Just when we thought summer’s most perfect veggie couldn’t get any more delicious, corn FRITTERS graced our palettes. These crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside, lightly spiced fritters are a must-try appetizer or side!

Not only are they incredibly delicious, but these fritters are vegan, optionally gluten-free, and SO easy to make! Grab your mixing bowl and 10 basic ingredients, and you’ll be enjoying fritters in 30 minutes or less.

Easy Jalapeño Corn Fritters (Vegan) from Minimalist Baker →

I love granola, and this grain-free granola is no exception. Most granola recipes are oat-based, but this one is oat-free. Regardless, it offers a sweet, nutty crunch that’s reminiscent of my most popular granola recipe. Like any good granola, it’s irresistible.

When I first heard of grain-free granola, I was perplexed by the concept. I’m a big fan of oats and whole grains, of course, and I still am. Unfortunately, I was forced to become more carb-conscious while I was pregnant to manage my blood sugar (gestational diabetes is zero fun).

This grain-free granola livened up my breakfasts and snacks during that time. It’s a kitchen staple for me to this day, and I’m always sad to run out of my most recent batch. I found the original recipe in a book by dietitian Lily Nichols called Real Food for Pregnancy. I couldn’t help but play around with it, so I’m sharing my version and some fun options with you today.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Grain-Free Granola appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Friends! The fluffiest, most satisfying, Nutella lover’s dream dessert is here: vegan ice cream made with chocolate and hazelnuts. It’s creamy, dreamy, oh-so delicious, and kind of perfect! Especially when craving a sweet treat on a warm summer day.

Just 6 ingredients required for this (dare we say) MASTERPIECE. It’s going to be on repeat in our ice cream maker all season long. Grab your cones. Let’s make Nutella ice cream!

Vegan Nutella Ice Cream from Minimalist Baker →

Meet the ultimate zucchini side dish. It features caramelized zucchini and red onion with toasted sliced almonds, seasoned with fresh garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice. The flavors are bold, the dish is vibrant, and I’m going to make this sautéed zucchini all summer long.

I don’t always like cooked zucchini, but I love this recipe. Zucchini can be squeaky or mushy, and I often avoid it on restaurant menus for those reasons. Not this recipe! The zucchini is perfectly browned and tender throughout.

The flavors in this recipe remind me of green beans amandine, if you’re familiar—another one of my favorite veggie side dishes. Our friend Erika introduced us to this concept last summer in St. Louis. It paired beautifully with pasta and grilled options on their back porch. I asked her for the recipe afterward, and I’m excited to share it with you today.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Best Ever Zucchini appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

One of my most exasperating traits — or, perhaps one that makes me ideally suited for this space I invented, coincidentally, to suit my collection of traits — is that I have a terrific amount of random ingredient preparation ideas in the overflowing file cabinet of my brain that will spill into conversations the second I hear the triggering keyword.

Read more »

You’re going to love this chocolate chia seed pudding. Seriously, though! I’m always suspicious of chocolate “desserts” made with sneaky healthy ingredients like avocado or sweet potato. I can taste them, so they don’t taste like a real dessert.

This chia pudding, however, is a wholesome treat that I truly enjoy. It actually boasts some impressive nutrition stats, including 8 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, and some healthy plant-based fat. It’s easy to make, too—much easier than traditional custard-based puddings.

You’ll need only four ingredients for the base recipe: your milk of choice, chia seeds, cocoa powder and maple syrup. Once mixed together and left to chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, the chia seeds plump up and offer a subtle texture. The end result is rather magical!

Continue to the recipe...

The post Chocolate Chia Pudding appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

This vegetable stir fry tastes as good as it looks! It features perfectly fork-tender, seared vegetables in a glossy sauce that leans more savory than sweet. I love the vibrant combination of broccoli, bell pepper, carrot and red onion shown here, but you can change up the vegetables with the seasons.

Serve it as a simple side dish, or turn it into a full meal by adding rice and protein, like the crispy baked tofu shown here. Add a sprinkle of green onion and just-toasted sesame seeds, and this healthy homemade dish will taste much fresher than takeout.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Vegetable Stir Fry appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Introducing weeknight-friendly fattoush salad! This EASY, 1-bowl, 20-minute version is our inspired take on the classic Levantine dish. Think fresh, crunchy veggies tossed in a bright pomegranate dressing with herby mint leaves, crispy pita chips, and pomegranate arils (major YUM)!

It’s a refreshing side to pair with other Mediterranean- and Middle Eastern-inspired recipes, or toss in some chickpeas to make it a light meal on its own.

Easy Fattoush Salad (1 Bowl!) from Minimalist Baker →

Are you familiar with socca? If not, please let me introduce you! It’s basically a rich, savory and salted chickpea flour pancake cooked in piping hot olive oil. The edges are crispy and chewy, the insides are flaky and tender, and the bottom is lacy and golden. It is just so good. You’ll have to try it.

Socca is a street food popular in Nice, France, with origins dating back centuries (it’s closely related to Italian farinata). I had the chance to try the real deal on our honeymoon, and I’m obsessed with this homemade version.

To make socca, you’ll need a bag of chickpea flour (I like to use Bob’s Red Mill, which is available in well-stocked grocery stores). You probably have the remaining ingredients already—olive oil, water, salt, pepper and cumin. That’s it! You’ll find step-by-step photos and a brief cooking video below, followed by the recipe.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Socca appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Friends, welcome to a land where you can float on strawberry dream clouds all day long. This chia pudding is next-level but still ultra simple (5 ingredients!). Just blend strawberries into your favorite milk, sweeten to taste, add chia seeds, and chilllllll.

