The Simply Vegan Cookbook: Easy, Healthy, Fun, and Filling Plant-Based Recipes Anyone Can Cook as a Beginner to Lose Weight and Cleanse the Body

by Dustin Harder

“Busy folks, rejoice! The recipes in The Simply Vegan Cookbook are accessible and doable, but never boring.” —Melissa D’Arabian, author and Food Network Host Forget about vegan cookbooks that require specialty ingredients and leave you unsatisfied. The Simply Vegan Cookbook takes vegan cooking to the tastiest level with easy, delicious recipes that are fun to make and a delight to eat. Creator and host of The Vegan Roadie , Dustin Harder has travelled over 110,000 miles—and visited every grocery store along the way— to find out which vegan foods are (and are not) accessible. Taking this into account, The Simply Vegan Cookbook provides healthful, balanced vegan meals using easy-to-find, affordable vegan ingredients. From greens and beans to grains and mains, The Simply Vegan Cookbook is the most comprehensive of vegan cookbooks to date. This vegan cookbook 150 recipes with two variations each , resulting in a total of 450 recipes No more than 30 minutes of active time prep time per recipe Cooking tutorials improve your skills for making vegan staples The Simply Vegan Cookbook gives home cooks what other vegan cookbooks don’t—vegan recipes that save time, money, and your sanity.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference, Vegan

Paperback

First published January 23, 2018

About the author

DUSTIN HARDER is the host and creator of the original vegan travel culinary series, The Vegan Roadie. A plant based personal chef, author, recipe developer and graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC, he believes plants not only make the world a beautiful place but a tastier one as well!
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Living la vida vegan since 2009, Dustin has served as a recipe developer in the test kitchen of Food Networks Cupcake Wars winner, cookbook author and entrepreneur Chef Chloe Coscarelli. A road warrior by trade, Dustin has traveled the country since 2003 as an actor in song and dance and now travels the miles educating curious minds about keeping it plant strong!

Reviews

[Renee(Reneesramblings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not vegan, but in the summer when the vegetable garden is producing a daily harvest, it is easy to go meatless. As fall waned and the garden faded, I committed to continuing to prepare meatless meals for at least half of the week. But without the garden and limited produce at the grocery store, my plan became less focused and I started to fall back on old standby recipes with meat.
This book was exactly what I needed to kick start my cooking brain and get some good plant-based recipes back on the menu. The ingredients don't require going to specialty stores or shopping online. There aren't many pictures and since I like to see what the final results will be, I gravitated towards the 'picture recipes'. I've made the Soft-Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies, the Quick Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup, and the Veggie and Brown Rice Stir Fry. All easy and good, though the nutritional information is not provided, so I will have to do some research before making any of the recipes to ensure that the low sodium needs of my significant other are met. A good resource whether you are vegan or not if you want a varied diet that is plant-based.
Thank you, Dustin Harder and Callisto Publisher's Club for the opportunity to read and review this book. Vegetable seed starting will begin soon, but it will be months before I am harvesting daily and this will definitely help to keep my food choices healthy throughout the winter.

[Ren]

I discovered Dustin Harder a few months ago by stumbling across his fun travel food show on YouTube, The Vegan Roadie. What a nice surprise to see a food show that actually focuses on foods I eat! Yes, I'm vegan. I also spent several years traveling for work and mostly living out of hotels (though I was only mostly-vegan at the time). Still, it's fun seeing a few places I found on my own featured in his episodes. Dustin also shares an easy 3-ingredient (plus a few travel pantry items) recipe of his own at the end of each episode. I've been looking forward to this cookbook after trying one of those and enjoying it.

What's great (and unique) about this cookbook?

Dustin focuses on truly simple recipes, using simple kitchen utensils/appliances - you won't need to buy a Vitamix if you don't already have one! I've seen other cookbooks that say they're simple or easy, but they include ingredients not always easy to find in all areas of the country or world. Having traveled a lot, I know how difficult it can be in certain areas to find specialty ingredients so I really appreciate this aspect. It also makes this cookbook more accessible to those not already familiar with vegan cooking.

The chapters are set up around ingredients (greens, beans, lentils, grains, broccoli/cauliflower, root vegetables, tofu, squash, avocado, mushrooms, simple sweets, kitchen staples) rather than types of dishes (breakfast, sides, entrees, etc). This makes it simple to find a recipe for what you happen to have on hand. Each chapter begins with the basics of cooking that main ingredient and then moves on to the recipes, which also include variations and tips.

Recipes are noted clearly as gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free and those that take 30 minutes or less to prepare.

In the end, he also includes a list of brands he likes. This, of course, will vary on your own tastes, but it's a great place to start if you're new to all of this vegan stuff.

