, let me share a cultural note with you. In Black culture, certain dishes are already assigned to family members when planning the next gathering. It’s improper to bring an unsolicited dish to dinner on a whim. So, imagine what a disrupter it was when I started ushering in vegan soul food dishes to events hoping one day my vegan dishes would replace long time family favorites. I know, wishful thinking. But, the more I’ve been sharing my recipes, the closer I get to hosting a family dinner with only vegan-friendly recipes. 😎

Sweet Butter Cornbread

I’m not a bake-from-scratch kind of person, so most of the baking recipes you’ll see will have a shortcut. This is a replica of honey butter cornbread, using agave instead of honey (vegan-friendly).

Ingredients

  • 2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 1 cup cream corn
  • 1 tbsp melted butter
  • 2 tbsp agave
  • 1/3 cup non-dairy milk

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400
  2. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together
  3. Pour mixture into a 8×8 nonstick baking pan or a muffin pan
  4. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes
  5. Let cool and cut into squares
  6. Serve with butter spread and drizzled agave if desired

Black Eyed Peas & Collard Greens

A soul food classic! You can make this using a crockpot or cook it traditionally in a stockpot. This recipe is another easy dish that’s all about the spice combo for ideal flavor.

Ingredients

  • 16 oz. package of dried black eyed peas (presoaked overnight before cooking)
  • 24 oz. or 3 cups of chopped collard greens
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 chopped yellow onion
  • 1 Tbsp oregeno
  • 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • Sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a large stock pot over medium heat, add olive oil and cook chopped onion until translucent
  2. Add in minced garlic and stir for a few minutes, then add in the spices, bay leaf, and black eyed peas
  3. Add in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil
  4. Bring heat down to a low setting
  5. Cook on low for 45 min. – 1 hour
  6. Once black eyed peas are tender, add in chopped collard greens and simmer for another 15 minutes
  7. Turn off heat and serve warm

Banana Blossom Fried Fish

What is banana blossom? It’s a purple-skinned flower that grows at the end of a banana fruit cluster. It’s a great meat subsitiute used for seafood dishes, like fish. You can find jars of it at most asian food markets (also Nori Furikake mentioned later). This fried fish copycat is the same method most use when frying fish. Some take the wet batter option, others fry using a dry coating. I’ve found the best fried anything best starts with a wet batter.

Ingredients

Pre-fry marinade (20 min.):
  • 1 jar of brined banana blossom
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Nori Fume Furikake seasonining
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning (O’bay seasonin)
  • sprinkle salt & pepper
Fish fry batter:
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp Nori Fume Forikake
  • 1 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning
  • sprinkle salt & pepper
  • vegetable oil for frying

Directions

  1. Before frying the banana blossom, open the jar of banana blossom, drain the liquid, and marinate it in the pre-fry marinade for 20 min.
  2. To begin frying, heat a frying pan to medium heat and pour the vegetable oil into the pan (this recipe you can shallow fry)
  3. In a medium bowl, mix the fish fry ingredients together until it forms a smooth batter
  4. Begin dipping the marinated banana blossom pieces into the wet batter, fully coating the banana blossom
  5. Remove the battered banana blossom and dip into heated oil, fry on both sides until golden brown. (pictured above)
  6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 for all banana blossom pieces
  7. Place fried blossoms on a paper towel to drain and serve warm

Strawberry Pastry Twist 🍓

baked strawberry twist pastry

Are you craving a treat soft and sweet? This toasty, comforting pastry is perfect for that cup of coffee or after-dinner dessert. I made these as a grab-and-go treat to accompany my morning tea. I’m such a fan of strawberry desserts and this definitely satisfies my obsession. The sweet strawberry jam combined with the flaky crust is the best at-home bakery good, and it’s vegan!

spread strawberry mixture
cut into 2 inch strips
twist and form buns

Ingredients

  • Puff Pastry Dough (I used Pepperidge Farm’s Puff Pastry Dough Sheets)
  • 1 small basket of fresh strawberries
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp. water
  • cornstarch slurry (1 tsp. cornstarch & 1 Tbsp. water)
  • 1 Tbsp. melted butter

Most packaged pastry sheets are vegan. Always, check the ingredients! You can find frozen puff pastry sheets in the freezer aisle near the frozen pies and fruit. When picking strawberries, I always aim for a batch that has a darker hue for ideal sweetness.

