Vegan

Vegan Hummus and Vegetable Pasta

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A quick meal with protein-rich pasta, seasonal vegetables, and creamy hummus. Roast your vegetables ahead of time for this dish to come together in a flash.

Vegan Hummus and Vegetable Pasta

We go through a lot of hummus. Like a lot of it. I’m not sure who thought small containers of hummus should be a thing because let’s be real, that’s enough hummus for like four carrots.

If you’re ever tired of red sauce, hummus makes a fun alternative in this seasonal pasta dish. I might judge you if you can’t have another night of marinara, but I get it. It’s good to switch things up a bit.

I suggest roasting a huge batch of vegetables for the week so that all you have to do is boil the pasta. I love Trader Joe’s lentil spaghetti, but any protein-rich pasta would be great.

Once your pasta is cooked to your liking, drain the pasta, reserving about half a cup of pasta water. Add the pasta back to the pot, add the juice of one lemon (or less if you don’t want a lot of tang), about 8 oz of hummus (more or less depending on how creamy you want it), and your roasted veggies. Give it a nice big stir. Top with pine nuts, parsley, basil, or red pepper flakes.

What’s fun about this meal is that you can switch up all the variables. Change your vegetables, pasta shape, and hummus flavor. This go-round, I used cherry tomatoes, asparagus, red onion, and brocoletti. Zucchini and yellow squash would also be a great combo.

Let me know if you try it!

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Vegan Hummus and Vegetable Pasta

A quick meal with protein-rich pasta, seasonal vegetables, and creamy hummus. Roast your vegetables ahead of time for this dish to come together in a flash.

Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American, Mediterranean
Keyword 30-Minute Meal, Dinner, Quick Meal

Ingredients

  • Roasted Vegetables Pick whatever you want!
  • Pasta I used Trader Joe’s lentil spaghetti
  • 1/3 cup Reserved Pasta Water
  • 8 oz Hummus
  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice More or less depending on how tangy you want it
  • Pine nuts, red pepper flakes, fresh herbs Optional

Instructions

  1. Roast your vegetables at 400. I chose red onion, asparagus, brocoletti, and cherry tomatoes.

  2. Cook pasta according to package instructions. I used Trader Joe’s lentil spaghetti, but you can use any high-protein pasta you desire. Reserve about 1/2 cup of your pasta water to help make your sauce extra creamy.

  3. Dump the cooked pasta back into the pot. Add the reserved pasta water, lemon juice, hummus, and roasted vegetables. Stir until everything is combined.

  4. Top with pine nuts, red pepper flakes, or fresh herbs.

Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash

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Another easy throw-together meal where proportions really don’t matter. I used acorn squash, but this stuffing would also be great with butternut or kabocha squash.

Before I launch into this dish, can we please talk about how early the sun sets these days? It’s making picture-taking quite difficult for this amateur blogger, so please excuse the dark photos. However, I’m not here to show you National Geographic-level food pictures; I’m here to deliver delicious recipes that I promise taste better than they sometimes look.

So, with my apologies for less-than-stellar food photos, I’m beyond excited to share this one with you. Like a lot of my dishes, this one came together based off of what I knew I already had. Since my parents were in town,I knew it was the perfect time to use up the four Imperfect Produce acorn squashes I had hibernating in my pantry. Between the pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts, and tarragon, all the flavors blend together to make this one extremely tasty dish. Everyone went back for seconds, and I can’t wait to eat the leftovers!

As you know from a lot of my recipes, I don’t actually measure my ingredients. When I’m making something like this where you can’t go wrong with proportions, I just dump everything together. The other added bonus of making a vegan dish is that you can taste as you go. Did that spoonful not have a single pomegranate seed? Can’t find a pine nut? Great, add some more.

I knew I wanted a good chewy grain as the substance of my stuffing. While scoping out my grain options at Trader Joes, I landed on theBrown Rice Medley, which is a blend of long grain brown rice, black barley, and radish seeds. With the crucial rice decision out of the way, I knew I had some leftoverInstant Pot chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, sautéed onion, spinach, and tarragon.This recipe is extremely customizable, so look at some substitution ideas in the recipe below. Don’t be afraid to make this dish just because you’re missing a listed ingredient.

I suggest roasting the squash halves before you stuff them just to speed up cooking time. Any extra stuffing can fit snuggly around the squash in the casserole dish. If you try out these squash, leave a comment letting me know what you thought!

