You know this craving when only deliciously peanutty Vegan Satay Noodles will do?
The creamy peanut sauce with lots of umami, slightly sweet with a bit of spice, that just feels so incredibly cozy like a hug on a plate. Add to it the fact that peanuts give you a good bit of protein and join the whole thing up with lots of veggies in different forms and you have yourself a dinner that’s as quick as it is good for you.
Why You Will Love This
Simple to make
If you ever had chicken Satay, you know how utterly addictive that peanut butter sauce is. And probably wondered about its secrets. There really aren’t many, which is probably the best thing about it. The whole dish comes together in about 30 minutes, which makes this very doable even on a busy day.
Flexible
Both noodle and veggies wise, Vegan Satay Noodles are classic case of “use whatever you have at home”. It’s a great way to use up any odds and ends in your veggie drawer or and sort of noodles you have in your store cupboard.
If you don’t have peanut butter (or are allergic) you can use Tahini or almond butter. Sure, it’ll taste different, but just as delicious.
Want to add more protein? Top with some crispy fried tofu or chicken. Beef or lamb work well too if you are not vegan. Or even halloumi for a vegetarian option.
Nutritious
With the ratio of vegetables to noodles I’m using here, you easily get all 5 of your 5-a-day in one portion, including all the fibre and vitamins that come with whatever combination you choose.
Peanut butter adds healthy fats and protein, while the noodles give you satisfying carbs.
Leftovers are great cold
Most noodles, soba in particular, will make this dish taste fantastic cold. So you could eat it hot for dinner one day, then take the leftovers to work and eat them cold (or may I suggest a picnic in the spring sun?) the next day.
The Ingredients
Noodles, as the name says, are of course included, but I use a little trick with a spiraliser to cut down on carbs.
Mixing in spiralised zucchini and carrots, sneaks in a good portion of veggies right with the noodles, so even kids will enjoy them.
To add even more nutrition, colour, and flavour, I’m using my beloved red cabbage, tenderstem broccoli, thinly sliced sweet red peppers and bright green spring onions to top the plate.
The satay sauce comes together mainly from store cupboard ingredients like peanut butter, balsamic vinegar (or, even better if you have it, black rice vinegar, which tastes like the Asian version of balsamic vinegar I feel), soy sauce (or coconut aminos), honey or maple syrup and some sweet chili sauce if you like.
I also add a bit of minced garlic and grated ginger, but you can either leave it out or use them from jars you’ll find in the Asian section of most supermarkets these days. They are a really great shortcut for adding a ton of flavour without the work.
Toppings, while optional, really make this dish sing. I like a squeeze of lime juice over mine, sliced spring onions, some crunchy chopped peanuts or sesame seeds, a bit of cilantro (or parsley, if you have the “Cilantro tastes like soap” gene) and, if you are feeling spicy, a bit of chili crisp or more sweet chili sauce.
The Process
Prepare you vegetables as per ingredient list and set aside while you make the peanut sauce.
For the sauce, simply stir together all the ingredients in a small bowl. It will later be thinned a bit by adding some of the noodle cooking water, just like for other pasta sauces.
Get a large pot of salted water to the boil, add your noodles, and cook according to packet instructions. Before draining them, scoop out some of the cooking water and set aside to add to the sauce later.
Get a wok or large pan, adding a bit of groundnut or olive oil and gently fry ginger and garlic until fragrant but not browned. Tip in the shredded cabbage, followed by the broccoli and fry for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened. Add the remaining vegetables and quickly stir fry until hot, but still crisp with a bit of bite.
Now let the noodles join the veggies in your wok and top with the satay sauce, stirring and thinning with a bit of the cooking water, until it reaches a creamy consistency.
Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Serve in a large deep plate, topped with spring onions, chopped roasted peanuts, sesame, herbs and maybe some chili crisp if you like.
How to Store
Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days and are fantastic cold as a salad. I always make a big portion to have a healthy and delicious dinner for my workdays.
Looking for more veggie packed dinners, that give you all of your 5-a-day in one portion?
Here are some ideas:
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please rate, share and/or comment. It helps me a lot!
Vegan Satay Noodles
You know this craving when only deliciously peanutty Vegan Satay Noodles will do?
The creamy umami, slightly sweet with a bit of spice sauce, that just feels so incredibly cozy like a hug on a plate. Add to it the fact that peanuts give you a good bit of protein and join the whole thing up with lots of veggies in different forms and you have yourself a dinner that’s as quick as it is good for you.
1tbspsweet chili sauceor any other hot sauce you enjoy
1tbspmaple syrup or honey
1clovegarlicminced
2tspgingergrated
2tbspOil for frying. I used groundnut.
Veggies and Noodles
7oz(200g) noodlesI used medium egg noodles
1zucchinispiralised or thinly sliced
3carrotsspiralised or julienned
¼red cabbagethinly sliced
7oz(200g) tenderstem broccolidry ends cut off
1red pepperjulienned
3spring onionsthinly sliced
1tbsppeanuts, roasted and choppedoptional
1tbspsesameoptional
Instructions
Prepare all your vegetables as per the ingredient list and set them aside while you make the peanut sauce.
In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter, soy sauce or coconut aminos, black rice vinegar (or balsamic), sweet chili sauce, maple syrup or honey, minced garlic, and grated ginger to make the sauce. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to the package instructions. Before draining, reserve some of the cooking water for later use.
In a wok or large pan, heat a bit of groundnut or olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger, stirring until fragrant but not browned.
Add the shredded cabbage to the wok, followed by the tenderstem broccoli, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened.
Add the remaining vegetables (zucchini, carrots, red pepper) to the wok and quickly stir-fry until hot, but still crisp with a bit of bite.
Add the cooked noodles to the wok, then pour the satay sauce over the noodles and vegetables. Stir well, thinning the sauce with a bit of the reserved noodle cooking water until it reaches a creamy consistency.
Taste the noodles and adjust the seasoning according to your liking.
Serve the vegan satay noodles in a large deep plate, topped with sliced spring onions, chopped roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, fresh herbs, and optionally, some chili crisp for extra heat.
Notes
How to StoreLeftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days and are fantastic cold as a salad. I always make a big portion to have a healthy and delicious dinner for my workdays.
Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies is a lovely warming Thai Curry with Peanut butter-coconut sauce. This would go with all sorts of vegetables, to make a nutritionally balanced meal. I have chosen aubergine, red peppers, and butternut squash, to underline the creamy and sweet notes of this easy dish. Using lamb rump instead of a more typical stewing cut means, you can cut down the cooking time to about 50 minutes instead of the typical 2h.
Why You will Love This
Using Thai Red Curry paste to give this Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies really punchy flavours is your easy way to a quick and delicious weeknight dinner that you can whip up in about an hour.
Tastes Even Better the Next Day
As curries go, they tend to get better when the flavours had a chance to meld and get to know each other. This one is no exception. Make a large pot and have nutritious meals for several days.
Flexible
Massaman Lamb Curry is as flexible as it gets, as you can basically throw in any meat or veggies you have around or love. It takes particularly well to slow cooking cuts that can slowly simmer in the fragrant curry spices. So instead of the boneless rump steak I went for here, you could use lamb shanks and simply bake them in the oven in the sauce at 180C/ 350F for about 3h, with the first 2h covered and the last uncovered.
Check this delicious recipe from Nagi for more details.
For vegetables use whatever you have in your fridge. I love sweet red bell pepper and squash in particular, but sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, or even green beans are all great choices. Experiment and make it your own.
Vary Calories through the liquid
You can use broth, light or full fat coconut milk or a combination of them to create exactly the sauce you like or that fits your macros.
