Thank you for visiting our table at Coe-mmunity Night! (Or, if you found us another way, welcome!) Below, you can find some recipes and recipe websites we love, recommendations for great vegan & vegetarian restaurants in Seattle, a brief summary of how vegan and plant based differ, as well as some resources in case you are curious about vegan food brands, going vegan, or starting Meatless Mondays (or Turkey-less Tuesdays? 😂 ). If you have any questions, feel free to comment or get ahold of us via email!
Recipes
The cookies you might have tried at our table were actually the recipe found on the side of a Toll House chocolate chip bag, but altered to make it vegan! https://www.nestle.com/stories/timeless-discovery-toll-house-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe Substitute the butter with a vegan butter (Earth Balance sticks work great!), whip up a “flax egg” (2 tbsp flaxseed and 5 tbsp water) or use applesauce for a slightly different texture, and swap chocolate chips to a vegan-friendly brand (Toll House now has plant-based chocolate chips! Or Enjoy Life brand is fully vegan. Some of the chocolate chips at Costco are as well).
Almond Butter Tofu Stir Fry. Delicious and satisfying for dinner! https://minimalistbaker.com/almond-butter-tofu-stir-fry/
Baked Tofu Bites. Delicious in salads, burritos, on pasta, or even in a chili! This recipe uses “nutritional yeast,” which can be found at almost every grocery store. https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/baked-tofu-bites/
This vegan nacho recipe features a cashew-based cheese sauce that we make often! We make it without the salsa sometimes, too, and it’s delicious either way! https://www.carrotsandflowers.com/10-minute-vegan-chili-cheese-nachos/
This creamy curry carrot and rice soup is SO savory! We’ve made it with brown or black rice for extra nuttiness and nutrients! https://thevegan8.com/easy-1-pot-creamy-curry-rice-soup/
Chewy molasses/gingerbread cookies we make every December! https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/easy-chewy-vegan-molasses-cookies/
Chocolate chip muffins! https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/easy-vegan-chocolate-chip-muffins/#recipe
Tasty bowl full of protein, vegetables, and flavor! If you’re short on time, don’t bake the edamame — it’s great cold as well. https://allvegconsidered.com/edamame-crunch-salad/
General Tso’s Tofu! It’s a more involved recipe, but worth it. https://minimalistbaker.com/general-tsos-tofu/
Nothing like the Hamburger Helper you may have had as a kid – this recipe takes some time but the spices and flavors are heavenly! This does use some meat and cheese substitutes. https://www.mississippivegan.com/vegan-hamburger-helper
Red Lentil Chili is protein- and veggie-packed. https://minimalistbaker.com/1-pot-red-lentil-chili/
This chili is the one we served at Coe-mmunity night! More saucy and has delicious baked tofu crumbles to “beef” it up. https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/the-best-vegan-chili-ever/
Scrumptious tofu scramble can be found in this recipe: https://allvegconsidered.com/weekend-tofu-scramble-bowls/#recipe
Many of our recipes come from these websites
https://www.minimalistbaker.com — full of tons of delicious vegan recipes, they have options for gluten free meals, and also some recipes that are not vegan. Great for some weekly vegan and non-vegan meal-planning inspiration!
https://www.itdoesnttastelikechicken.com — the recipe creator of this website is fully vegan, and her focus is to make vegan recipes that wow even meat lovers.
https://www.veganricha.com — delicious and savory Indian cuisine and beyond!
https://www.noracooks.com — another solid vegan recipe website with a huge catalog of options.
Vegan restaurants in & around Seattle
Curious about trying vegan food, but don’t want to make your own? There are many places in and around Seattle that have amazing vegan food! Most of the restaurants listed below are fully-vegan, but some have omnivore menus with great vegan options. There are so many more places than we can even list! Feel free to make some recommendations in the comments, below!
Right here in Queen Anne, along QA Ave, Sushi Samurai switched to an all vegan/plant-based menu in the last couple years. If you haven’t tried them yet, we highly recommend!
