The Whole Ingredient

Vegan, wholefood, delicious: easy recipes for healthy comfort food.

  • About
  • Recipes
  • blog
  • Press
  • FAQ & Terms

Essential Vegan Ingredients

05/01/2016 By Laura Hemmington 2 Comments

essential vegan ingredients

I’m often asked what are my go-to items for creating recipes in a vegan kitchen, so I thought a great way to begin the year would be to share my essential vegan ingredients – for Veganuary* and beyond!

This being The Whole Ingredient my list is whole-food leaning for a healthy, well-balanced diet. But that means there are lots of items you’ll probably already have! Add to this a few ingredients that, if you’re new to a vegan diet, you might not be familiar with, and you’re all set to start making some delicious meals.

This list is intended as a starting point, something from which to pick and choose; a reference point that you can come back to again and again along your cooking journey. I’ve linked to some recipes for a few of the ingredients; I hope it’s helpful! 


Grains & Pulses (dried or tinned)

  • Lentils for salads and hearty dishes: Green (Puy, Vert), Brown and Beluga Lentils keep their shape and have a lovely nutty flavour
  • Lentils for dals and soups: Red Lentils and Yellow Split Peas
  • Beans: Kidney, Cannellini, Black, Butter, Black Eyed, Pinto, Chickpeas
  • Rice: Brown, Wild
  • Quinoa
  • Buckwheat (gluten-free)
  • Barley
  • Bulgur
  • Spelt
  • Rolled Oats
  • Flours made from any of the above, and Wholemeal/Whole Wheat flour

Seasoning

  • Himalayan Pink Salt for its intense flavour and high mineral content; or a good Rock Salt
  • A good Soy Sauce, Tamari (usually gluten-free), or Liquid Aminos for a soy-free alternative; try to buy organic if possible to ensure it’s GMO-free
  • Marmite or other yeast extract
  • Nutritional Yeast (a must for cheesy flavours!)
  • Apple Cider Vinegar, Red Wine Vinegar, White Wine Vinegar. All great for dressings, marinades and baking
  • Dried herbs and spices

Oils

  • Raw Coconut Oil: for frying, baking and raw desserts
  • Olive Oil or Rapeseed Oil: for roasting, baking, dressings and condiments

Nuts, Seeds & Butters

  • Brazil Nuts, Pecans, Hazelnuts, Walnuts, Almonds and Cashews are great ingredients for sweet and savoury recipes, as well as for making flours, sauces, butters or just enjoyed as a healthy snack
  • Pumpkin, Sunflower, Sesame, Poppy and Flax Seeds all feature regularly in my sweet and savoury recipes
  • Chia Seeds: great as an alternative to eggs in baking, to create easy puddings or as an all-round nutritional booster in any recipe
  • Nut and Seed Butters: where possible, choose a brand with no added oil, that’s sugar and palm oil-free

Sweeteners

  • Dates and Apricots are great alternatives to refined sugar. Process with water to make your own liquid sweetener or caramel
  • Maple Syrup or Agave (Maple Syrup is less refined and lower in fructose)
  • Raw Coconut Sugar
  • Raw Cacao or Cocoa Powder (Raw Cacao is less refined)
  • Good-quality (raw or refined sugar-free where possible) Dark Chocolate

Egg alternatives

For one egg**:

  • Flax: Mix 1 tbsp of ground Flax with 3 tbsp water. Leave for a few minutes to form a gel
  • Chia Seeds: Mix 1 tbsp of Chia Seeds with 3 tbsp water. Leave for a few minutes to form a gel
  • Banana: 1/2, mashed
  • Peanut Butter, Nut Butter, Tahini: 2-3 tbsp
  • Apple purée (or other high-pectin fruit purée), pumpkin purée or mashed potato: Approx. 60g

**This is approximate. Consider the most appropriate alternative for each recipe, and experiment with different methods and recipes to find your favourite!


Milk alternatives

  • Organic, unsweetened Soy (my preference for tea!)
  • Nut, Seed, Oat, Rice or Coconut Milk

Tofu & Tempeh

  • Silken Tofu: for using in scrambles, quiches and cakes
  • Firm Tofu: for curries, stir fries, salads, bowls, breakfasts, wraps and wings
  • Tempeh: for curries, stir fries, bowls, sandwiches, and of course, for making Tempeh Bacon
  • Pre-flavoured firm tofu: for sandwiches, salads etc.

*If you haven’t signed up to Veganuary this year, don’t worry! You can still follow all of the great advice, recipes and guidance here, and read my profile here.

Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Email this to someone
email
Print this page
Print
Share on Yummly
Yummly
Share on Reddit
Reddit

Related

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: plant-based, superfoods, vegan, vegan eating, vegan ingredients, vegan recipe, veganuary, wholefoods

« White Bean, Lemon & Apricot Stuffing
Blueberry Lemon Spelt Loaf »

Comments

  1. Katie says

    10/01/2016 at 1:26 pm

    This is a really useful post! I’m not vegan, but I am trying to incorporate more vegan ingredients and meals into my eating, so this is a good starting point for basic ingredients!

    Reply
    • Laura, The Whole Ingredient says

      11/01/2016 at 10:12 am

      Hi Kate! I’m so glad it’s helpful. I think just knowing that you don’t need to find lots of unusual products, and that being vegan is fairly straightforward, can make all the difference! If you have any questions at all, just shout 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe for recipes & get your downloadable guide to Vegan London for free!

Welcome to The Whole Ingredient! Simple recipes for delicious & healthy vegan comfort food.

Read more here

BREAKFAST & BRUNCH

Smoky Maple Tofu Bacon

MAINS

SALADS

Aubergine Muhammara Traybake

SIDES

Sticky Chilli Cauliflower Wings

SWEET

Sweet Potato Popcorn Pie

VEGAN CHEESE

Rosemary-Baked Almond Cream Cheese

SNACKS, SAUCES, JARS

Store Cupboard Muhammara

AUTUMN

Fettucine with Squash, Sage and Pecans

CHRISTMAS

FINDING VEGAN FOOD IN LONDON

Finding Vegan Food in London
Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs
Foodies100
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

© 2014-2016 The Whole Ingredient · About · Press · FAQ & Terms



All content is subject to copyright. Recipes, text and photographs can only be used with prior permission, credit and a link back to the original.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.