Serve with Rice or without
I chose to serve my Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies with cauliflower rice today, but you could for example include potatoes in the vegetables and would have your nutritious carbs cooked in one pot with the rest of the ingredients. Or of course simply serve with very classic cooked basmati.
The Ingredients
Lamb – I used rump here, as it is tender even when cooked relatively short, which suited my idea of making a quick cook Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies instead of the typical rather slow cooked ones.
If you don’t mind letting it simmer longer, use lamb shoulder pieces or lamb shanks, which will get fall apart tender after cooking them for about 1.5h. This is also a more budget option, but at the same time higher calories, since shoulder is a fattier cut, which will melt into your sauce.
Vegetables – While I used aubergine for the meaty flavour-absorbing qualities, butternut squash for sweetness, red peppers for colour and crunch and spinach for the important greens, you can use any combination of veggies you enjoy.
Other great choices are carrots, sweet potatoes, kale, butter beans, chickpeas or anything else that profits from cooking for a bit in a stew pot. Just make sure to cut them into roughly the same size, so they cook all around the same time.
Spices – I love using the classic trinity of ginger, garlic and onion (or spring onions), since they help build that typical base flavour for curry. If you are in a bit of a hurry, use pre-chopped ginger and garlic from a jar in the Asian section of your supermarket. It’s one of my favourite busy weekday cheats, to have dinner ready quicker.
Curry paste – If you haven’t used red curry paste before, you might think it’s the hottest variety of them, but actually it is milder than green curry paste. So feel free to swap, if you like more of a spicy punch to your curry. You can also vary the heat by using less or more. I’m not a big fan of spicy food, so the amount given here is for pretty moderate heat. I usually start with 1 tbsp if I’m using a paste brand I didn’t try before and add more after tasting. It’s fine to add it towards the end and not fry it.
While the frying the paste will bring out more nuances, it can be tricky to judge the amount of spiciness at that stage. So taste towards the end and balance your flavours by adding more of anything you feel it needs.
Sauce – I used full fat coconut milk, but low fat or a mix of coconut milk and broth works well too. You can customize the level of creaminess you enjoy. Higher fat will also temper the heat. So if you accidentally added too much curry paste (I sure have done it before) simply add one more can of coconut milk, and it should taste great again.
Peanut butter – I really love the flavour of peanut butter and lamb together, but if you are allergic to peanuts, any other nut butter will do fine. Almond or cashew would be good choices for example. If you are generally allergic to nuts, you can leave them out and use for example cream or sun butter. Not authentic, but then…the important part is flavour, isn’t it?
Toppings – You can go wild here with toppings. I have given just a few in the recipe to pick from, herbs, lime, or coconut chips being my choices. Other great ones are a lovely cooling Greek yoghurt, to balance the heat, creamy avocado, any type of toasted nuts or seeds, herbs, maybe some extra sliced chilies if you enjoy even more spice or a drizzle of chili crisp.
What to serve this with – I had my Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies 2 days with cauliflower rice and the other 2 days with basmati. Both were delicious. It’s also very satisfying with a hunk of fresh crusty bread to soak up the fragrant, creamy sauce or just on it’s own.
Process
Start making your Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies by gently frying your chopped onions on medium heat in a large pot until translucent. Add garlic and ginger and fry until soft. Remove from the pan.
Add a little more oil and turn the heat to medium high. Once the oil is hot, add your lamb cubes and fry until nicely browned on all sides. You may have to do this in 2 batches, to not crowd your pot. Remove from the pot, season with salt and pepper and rest with the onions, garlic, and ginger.
See the brown bits at the bottom? That’s where all the flavour is!
Reduce the heat to medium and use a little more oil if needed, to gently fry your curry paste, releasing the flavours. Stir in peanut butter, coconut milk and remaining spices, bringing everything to a boil, scraping off any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, to integrate the delicious flavours into your sauce.
Carefully, to not hit yourself with hot fluid, lower the aubergine and squash pieces into the sauce. Add back the meat, onions, garlic, and ginger and gently simmer for about 20minutes or until the squash is tender. Throw in the peppers and spinach and heat through. You want the peppers hot with a bit of bite, but not mushy. The spinach will just wilt into the sauce.
Give everything a taste and balance the flavour to your liking by adding more salt, coconut aminos/soy sauce, maple syrup or tamarind, until it tastes lovely and balanced to you.
Optionally garnish with herbs or nuts of your choice.
Serve over rice, cauliflower rice or simply with a nice chunk of crusty bread for mopping up the fragrant sauce of your Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies.
How To Store
I froze a few portions of this Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies for busy days when I need food quickly. It reheats beautifully either in the microwave or on the hob.
If you plan to eat it throughout the week, it keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Let me know what you think!
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share and comment. It helps me a lot.
Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies is a lovely warming Thai Curry with Peanut butter-coconut sauce. This would go with all sorts of vegetables, to make a nutritionally balanced meal. I have chosen aubergine, red peppers, and butternut squash, to underline the creamy and sweet notes of this easy dish. Using lamb rump instead of a more typical stewing cut means, you can cut down the cooking time to about 50 minutes instead of the typical 2h.
1lblamb rumpCut into 1in cubes. Or cut of your choice. Check details above on how to cook shanks or shoulder
1auberginechopped into 1in chunks
2red pepperschopped into 1in chunks
1butternut squashdeseeded and chopped into 1in chunks. You can leave the peel on, it will soften
4cupsbaby spinachwashed, roughly chopped if you have large leaves
1onion finely chopped. I used redbut white or shallots will work too
2tbspminced ginger
1tbspminced garlic
1-3tbspred curry paste
2cans coconut milkfull fat, or light. Replace with part vegetable broth for a lighter curry
1/3cupsmooth peanut butter
1tspground cinnamon
½tspground cloves
2tbsptamarind paste
2tbspmaple syrup
1tbspcoconut aminos or soy sauce
3tbspolive oilfor frying
Salt to taste
To Serve, optional:
Fresh coriander or mint
Toasted and salted peanuts
Toasted Coconut chips
Cauliflower or basmati rice
Lime juice
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients:
Chop all vegetables and set aside.
Cut the lamb into 1-inch cubes if not already done.
Sauté Aromatics:
In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
Add chopped onions and sauté until translucent.
Stir in minced ginger and garlic, cooking until fragrant.
Remove the onion mixture from the pot and set aside.
Brown the Lamb:
In the same pot, add another tablespoon of olive oil if needed and increase heat to medium-high.
Add the lamb cubes and brown them on all sides, working in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pot.
Once browned, remove the lamb from the pot, season with salt and pepper and set aside with the onion mixture.
Prepare the Curry Sauce:
Reduce the heat to medium and add a little more olive oil if required.
Stir in the red curry paste and cook briefly to release its flavours.
Add the peanut butter, coconut milk, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, tamarind paste, maple syrup, and coconut aminos or soy sauce, stirring until well combined.
Simmer the Curry:
Carefully add the aubergine and butternut squash pieces into the sauce, followed by the browned lamb, onions, garlic, and ginger.
Gently simmer the curry for about 20 minutes or until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally.
Add Remaining Vegetables:
Once the squash is tender, add the chopped red peppers and baby spinach to the pot.
Heat through until the peppers are hot but still have a bit of bite, and the spinach wilts into the sauce.
Adjust Seasoning:
Taste the curry and adjust the seasoning according to your preference by adding more salt, coconut aminos/soy sauce, maple syrup, or tamarind paste if needed.
Serve:
Optionally garnish with fresh coriander or mint, toasted and salted peanuts, or toasted coconut chips.
