My Favorite Easy Plant Based Recipe for You to Try Right Now!

Any successful venture into Plant Based Living requires a complete re-acquaintance with the way you used to shop, cook and eat. I have got you covered for shopping and eating! But cooking? Are you dying to try some new plant based recipes? Do you need some plant based recipes to find your way to a new life in the kitchen?  Uhhhhhhh… (crickets) 

Those of you that know me, or have been with me for even a short time, know that I am not a recipe writer! I truly love cooking, but my style is ‘winging it.’ Most of the time, it works out, but a recent instagram post of mine shows that trial and error can also have a dark side. (#BreakfastFail #MommyRuinedBreakfast #CoconutFlourRuinsEverything) Yeah, it was bad. We didn’t eat until almost 3pm. 

But! When I am successful in the kitchen, spoken like a true back-patter, I really knock it out of the park.  Here is my tried and true favorite recipe that I make at LEAST twice a month, sometimes every week. 

Kickin Vegan’s Best Spaghetti Marinara Sauce!

I have spent a few years tinkering and perfecting this treat, and it is a bonafide kid pleaser and a definite delight! As they always say, “It’s in the sauce!”

I used to meet my bestie for lunch once a week at an Indian restaurant that served a tomato soup that was seriously worth its weight in gold. We went just for the soup, and they knew us by name. The secret to their mouthwatering appetizer round? Coconut milk! We used to get so excited at lunch time, thinking about this soup well before it was time to leave for lunch and the whole drive there.Bouncing on the seats with a wide eyed grin like a kid who is stoked to go to their best friend’s birthday party. 

I searched online for different Indian tomato soup recipes (they would NOT give it up!), and I somehow eventually merged it into my sauce. Oh the magic. An instant classic was born. The kids love it and I always make a lot of it so I can jar some up for another use. 

My skin crawls everytime my husband buys a store jar of sauce, lol. But hey, if he’s doing the cooking, I’m not complaining! Trust me, leave that on the shelf, and stick the extra amounts of this in a jar instead. I usually have enough to feed 4 and fill a whole mason jar with the remainder with this recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 1tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• ½ tsp chili flakes
• ½ tsp oregano
• I large can tomatoes, whole, diced or crushed
• I lil can of tomato paste
• 1 cup veggie broth
• 1 TBS chili powder
• 2 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 big ole sprig of basil
• Salt pepper
• 1 can of heavy coconut milk, the full fatty kind
  

Action Steps:

I prefer a cast iron skillet for most of my cooking and this is a great use of a deeper dish one if you have it. Just whatever you use, don’t let it be teflon!

Warm the pan on medium/low and add a teaspoon of olive oil. I’m not a big fan of using any oil, but this helps to bring out the aromatics, by releasing them into the oil for flavor. It doesn’t take much!

While that’s warming, add the can of whole/crushed/ diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and broth to the blender and whip it up.

Toss in the aromatics: the garlic, chili flakes and oregano, until you start to smell the garlic. As soon as you do (this happens fast!),  pour in the tomato blend. Careful the heat’s not too high, it’ll splatter!

Turn down the heat to simmer as soon as it bubbles a little, stirring the whole time with a wooden spoon. Do not cover, you want the sauce to simmer down and thicken. Add the can of coconut milk, stirring in. Add chili powder, apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Throw in the full sprig of basil, I like to crush it a little by rolling it between my hands to release the juices. Put the whole thing on low and let it simmer for 45 minutes while you get the pasta ready, set the table, make garlic bread, assemble the salad, etc.

Feel free once you get  the hang of this sauce (it’s super easy!) to make it your own.  We sometimes add veggies, nutritional yeast, and adjust for flavor profile moods. 

I absolutely love making this sauce, and my husband loves walking in the door and smelling it.  It really takes minimal effort, it’s all in the simmer! This gives you plenty of time to do anything else to prepare for dinner. Like tell the kids to get the homework off the table, feed the dogs, put on a load of laundry. Sneak in a quick smooch. 

We usually pair it with whole grain shells or elbows, or bowties or rotini. I like fun pasta shapes. The kids and my husband like to top it with vegan parm, I prefer hot sauce. (On everything, it’s not just a pasta sauce thing!) The leftovers are great for sending the kids to school with pizza bagels. I take a Dave’s Killer Bread white whole grain bagel, toast it in the toaster oven with sauce and a few daiya mozzarella shreds, and wrap it in wax paper and foil. It’s their favorite lunch. I might have pizza toast that day with my salad for lunch, too. I mean, there are a ton of things you can do with pasta sauce! 

I hope you try it and enjoy it, and have fun experimenting with making it your own! If you think someone else would enjoy this, copy the link in the url window and share with your friends! I’d love to hear from you in the comments what your plans are with this sauce, or how it worked out for you. Bon Appetit!

Aloha! 

Kickin’ Vegan