Vegan Cooking Guide for Beginners

Vegan cooking is remarkably easy to learn and delivers all sorts of unexpected payoffs. While most hobbies will cost you money, learning to cook will save you piles of cash on eating at restaurants or buying frozen foods.

You'll eat fresher, tastier meals made with higher-quality ingredients. As your cooking skills develop, you may also grow to love the calming, meditative time spent in the kitchen doing simple tasks like starting rice or chopping vegetables.

It's easy to master the basics of vegan cooking. Unfortunately, many beginners don't know where to begin. That's where this guide comes in. I will take you through all the basics of vegan cooking, so you'll know how to make fantastic meals on your own.

Grocery Shopping

One of the best parts of doing your own cooking is that you gain absolute control over what goes into your food. Great meals start with great ingredients.

Good cooks take their grocery shopping as seriously as their cooking. They know where to find the best carrots and the nicest greens. The quality of your vegan cooking will depend on the quality of the ingredients you buy, so developing your food shopping skills is a big part of learning how to cook vegan.

For the freshest and highest-quality fruits and vegetables, seek out your local farmers' market. There are more than 8,000 in the United States alone, and the USDA has a directory to help you find one near you.

Vegetables to Start With

As your vegan cooking skills progress, you'll eventually get comfortable preparing every sort of vegetable. But you have to start somewhere. Here are some easy choices:

Broccoli, Cauliflower & Cabbage

All of these are in the cruciferous family, and they are perfect for stir-fries. Studies suggest that eating cruciferous vegetables may help reduce cancer risk. Peel the tough stalks of your broccoli before cooking – they're delicious too. Cabbage is great for coleslaw, and many people love fresh broccoli and cauliflower florets with a hummus dip.

Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

Delicious and so easy to make. Prick each one a few times with a fork (to let steam escape) and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 40 to 60 minutes depending on size. Diced potatoes or sweet potatoes are also terrific in stir-fries and roasted trays. Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A and fibre.

Leafy Greens

These might be the most nutrient-rich of all foods, and it's wise to eat some every day. Go for dark, rich colors since that signals more nutrients. For calcium, kale and bok choy are great choices, because spinach contains oxalates that reduce calcium absorption. If you want to really boost your greens, stir-fry them – they cook down to a fraction of their volume, making it easy to eat lots of them.

Onions

A mainstay of most cuisines, including Mexican, Indian and Italian. Most onions are pungent, so they're generally diced and cooked. Red, yellow and white onions are widely available, and sweet onions like Vidalia are delicious raw – just slice them for sandwiches or dice them for salads.

Squash

There are two main varieties, summer and winter. The most common summer variety is zucchini. The most popular winter variety is butternut, but kabocha squash is even sweeter and more flavourful. Keep summer squash refrigerated and eat it within a few days. Winter squash can last for months in a cool, dark place. Be careful cutting winter squash, as its hardness can make your knife slip – many supermarkets sell it pre-cut.

Tomatoes

Botanically they're actually fruits, but they're so versatile, healthy and flavourful they belong here. Nothing compares to a locally grown, vine-ripened summer tomato. Out of season, canned tomatoes often have more flavour than fresh ones.

Eating a lot of vegetables means buying a lot of vegetables. Here's a simple rule: every time you get to the checkout, take one last look in your cart. If you don't have a colourful mix of fresh fruit and vegetables, head back to the produce section.

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Pantry Items

In addition to fresh produce, keep your pantry full of long-lasting foods. The bulk section of a good natural food store usually offers better prices than packaged foods. Here are some vegan staples to keep on hand:

• Nuts and seeds
• Beans, lentils and chickpeas (dried or canned)
• Rice, buckwheat and quinoa
• Flour
• Dried fruit
• Oats, breakfast cereal and granola
• Dark chocolate
• Pasta and noodles
• Nut butter and tahini
• Coffee and tea

Herbs, Spices & Seasonings

Herbs, spices and seasonings are what turn wholesome foods into delicious meals.