Serve the Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies over rice, cauliflower rice, or with crusty bread for mopping up the flavourful sauce.
Squeeze lime juice over the curry before serving for an extra burst of flavour if desired.
Enjoy your delicious Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies!
Notes
How To StoreI froze a few portions of this Massaman Lamb Curry with Veggies for busy days when I need food quickly. It reheats beautifully either in the microwave or on the hob.
If you plan to eat it throughout the week, it keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Poke Sushi Bowls 4 Ways, all delicious and easy to make. This might be my favourite new dinner when I’m craving Sushi, which is often, but don’t want the fuss of rolling and forming. Instead they all come in form of a cosy bowl that you can customize to your exact preferences.
Use rice or buckwheat as base, top with fresh or pickled veggies and fruit, chose your protein or vegan tuna to top and you have dinner ready for the whole week.
Why You Will Love This
Delicious as Sushi but Without the Fuss
Have you ever had an irresistible craving for Sushi, but no restaurant or takeaway nearby and you really couldn’t be bothered with all the shaping and rolling? Then this recipe is for you. It does away with the fuss and only leaves the enjoyment of a nutritious bowl with all the flavours you love.
Poke at Home
Have you heard about Poke Bowls? I bet you have. And they always look so tempting, don’t they? Yeah, I think so too.
If you haven’t: Poke is essentially a Hawaiian dish made from raw fish that is tossed in sauce and eaten as snack or main dish. The most common seasonings include soy sauce, sesame oil, mayo, sriracha and spring onions. You can vary it endlessly to make it your own.
I have added fresh ginger and rice vinegar in my sauce, as I just love how it reminds me of sushi and transforms the flavour of the fish.
Typically Poke is just the raw fish in its sauce, but over the years these mixed bowls have become a rather stunning fusion dish, likely stemming from a mix of Korean bibimbap mixed with the Hawaiian Poke. Personally I’m a big fan of fusion kitchen, since it takes and combines the best parts of different kitchens and creates something new.
So in that tradition of mixing styles, I took ingredients that are commonly used in Sushi, where the fish is served simply raw and unmarinated, and combined it with the Poke tradition of mixing it with different flavours and sauces.
Versatile Toppings
I’m giving you 4 different options here, mainly differentiated by their protein or rather topping I should say, as one of them tastes like tuna, but is not a protein, but watermelon.
Tofu is another great topping, which you can even make in the air fryer.
And of course the two classics, both very easy to source: Salmon and Prawns.
It also comes with a range of pretty impressive health benefits, among them being high fibre, magnesium, and vitamin B content, making it a great alternative grain.
Mind you: Even though it’s name has “wheat” in it, it’s not related to wheat grain and contains no gluten.
Dressings
Three different dressings are given below, all take just minutes to assemble. Choose one or make several, to vary your bowls over the week.
We have an Asian Soy-Ginger-Lime dressing that doubles as marinade for tofu or Salmon, a Sriracha Mayo and a Wasabi mayo.
Wait, did you say Watermelon Tuna?
Watermelon? Seriously? That is sweet I hear you say. And you’d be right of course. But the simple process of marinating it with soy sauce, sesame oil and nori, then baking it and marinating once more, gives it both texture and flavour that is as close to raw tuna as I have ever experienced.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t invent this method and could not figure out who did unfortunately, as I’d love to give credit to this genius idea! But I found a variety of different recipes and picked my favourite while varying it slightly to suit my preferences.
The one I started from was by “Chef Studio”, showing a very easy way to make your own.
While they use the leftover marinade as it is for the second time marinating, I decided to boil mine down, to get rid of the unnecessary water from the melon that gathered in it from the first round of marinating, resulting in a more intense flavour and less watering down what we just cooked out in the oven.
2 Choices of Grains for the Base
As a base I’m using sushi rice in 3 of the bowls and cooked buckwheat in the last. While I love rice, the buckwheat has a nuttier flavour and can be prepared very similar to rice and essentially tastes like sushi rice, if you mix it with sushi seasoning.
Veggies and Fruits
As usual in my main dishes I prepare for the week, I use as many different fruits and vegetables as I can possibly fit on top of the bowl.
In this case I used partially my Quick Pickled Vegetables, a longtime favourite on my blog and partially raw. I just love the crunch and acidity you get from pickling and the zing this option lends to the grains. They are super quick to make too.
But if you aren’t a fan of pickles or just don’t feel like pickling, feel free to use raw ones. A soy or mayo- sriracha sauce on the side with add plenty of flavour to your bowl.
I know I’m walking the line with the fruits. They seem to be the marmite of the bowl and salad world. But personally I very much enjoyed both mango and fresh pineapple on these bowls. Leave them out if you don’t. Your bowl, your topping choice. That’s the beauty of them.
Note on the long Ingredients List
Since I made 4 different bowls and wildly mixed the toppings during the week, the list is fairly long.
But if you are not as decision adverse as I am, when it comes to the variety of what you’ll eat during the week, you can very easily par it down to a pretty short list. Simply pick one base, one sauce, one protein and some of your favourite toppings and you are set.
Ingredients
As usual, I’m stating just a few key ingredients here and why I used them. Please refer to the recipe for the full list.
The Grain Base
Sushi rice is certainly the easiest to find and likely the most familiar tasting if you are going for the typical flavour profile.
But if you feel a tiny bit more adventurous or just want to add more fibre to your diet, try out buckwheat groats. Ideally in form of Kasha, which is the toasted variant.
While you can toast your own, I felt during my tries that it’s never as even as the pre-toasted version and tends to get a bit mushy. It will still taste great but might not look as pretty.
At the time of making these bowls, I only had raw buckwheat groats, so that’s what I used.
Other great base options are cauliflower rice, brown rice or even couscous, which are easy to prepare and taste great with the sushi seasoning.
The Protein
Salmon or prawns – Use the freshest products you can find. Ideally from a fishmonger you can tell you if your fish is fresh enough to be eaten raw.
I took a bit of a risk with mine, buying a packet of super fresh looking salmon and prawns from Tesco, that had 6 days left on their “use by” date, which seemed good enough to me. Please carefully check the date before you buy and once you open it, smell it. It should smell like fresh seawater with a hint of salmon/prawn. If it smells in any way bad, do not use it.
Tofu
I used extra firm Tofu from the Tofoo co., which is readily available at Tesco here and tastes lovely.
Watermelon
Now, while watermelon is obviously not a protein, I’m listing it here as it will act like our tuna.
While you’d usually go for the sweetest and ripest melon you can find, if you are eating it raw, that would be counterproductive for this use.
Instead try to get one that is under ripe, as it will be less sweet and have fewer black seeds. They are also usually a bit on the firmer fleshed side, which is exactly what we want for the tuna-like texture.
Nori
This is what puts the “tuna” into the watermelon. You can find nori sheets for sushi in pretty much every supermarket these days. Just cut one piece into tiny snippets using scissors. Don’t leave this out, as it’s the essential ingredient.
Vegetables
The options are endless here. Think Sushi and Asian bowls and go from there. You can use whatever you enjoy in your bowl.
I used some of my favourites which included
– Red cabbage
– Carrots
– Cucumber
– Mini sweetcorn
– Radishes
– Avocados
– Spring onions
Apart from the avocado and spring onions, I had pickled and fresh versions of them all and found both delicious.
You could also use edamame beans (which are near impossible to get here), fresh peas, pickled onions, daikon radish, seaweed, micro greens, red peppers, or zucchini.
Fruit
Going with the Hawaiian theme from the Poke, I added fresh mango and pineapple to some of the bowls and absolutely loved the sweet freshness they brought to the party. If you are a pineapple pizza hater, maybe leave them out.
