Traditionally, soul food is a combination of African and Native American food ingredients commonly found in the southern United States to create warm, tasty feasts. For those of us who are staying away from meat and dairy, it may be difficult to find satisfying recipes that are vegan and that warm our souls.

Need help choosing the perfect menu for vegan soul food? Here are easy to follow recipes to make vegan soul food cooking a breeze.



Crock Pot Vegetables

Ingredients
  • 3 potatoes, medium
  • 1 sweet potato*, medium
  • 1 large onion
  • 15oz (420g) can of a four-bean blend
  • ½ cup of soy, rice or almond milk
  • pinch of salt and pepper
Method

  1. Chop potatoes, sweet potatoes and onion into pieces about ½ inches.
  2. Place in crock pot with the beans.
  3. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Pour the milk over the vegetables.
  5. Simmer for 6-8 hours.


Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients
  • 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 3 / 4 cup chopped celery
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 / 4 cup tomato paste
  • 1 / 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 3 / 4 cup dry red wine or water
  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans of formula prepared diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 1 / 2 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 3 vegetable bouillon cubes
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Method
  1. Add the onion, celery, wine, bell pepper, and garlic in a large pot.
  2. Cook over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 6-8 minutes or when the vegetables are cooked.
  3. Add the tomatoes with water, juice, tomato paste, cilantro, chili powder, boullion, broth, and cumin - stir well.
  4. Add the beans and then bring to boil and cover.
  5. Reduce the heat to low and stir occasionally, for about 45 minutes.
  6. Then, serve up with vegan sour cream or over brown rice


Brown Rice Pasta with Broccoli and Beans

Ingredients
  •  1 pound of brown rice pasta
  •  a handful of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
  •  1 / 2 yellow onion, finely chopped
  •  1 / 4 cup olive oil
  •  1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  •  6 cloves garlic, minced
  •  1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
  •  1 / 2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
  •  3 / 4 c. teaspoon sea salt
  •  Juice of ½ lemon
Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Sauté onion for 5 minutes until translucent. Add pepper and garlic. Stir for 1 minute.
  3. Add the broccoli and salt then stir occasionally, until the broccoli is cooked but crunchy for 7-8 minutes.
  4. Stir in chickpeas then cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat while cooking pasta.
  5. Cook the pasta as directed on package. Reserve a half of cup pasta cooking water, and then drain the pasta.
  6. Add the pasta and reserved cooking water to chickpeas and broccoli in a saucepan
  7. Cook over medium heat for a minute, stir until well blended. Add chopped basil and mix again.
  8. Just prior to serving, add few drops of lemon juice and then sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil. Mix well.