My Plant-Based Family

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

Sauces, Dips, and Salad Dressings

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad

by 31 Comments

Welcome to My Plant-Based Family and the Virtual Vegan Potluck. Today over 100 bloggers are joining forces to entice you with delicious vegan recipes. I signed up to bring a salad. I chose to incorporate two seasonal flavors, butternut squash and fresh cranberries.

If you want to start at the very beginning of the potluck go to Vegan Bloggers Unite! There are buttons at the bottom of this recipe you can follow to progress through the potluck.

Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad with Oil-Free Cranberry Dressing

aaVVP1

 Ingredients for Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad 1 serving (dressing recipe below)

  • 2-3 cups of your favorite salad greens
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 cup roasted or steamed butternut squash
  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 2 Tbsp dried cranberries
  • 1/4 of an onion

Do

  1. Cut onions into rings and cook in a hot skillet, stirring regularly until onions are crispy.
  2. In a medium bowl mix cooked quinoa, squash and cranberries together and carefully stir in grated ginger.
  3. Spoon quinoa mixture over fresh greens. Top with cooked onions and oil-free cranberry dressing.
  4. If desired toss everything together.

Tip: My husband prefers this salad without the onion, feel free to leave it out.

aaVVP2

Oil-Free Cranberry Salad Dressing

Ingredients (2-4 servings)

  • 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • zest from 1 orange
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 tsp xanthum gum

Do

  1. Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor (I used my Magic Bullet) and process until everything is smooth.
  2. Taste and add more maple syrup if it is to tart or add more water or juice if dressing is too thick.

Tip: If you don’t have xanthum gum you can get away without it if you do not add the water. The dressing will be more tart and thinner but works great in a tossed salad. You could also add a little corn starch instead.

aaVVP3

In previous potlucks I’ve brought Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins, Gluten-Free Apple Muffins and a Lentil Shepherds Pie. If you are just stopping in today for the potluck feel free to look around, maybe checkout my Recipe Page. It is full of Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes that are oil-free and mostly Gluten-Free.

You can go backward in the potluck to 86 Lemons by clicking the Go Back button below; or journey forward to In Fine Balance by clicking the Go Forward button.

 

Oil-Free Blueberry Vinaigrette

by 7 Comments

Are you passionate about blueberries? If so, I have a recipe for you! This Oil-Free Blueberry Vinaigrette is a game changer. It is quick and easy to make with no added junk! You hear that? Guilt-Free!

Blueberry Vinaigrette

Oil-Free Blueberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 1/8 tsp onion powder
  • dash of black pepper

Do

  1. Add all ingredients to a blender/food processor (I used my Magic Bullet) and whiz until smooth.
  2. Allow to rest for a few minutes to congeal.

Serve

This Oil-Free Blueberry Vinaigrette salad dressing is amazing on spinach and mixed greens. I paired it with red onions and blueberries for an amazing salad that even my kids loved. Freshly sliced nectarine are a fun addition too (I forgot to add them before I took the picture).

For more variety try my Sweet & Tangy Oil-Free Salad Dressing! It’s popular on Pinterest and one reader with a restricted diet said it was “life changing” I can’t think of a better compliment.

Sweet & Tangy Salad Dressing (oil-free)

by 43 Comments

Some people wonder how I get my kids to mounds of greens, let me introduce you to my sweet and tangy secret. This is my Sweet and Tangy Oil-Free Salad Dressing.

 

sweet and tangy salad dressing

I make this salad dressing with pantry staples so it’s inexpensive and lasts a long time. It is also oil-free, gluten-free and vegan.

salad dressing

Holly’s House Dressing (Sweet & Tangy Salad Dressing)

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp agave nectar
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried parsley
  • 1/8 tsp dried paprika
  • 1/4 tsp dried dill
  • 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)
  • 2 oz water

Do

Add all ingredients to a jar and shake well OR put all ingredients in a blender (I used a Magic Bullet) and whizz.

Serve

I love this dressing on a big salad or a wrap. It is also fantastic in noodle or grain salads. My boys (2 and 4) LOVE it. They beg for salad and salad dressing. It is very thin but still makes a great dip. The spices settle at the bottom of the jar so shake before pouring and refrigerate.

Update: For a thicker dressing at 1/4 tsp xanthum gum!

5.0 from 1 reviews
Sweet & Tangy Salad Dressing (oil-free)
 
Save Print
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Salad Dressing
Ingredients
  • 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp agave nectar
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp dried parsley
  • ⅛ tsp dried paprika
  • ¼ tsp dried dill
  • ½ tsp Italian seasoning (optional)
  • 2 oz water
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to a jar and shake well OR put all ingredients in a blender (I used a Magic Bullet) and whizz.

 

Creamy Italian Salad Dressing

If you are looking for a creamy salad dressing then let me introduce you to my Creamy Italian Salad Dressing. This dressing is also Oil-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free!

