My Plant-Based Family

Feeding My Family a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet, On a Budget

Main Dish Recipes

Black Bean Mango Salad

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It’s summer time and that means salads.

When you adopt a plant-based diet the BIG salad is kind of a rite of passage. We aren’t talking the dinky side salads you typically found in your Standard American Diet (SAD) days. We aren’t even talking about the giant meat, cheese and oil salads you may have ordered when you were “eating healthy.”

No, I’m talking about fiber filled, colorful, BIG, flavorful and healthy salads.

Black Bean Mango Salad Vegan Gluten-Free Plant-Based

Unlike most of the recipes you’ll find here this recipe is for a single serving. Sure my kids would love most of the things in this salad but if your kids are like my kids they don’t want it all mixed together. Today, I’m telling the kids to get back. This one is all mine.

Even though this is for a single serving I prefer to build two (or three or four) at a time to eat later in the week. The only real difference is you’ll want to store the diced mango separately because it can get a little slimy.

Let me take just a moment to mention that the measurements below can be adapted to your taste. I actually added a little more of everything for the salad I ate at home. This size was perfect for work. I don’t know about you but it takes me a long time to eat BIG salads. My lunch salads need to be a little average size.

Black Bean Mango Salad Vegan Gluten-Free

Black Bean Mango Salad

Ingredients

  • 2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup organic corn
  • 1/4 cup diced tomato (remove seeds)
  • 1/4 cup diced onion (I prefer sweet onion or red onions)
  • 1/4 of a large mango (or half a small mango) diced.
  • diced jalapenos to taste
  • juice from half a lime
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
  • 1/2 avocado (optional)

Do

  1. Place lettuce in a large bowl then top with beans, corn, tomatoes, onion and mango*.
  2. If using jalapenos and cilantro add now. Give the salad a good stir.
  3. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the salad and stir one more time.

*Notes: If you are packing an extra salad for another day leave the mango, lime juice and avocado separate I didn’t use avocado above but I stored my mango and lime in a container. See the photo below.

BBQ Cauliflower Bites

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For a girl that doesn’t eat meat, I really love barbecue sauce. Vegan barbecue is something I fully support. These BBQ Cauliflower Bites hit the spot. If you are looking for a plant-based version of BBQ Wings, give these a try.

Homemade vegan BBQ Cauliflower Bites. Similar to vegan wings.

Years ago, friends and I would share boneless BBQ wings in our late night chats. We’d order a bunch of appetizers and catch up.

Just because I avoid chicken doesn’t mean I have to avoid barbecue sauce. Especially this Homemade BBQ Sauce.

Vegan Barbecue Wings

You can make these with or without the breading. I’m sharing a gluten-free breading for the cauliflower but you can make it with wheat flour or skip the breading all together.

Homemade vegan BBQ cauliflower bites. Similar to vegan wings.

BBQ Cauliflower Bites

Ingredients

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 cup Gluten-Free flour blend
  • 1 cup unsweetened and unflavored plant milk (I use rice milk)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 recipe Homemade BBQ Sauce

Do

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Rinse cauliflower and cut into two-bite-sized pieces (about 2 inches or so).
  3. In a medium bowl mix the rest of the ingredients (except BBQ Sauce) together. I recommend adding the milk a little at a time because you may not need the whole cup. Stir with a whisk until the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.
  4. Put a handful of the cauliflower pieces into the batter then remove with a fork and place it on the cookie sheet.
  5. Once all of the cauliflower pieces have been dipped in batter and arranged on the cookie sheet bake for 15 minutes.
  6. After 15 minutes carefully remove the hot cauliflower and dip them into the BBQ Sauce. Put them back on the cookie sheet and bake for 5 more minutes.

Serve

These BBQ Cauliflower Bites are best served right out of the oven.

Vegan BBQ Cauliflower Bites

Vegan BBQ Cauliflower Bites

Sweet and tangy vegan BBQ Cauliflower Bites are the wing substitute you need.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 cup Gluten-Free flour blend
  • 1 cup unsweetened and unflavored plant milk (I use rice milk)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 recipe Homemade BBQ Sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Rinse cauliflower and cut into two-bite-sized pieces (about 2 inches or so).
  3. In a medium bowl mix the rest of the ingredients (except BBQ Sauce) together. I recommend adding the milk a little at a time because you may not need the whole cup. Stir with a whisk until the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.
  4. Put a handful of the cauliflower pieces into the batter then remove with a fork and place it on the cookie sheet.
  5. Once all of the cauliflower pieces have been dipped in batter and arranged on the cookie sheet bake for 15 minutes.
  6. After 15 minutes carefully remove the hot cauliflower and dip them into the BBQ Sauce. Put them back on the cookie sheet and bake for 5 more minutes.

Notes

These are best fresh from the oven and do not reheat well.

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© Holly Yzquierdo
Category: Main Dish Recipes

Need more barbecue ideas? Try these delicious recipes!

Vegan BBQ Sandwich...You'll never guess the secret ingredient!