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Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash

Another easy throw-together meal where proportions really don’t matter. I used acorn squash, but this stuffing would also be great with butternut or kabocha squash.
Course Dinner, Main Course
Keyword Chickpea, Dinner, Quick Meal, Stuffed Squash

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • Acorn squash can also use butternut or kabocha
  • Chickpeas cannellini or lentils would also be good
  • Brown rice medley or any other grain
  • Fresh spinach cut
  • Onion diced and sautéed
  • Pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries
  • Fresh tarragon cut (can substitute fresh/dry basil or thyme)
  • Pine nuts toasted
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Optional: balsamic glaze drizzle

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Cut the squash in half and discard the seeds. You can roast those separately if you want. 

  2. Line a cookie sheet with foil or a silpat mat. Lightly oil the lined cookie sheet with oil. Place the squash halves cut side down.

  3. Bake for about 30 minutes or until you can poke the squash with a fork.

  4. Combine all the other ingredients (except for the balsamic glaze) in a bowl. 

  5. Once the squash is done cooking, move them to a casserole. Stuff them, letting the extra stuffing fall around the squash. 

  6. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until everything is heated through.

  7. Once cooked, drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Instant Pot Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

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A hearty, protein-rich soup with spices that will warm you right up during the cold winter months. Don’t have an Instant Pot? I’ve also included directions for a stove top version!

Just about every Sunday during the winter, I throw some sort of soup in the incredible Instant Pot. Sometimes I follow a recipe, and sometimes I just toss things in and cross my fingers that everything works together. This week, I loosely followed a recipe, but I also just sort of trusted that the flavors would marry and create a flavorful, filling meal. I mean, can you really go wrong with sweet potatoes and black beans?

Before I get to this week’s soup, can we chat about the Instant Pot for a moment? I was just as skeptical as the next gal – did I really need another kitchen appliance? However, I can tell you that the Instant Pot is a total game changer. It gets way more love than my crockpot ever did, and I use it almost every week for soup, beans, lentils, rice, quinoa, oats, the list goes on. The best part? Once you’ve set the timer, you can totally forget about it and go conquer your to-do list instead. You can even leave the house!

Another great thing about the Instant Pot is just how much food it makes. I always make enough soup for Sunday dinner, another dinner during the week, and a few lunches for Ben. I mean, if I’m going to make soup, I might as well make enough for the week, right?

Ok, back to the soup. I had some sweet potatoes I wanted to use up, so I decided on a simple sweet potato chili. This dish is hearty, full of protein, and has the perfect amount of warming spice for a chilly (or chili?) winter evening. After cutting up the onion, garlic, and sweet potatoes, most of your prep work is already done. You will sauté for a few minutes, but then just dump everything else in the Instant Pot, set it, and walk away.

This recipe calls for dry beans, but you can use canned if you prefer. Since canned beans are already cooked, reduce your cooking time in the Instant Pot to 10 minutes. You can also make this soup on the stove by using canned beans and following my directions below.

After the Instant Pot naturally releases, you can blend half the soup if you prefer your soup on the thicker side. I used an immersion blender, but any blender will work. Stir in the lime juice, top with cilantro and avocado, and serve with some crusty bread.

This soup also freezes great, so if you can refrain from eating it all, throw a serving in the freezer for a busy weeknight dinner. Comment below if you try it!

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Instant Pot Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

A hearty, plant-based and protein-rich soup with spices that will warm you right up during the cold winter months. Don’t have an Instant Pot? I’ve also included directions for a stove top version!
Course Dinner, Soup
Keyword Black Bean, Chili, Dinner, Soup, Sweet Potato, Vegan
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 t cumin
  • 2 T chili powder
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
  • 3/4 c dry black beans or 2 cans of rinsed black beans
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 lime juiced
  • Top with cilantro

Instructions

Instant Pot:

  1. Turn on the Sauté function. Add the diced onion and a little olive oil. Sauté about 5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent. Add the minced garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add the sweet potato, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Give it all a big stir until the potatoes are coated in the spices. If it seems like things are sticking, you can add a little broth or water to the pot.
  3. Add 3/4 c dry black beans, vegetable broth, and diced tomatoes.

  4. Switch the Instant Pot to Manual, and set the timer for 25 minutes. Close the lid, and set to the sealing position. It will take about 10 minutes for everything to come up to pressure. Once the timer goes off, let the pot naturally release. NOTE: If using canned black beans, reduce the time in the Instant Pot to 10 minutes.

  5. If you prefer a thicker soup, use a blender or immersion blender to blend about half the soup.
  6. Stir in lime juice and top with cilantro and avocado.

Stove Top:

  1. In a large pot, sauté the onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic, and sauté for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add the sweet potato, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Give it all a big stir until the potatoes are coated in the spices.
  3. Add the rinsed black beans, vegetable broth, and diced tomatoes.
  4. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender - about 30-40 minutes.
  5. If you prefer a thicker soup, use a blender or immersion blender to blend about half the soup.
  6. Stir in the lime juice and top with cilantro and avocado.

 

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