Sauce
My personal favourite was a sauce I mixed from soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, lime juice, honey, and ginger. It felt closest to the Poke Sushi theme I was going for.
I used it to marinade the salmon and tofu and to drizzle over the finished bowls. So if you go with one of those 2 toppings, make double.
A note on soy sauce: I prefer Tamari or reduced salt soy sauce, especially from Kikkoman. If you are using Chinese dark soy sauce, you might have to adjust the amount, as it’s very salty.
If you like a creamier and hot version, a simple mix of sriracha, mayonnaise, lime juice and honey will be lovely.
Or swap the sriracha for wasabi, to add a different type of heat. I mixed 0% fat greek yoghurt into both, as I wanted a lighter dressing.
Other Toppings
No bowl is complete without fun additions that make it really sing.
In this case I went with pickled sushi ginger, black and white sesame, and optional wasabi.
FAQ
Sushi Seasoning
No sushi seasoning? No problem. Just make your own.
Mix 1 cup rice vinegar, ¼ + 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp salt and whisk until sugar and salt have dissolved.
Are Poke Sushi bowls healthy?
They absolutely can be. Combining a source of carbs, protein and a variety of different vegetables gives your body all the nutrients it needs and keeps your gut bacteria happy.
I love to add at least 5 different veggies and some fruit to my main meal and these Poke Sushi Bowls are now exception. Basically you get all your 5-a-day in one irresistible dish.
But what about raw fish?
As long as you make sure to use really fresh fish, it’s perfectly healthy and eaten in Japan and Hawaii on a regular basis.
However, if you are unsure or have a compromised immune system (I do due to my arthritis drugs, but never had any issues), you could use smoked salmon for example or one of the other toppings. No danger in the watermelon “tuna” for sure.
Also both prawns and salmon have lime in their marinade, which partially “cooks” them via the acid.
But I hate fish!
I get you, I really do. I have a weird, deep dislike for any fish that is not deep fried. Unless it’s raw.
Sounds strange, doesn’t it? But fresh, raw fish tastes a lot less “fishy” than cooked fish of any sort. And the texture and flavour are more like a really tender filet steak (properly cooked that is, medium/raw).
So if you want to enjoy the benefits of fish, especially oily ones like salmon, with all their protein and omega 3, but hate most cooked variants, you might want to give this a go. It’s my absolute favourite way to eat it!
The Process
This part will look fairly long, as I’m covering the different bases and toppings. Simply skip to the bits you’d like to use in your bowl.
Quick Pickles Vegetables
If you decide to pickle your veggies, do that first by following my recipe for it. It just takes a few minutes to make and lasts for over a week in the fridge. So you’ll have crunchy pickled veggies for all kinds of dishes and cravings.
FreshVegetables
Slice and chop your vegetables of choice into bite sized pieces. Store in separate containers, to assemble later.
Watermelon “Tuna”
While the watermelon “tuna” isn’t a lot of work, it does take a while due to the marinating and baking time. So ideally prepare it the day before.
Cut the skin off your watermelon and cube it into about 1in pieces and drop them into a large freezer bag. They will shrink quite a bit as they bake.
Mix all remaining ingredients except the rice vinegar and pour over the melon pieces. Close the bag and shake, to distribute them and cover every bit of melon. In a box or deep dish, where the bag can lay relatively flat, so the cubes are in one layer, store in the fridge to allow to marinate for at least 6h or overnight.
Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Once ready to bake, carefully pour the now watered down marinade through a sieve into a small cooking pot. We will boil this down to concentrate the flavours while the watermelon bakes.
Distribute the marinated cubes on the parchment lined baking sheet, so they are in one layer, ideally with a tiny bit of space in between them.
Bake for 1- 1.5h, turning them carefully once, until their texture resembles raw tuna. Try one and see if it needs a little longer if in doubt. They should already be delicious.
While that is baking, reduce the marinade by boiling it rapidly until you have about ½ cup left. Add the rice vinegar and leave to cool.
Once your “tuna” is baked, transfer to a heat proof bowl and drizzle over the marinade. Leave in the fridge for at least 1h, up to 5 days. The longer you leave it, the more intense the flavour will be.
Tofu
This is next on the list of “takes a while, but is very easy”, as tofu has to be pressed, to remove some of the water content and then marinated to flavour it.
Start by pressing your tofu. You can do this by simply wrapping it into a clean, dry kitchen towel, putting it between 2 wooden boards or trays and putting something heavy on them to weigh it down. Or, if you’d rather have a less precarious version, get a tofu press like this.
Whichever method you use, leave for at least 1h. Overnight is fine too.
Pour away the liquid that has gathered and cut your block of tofu into about ½ in cubes. Transfer to a bowl or freezer bag for marinating.
Mix the soy dressing/marinade ingredients together and pour one portion over your tofu cubes. Leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 1h or longer.
While your rice is cooking, fry your tofu cubes until golden brown. You can do this in a pan, with a little oil, or in the air fryer.
To air fry, preheat your air fryer to 400°F/200°C-
Spray the cooking basket with a little cooking oil. Lay out the tofu cubes in one layer (depending on your air fryer, you may have to do this in batches) and cook for 9 minutes. Slide out the basket, toss the cubes, then cook for another 2-4 until golden brown and delicious.
Salmon
Remove any bones and skin from your salmon. Cut into bite sized cubes (about ½ in). Transfer to a freezer bag or lidded container.
Mix the soy dressing/marinade ingredients together and pour one portion of it over the salmon cubes, turning them to make sure they all have marinade on them. They don’t need to be fully submerged.
Marinade for about 30min-1h. Serve raw. It will be slightly “cooked” by the marinade.
Prawns
Wash your prawns and pat dry with paper towels. Transfer to a bowl with a lid or freezer bag.
Mix the juice of the limes, salt and ginger and pour over your prawns. Leave to marinade for about 30min to 1h. Serve raw. They will be slightly “cooked” by the marinade.
Sriracha/Wasabi Mayo
In a small bowl, stir all ingredients together until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Sushi Rice
Rinse the rice under cold running water. Transfer to a saucepan. Add the water and salt, then bring to a boil. Stir, cover, lower the heat to the minimum, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the water is fully absorbed. Remove from the heat and let rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
Stir in sushi seasoning until well distributed.
Buckwheat Groats
If not toasted, quickly toast it on a dry skillet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until golden brown.
Stir in the buckwheat into boiled water and cover saucepan with lid. Bring back to a gentle simmer and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the water is absorbed, 13-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and let the buckwheat rest covered for 10 minutes.
Stir in the sushi seasoning. Fluff with a fork.
For a more detailed recipe including troubleshooting tips for Buckwheat Groats, have a look at this one from “Olga in the Kitchen“.
Assembly
Build your bowls starting with your carb of choice. Add about ½ cup of rice or buckwheat to your bowl. Top with your vegetables and/or fruit, then your protein or Watermelon “tuna”.
Drizzle with dressing of your choice. Decorate with sesame seeds, pickled ginger and, if you like, extra wasabi.
Dig into your stunning and addictive Poke Sushi Bowls, gratulate yourself for your fantastic food choices.
Meal Prep
Everything in these bowls can be prepared in advance, though for the raw fish options, I would recommend eating them the same day or latest the next day if your fish was very fresh.
Store every ingredient in separate lidded containers in the fridge, to keep it from going soggy and assemble when you are ready to eat.
These bowls also make a fantastic work lunch, if you assemble in the evening and just grab one from the fridge in the morning. The tofu and watermelon “tuna” will both keep for 4-5 days.
Please Leave a Comment
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share and comment. It helps me a lot.
