To keep your plant-based dishes interesting, choose spices and herbs that make those ingredients shine! After you eliminate products like butter and cheese, you’ll need to create that flavour elsewhere. Making spices an essential part of your vegan culinary repertoire is an easy way to do that. You’ll incorporate new tastes, complex flavour profiles, and heat so you don’t get bored!
We’ve talked abouthow to use spices in vegetarian dishes, but these are a few of the best spice blends for cooking delicious vegan dinner recipes. Even if you haven’t gone completely vegan or you just want to dabble in a few vegan meals, spices can help ease the transition by making plant-based dishes more craveable.
Fruity, intense, and hot, theAleppo Pepper is such an underrated and delicious way to bring some mild heat to your favourite vegan dinners. Spicy meals can help you feel more satisfied and full, so a little sprinkling of this crushed pepper on your dishes can go a long way in enhancing your vegan diet plan. We want to introduce you to this lesser-known pepper so you can add it to your spice cabinet!
Start out simply by using Z&Z’s Aleppo Pepper in marinades. Mix it with olive oil and salt and coat your roasted vegetables with it. Or add the flakes to thisseven-vegetable couscous which uses squash, onions, turnips, and golden raisins. You can also ease into using this new chili by topping soups with Aleppo Pepper to add some heat to a healthy, warm, vegetable-based dish, like thishearty white bean soup. Or try it on traditionally spicy foods likeshakshuka (with chickpeas).
Feel free to use the Aleppo Pepper as a sort of premium replacement for your typical crushed red pepper by sprinkling it on pizza and pastas. It’s more aromatic and fruity, but it will add those nuanced flavours to the dish while bringing some heat. Try it on thiscreamy vegan pasta with roasted tomatoes. We also think the kick of Aleppo Pepper flakes would cut through the richness of thisvegan green chili macaroni and cheese especially well.
Try it with our Z&Z Vegan Recipe forButternut Squash Soup
Hummus is always a great go-to snack when it comes to vegan foods. OurHummus Spice blend contains the essential flavours of everyone’s favorite Middle Eastern dip, like garlic, lemon, parsley, olive oil, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Zest & Zing has basically recreated those tantalizing flavours in a dried form so that you can get the taste of hummus everywhere.
Sprinkle it on roasted vegetables like aubergines or courgettes. Or try it on thesegrilled veggie kabobs with broccoli, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
We also think it would taste amazing on vegan dinner recipes like thisroasted stuffed cauliflower or thisvegan leek crumble, which sound both filling and flavourful. Our Hummus Spice blend also contains yeast, which can give vegan foods a nutty cheesy flavour without the use of animal products.
You can also use our Hummus Spice blend to season and enhance yourown homemade hummus orbaba ghanoush. Add a bit to this coldaubergine dip by Jamie Oliver. Or coat your olive-oil brushed pita bread with it. This hummus blend makes a great addition to several healthy vegan snacks.
Try it with our Z&Z Vegan Recipe for Hummus Spice Tofu
Pesto is another nearly perfect vegan food and condiment - if you skip the parmesan cheese! Zest & Zing has created a driedPesto blend that’s completely vegan. It contains basil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, black pepper, and sea salt. You get all the depth and flavour of your favorite pesto with the tanginess of sun-dried tomato, and you don’t have to wait until summer for fresh basil!
Use ourZ&Z Pesto blend in the traditional way by simply adding olive oil for dipping or mixing it into your favoritevegan pesto pastas. For a hearty vegan dinner, you could also add it to pasta dishes that don’t typically contain pesto, like thiscreamy vegan garlic pasta and other alfredo-style sauces.
Marinate your vegetables in it before roasting or grilling to give them a savoury, fresh, and earthy flavour. We think it would make a zesty addition to thisroasted vegetable salad with garlic dressing and toasted pepitas. Or try it in aspinach, mushroom, and orzo soup in place of regular pesto.
If you’re looking for a quick vegan dinner recipe, try something like thiswarm millet bowl with mushroom and kale. You could also make it with rice or couscous. Just sprinkle a little of our pesto blend over the top to make it more exciting! Speaking of kale, the flavours of pesto pair extremely well with kale salads - a winter staple - like this one withshaved brussels sprouts or this one withavocado tahini sauce.
Try it with our Z&Z Recipe forPesto Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes - just skip the tuna!
This ancient Middle Eastern spice blend is potentially one of the most versatile when it comes to vegan recipes. OurZa’atar gives a distinctive citrusy and herby flavour to every dish it touches with its toasted sesame seeds and sumac. We’ve put together a list ofza’atar recipes before, but here are a few of our favorite ways to use it in vegan meals.
It’s no secret that roasted cauliflower makes a great meat substitute, but try these simpleza’atar-crusted cauliflower steaks and expect to become addicted. Not only will the taste be vibrant and intense, but the crunch of outside will make the texture amazing. For a quick vegan dinner or lunch, try using your leftovers in thesecouscous bowls with za’atar chickpeas.
When mixed with olive oil, za’atar can be used as a flavourful dip for pita breads or as a nutty, herbaceous salad dressing. You can throw it in your hummus too! But it’s also as easy as coating your vegetables in the blend before roasting, like thisza’atar-rubbed baked eggplant recipe orza’atar roasted chickpea salad. And because tofu is great when it’s seasoned well, thisza’atar tofu accompanied by red onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes makes another healthy vegan main.
Yes, a second chili pepper is on our list! When it comes to some of our favorite vegan recipes, we think many of them could use that extra kick of heat from ourChipotle Chili Flakes. These smoked jalapeno peppers - that’s what a chipotle is, after all - are intense and aromatic. They’re great on top of vegan pizzas, pastas, Mexican dishes, stews, and anywhere else you’d like a little spice and smoke!
Sprinkle these Chipotle Chili Flakes on top ofvegan white pizza to give it some heat. Or try them on avegan creamy avocado pasta to liven it up. Thesepoblano and portobello fajitas are already smoky, but you could make them even spicier with chipotle flakes. And the same goes for thesevegan cauliflower tacos. Add more or less depending on your preference for spice!
For a quick vegan dinner, we think this healthyquinoa bowl with edamame and corn deserves a little heat to round it out. Chipotle is also the perfect topping for stews and soups like thissmoky vegan black bean soup or thisvegan lentil stew with carrots, onion, garlic, and potatoes.