All-vegan Thai restaurant Araya’s Place has savory and delicious dishes! Our favorite place to get Thai food.
If you’re in SLU and craving Thai, Kati Vegan Thai is your place to go.
Another Thai restaurant and another Queen Anne Ave restaurant: Isarn Kitchen has meat and meatless options thanks to a full vegan and vegetarian menu!
You may have already been to Cafe Flora in Madison Valley! This restaurant features both vegetarian and vegan foods; their breakfast platter with a tofu scramble, garlicky greens, and roasted potatoes is SO delicious. Bonus: the cinnamon rolls are vegan!
In Captiol Hill, Plum Bistro is an all-vegan fine dining experience. Check out their website to see all their different restaurant around Seattle, including Chopped, which is near Plum Bistro and has quick salads and bowls.
Hungry for fast food? Next Level Burger and Veggie Grill will fit the bill! Both have veggie burgers but also bowls and salads. And of course fries. Next Level also has milkshakes!
Speaking of dessert, another Seattle classic is Frankie & Jo’s. If you’ve never tried their ice cream, you’re in for a treat. Rich & creamy, so many flavors to choose from, including seasonal. They’re located in Ballard, Cap Hill, University Village, and you can even find some of their pints in the freezer section at many local grocery stores.
If you’re looking for tasty cakey donuts, Mighty-O Donuts is actually all vegan-friendly and organic!
In Capitol Hill and West Seattle, you can find LGBTQ-owned Dough Joy. Their delicious vegan yeast-raised donuts are fluffy and sweet, and they almost always have a few specials on rotation!
What’s the difference between Vegan and Plant Based?
There’s so much terminology around eating or not eating meat. You may have heard “vegan” before, but then someone says “plant based” or “whole food plant based” and you wonder, isn’t that all the same thing? They’re very close but with some notable differences.
Vegan food does not include animals (beef, chicken, pork, turkey, fish, seafood), animal products (eggs, milk, cheese), or honey, gelatin, etc.
Plant based or whole food plant based (WFPB) diets are the same as vegans but go a couple steps further – they emphasize consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains (not refined/simple carbs), BUT they do not include processed foods, and generally limit or exclude consumption of oils and encourage reduced nuts, seeds, and avocados. Often people will go on a WFPB diet to help prevent or reverse diseases like heart disease. Those not worried about cholesterol or heart disease are free to not limit nuts seeds and avocados.
Vegans can, of course, choose to eat or not eat processed foods or oils – it really comes down to personal choice. We sometimes eat “regular” vegan and sometimes closer to WFPB. We try not to worry about it too much; the term “vegan” is helpful when relaying to someone that you don’t eat animals or animal products, but beyond that it’s just a term.
It’s not all or nothing! Choosing to eat vegan or WFPB a couple times a week can be extremely beneficial to your health and to our environment.
Resources!
Even if you don’t want to go fully vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based, here’s some information that might answer any of the questions you may have about this way of eating.
Meatless Monday: https://www.mondaycampaigns.org/meatless-monday/benefits
Worried about calcium if you quit dairy? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322585#non-dairy-sources-of-calcium
Plant milks (even almond!) use less water than cow’s milk: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042
Benefits of a vegan diet: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vegan-diet-benefits#vegan-vs-vegetarian
Vegan protein sources (spoiler: there are so many!): https://guidetovegan.com/vegan-protein-sources/
Some of our favorite brands
Cheese: Violife, Miyoko’s, Kite Hill.
Milk: Silk, 365 brand, etc. It’s hard to go wrong with a plant milk, but do watch for ones that contain extra sugar, especially if you’re using plant milk in cooking or baking. We usually opt for unsweetened plain soy milk. Oat milk is another favorite, which is especially delicious with coffee and in baking.
Meat: Field Roast, Gardein, Beyond Meat, Impossible Meat, Rebellyous foods.
Egg: Just Egg brand (folded and liquid versions)