For other Asian inspired recipes take a look at these:
Poke Sushi Bowls 4 Ways, all delicious and easy to make. This might be my favourite new dinner when I’m craving Sushi, which is often, but don’t want the fuss of rolling and forming. Instead they all come in form of a cosy bowl that you can customize to your exact preferences.
Use rice or buckwheat as base, top with fresh or pickled veggies and fruit, chose your protein or vegan tuna to top and you have dinner ready for the whole week.
1500gwatermelon seeded & peeled (about 1 medium melon)chopped into about 1in cubes
½tspsalt
1tbspsesame oil
2tbspneutral oil such as grapeseed
¼cuptbsp tamari or soy sauce
1sheet noricut into small pieces
2tbsprice vinegar
Marinade/Dressing
Make double if you are topping your bowl with Salmon or Tofu
3tbspShoyu or soy sauceTamari or soy
3tbsplime juiceabout 2 limes
1tbspsesame oil
1tbsphoney
2tspGingergrated
2spring onionssliced to top after marinating
Prawn Marinade
4limeszest of 1, juiced
2tspgingergrated
½tspkosher salt or more to taste
2spring onionssliced to top after marinating
Wasabi-Mayo
2tbspMayo
2tbsp0% fat Greek yoghurt
½limejuice and zest
1tsphoney
½ - 1tspWasabi
Or
Sriracha Mayo
3tbspMayo
3tbsp0% fat Greek yoghurt
1tspSriracha
½limejuice
1tspHoney
Sushi Rice
1cupsushi rice
1½cupswater
1tspkosher salt
2tbspsushi seasoning
Or
Buckwheat Groats
1cupbuckwheattoast, rinse
1 ½water
1tspkosher salt
2tbspsushi seasoning
Instructions
Quick Pickled Vegetables:
If opting for pickled veggies, prepare them using the recipe provided above in the post. This step is quick and can be done ahead, offering crunchy pickled vegetables for various dishes.
Vegetables Fresh:
Slice and chop your choice of vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Store them separately to assemble later.
Watermelon "Tuna":
Prepare the watermelon "tuna" a day in advance for optimal flavor.
Remove the skin from the watermelon and cube it into 1-inch pieces. Place them in a large freezer bag.
Mix all remaining ingredients except rice vinegar and pour over the watermelon. Seal the bag and shake to coat evenly. Refrigerate in a flat container for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Strain the marinade into a pot and boil it to concentrate flavors while the watermelon bakes.
Arrange marinated watermelon cubes on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 1-1.5 hours, turning once, until the texture resembles raw tuna. Adjust the baking time if needed.
Reduce the strained marinade, add rice vinegar, and let it cool. Drizzle over the baked watermelon "tuna" and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 5 days.
Tofu:
Press tofu between two boards or trays with weights on top for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Discard the accumulated liquid and cut tofu into ½-inch cubes.
Marinate in a mixture of soy dressing for at least 1 hour.
Fry the marinated tofu until golden brown in a pan with oil or in an air fryer preheated to 400°F/200°C for 9 minutes, toss, then fry for another 2-4 minutes until golden brown.
Salmon:
Remove bones and skin from salmon, then cut into bite-sized cubes. Marinate in soy dressing for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Prawns:
Wash and pat dry prawns, then marinate in lime juice, salt, and ginger for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Sriracha/Wasabi Mayo:
Mix all ingredients until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Sushi Rice:
Rinse sushi rice, then cook with water and salt for 15-20min until fully absorbed. Let it rest, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in sushi seasoning.
Buckwheat Groats:
Toast buckwheat on a dry skillet until golden brown if not already toasted.
Cook buckwheat in boiled water for 13-15 minutes until tender, then let it rest covered for 10 minutes. Stir in sushi seasoning.
Assembly:
Start with a base of rice or buckwheat in each bowl.
Top with fresh vegetables/fruits, protein (tofu, salmon, shrimp, or watermelon "tuna").
Drizzle with desired dressing and garnish with sesame seeds and pickled ginger.
Enjoy your vibrant and flavorful Poke Sushi Bowls!
Notes
Please note: For this particular recipe, as there are so many variables, I'm not giving specific nutrition calculation, but rather an average for the sushi bowls as I made them. This will vary depending on the sauce, protein, grain and vegetables you are using, so it's just a very rough estimate.Similar for the cooking and preparation time. The 2 days resting and 2h cooking are for the Watermelon "Tuna", which simply needs a while to take on the flavor. But it's very little hands on work.The average hands on work would be around 45min plus cooking and marinating time for rice/Protein.Everything in these bowls can be prepared in advance, though for the raw fish options, I would recommend eating them the same day or latest the next day if your fish was very fresh.Store every ingredient in separate lidded containers in the fridge, to keep it from going soggy and assemble when you are ready to eat.
Nutrition
Calories: 350kcal
Nutrition Facts
Poke Sushi Bowls 4 Ways
Amount per Serving
Calories
350
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword For Guests, Healthy, High Fibre, meal prep, Protein, vegan, Vegetarian, versatile
This Vegetarian Caesar Salad with Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu answered all my cravings for the crunch of KFC chicken, the spiced marinade, and the urgent need for creamy, tangy, and punchy Caesar dressing on a fresh salad. Super satisfying, packed with protein from the tofu with a cashew based sauce, adding all the nutrition you could possibly want for dinner in one delicious plate.
Why You Will Love This
Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu
Did you ever feel you really wanted the crunch and flavour of KFC chicken, but in Tofu? Or anything other than meat really, but Tofu really offers itself due to the structure and tenderness you get, when you first press then marinate it. In this case in a marinade made from almond milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice and a spice mix from Joshua Weissman that is very similar to KFCs.
This infuses the tofu with lovely tang and lots of flavour, getting it ready to be coated in crushed cornflakes. You can bake it in the oven or pan fry, but I found it bakes best in the air fryer, giving you perfectly crunchy and golden pieces, that are rather addictive when dipped into the Caesar Cashew dressing.
The all-important Caesar Dressing made vegan
While typical Caesar dressing is made with mayonnaise and anchovies, I’m using a base of cashews, which are blended into a super creamy dressing with capers, to give the salty, briny umami notes you’d usually get from anchovies and Worcester sauce. Nutritional yeast replaces the parmesan, making the dressing vegan.
While you could of course use a vegan mayonnaise, I prefer the nutritional benefits of cashews, adding protein and minerals. Plus the more natural taste they give to any salad dressing. And I use them for many different ones like my Cashew Ranch Dressing.
Thyme Lemon Garlic Croutons
Another defining and rather addictive element of the Caesar salad are the croutons. They are also an ideal use for any stale bread you might have. I used homemade sourdough bread, but any reasonably good bread will do. A few days old is perfect, as it will crisp up in the oven or air fryer. I added fresh thyme from my garden, grated lemon zest from the lemon I used for the dressing, some garlic powder, salt, and olive oil, to give it a lovely herby and fresh flavour.
Making them in the air fryer is fantastic, as you only need to shake them once and it’s hands off apart from that. They come out perfectly golden and crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.
Mixed Salad
While the classic Caesar Salad would be Romaine, I always like different veggies in my dinner, so I added shredded carrot, thinly sliced white cabbage, sweetcorn, red onions that are being quick pickled in some lemon juice.
I’ve also added black grapes, but if you are not a fan of fruit in your salads, you could swap them for black olives, which would go really well with the vegan Caesar dressing.
You could just leave out or swap around any of the veggies I added here. Cucumber and tomatoes would be nice too, radishes, different types of greens, kale in particular or even added asparagus.
The Ingredients
I’m just mentioning a few key ingredients here and why I’m using them. For the full list, please check the recipe card.
Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu
For the Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu I’m using firm tofu. In Ireland I find the best one of those I tried is from “The Tofuu Co.” https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/en-IE/products/294476706
You can use any brand, as long as it’s very firm, so it doesn’t fall apart when marinating and then breading.
Since I wanted to get as close as I could to buttermilk fried chicken, similar to KFC, but without the chicken and huge amount of fat, I used almond milk mixed lemon juice and spices. Don’t be put off by the fairly long list. You will likely have them in your spice collection already, as they are very common.
The Joshua Weissman recipe for the spice mix I adapted had celery powder in it, which I couldn’t find here, so I used celery salt. This made also up for the fact that Tofu is a bit more neutral than chicken on its own, so it can take more salt.
I left out the MSG though. Not last because I didn’t have any, but also due to its rather questionable reputation. Personally I admit I haven’t looked into it much, as I rarely eat out, let alone buy convenience food, so it wasn’t much of a topic for me to focus on.
If you are a fan, feel free to include some. I think the marinade does a fantastic job as it is though.
Seasoned Flour and Cornflakes are then used for “breading”. And because I’m not working with raw meat, the marinade does double duty instead of eggs, to attach the two dry coatings to the tofu.
The Cashew Caesar Dressing
Using cashews as base has become my favourite way to create super creamy, delicious, and nutritious salad dressings. I honestly wouldn’t go back to mayonnaise based, even without the calorie and nutrition consideration. I tried one recently again and simply didn’t like the greasy texture and taste anymore. The cashews are neutral enough to add any flavourings you like and with even a small highspeed blender like the Nutribullet you get an extremely smooth base.
While the original Caesar dressing didn’t have anchovies, they have become a rather classic way to add umami and saltiness to this tangy sauce. Brined capers, even though I’m not a fan of them on their own (wouldn’t eat anchovies on their own either) have a very similar effect when blended and add a hint of their briny flavour, which goes really well with the tangy punch of mustard and lemon juice that give the dressing its characteristic taste.
Often parmesan is used to add more saltiness and a cheesy background flavour. So you can use either grated parmesan or, like me, nutritional yeast for a very similar effect.
The Process
Salad
Prepare your salad ingredients:
Roughly chop the Romaine Lettuce, grate the carrots, finely shred the cabbage, drain and wash the sweetcorn, wash the grapes (or drain olives if you prefer salty to sweet) and keep all in separate containers.
Peel and thinly slice the onions. In a small bowl mix with ¼ tsp salt and 2-3 tbsp lemon juice. Cover and leave to marinade until ready to use.
All the veggies will keep well for 3-4 days, if you keep them separate.
Cashew Caesar Dressing
Drain the soaked cashews. Add all ingredients to a high speed blender. You can use a normal blender or food processor, but it won’t get as lovely smooth and creamy.
Blend until creamy.
Have a taste and add more salt, mustard, or lemon juice to balance the flavours to your liking.
Croutons
In a small bowl, mix your olive oil, chopped thyme (or any other hardy herb you might have on hand. Rosemary works very well too), garlic powder and salt.
Add your bread cubes to a larger bowl. Drizzle over your olive oil mix, turning the cubes over after half over it, so they are all coated evenly. Stir carefully to distribute the oil mix and let them sit for a few minutes so the oil can absorb.
Bake in your air fryer at 400°F/200°C for 4 minutes, toss and turn once, then bake for another 2 minutes. Transfer the croutons to a paper towel lined plate until ready to serve. Nibble a few, you know you want to.
The Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu
Similar to chicken, that improves dramatically with brining, tofu needs a bit of help to come to its full potential. So this needs a bit of planning ahead. Start about 2h before you plan to fry the tofu or the day before.
First remove your tofu from its package, drain the fluid and press it. You can either wrap it into a clean kitchen towel between 2 wooden boards and put something heavy on top. Or, if you want a much easier and less precarious solution, get a tofu press like this one and put it in the fridge for an hour or longer.
Once your tofu has given up some of its liquid, it’s time to marinade it. Cut into about ½ in / 1cm thick slices and halve them diagonal. You could just leave them in one piece, but I think more corners mean more crunch and more crunch is always better.
Mix your plant milk with a tbsp of lemon juice and let it stand while you get your spice mix together. Add the marinade spice mix to the now curdled milk and whisk well. In a container that is large enough to hold all tofu pieces in one layer or a freezer bag, add first your tofu then pour the tangy, spicy milk mix over it. Now let this marinade in the fridge for at least 1h, better even overnight.
Meanwhile, mix the flour with the spices and herbs for the dredge mix. This will season the tofu even more and give it that characteristic crust you’d get on fried chicken.
Now obviously we are not deep frying this, so the incredible crunchy crust that develops when the marinade-flour (and usually egg) mixture hits the hot fat, will come from crushed cornflakes.
In a firmly closed freezer bag, crush your cornflakes either by hand or, carefully, so you don’t pop the bag and scatter the crumbs across your kitchen (never happened to me…ahem…) with a rolling pin or bottom of a cooking pot. You want relatively rough crumbs, not fine as panko. Check the picture for the texture we are aiming for.
When you are ready to fry your tofu, set up a breading station with 3 rimmed containers or deep plates. Into one add your flour-spice dredge, the second will hold all the remaining marinade that wasn’t absorbed by the tofu, the third has the crushed cornflakes.
Using one hand for dry and one for wet, to avoid the dreaded dough fingers, firmly press your tofu first into the flour, coating it very well, pushing it in, so it sticks. Then into the marinade, turning once until coated- Last into the cornflakes, again, pressing firmly, covering it with the crumbs and pushing down until every last bit is well coated.
Spray both your air fryer basket and the tofu pieces with a bit of vegetable or avocado oil.
The crunchy tofu will take about 15 minutes in your air fryer at 400°F/200°C, turning it once very carefully after 10minutes, the fry for another 5 until golden and crunchy.
I you are making them in the oven, this will take about 25-30minutes at 450°F/225°C, turning them after 15 minutes.
To Serve
First drape a bed of romaine lettuce on a plate, followed by the carrots, cabbage, sweetcorn, onions and grapes or olives. Drizzle everything with a bit of the Vegan Cashew Caesar Dressing. Top with croutons and crispy tofu and serve with more dressing on the side, to drizzle over or dip your tofu pieces into.
Meal Prep
I prepared this Vegetarian Caesar Salad with Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu on my weekend, to have a fresh salad during my workdays. Keeping everything separate in containers, the tofu in a paper towel lined box, means you can assemble freshly, and everything remains crunchy.
I re-heated the tofu pieces in the air fryer before serving, so they were just as crispy as freshly made.
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share and comment. It helps me a lot.
Vegetarian Caesar Salad with Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu
This Vegetarian Caesar Salad with Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu answered all my cravings for the crunch of KFC chicken, the spiced marinade, and the urgent need for creamy, tangy, and punchy Caesar dressing on a fresh salad. Super satisfying, packed with protein from the tofu with a cashew based sauce, adding all the nutrition you could possibly want for dinner in one delicious plate.
½cupraw cashewssoaked for 30min in just boiled water
½cupwater
¼cuplemon juice
2tbspnutritional yeast
2tspDijon mustard
2tspcapers
2clovesgarlic
Homemade Croutons
4slicessourdough breadcubed into bite sized pieces
1tspfresh thymechopped
½tspgarlic powder
1tspkosher salt
3tbspolive oil
Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu
1Blocktofupressed
1cupplant milk with lemon juice
1.5tspKosher salt
1tspground white pepper
2tspsmoked paprika
2tspgarlic powder
1.5cupscrushed cornflakes
11 Herbs and Spices Dredge
1.5cupsall-purpose flour
1tspfreshly ground black pepper
1.5tbspKosher salt
2tspground white pepper
1tspginger powder
1tspcelery powder or celery salt
2tspgarlic powder
1tspsmoked paprika
1tspdried oreganocrushed
1tspdried thymecrushed
2tspmustard powder
Instructions
Salad:
Prepare all salad ingredients as mentioned. Marinate sliced onions in salt and lemon juice. Keep all ingredients separate.