Directions

  1. Thaw the frozen package of puff pastry sheets for 40 minutes before baking
  2. Preheat oven to 400
  3. Cut the green leaf tops off the strawberries and place the sliced strawberries in a bowl.
  4. Rinse the strawberries with vinegar and baking soda to clean any excess dirt or particles
  5. After the rinse, add the strawberries to a small pot, along with the sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and water
  6. Cover and bring to a boil
  7. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes
  8. Begin mashing the strawberries down with a potato masher or any utensil that works; the sauce should begin to thicken as the strawberries breakdown
  9. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer for another 5 minutes, sauce will thicken more
  10. Remove from heat and let cook for 15 minutes (you can place it in the fridge for quicker cool time)
  11. After strawberry spread has cooled, remove the thawed puff pastry sheets from packaging
  12. Lay one dough sheet on a baking pan and brush warm water over the dough
  13. Spoon and spread some of the strawberry mixture over the dough (pictured above)
  14. Lay the second dough sheet on top of strawberry spread
  15. Using a pizza cutter or knife, slice 2 inch strips and begin twisting strips to form small buns (pictured above)
  16. Bake the twisted buns for 10 minutes
  17. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter and bake another five minutes
  18. Remove from oven and cool

Is it possible to shop vegan on a low budget?

Recently, I watched a Breakfast Club interview featuring Bakari Sellers, a political commentator, discussing social and political trends. On the topic of inflation and being more health conscious, he posed the question, “How am I suppose to eat healthy with a budget of $15?” Luckily, I’ve been planning a little experiment to test this out.

The most common question: Is following a vegan diet expensive?

I’ve been doing this for about six years and it is somewhat taxing to manage grocery budgets on my weekly trips. If you’ve followed me for a while, then you know I love a good challenge. So here’s a new one: Let’s buy groceries for the week with ONLY $50!

According to the USDA monthly food & nutrition report (December 2021), the weekly grocery budget for a single female should be roughly $50. This budget covers ALL food cooked and eaten for the week. No takeout or grab & go meals! I understand the challenge behind maintaining a healthy grocery budget. I love snacks and treating myself during the week, so I knew this would be a little tough.

side note: I spent $50 on groceries and used what I already had on supply at home.

Here’s how the week went:

The shopping.

I made only TWO trips to the grocery store, which is unusual for me. My cooking habits are influenced by cravings, so it’s normal for me to take a trip to the grocery store a few times a week. I had no clue what the week would look like in meals. The goal was to keep things simple, mix and match carbs, veggies, and protein.

A little gift for you: Recipe!
Tuscan Kale & Sweet Potato Soup
  • 2 cups of sweet potato (diced)
  • half of sweet onion (diced)
  • 2 cups carrot (diced)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • vegan sausage (optional)
  • 1 can of butter beans
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 handfuls chopped kale

In a heated stockpot, saute onions, sweet potato, carrot, and garlic in oil. Add in spices, cook until onion is translucent. In a separate pan, cook vegan sausage, add to stockpot once fully cooked. Add veggie broth and butter beans to the stockpot and bring to boil. Cook on low for 20 minutes. Add in kale and simmer for another five minutes. Done.

What was on the menu?

Everything! It was a little cold the first couple of days, so something warm and cozy was on the menu. I made a Tuscan Kale & Sweet Potato soup to start. It covered lunch and dinner for a couple days. It’s probably best I break down the rest of the week by meal:

  • Breakfast – oatmeal (toppings were sweet cinnamon apples & blueberries), toast & spread, a banana, yogurt parfait (topped with granola, blueberries & strawberry), pancakes!
  • Lunch & Dinner – soup (mentioned that earlier), Tomato & Basil Pasta, a rice & beans dish (creole spice & vegan sausage), and nourish bowls (roasted chickpeas, corn, peppers, & quinoa)
  • Snacks & Dessert – popcorn (fav combo butter & Obay seasoning), fruit, also whipped up a quick baked berry & peach crumble

Minor Mishaps?

Overall, I made it through the week without buying more food to cook. But, I did make another trip to the grocery store to re-up on coconut water (spent another $10). Midweek, met a friend for a lunch date, just a cheap meal. Other than that, I aced this challenge! It’s possible ya’ll.