Faux Cheese Sauce

by 26 Comments

faux cheese and pico

When we first switched to a plant-based diet, faux cheese sauce became a very important part of our arsenal. We ate a lot of Mexican food (we still do) but it wasn’t the same without all of the cheese we used to add. After a few months we no longer craved the cheese, or faux cheese and rarely made it. It was just an extra step that we usually forgot.

I love making faux cheese sauce for plant-based newbies. They are usually really missing their dairy and this really hits the spot. We don’t love it by itself but it’s great as part of the dish, I also don’t like tomatoes much by them selves but love salsa and tomato based sauces.

Faux Cheese Sauce

Faux Cheese Sauce (Gluten-Free and Vegan)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 c Nutritional Yeast
  • 2 Tbsp rice flour* (wheat flour can be used instead)
  • 1/4 tsp tumeric
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • salt to taste (I used 1/2 tsp)
  • 1/4 tsp cumin**
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder**
  • 1 c plant milk (I use rice or unsweetened almond milk)

*For a thicker sauce add extra flour.**These are optional but best used for a Mexican inspired flavor.

Do

  1. In a medium sauce pan add all dry ingredients and place on medium heat.
  2. Stir with a wisk as dry ingredients are heated and begin to toast. Don’t let them burn!
  3. Once they are warmed and begin to be very fragrant (again, not burnt) add the plant milk and wisk often.
  4. Once sauce becomes thick remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Serve

I like this drizzled over potatoes, broccoli, mixed into a casserole, or best yet on nachos. Unlike other recipes I’ve tried this one stays pretty fluid and is versatile enough to use in a number of different recipes. I’ll have more recipes coming using this sauce next month. 🙂

All Purpose Mushroom Marinade

by 13 Comments

Some nights you just need an easy, kid-friendly meal; and nothing is easier than pasta.

We used gluten-free pasta because my 20 month old is gluten-free. He loved this pasta and the mushrooms.

This was his first time successfully feeding himself. He normally eats with his hands but he always tries to use the spoon. He totally rocked spooning this pasta into his mouth. He had seconds of this by the way.

I’m not typically a mushroom lover but my marinade really takes them to a whole different level. So if you don’t like mushrooms you will want to try them this way; if you like mushrooms this may become your favorite way to prepare them.

Mushroom Marinade

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp Braggs
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (vegan)
  • 1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
  • 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1 Tbsp Agave Nectar
  • 1 Tbsp Cooking Sherry (optional, I use in Italian dishes but not Mexican)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup of water
  • Mushrooms of your choice, we prefer Portobello

Do

  1. Mix all liquids for the marinade in a large bowl and stir to incorporate them all.
  2. Wash mushrooms and pat dry.
  3. Slice them then add to marinade.
  4. Let them soak 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Cook the mushrooms however you prefer. I simmered these with onions for the pasta but will often grill them for fajita’s.

Serve

This marinade is extremely versatile. I use it, adjusting where necessary, for all of my mushroom recipes. I’ve had people who didn’t like mushrooms tell me they really enjoyed them this way. It’s a lot easier than the recipe I came up with for my Portobello Fajita’s. My Portobello Burgers are pretty good too if you are in a Portobello kind of mood.

I served this with a big ol’ garden salad! Yes that was just MY salad, in a serving bowl. My husband and 3 year old had their own. 😉

Just in case you are wondering, the Pumpkin Bread from yesterday’s post does make a delicious breakfast, especially with a cup of coffee.

An Unrecipe: All Purpose Green Sauce

by 7 Comments

If you have waaaaaaay too much zucchini or squash then pay attention!

Last week I cleaned, cut, and steamed a lot of too much broccoli, yellow summer squash and green zucchini. I ate it for several meals but my boys just were not interested. I had an idea, maybe I should make it into a sauce they could eat on pasta.

Vegan and Gluten Free All purpose Green Sauce

I started cooking some gluten-free spiral rice noodles (they were organic too, aren’t I fancy); then threw some steamed veggies into my Magic Bullet (a food processor or blender could easily be used) along with some nutritional yeast, garlic, onion powder, and salt then added some plant-milk to get it just right.

The end result was a delicious and somewhat spicy sauce that was the perfect consistency for pasta eating or pita dipping. I could also dip veggies in this sauce, as a matter of fact I think it would be a decent stand-in for a creamy spinach and artichoke dip. Oh, be next time I’ll add spinach and artichoke too.

When my 3-year-old asked me what I was making I raised my hands in the air like a referee signalling a touch down and said, “Special Green Sauce.” There was quite a bit of excitement in the air as I served up this green sauce on the spiral noodles. I cut one noodle in half and told my 3-year-old it was hot. He blew on it once then shoved it in his mouth and exclaimed, “Oh Thank You Mommy!!!” My 1-year-old like it too. He was two-fisting them into his mouth.

Check out more delicious recipes on my Recipe Page!