Vegan Cashew Caesar Dressing:
Drain soaked cashews.
In a blender, combine soaked cashews, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, capers, and garlic cloves.
Blend until creamy. Adjust salt, mustard, or lemon juice to taste.
Homemade Croutons:
Preheat air fryer to 400°F/200°C.
In a small bowl, mix olive oil, chopped thyme, garlic powder, and kosher salt.
Toss cubed bread in the olive oil mixture until evenly coated.
Air fry for 4 minutes, toss, then fry for another 2 minutes until golden and crisp.
Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate.
Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu:
Press tofu to remove excess liquid.
Cut tofu into slices about ½ inch thick, then half diagonal.
Mix plant milk with lemon juice and let it curdle.
Combine the plant “buttermilk” with salt, white pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Marinate tofu in this mixture for at least 1 hour in the fridge. Overnight is better.
Crush cornflakes into coarse crumbs.
Mix flour with spices for dredge.
Set up a breading station with flour-spice dredge, remaining marinade, and crushed cornflakes.
Coat tofu slices in flour mixture, then marinade, and last crushed cornflakes.
Spray air fryer basket and tofu slices with oil.
Air fry tofu at 400°F/200°C for 15 minutes, flipping once after 10 minutes.
To Serve:
Arrange romaine lettuce on plates.
Top with grated carrots, sliced cabbage, sweetcorn, marinated onions, grapes (or olives), and croutons.
Drizzle with Vegan Cashew Caesar Dressing.
Add crispy air-fried tofu on top.
Serve additional dressing on the side for dipping or drizzling.
Enjoy your Vegetarian Caesar Salad with Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu!
Notes
Meal PrepI prepared this Vegetarian Caesar Salad with Crunchy Air Fryer Tofu on my weekend, to have a fresh salad during my workdays. Keeping everything separate in containers, the tofu in a paper towel lined box, means you can assemble freshly, and everything remains crunchy.I re-heated the tofu pieces in the air fryer before serving, so they were just as crispy as freshly made.
It’s Veganuary, time for vegan comfort food, which is exactly the right time for Vegan Taco Casserole. All the flavour of an amazing Taco Casserole, none of the meat. Instead an alternative made from mushrooms to bring all the umami flavour, lentils and walnuts for protein and texture and a super creamy vegan queso topping you’ll want to pour over everything after making it the first time. Fantastic for meal prep for the whole week too, so you have less stress on workdays.
The recipe makes a very large casserole with about 8-10 portions and freezes great. So you can make a large batch and freeze some for busy weeks. Or cook it for a crowd.
Not sure about you, but I just could not resist the Christmas sweets, they are always my downfall. So, of course I gained a few pounds that I’d like to shed again. Recipes like this one, heavy on veggies, light on calories and super satisfying, help me to very easily get rid of the few extra pounds, without feeling I’m on a diet.
Why You Want to Make This
Vegan. Taco. Casserole.
I mean, need I really say more? I do? Ok then:
While I’m not a vegan as such, I do enjoy vegan food. Weird you think? Not after you try this Vegan Taco Casserole. I often find minced meat a bit odd texturally and am plain not a big fan of it. But making it vegan adds for me flavour and texture wise. The mushrooms together with lentils, walnuts and a few “secret” ingredients give you tons of very satisfying meatiness while sneakily adding all of their benefits to your favourite comfort food.
Essentially we have a layer of soft tortillas as a base, topped with a mix of the vegan mince meat mix together with beans, which of course belong into any Taco and also add more protein. Sweetcorn goes in too for me, as I love it in pretty much everything and it adds more veggie content. If you can’t stand it, just leave it out or add more beans. This mix is flavoured with your favourite Salsa and a few spices, then fried for even more flavour.
Really Good for You
All the deliciousness of it will give you 4 different legumes plus mushrooms in one go, which makes it incredibly good for you. The toppings of lettuce and cherry tomato add not just juiciness and crunch, but also to your daily veggie intake.
Vegan Queso
The fantastic Vegan Queso recipe is from “Rainbow Plant Life” and her incredible Crunchwrap Supreme video.
I made it a little less spicy but add as much spice as you like. It’s utterly addictive and dare I say better than dairy queso? I honestly prefer the taste of the creamy blended cashews with all the spices and flavours to the texture of typical Queso any day.
I have topped the casserole with vegan grated cheese too, but I think you could even leave it out and be more than satisfied.
Optional but delicious Toppings
For me, the toppings are the best thing about Tacos, so of course it’s the same for Vegan Taco Casserole.
I top mine with homemade Guacamole https://forthepleasureofeating.com/easy-guacamole/, Vegan Greek Style Yoghurt mixed with some lime juice, zest and salt, making it similar to the crema you usually get with Tacos.
For extra crunch I added some chopped romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, and, of course, tortilla chips. Most of them are incidentally vegan, but some have dairy in the seasoning. So if you are strictly vegan, check the ingredient list to be sure.
The Ingredients
Most of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry or fridge. Just a few fresh veggies and you have the Vegan Taco Casserole of your dreams ready.
The Taco Mix
Mushrooms
Mushrooms have a list of powerful health benefits according to studies. Decreasing the risk of cancer, lowering sodium intake and promoting lower cholesterol are just a few of them.
To me, their amazing umami flavour is enough to add them. I hear some complaints from the backrow there about texture, to which I say: Fry them until browned and crispy and see how you feel about them like that.
I quite enjoy the brown inexpensive button mushrooms I get at any supermarket here. But any will do. You can try a mix with Shiitake if you find it.
Legumes
Legumes, with again impressive health benefits containing B vitamins, folate and iron, and a great vegan source for protein, I’m adding them here for texture and flavour. Together with mushrooms and walnuts, they make a fantastic meat alternative. The colour doesn’t matter much. I just used the green ones I had in my store cupboard and cooked them according to packet instructions. You could use brown or black too, canned if you like. They will all be delicious.
Add Kidney and Black beans to the filling gives even more protein and keeps you full until the next meal. For ease of preparation I’m using them from cans.
Walnuts
Walnuts add that slightly nubbly texture you usually find in ground meat to our Taco Casserole plus a range of health benefits and healthy fats. Anti-inflammatory benefits and improvement of cholesterol levels being just two of the impressive ones. You could use pecans instead if you prefer.
Onion and garlic for flavour are the basics.
But here are what makes this taste “meaty”: Miso paste. I used brown for its intense umami notes.
Tomato puree and sundried tomatoes together with nutritional yeast and some coconut aminos give the mushroom-legume-walnut mix incredible depth of satisfying meat like flavour.
Of course typical Taco spices like smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, chili, onion powder for extra punch and oregano.
The Queso
For the Queso I’m using soaked cashews, some vegan Greek yoghurt for tang. A bit of salsa (use your favourite, the rest will go into the mushroom-legume mix), nutritional yeast for cheesiness, salt, smoked paprika, chili powder and a bit of cumin. To add that original queso tang and a bit of fiery chili background, some pickled red jalapenos (are they still Jalapenos when red? Please correct me if that’s wrong…I’m just a German living in Ireland.) and a bit of the pickling liquid.
