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Here’s a roundup of some of my recipes that would be great for Cinco de Mayo: Refried (oil-free) Beans, Whole Pintos, 5-Minute Cheese Sauce, Unprocessed Cheese Sauce, 5-Minute Restaurant Style Salsa, Baked Corn Chips + Tostada Shells.
You can use each of these components to make a wide variety of dishes, some ideas: nachos, enchiladas, tostadas, burritos, taco salad, etc.
All of these recipes are Whole Food Plant-Based and oil-free.
Enjoy!
Vegan Instant Pot Whole Beans
This is a great recipe to use to make beans for numerous dishes. These freeze really well, too!
Equipment
- Instant Pot – 8 qt.
Ingredients
- 4 cups pinto or black beans
- 2 TB onion powder or granulated onion
- 1 TB coriander, ground
- 1 TB cumin, ground
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 whole bay leaves
Instructions
- Important Note: I use an 8 qt. Instant Pot and this recipe is written for that size. This gives me a large batch of beans. which I love! If you are using a 6 qt. Instant Pot, use exactly HALF of these amounts, but still fill your pot up to the 1/2 full mark when adding water.
- Measure out 4 cups of dry beans, picking out any foreign material, pebbles, etc. Rinse well with several changes of water. (I just use the metal pot insert.)
- Add all ingredients to Instant Pot.
- Add water to the 1/2 full mark.
- Be sure your valve is in the correct position per your IP's instructions.
- Set Instant Pot for 25-30 minutes (older beans take longer).
- When time is up, allow to naturally release for about 40 minutes.
- Release remaining pressure, if any.
- Remove bay leaves now or later.
- Add salt to taste, and any more spices if you like.
- I like to store the beans in their cooking water as it seems to taste better. You may want to pour off a bit of water.
- Enjoy! These beans freeze well, too. They lend themselves well to many dishes, and are even yummy just in a bowl by themselves with some hot sauce.
Vegan Instant Pot Refried (oil-free) Beans
Equipment
- Instant Pot – 8 qt.
Ingredients
- 4 cups pinto or black beans
- 2 whole peeled, chunked yellow or white onions
- 1 TB garlic powder or granulated garlic
- 1 TB coriander, ground
- 1 TB cumin, ground
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 whole bay leaves
Instructions
- Important Note: I use an 8 qt. Instant Pot and this recipe is written for that size. This gives me a large batch of beans, which I love! If you are using a 6 qt. Instant Pot, use exactly HALF of these amounts, but still fill your pot up to the 1/2 full mark when adding water.
- Measure out 4 cups of dry beans, picking out any foreign material, pebbles, etc. Rinse well with several changes of water. (I just use the metal pot insert.)
- Add all ingredients to Instant Pot.
- Add water to the 1/2 full mark.
- Be sure your valve is in the correct position per your IP's instructions.
- Set Instant Pot for 25-30 minutes (older beans take longer).
- When time is up, allow to naturally release for about 40 minutes.
- Release remaining pressure, if any.
- Remove bay leaves, very important!
- (Read the following whole sentence 1st!) Drain the cooked beans in a colander, reserving some cooking water.
- Mash by hand or with an immersion blender, adding only enough of the reserved water back in to make creamy and of desired consistency.
- Add salt to taste. Add more spices if you like.
- Enjoy! These beans freeze well, too. They lend themselves well to many dishes, and are even yummy just in a bowl by themselves with some hot sauce. Tip: Since they thicken as they cool, I like to reserve some "bean cooking juice" in the fridge to thin them out with later. Using the bean cooking water is better than adding water, as that dilutes the flavors.
TVP Vegan Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 2 cups Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) small granuals
- 4 cups Boiling Water
- 2 tsp Granulated Onion or powder
- 1 tsp Granulated Garlic or powder
- 2 TB Tomato Sauce
- 2 TB Soy Sauce
- 1-2 tsp Smoked Paprika or Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 2 tsp Vegan “Beef” Bouillon (optional)
Instructions
- Add 4 cups of boiling water to TVP in a large bowl. Cover bowl and let sit 20 mts. until TVP is soft. 2. Heat a non stick pan to medium-high. Drain TVP, and add to preheated pan along with all other ingredients. Stir well to incorporate. 3. Cook, making sure to lift up from bottom. It will lose moisture and start to brown. A non stick spatula works well for this. Stir occasionally and cook about 15 minutes until consistency is to your liking. 4. Taste, and add extra seasonings from the ingredient list if needed. And salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Quick 5-Minute Vegan Cheese Sauce (oil-free)
This is what I make when I want Cheese Sauce FAST! It thickens a lot as it cools, making it perfect for grilled cheese or quesadillas. You also re-heat it, add more water while whisking it to return it to a sauce.
Note: Recipe heavily adapted from a VegWeb Recipe.
Note: Recipe heavily adapted from a VegWeb Recipe.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 cup Flour I use White Whole Wheat or Whole Wheat Pastry, any will work
- 1-1 1/2 tsp. Salt Start with 1 tsp. salt, add more if needed
- 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder or Granulated Garlic
- 1/4 tsp. Smoked Paprika
- 2 cups Water
- 2 tsp. Miso If you don’t have Miso, just leave it out or use Brown Mustard instead.
- 1 TB Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp. Maple Syrup
Instructions
- Add all dry ingredients to a saucepan and mix well.
- Slowly add water and miso or mustard, whisking well. I use a whisk and a wooden spoon to incorporate everything well. An immersion (stick) blender works well too, but make sure yours is ok for hot foods.
- Continue stirring and whisking over medium heat until thick. You may want to add more water depending on how thick you want the sauce at this point. Stir in lemon juice & maple syrup at end. Taste, and adjust for salt.
- Use immediately, refrigerate any leftovers. When cooled, the sauce becomes “spreadable”. You can return it back to a sauce by reheating and adding more water while heating it on the stovetop. An immersion blender makes this easy. Enjoy! 🙂
Vegan Unprocessed Cheese Sauce
Adapted from “The Uncheese Cookbook” by Joanne Stepaniak
Ingredients
- 1 medium Potato, peeled and cubed I like to use yellow
- 1 medium Carrot, peeled and sliced in thick pieces
- 1/4 Onion, rough chop
- 1 cup Water
- 1/2 cup Silken Tofu
- 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes Use half the amount if using finer powder
- 1 TB Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Onion Granuals
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Granuals
- 1 TB Miso Optional
- 1 TB Brown Mustard Optional
Instructions
- Boil potato, carrot and onion together until soft, 10-15 minutes. You may need more water to cover.
- To a blender add silken tofu, nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice, salt, onion granuals, and garlic granuals.
- Using a slotted spoon, add cooked carrot, onion and potato to blender with other ingredients. Pour in about half of the water.
- Pureé on highest setting until velvety smooth, adding more cooking water as needed. Scrape down sides if needed a few times.
- Taste, and adjust for salt. You can also add more lemon juice. Adding 1 TB brown mustard OR 1 TB miso is nice and changes the flavor profile, so add those if you like. The texture of this is great, and really mimics a “Processed” Cheese Sauce, but with healthy ingredients. Enjoy! 🙂
How to Make Oil-Free Baked Tortilla Chips:
Directions: I buy big bags of Guerrero corn tortillas, each tortilla is only 3 cents each! To make: Cut tortillas with kitchen scissors, spray with water, sprinkle with salt. (The water makes them crispier.) Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, turning once. Watch carefully, as they can burn fast.
How to Make Oil-Free Baked Tostada Shells:
Same as chips above, although I don’t spray with water and you may not need to turn them.