Herbs are the leaves and sometimes stems of fragrant plants. Italian cooking is loaded with herbs, especially oregano, marjoram, basil and rosemary. Fresh herbs are even better than dried – a window sill herb garden lets you snip whatever you need right before cooking.

Spices usually have stronger flavours than herbs and mostly come from seeds, bark or roots. Indian cooking relies heavily on spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric and mustard seeds. Cardamom, often used to flavour basmati rice, has a beautiful, unique aroma.

Seasonings include more than herbs and spices: salt, soy sauce or tamari, lemon juice, stock cubes, pickles and balsamic vinegar all add big flavour.

If you're new to vegan cooking, start with a few herbs and spice mixes. The most popular are Mexican, Indian curry, Caribbean jerk and barbecue. The most useful herb mix is Italian seasoning.

Spice Buying Advice

Spice mixes are perfect for a busy cook. Just like coffee, spices lose flavour once ground, so for the very best taste, buy whole spices and grind them just before cooking with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. That's also why pepper mills are so common. Pre-ground spices are good enough; freshly ground spices can be magnificent. Buying spices from the bulk section can also save you a lot of money.

Fats and Cooking Oils

There is no reason to fear fats or oils. Healthy fats are an important part of a balanced diet – they keep you full, help stabilise blood sugar and help your body absorb vitamins. Fat also deepens the flavours of food, because oils coat the tongue and make flavours linger.

Don't Use Only One Oil

Many people keep just one oil in the kitchen. Here are four that are worth having on hand:

• High oleic safflower or avocado oil. Perfect for higher-temperature cooking since it doesn't burn easily.
• Extra virgin olive oil. Good for lower-temperature cooking and dressings. With balsamic vinegar, it's a wonderful dip for fresh bread.
• Toasted sesame oil. An easy way to jazz up stir-fried vegetables and noodles. Add it right before serving – a little goes a long way.
• Unrefined coconut oil. Lovely in curries, roasted vegetables and vegan baking.

Vegan Butter

Vegan butter has improved hugely over the past few years, and there are now lots of great plant-based butter sticks and spreads in most supermarkets. Sticks are best for baking, while spreads are great on toast.

Alla's Top Tips for Vegan Beginners

• Invest in a good chef's knife. You can go cheap on almost everything else.
• Short on time? An Instant Pot or slow cooker makes beans, soups and stews almost effortless.
• Shop for variety. Don't buy the same vegetables every week – pick what's colourful, on sale and in season.
• Keep your pantry stocked with pasta, rice, beans, nuts, spices and a few flavourful oils.
• Master techniques, not recipes. Learn to make stir-fries, roasted vegetables, soups, salads and sandwiches – they can be improvised endlessly.
• Explore world cuisines. Mexican, Indian, Thai and Middle Eastern food are naturally full of vegan dishes.

Above all, have confidence and be open to trying new ideas. Just a little practice will let you make delicious vegan meals on a budget. Cooking might be the easiest life-changing skill you'll ever learn!

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do vegans get protein?
Beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, edamame, nuts, seeds, quinoa and buckwheat are all great sources.

Is vegan cooking expensive?
Not at all. Beans, rice, oats, seasonal vegetables and frozen produce are some of the cheapest foods you can buy.

What can I use instead of eggs in baking?
Try a flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water), mashed banana, applesauce or aquafaba (chickpea water).

What can I use instead of dairy milk?
Oat, soy, almond and coconut milk all work. Soy and oat are best for baking and creamy sauces.

Do vegans need supplements?
Vitamin B12 is the main one most vegans need. Speak to your doctor about what's right for you.

Vegan Recipes to Try

• Chocolate Vegan Brownies
• No-Bake Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake
• Vegan Biscoff Tofu Cheesecake
• Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Cake

Hugs, Alla xox

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