So, the recipes? I've been highlighting a ton I'd like to try! One variation on the salt and vinegar kale chips is... dessert kale chips?! There's Portobello bacon. Honestly, that mushroom chapter will likely see heavy use! =) I've heard that the Spinach and Mushroom Pizza Bowl is yummy too! The Southwest Pinto Bean Burger looks like a winner. Black Bean Home Fries? Yes, please! I definitely share his love of potatoes. Swedish Chickpea Balls and Chickpea Hush Puppies - I'm for almost anything bean related. The Cauliflower Alfredo will be making an appearance in my kitchen soon too. There are also Zucchini Cornbread Muffins and Pulled Mushroom BBQ Sandwiches. Mmmm. I've tried a jackfruit version and it's okay, but mushrooms? That's a sure hit for me! The only chapter I don't see getting much use is the Avocado one. But that's just me. Dustin does include some sweets including Kettle Corn with a S'mores Popcorn variation... The section on Kitchen Staples will surely come in handy as well. So, essentially, there are a ton of recipes in here I plan to work my way through. Definitely worth the cover price!

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife got this book as a gift one year, and since then our copy has been used countless times. The spine is broken and the pages are covered with food spills and notes in the margin. I've gifted copies to friends that wanted to try out vegan cooking (and one is even a vegetarian now!)

So you could say we like it

[Ricci Hershey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Switching to a vegan diet can seem challenging. After much reading and soul searching I decided that becoming vegan was what I needed to do. I browsed through the vegan cookbooks and was quickly overwhelmed. There are several that I want to buy but where do I begin, which do I buy first? And I wanted to keep my first meals simple, foolproof, with foods I could find at my nearby grocery store. I knew that succeeding in my transition would depend on those things.

Dustin Harder's Simply Vegan book has been a lifesaver! The meals are easy to prepare and oh-so-yummy too! This evening I had the Mexican Spiced Cauliflower and a green salad with Unhidden Valley Ranch Dressing. Delicious! The vegan mayonnaise and vegan sour cream are staples I will use many, many times. Uncomplicated to make and great to use in my meals.

[BookBec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, this is an approachable book. And the ingredients are accessible.

But one of my issues with vegan cooking is that you often need multiple recipes to create a whole meal, whereas I prefer to be a one-pot cook, not fiddling with several dishes to fill me up. This book doesn't clearly indicate what's a main dish vs. a side, and there's no calorie information to extrapolate from, just a serving number. OK, a recipe may serve 6, but as a full meal or a snack?

That frustration aside, the recipes were fine: that middle ground between amazing and bad. I made slaw and brownies and scallion pancakes, but nothing inspired me to make it again.

I don't need to own this book. Thanks to the library for letting me try it out.

[Espie-Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice cookbook.
I will admit that I made a few of the recipes and while the pictures are great and the recipes simple, none of them were super stellar tasting. I have tried many other vegan cookbooks and I usually find a few recipes that we really like... I found some here that were ok, but none that were super yummy. Part of this may be due to myself. As I become more comfortable and competent in my abilities as a vegan cook I am looking for a depth of flavor that won't be found in a simple cookbook. I don't know. I just know I wanted to be wowed, but was not.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Simply Vegan Cookbook... a collection of foodie approved, simple to prepare, minimal ingredient dishes without meat! The author explores many family classics and takes it to vegan-land, where veggies, fruits, beans, legumes, and grains are supreme. Witty explanations of each entrée, along with tips to make a recipe work for you. The book is packed with actual recipes, and not just a how-to-cook guide or a list of gadgets and pans you will need to start your vegan kitchen.

[Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this on a whim from the library when I saw it displayed in the window and my vegan sister and brother-in-law were about to come for a visit. Easy introduction to vegan cooking, with many simple, quick recipes. A bit heavy on occasion on the store-bought meat substitutes, but the things I’ve made from it so far have been delicious. I like it so much, I bought the kindle version.

[Kelly Whitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I flagged a ton of recipes to try, but admittedly they were almost all at the beginning of the cookbook. Because I’m a picky eater and won’t touch squash or mushrooms, those two chapters were out. I also would have liked more pictures. Other than that there look to be some good new meals for me to make.

[Mary Dettloff-Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy, fast and delicious vegan meals!

The recipes are easy and quick with minimal ingredients! The author makes me want to have him over to cook together. And any friend of Chloe Coscarelli is a friend of mine!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Plant-Based Life

BEST Vegan book I've ever read. As a newbie this was the most helpful and realistic cookbook ever. TY Dustin.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is brilliant.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear simple recipes

I read this on kindle. The recipes used easy to find ingredients. Everything I tried tasted great. Try vegan basic BBQ sauce.

[Piersanted · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve tried at least 10 different recipes and they have all been winners. Not too many ingredients, not overly complicated, fast, and great flavors.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Versatile set of recipes. I made and enjoyed the avocado breakfast pizza, banana cream pie smoothie, mango key lime pie smoothie, and more.

I like the mantra of GGB (Grains, Greens, Beans) for assembling healthy meals with complete proteins.

[Jena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!

I use this cookbook all the time, at least 2 times a week and often more. Many of our go-to favorites are from this book. I especially like the variations given for each recipe.