The result is a heavenly, fiber-rich snack or breakfast that tastes just like strawberries and cream but more sophisticated — mmmmmm. Let us show you how it’s done!

Strawberries & Cream Chia Pudding from Minimalist Baker →

If you love our Sweet Potato Chickpea Tacos, get ready for another FAVE! Meet: the Vegan Sweet Potato Chickpea TACO SALAD! It’s got fresh kale + romaine, crunchy tortilla chips, smoky roasted chickpeas + sweet potatoes, and a creamy jalapeño dressing. 

The result? BIG flavor, lots of textures, and ready in just 30 minutes (hello, weeknight ease with weekend flavor)! Let’s make this satisfying, flavorful, plant-based dinner!

A little multi-tasking and some speedy knife skills are the tricks to keeping this a 30-minute meal!

Vegan Sweet Potato Chickpea Taco Salad from Minimalist Baker →

Move over, Ranch, there’s a new creamy dressing in town that’s stealing our hearts! This cheesy jalapeño cashew dressing is our new go-to for salads, wraps, and dipping veggies. It’s savory and creamy and has a subtly spicy kick!

Bonus? It comes together in just 5 minutes with 9 simple ingredients. Grab your blender. Let’s do this!

Ingredients to Make Cashew Dressing

• Cashews – this versatile nut creates a rich, creamy base that’s naturally oil-free and neutral in flavor, allowing the other flavors to shine!

Cheesy Jalapeño Cashew Dressing from Minimalist Baker →

While recently making our tahini cookies for what felt like the millionth time, we thought, Why not add chocolate to this party? The result was even better than we imagined. Introducing: fudgy chocolate tahini cookies studded with chocolate chips! They’re vegan, gluten-free, and absolutely delicious — like a brownie and cookie in one!

All you need for these? 1 bowl, 8 ingredients, and about 20 minutes.

Fudgy Chocolate Tahini Cookies (1 Bowl!) from Minimalist Baker →

These sizzling fajita vegetables will liven up your dinner table. The recipe features colorful bell peppers and red onion, seasoned and cooked to golden perfection. It was inspired by Tex-Mex fajitas and the veggies I always request on my Chipotle burrito bowls.

It took me quite a few tries to nail the texture that I had in mind—I wanted my peppers and onions caramelized on the edges, cooked until mostly tender, yet far from mushy. I finally figured it out, and I’m so glad to share this simple and foolproof method with you today.

Finished with a squeeze of lime juice, this vibrant side dish is ready in 20 minutes or less. You’ll find serving suggestions below to build your meal around it.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Fajita Veggies (Chipotle-Inspired) appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

These energy balls are lifesavers! When you’re hungry in between meals, running out the door without breakfast, or craving a wholesome little treat, these energy balls will come to the rescue. They’re the perfect healthy grab-and-go snack.

This recipe is made with oats, honey, nut butter, and toasted nuts and seeds, though it’s endlessly adaptable to suit your preferences. I designed it to offer sustained energy from the whole grains and nuts. One ball is just sweet enough to taste like a treat, and offers a healthy dose of protein and fiber.

This recipe was inspired by my husband’s mom’s interpretation of my no-bake granola bars. She always has a batch in the fridge for her grandkids, and they’ve become a staple in our house, too. I crumbled one over my yogurt just this morning, and they’ve kept my energy level up through this postpartum phase. They’re a perfect homemade gift for anyone who’s in a busy season of life, that’s for sure.

Continue to the recipe...

The post Energy Balls appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Say hello to morning glory muffins, made vegan + gluten-free! A classic treat originally created by Pam McKinstry in 1978 at her Nantucket restaurant, Morning Glory Cafe, these muffins are lightly sweet, subtly spiced, and packed with fruits, veggies, AND nuts. OH yeah! 

Our gluten-free twist uses oat flour and potato starch (no almond flour!) to create a tender muffin that’s wholesome and satisfying.

Vegan Gluten-Free Morning Glory Muffins from Minimalist Baker →

Who knew that cabbage soup could be this good?! This bright and light recipe is a lovely spin on classic vegetable soup. If you’re trying to get back to healthy eating after the holidays, this warming cabbage soup is an inexpensive wintertime alternative to leafy green salads.

Cabbage soup may have originated in Eastern Europe, but this recipe offers simple Italian flavors. It starts with carrots, onion and celery cooked in a generous drizzle of olive oil. Once those are tender, we’ll add fresh garlic and dried oregano, followed by chopped green cabbage.

You can use an entire small head of cabbage in this soup; it shrinks as it sweats excess moisture and becomes silky soft as it simmers. Crushed tomatoes and lemon juice add welcome acidity, bringing this simple soup to life!

Continue to the recipe...

The post Cabbage Vegetable Soup appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

What’s that? You’d like an easy, delicious soup that practically makes itself and will make all of your wildest dreams come true!? Us too! We can’t guarantee this Creamy Curried Black Eyed Pea Soup does all of that, but it comes close!

This soup is made with simple methods in 1 pot with ingredients traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day to bring good luck and prosperity.

Creamy Curried Black Eyed Pea Soup from Minimalist Baker →

I’ve craved this specific salad all month and finally caved.

Read more »

If you’re looking for a decadent, elevated hot chocolate with wholesome ingredients, this one’s for you! We’ve been serving up this frothy, tahini-infused, super dreamy hot chocolate, and even cocoa connoisseurs agree this one deserves accolades.

Despite being naturally sweetened and blended with water, it’s perfectly sweet, deeply chocolaty, and velvety on the palate. It even sneaks in healthy fats, fiber, protein, and cinnamon for balancing blood sugar levels.

Tahini Hot Chocolate (Super Dreamy, Protein-Rich!) from Minimalist Baker →