Member Reviews
My family began eating a plant based diet ten years ago and we've tried hundreds of recipes. This cookbook had some new ones that I'm excited to try. I especially enjoy a savory breakfast, so I was thrilled to see some delicious ideas for breakfast/brunch.
I tire of salads, so the number of warm salads included in this book is great. The author incorporates baked/roasted veggies and other ingredients that will take salads to the next level and make them more satisfying.
The instructions are clearly written with weights for ingredients (so have a kitchen scale handy!). Each of the recipes are accompanied by beautiful illustrations that make your mouth water.
I would definitely recommend this beautiful cookbook to anyone who is looking for meat and dairy free meal ideas.
Easy Vegan : 140 Delicious Recipes from Everyday to Gourmet is an easy to follow book with mouth watering pictures for each recipe. There is a good selection of food including starters, snacks, mains, salads, pasta and sweet treats. There are also lots of recipes for making the vegan equivalent of basics. These can then be used in other recipes. There is lots of additional information and extra help and advice. Overall a really good book especially for new vegans.
A colorful and easy to follow vegan cookbook. Substitutes for lacto-ovo ingredients are provided at the start. Sections divided clearly with easy-to-find ingredients. At the start of the book, nutritional guidance is provided for proper protein and vitamin intake. Substitute suggestions are provided for less-common ingredients. Pre-planned menus at the end make for a nicely balanced, multi-course, nutritious meal. A very unassuming, no-nonsense approach to vegan cookery. Great for all age levels and caters to sweet, savory, and spice-loving gourmets.
I’m always on the lookout for a good vegan cookbook as sometimes the recipes and ingredients list can be a little large and difficult to procure…! You sometimes have to get a little inventive with vegan cooking and ways to make it easier always help. So this is where books like these steps in!
This is one of the most easily accessible and easy to understand vegan cookbooks I’ve encountered so far. It’s full of hints, tips and tricks to slip into veganism with ease but also if you’re a long time vegan, you can learn a thing or two as well.
It’s filled with gorgeous sounding recipes that don’t require visits to far off lands to get hold of the ingredients. The layout was perfect for ease and the accompanying pictures will have your mouth watering. I also love that it includes a ‘vegan shopping list’ at the beginning for all the staples that are useful to have on your shelf and in your cupboards.
From how to make your own plant milks, vegan cream and how to adapt non vegan recipes, it really is a fab kitchen reference. There wasn’t a recipe in here I wouldn’t like to try and it’s a must have on your culinary shelf!
Synopsis (From Netgalley, the provider of the book to review)
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With 140 recipes for delicious non-dairy milks, basic pastries, warming soups and mains, salads, pasta, rice, noodles, and sweet things, Easy Vegan has your vegan options covered.
Whether you’ve decided to eat plant-based at every meal, want to try Veganuary, or just enjoy the occasional meat-free Monday, Easy Vegan is an easy and approachable way to start. This book is packed with advice on how to “veganize” a recipe by swapping out key ingredients for plant-based, healthier alternatives, without compromising on taste or flavour. Recipes are organized into categories and a meal planner is included. It’s the perfect starter manual for health-conscious would-be vegans and anyone who wants to incorporate more plant-based food in their diet.
Includes recipes for Mediterranean terrine, Crispy polenta bites, Pistachio cake and more! Start creating inspiring meals and give your wallet and health a boost at the same time.
An easy book with which to learn to like and make vegan food or how to make different vegan foods as most vegans that I know barely eat more than 3 or 4 different meals. I like how the book “veganized” recipes but I would never recommend “fake meat” – why does chicken have one ingredient and “chick’n” have 100+? How can that possibly be healthier? I doubt that hubby would eat anything in this book (he is a spaghetti and meatballs 365 days a year kind of guy…) but I might be able to get him to try a bite or two.
Good little book … I am sure it will fly off the shelves. #shortbutsweetreviews
Such a beautiful book with gorgeous illustrations I loved the sources of protein and I’ve been a vegan for over 10+ years highly recommend reading!
Easy Vegan really is quite easy.
I found this quite informative on the basics of vegan foods, how to begin, the different nutrients needed, how to do simple swaps, and some very easy, simple, delicious recipes.
I loved all these recipes and it’s so easy to follow!
Big thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Chartwell Books for giving me this delicious ARC!!
Easy Vegan: 140 Delicious Recipes from Everyday to Gourmet by Sue Quinn is a good introduction to vegan cookery for the uninitiated.
It provides useful information covering nutrition, protein, key vegan ingredients and tips on how to veganise recipes.
