Tabitha Brown Vegan Recipes
I've cooked through most of her books and recipes over the past few years. The stuff is solid, straightforward, and honestly the most approachable vegan food I've found. You don't need fancy ingredients or three days to make something actually good. Here's how it works in practice. Her cooking style is built around simple plant-based comfort food. She uses things you can find at any grocery store - tofu, mushrooms, beans, vegetables, spices from your cabinet. The recipes are written for regular people who want good food without a lot of nonsense. The most common problem people run into is expecting restaurant-quality texture on the first try. Her recipes work best when you understand that plant proteins behave differently than animal proteins. Tofu doesn't crisp up the way chicken does unless you press it properly and use enough oil. Mushroom steak needs to be cooked in a dry pan first to draw out moisture before you add anything else. I learned that the hard way with her portobello recipe - turned out mushy on the first attempt because I threw oil in too early.
Here's what works: heat your pan medium-high, let the mushroom release its water, wait for it to evaporate, then add your fat. Takes about two extra minutes but makes the difference between soggy and properly seared. Same principle applies to cauliflower steaks and tofu pressing. Don't skip the pressing step even if you're impatient. Eight hours under a heavy pan works better than the five minutes most people do. She tends to use cashews a lot for creamy sauces and cheeses. If you're avoiding nuts, her tomato basil soup recipe works fine without them. Just use unsweetened oat milk and blend in a tablespoon of white beans for body instead. Doesn't taste noticeably different once it's seasoned properly. The recipes also work with whatever you have available. She doesn't lock you into specific brands or hard-to-find ingredients. Her chickpea flour omelet works with about any spice combination you throw at it. Swap the turmeric for curry powder, add some nutritional yeast if you have it, or just stick to salt and pepper and it still comes together fine.
One thing she gets right is timing. Most of her meals come together in under thirty minutes once you get the routine down. The garlic mashed potatoes take about twenty minutes from start to finish, and you get leftovers that reheat decently the next day. They lose a bit of creaminess but that's expected with vegan mashed potatoes regardless. If you're making her mac and cheese for the first time, use the stovetop method, not the baked version, unless you have company coming. The baked version dries out faster than you'd expect. Stovetop stays creamy for hours and reheats with a splash of milk if needed. Her book "I Can Cook" has the most complete collection of her recipes. There are also recipe cards and printables available on her website if you want physical copies rather than scrolling through your phone in the kitchen. The digital versions are free, which I appreciate. The printed cards are nice but cost extra if you order them directly from her shop.
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A couple things aren't ideal about her recipes. They can be a bit heavy on salt if you follow them exactly, especially the canned soup alternatives. Use low-sodium broth and cut the added salt by a third. Her portion sizes also run larger than most home cooks need. Her chili recipe easily feeds six to eight people, which is fine if you meal prep but overwhelming if you're cooking for two. When substitutions come up, she's pretty flexible. Coconut milk works in place of cashew cream, though it adds flavor. Sweet potato can replace white potato in most of her side dishes with a longer cook time. The cauliflower crust pizza works with ground flaxseed if eggs are a concern, but it won't hold quite as well. I've had it fall apart more than once when trying to lift slices. The biggest thing to know is that her recipes expect you to taste and adjust as you go. She writes "season to taste" throughout, which means actually doing it. First batch of her seasoning blend was too strong for my preference. Halved the smoked paprika and added more onion powder. Second batch was better.
Her chocolate avocado mousse comes together in about five minutes and tastes like real chocolate dessert if you blend it long enough. Don't skip the blending step. Lumpy avocado chunks ruin it. High-speed blender or food processor works best. Regular blender gets it done but takes longer. For beginners, start with her pasta dishes. Baked ziti or her simple tomato pasta are forgiving recipes that work even if you overcook the noodles slightly. Her breakfast hashes are also low-stakes. Eggs aren't involved so there's no timing pressure around cooking proteins. Just chop, sauté, and season. The recipes hold up well for meal prep too. Her black bean burgers keep in the fridge for four days and freeze well for longer storage. They firm up after sitting in the fridge overnight, which actually improves the texture compared to cooking them fresh.
If you want the full collection, her website has everything organized by meal type. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts. The search function works fine for finding specific recipes by ingredient if you're working with what you already have.