The Guacamole is of course made from avocados, lime juice, garlic, salt, pepper and a hint of chilli powder. If you don’t feel like making your own, you can use shop bought here. But honestly, it’s made so quickly and tastes so much better, I don’t feel it’s worth saving the few minutes.
Topping wise: fresh cherry tomatoes, spring onions, and crunchy romaine lettuce add that real taco feeling for me. They are optional though.
And any tortilla chips you like, to use for dipping, crumbling over, eating on the side, however you enjoy your casserole.
The Process
While this looks like a lot of ingredients, the process is surprisingly simple.
The Taco Mix
Lentils
First pre-cook your lentils according to package instructions if using dried as I did. They should have a tiny bit of bite left for that ground meat texture. I usually add some vegetable stock powder to my cooking water and maybe some herbs and garlic, to start flavouring them. Use whatever you have on hand. Bay leaf, thyme, rosemary or oregano all work well.
Walnuts
While your lentils are cooking, briefly toast your walnuts in a dry pan until fragrant. Set aside.
Mushrooms
Fry your finely chopped mushrooms in batches in a large pan with a bit of oil. Only stir occasionally, so they can brown beautifully for that lovely meaty flavour we are looking for. Season with salt and pepper and set aside too.
Seasoning
Gently fry onions and garlic until translucent in a bit more oil, then add all parts of the Mexican seasoning and toast until fragrant. Lastly the sundried tomatoes, tomato paste, miso paste, nutritional yeast and coconut aminos join the pan for a quick stir and heat through.
Process
Now add the garlic-onion-spice mix together with fried mushrooms, walnuts and cooked, drained lentils to your food processor and pulse until it resembles minced meat. It should stick together mostly, but fall apart when you try to crumble it, much like meat would.
Taste it. It should be delicious. Add more salt to taste.
Mix with beans and sweetcorn
Tip the whole mix back into the pan and fry on medium-high heat until you have a bit of browning everywhere and it smells delicious. Tip in the drained and rinsed canned beans and sweetcorn, canned tomatoes, 1 1 ½ cups of your favourite salsa (the last ½ cup will be used for the queso), stir and heat through.
Taste and add salt or any other spices you feel it might need. I don’t like mine very hot, but you might of course.
Casserole assembly
Lightly grease your casserole form. Cut the tortillas into quarters and lay them across the bottom with a little overlap, so you have one layer.
Top with the mushroom-bean mix.
Queso
To make your queso, add all the ingredients for it into a high speed blender like the Nutribullet and blend until super smooth and creamy. Taste and add more salt or chili if needed.
Bake
Top your Vegan Taco Casserole with the vegan queso, sprinkle over some grated vegan cheese (or dairy if you are not vegan). Cover the casserole with kitchen foil and bake at 375°F/190°C for 15min, remove the foil and bake for another 15min uncovered until it is hot throughout and the cheese has melted.#
Toppings
While the casserole is in the oven, prepare your toppings. Mash the Avocados with lime juice, minced garlic, salt, pepper and chili.
Mix the remaining vegan yoghurt with some lime juice, zest and salt to taste.
Chop romaine, spring onions and cherry tomatoes and put in separate containers. Tip tortilla chips into a bowl.
Serve
To serve, add a piece of your Vegan Taco Casserole to the plate and let everyone pick their own favourite toppings. Enjoy the satisfied munching sounds.
Meal Prep
You can make everything the day before, but I would add the queso on top just before baking, so it doesn’t soak into the taco filling layer, but remains as cream, cheesy layer on top.
After baking, the Vegan Taco Casserole stays fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat either in the microwave until piping hot or in oven or air fryer.
The casserole also freezes really well. I always keep a few pieces in the freezer for emergency taco cravings.
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share and comment. It helps me a lot.
Vegan Taco Casserole
It’s Veganuary, time for vegan comfort food, which is exactly the right time for Vegan Taco Casserole. All the flavour of an amazing Taco Casserole, none of the meat. Instead an alternative made from mushrooms to bring all the umami flavour, lentils and walnuts for protein and texture and a super creamy vegan queso topping you’ll want to pour over everything after making it the first time. Fantastic for meal prep for the whole week too, so you have less stress on workdays.
Food Processor, High speed blender like Nutribullet
Ingredients
Taco Mix:
3clovesgarlicminced
1onionchopped
2cupslentils, cooked. About 1 cup dried. You can use cans instead.
2packs mushroomsfinely chopped
½cupwalnuts
1tbsptomato puree
5sundried tomatoes
2tbspcoconut aminos
1-2tbspbrown miso pasteuse any colour, but brown has the most meat-like flavour
1tbspnutritional yeast
1cantomatoes
1canblack beans drained and rinsed
1cankidney beansdrained and rinsed
1cansweetcorndrained and rinsed
2cupssalsause your favourite. Set ½ cup aside for the queso
Seasoning:
2tbspsmoked paprika
1tspcumin
2tspground coriander
1tsponion powder
2tsporegano
Salt and pepper to taste
3-4corn or flour tortillasto cover the bottom of your casserole
1cupvegan shredded cheese of choice
Queso:
1cupcashewssoaked for 30min in hot water or overnight in cold
½cupvegan yoghurt I used Greek
2tbspnutritional yeast
2tbspwater
½cupsalsa
¼ -1/2tspchili powderI like ancho chili, but use whatever you have and enjoy
½tspcumin
1tspsmoked paprika
1tbsppickled jalapenos
2tbsppickled jalapeno brine
1tspkosher salt
Toppings (Optional):
GuacamoleReady made or, to make yourself:
5avocadosmashed
2clovesgarlicminced
3limesjuice
1/2-1tspChili powder
Salt and pepperto taste
1cupVegan sour cream or Greek yoghurt
1Limezested and juiced
1headRomaine lettucechopped
2cupsCherry tomatoeshalved
3tbspCilantrochopped
1bunchSpring onionschopped
1bagtortilla chips
Instructions
Pre-cook lentils according to package instructions, leaving a bit of bite for texture.
Toast walnuts in a dry pan until fragrant. Set aside.
Fry mushrooms in batches until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Add Mexican seasoning, sundried tomatoes, tomato paste, miso paste, nutritional yeast, and coconut aminos. Stir and heat through.
Combine garlic-onion-spice mix, fried mushrooms, walnuts, and cooked lentils in a food processor. Pulse until minced meat-like texture.
Transfer mix back to the pan and fry until browned. Add drained beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes from the can and 1 ½ cups salsa. Stir and heat through.
Lightly grease a casserole dish. Place quartered tortillas on the bottom, slightly overlapping.
Top with mushroom-bean mix.
For queso, blend all queso ingredients until smooth. Adjust seasoning.
Top casserole with vegan queso, sprinkle vegan cheese. Cover with foil, bake at 375°F/190°C for 15min, then uncover and bake for an additional 15min.
While baking, prepare toppings: guacamole, lime yogurt, romaine, spring onions, cherry tomatoes, and tortilla chips.
Serve casserole pieces with desired toppings. Enjoy the flavorsome vegan taco casserole!
Notes
Total for the Dish (excluding optional toppings) assuming 8 portions:Calories: Approximately 580 kcal
Protein: Around 22g
Carbohydrates: Roughly 73g
Fat: About 25g
Fiber: Around 17g
Sugar: Approximately 11g
Please note that these values are approximate and may vary based on the specific brands and types of ingredients you use. The queso portion is a rough estimate, and the optional toppings are not included in the total dish values.
Nutrition
Calories: 580kcal
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Taco Casserole
Amount per Serving
Calories
580
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword For Guests, Healthy, High Fibre, Low Calorie, meal prep, vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian
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