Vegan BBQ Sandwich

Grilled Portobello Burgers and Vegan Potato Salad

Grilled Portobello Burger

Incredible vegan and gluten-free avocado grillers

Avocado Grillers

What are your favorite things to barbecue? Don’t forget the sides like grilled corn, veggie kabob’s, potato salad and pasta salad!

Instant Pot Mexican Casserole

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I’ve been promising this recipe for a while but keep putting it off. Today I’m going to share my Instant Pot version of my Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole, a.k.a. Mexican Casserole. It uses dry beans so you don’t have to cook anything ahead of time.

The Instant Pot Mexican Casserole will amaze your family and impress your guests! This should be your go to plant-based recipe for your Instant Pot.

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If you’ve tried the Crock Pot version, the Stove or Oven version you know that this is really good and really easy. Some people don’t like the texture of the rice when cooked in the Crock Pot.  The Instant Pot Mexican Casserole comes out perfect every time; if you have a pressure cooker I challenge you to make this.

The Instant Pot Mexican Casserole will amaze your family and impress your guests! This should be your go to plant-based recipe for your Instant Pot.

 

Instant Pot Mexican Casserole

If your family is just starting to try plant-based living, this recipe is for you! You can enjoy it in a bowl topped with your favorite ingredients, wrapped in a tortilla, or with chips.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups uncooked brown rice
  • 1 cup uncooked dry beans (if you have trouble with beans not cooking enough, try soaking them first)
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 6 oz can of tomato paste (or 1 8 oz can tomato sauce with slightly less water)
  • 1 tsp garlic
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt (optional)

Do

  1. Dump all of the ingredients into your pressure cooker and stir once or twice.
  2. Close the lid and cook on manual for 28 minutes.
  3. Once done, allow the pressure to come down and open carefully. If you are in a hurry you can do a quick release.

Serve

This meal can be eaten alone or served with tortillas or chips and salsa. It travels well and we often take it in our lunches.

This photo shows what it looks like right out of the pressure cooker! It’s quite a bit darker than the Crock Pot and Stove Top versions.

The Instant Pot Mexican Casserole will amaze your family and impress your guests! This should be your go to plant-based recipe for your Instant Pot.

Instant Pot Cooking Info

If you are new to the Instant Pot or pressure cookers, in general, it’s important to know that it takes time for them to come up to pressure and time for the pressure to come down when they are finished cooking. This will take about 45 minutes to an hour even though it only “cooks” for 28 minutes.

The Instant Pot Mexican Casserole will amaze your family and impress your guests! This should be your go to plant-based recipe for your Instant Pot.

Note: If using beans other than black beans make sure you are cooking this long enough. The rice takes 28 minutes to cook but some beans may take longer. Consult the Instant Pot cooking guides and cook it as long as necessary.

I’ve had feedback from some that their black beans are not soft enough after cooking. Most people do not have a problem. If this is the case for you, make sure you are using beans that are not old. Beans that have been in your pantry for a year will take longer to cook than fresh beans. (This is why I stopped buying giant bags of beans in bulk.)

Also, hard water could make the beans cook more slowly.

If your beans could be older or if you have hard water, I recommend soaking the beans in warm water before cooking.

The Instant Pot Mexican Casserole will amaze your family and impress your guests! This should be your go to plant-based recipe for your Instant Pot.

Get More Instant Pot Recipes

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Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

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I’ve got the answer to your pizza craving right here! You’ve heard of stuffed mushrooms but Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms are a whole new level of awesomeness!

If you like mushrooms you will love these. I recently posted a video on Instagram of my 4 year old enjoying these. If you don’t like mushrooms stay tuned and I’ll share my pizza hack with you!

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms are vegan and gluten-free!

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

  • 2 8 oz packages of whole mushrooms (button or cremini)
  • 1/2 cup diced bell pepper, I used half red and half green
  • 1/2 cup diced tomato
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 cup marinara

Do

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Wash mushrooms gently and remove stems. Dice the stems and set aside a 1/2 cup for the mix.
  3. Remove the gills. This step is optional but it will allow more “stuffing” in the mushrooms.
  4. Place the mushrooms in a muffin pan, I used a mini muffin pan. If you don’t have a muffin pan use a pan with sides.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix together a 1/2 cup of the diced mushroom stems, bell peppers, tomato and onion. Next pour in the marinara sauce and mix it all together.
  6. Fill the mushroom caps with the veggie marinara filling.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes.
  8. Carefully remove from oven, there will be liquid in the pan. Allow to cool slightly before eating.

You can add other ingredients like artichoke hearts, olives, faux sausage/pepperoni or cheese if you are in to that sort of thing. I wanted a basic veggie pizza flavor. This is completely guilt free as written so go for it!

This recipe made about 20 stuffed Mushrooms. You can also make it with portobellos but expect to cook it a little longer. The portobellos at our store looked pretty beat up so I skipped them this time.

You will probably have extra filling that is great on pasta, potatoes or my Pizza Hack!

Pizza Hack

I’ve been trying out some new gluten-free, vegan, Sprouted for Life bread. Like many healthier breads, it is pretty sturdy. I used it for my pizza crust and OH MY GOODNESS it was so good! I’m still trying the bread out and haven’t used it with a sandwich yet but it tastes amazing with this! Just spoon some of the veggie marinara filling over the toast and bake for 10 minutes.