The recipes are divided into the following sections: Basics; Brunch; Starters & Light Snacks; Soups & Cold Salads; Warm Salads & Sides; Pasta, Rice & Noodles; Warming Mains; Sweet Things.
Each recipe has a photograph, which I find really useful to have in cookery books. It should be noted that the photographs by Victoria Walls Harris are absolutely stunning. They make all the recipes look so delicious.
The recipes themselves are set out nicely with a useful couple of sentences at the top listing how the recipe can be modified; how fast it is to cook/prepare, etc. The ingredients and the instructions are simply set out and not overly wordy.
Many of the recipes were familiar to me, but there were some that had some interesting twists that I can’t wait to try.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Quarto Publishing, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for fair and honest review.
This is my first time reviewing a cookbook but as a 9 year vegetarian, the title “Easy Vegan” grabbed my attention. Even though I have not eaten meat and a lot of animal byproducts in almost a decade, it is not always easy. Times are changing and brands and restaurants are catching up, but it is not as easy as your average Joe’s day to day. This book seems more catered to beginner vegans but I am always looking for new recipes, especially easy ones.
I love that one of the first pages has a multitude of different plant based protein sources. We are all sick of the “but where do you get your protein?” questions. But what I really loved about this cookbook, what made this one invaluable compared to a lot of others, were the pages on how to substitute regular recipes to be vegan. Your baking recipe calls for butter? Beat together coconut oil and water instead. Butter but for shallow frying? Use oil of your choosing. Plus there are many vegan butter options in the grocery store. Want to try to make your own? Go to page 28. I LOVE THAT. I have seen sooo many vegan recipes that say to use vegan butter, vegan cream, you name it, but it is not always accessible and seems daunting to learn how to make. This cookbook provides easy instructions to make all the plant based dairy ingredients used in the majority of recipes. There are pages on how to make non-dairy milk, yogurt, cream, butter, mayonnaise, pasta, vegetable stock and a basic pastry, all of which can be applied to the recipes throughout the rest of the book. I would buy this book for that alone and we haven’t even reached the real recipes yet. This is how you establish confidence in the kitchen and make cooking vegan easier! I’ll give it to them, the title works when you set people up for success.
Now let's move on to the real recipes.
-Brunch: vegan eggs Benedict anyone?
-Starters & light bites: these are a little less practical especially in a book with the title “easy”, it seems like a lot of work for snacks but the filled sweet potato skins caught my eye.
-Soups & cold salads: onion soup with cheesy toast?! Sign me up! Radish ceviche?? …I will try it. I want that watermelon and coriander salad right now. And a Thai salad?? Now this book is spoiling me. There are still the recipes that seem a little weird or a lot health nutty, but it is balanced with recipes that look and sound amazing and once again, easy.
-Warm salads & sides: I will be implementing the asparagus and mushrooms with cheese sauce into my regular rotation thank you very much. I have never seen a vegan potatoes dauphinoise (or as I know them, scalloped potatoes) but I am excited to try.
-Pasta, rice & noodles: this is where the real fun begins. This entire section got me excited. Rich mushroom lasagne, fusilli with artichoke cream, carbonara style spaghetti with crispy shiitake bacon, macaroni and cheese, gnocchi with truffled cauliflower sauce, bolognese sauce, marinated tempeh and sesame noodles. Yum, yum, and yum.
-Warming mains: this is the section that lost me sadly. There were a lot of recipes I did not see myself making. Smoky three bean chili sounds good though.
-Sweet things: aaaand I’m back. Holy heck. Frosted vanilla cupcakes, chocolate fudge torte, carrot cake with lemony icing, peanut butter caramel swirl brownies??? I die. CREME BRULEE????? IN A VEGAN COOKBOOK? This is heaven. I am not a big cheesecake fan, but I know a lot of people will be excited for a vegan strawberry cheesecake. *ahem* there is an ice cream section. Ice. Cream. Chocolate, vanilla, coconut, rum and raisin, salted caramel, banana. I mean this is just the beginning, once you know these recipes, the options are endless.
The menu planner in the back of the book was such a nice added bonus. They gave event options and a list of recipes from their book to correspond, including children’s party, celebration dinner, summer picnic, drinks party, relaxed brunch for a crowd.
I have to be honest, I was skeptical when I first looked at this cookbook. It is not always easy eating and cooking vegan. This book surprised me in the best way. It is such a good resource, for new and decade old vegetarians like me.
~Thank you to Chartwell Books, Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for the digital arc. All thoughts are my own.