For more great recipes visit my Recipe Page!

Instant Pot Lentil Tacos

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I love vegan tacos and I love my Instant Pot! Naturally, Instant Pot Lentil Tacos would be one of my favorite family friendly vegan recipes.

Vegan Instant Pot Lentil Tacos

It started in 2014, I would get emails asking if I could create recipes to use in the Instant Pot. My response was always, “sorry, I don’t have an Instant Pot but if you buy me one I’ll make recipes for you.” No one took me up on the offer so eventually I bought one myself. If you aren’t familiar with the Instant Pot it is an electric pressure cooker.

I’ve been slowly adapting my recipes to work in the Instant Pot and today I’m going to share my Lentil Taco’s recipe. You can use the original recipe if you are looking for a stove top version.

Vegan Instant Pot Lentil Tacos

Taco Tuesday

We don’t necessarily eat Taco Tuesday each week but we enjoy tacos any day of the week. One of the things I love about this recipe is the leftover lentil taco filling can be turned into burritos, Taco Salads, put on nachos or baked potatoes.

You can use these in place or any taco filling. Yes, that means Street Tacos too!

Vegan Instant Pot Lentil Tacos

Lentil Tacos in the Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dry brown lentils
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 oz tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp each of salt, garlic powder, chili powder and onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin

Do

  1. Dump all of the ingredients into our Instant Pot and give it a little stir to mix everything evenly.
  2. Close the lid, make sure you move the pressure release to the sealed position.
  3. Press the Manual button and use the arrows to get to 15.
  4. Once it is done turn the Instant Pot off and release the pressure.
  5. Carefully open the lid and give it a stir. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Serve

These are great in crunchy or soft tacos, as part of a burrito or taco salad. If you don’t have an Instant Pot don’t worry you can use the stove top recipe, it’s just as easy and just as delicious. For a little variety try my Quinoa-Lentil Tacos! They are a family favorite!

Lentil Tacos in the Instant Pot

Vegan Instant Pot Lentil Tacos

This incredibly east and delicious Instant Pot Lentil Tacos recipe is perfect for people eating a plant-based diet.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Taco Ingredients

  • 2 cups dry brown lentils
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 oz tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin

Optional Toppings

  • Lettuce
  • Tomatoes
  • Jalapeno
  • Cilantro
  • Salsa
  • Avocado

Tortillas

  • Choose your favorite tortillas.

Instructions

  1. Dump all of the taco ingredients (not the toppings) into your Instant Pot and give it a little stir to mix everything evenly.
  2. Close the lid, make sure you move the pressure release to the sealed position.
  3. Press the Manual button and use the arrows to get to 15.
  4. Once it is done turn the Instant Pot off and release the pressure.
  5. Carefully open the lid and give it a stir. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Notes

These lentil tacos leftovers should be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator. They will be good for about 5 days.

You can add your favorite toppings. We like to set up a taco bar for everyone to make their own.

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Did you make this recipe?

We'd love to see it! Tag us and use #MyPlantBasedFamily!

© Holly Yzquierdo
Category: Instant Pot

Taco Night Side Dishes

Of course if you are making tacos you might want to have a full meal! My favorite sides to have with tacos are:

What are your taco night must haves?

Fiesta Pasta

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I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a long time, like over a year. My apologies. I think you will agree that it is worth the wait. I’m the kind of girl who loves a vegan, gluten-free, nut-free pasta that tastes like it belongs in a restaurant. It’s also soy-free if that is important to you.

Fiesta Pasta is Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-Free and Nut-Free

What’s better than pasta? Pasta with Mexican flare. I often use macaroni noodles and call this Fiesta Mac but you use whichever noodles you like but if you are feeding toddlers small noodles are usually best.

Fiesta Pasta

Ingredients for the sauce

  • 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
  • 2 Tbsp Brown Rice Flour*
  • 1 tsp salt (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened plant-milk

Ingredients for the pasta

  • 1 package (16 oz) Gluten-Free Pasta (any shape)
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup organic corn (I use frozen)
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes

*cornstarch can be used instead

Do

  1. Dump all of the dry ingredients for the sauce into a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Pour in 1/2 cup plant-milk and stir with a whisk.
  2. In a separate pot bring water to boil to cook pasta. Follow the package directions.
  3. Alternate between whisking the sauce and scraping the bottom with a silicone spatula. As the sauce thickens add another 1/2 cup of plant milk until the full 1 1/2 cups is used.
  4. Pour beans and corn into the pasta in its last few minutes of cooking time.
  5. Drain pasta (and corn and beans), pour Fiesta Sauce on top of pasta and mix well.
  6. Dump tomatoes on top and mix one more time.

Serve

Fiesta Pasta is perfect for a potluck and can be used as the Main Dish or a Side Dish! The Fiesta Sauce gives it just the right amount of cheezy flavor without the dairy. You can also add an 8 oz can of tomato sauce (no need to change other measurements, just cook it a bit longer) for a slightly more savory flavor.

This recipe made me fall in love with nutritional yeast all over again. You can easily alter it to suit your preferences.

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