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These recipes are toddler approved. They are plant based and made of whole foods. They do not contain any sugar or liquid sweeteners. Sweets are sweetened using only fruit. If you are making a recipe for infants younger than 1, omit the salt if its listed in the recipe.

Kid Friendly Vegan Recipes

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This nutritious and delicious pasta is a super simple dish to make, when you'd like something homemade but don't really feel like cooking. 

Make the pasta

Cook pasta according to package instructions.

Make the sauce

Bring it together

Add scallions and swiss chard to a non-stick pan.

Cook swiss chard and scallions until swiss chard is wilted and cooked.

Pour in the sauce. Cook for a few minutes so garlic is cooked and it's flavor is not too strong.

Serve

Green Vegan Pasta (wfpb)

With only a few ingredients, hash brown pie is very simple to make. Potatoes are a comfort food, and so is this dish.

Grate potatoes and onion. You can use a food processor or do it by hand. If you think it's gonna take long, then you can grate it into a bowl of water to prevent it from discolouring. When you're done, simply strain it. 

Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and flatten it using a spoon or spatula. I'm using a standard oven baking dish.

Bake for ca. 50-60 minutes. It should be golden brown when done.

Serve with garlicky sour cream/yogurt  and salad.

Bosnian Hash Brown Potato Pie / Kljukusa

Filling

Dough

Sugary water

Prepare filling

Fill the phyllo sheets

There are usually 12 sheets in phyllo that I buy. If they are thin, then I roll two of them together. I use a baking dish in which I can fit 6 sticks of filled sheets (the dish is approx. 20x30cm).

Fill each sheet with filling. It takes approximately 4 heaping tablespoons for one sheet. Spread it out evenly, then roll.

As soon as you fill a sheet, transfer it to the baking dish. Repeat until you fill the dish. Try to use up all the filling. Don't worry if the last sheet ends up very thin or fat :). 

Before putting into the oven, sprinkle with water using your hands. You'll need maybe 3-4 tbsp. 

Bake for 40 minutes, until it turns golden brown.

Meanwhile, boil water with sugar and lemon.

Using a spoon, evenly pour the sweet water over the pie. Leave it to absorb the water. This will make the pie softer and juicier.

Apple-Cherry Phyllo Pie

Chop apples and measure all other ingredients. There are no apricots on this picture, but I often add them because they are a good source of iron.

Mise en place

Add everything to a pot. When the water boils, reduce to medium heat, and cook for 20-25 minutes.

You can eat it both warm and cold. We find it very refreshing when eaten out of the fridge. Since there is no sugar in this recipe, you can add some maple syrup or honey per taste.

That's it!

Apple and Prunes Compote

Chocolate topping

Dice sweet potato and steam or cook it for ca. 15 minutes or until it's soft.

Mix all ingredients except for the cherries in a food processor. Note that you will probably have to mix this in batches and then combine everything in a bowl.

Pour the mixture into a baking pan lined with baking paper. The mixture is a bit sticky so the easiest way to spread it is using a silicone spatula, which you dip into a glass of water.

Distribute cherries on top and press them in a little bit using your hands.

Melt chocolate and maple syrup (in the microwave or in a bowl over steaming water) .

Leave it to cool and firm up, then slice and serve.

Sweet Potato and Peanut Butter Brownies

Satarash is a vegetable dish popular in the Balkans. This is how we like it, but don't be surprised if you find many different recipes for it because there are a lot of variations from household to household. For example, someone might not add rice and add eggplant. Someone would use more tomatoes. You'll rarely see chickpeas or tofu in  satarash recipes but I like to add them to improve the nutrition value of the dish.

Cook onions, garlic and carrot until the onions are translucent.

Add the peppers and cook for cca. 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes: Make a little cut in the skin with a knife, and cover them with boiling water for a few minutes. Then rinse with cold water and peel.

Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce (if using), rice, tofu (if using) and cooked chickpeas. 

Continue cooking until the rice and peppers are cooked. Make sure you don't use a variety of rice with a very long cooking time. This should take around 15-20 minutes more.

Serve as a side dish or on its own with some whole grain bread.

Satarash

A crunchy chocolate layer with soft strawberry chia jam and dark chocolate mousse inside. Yum! You can use any other berries (fresh or frozen) to make this treat.

STRAWBERRY JAM

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

FOR DIPPING

Soak cashews in water for several hours or overnight.

In a pot, mix chopped strawberries, sugar and water. On medium heat simmer until strawberries release their juices. Now, while still in the pot, mash them with a fork or an immersion blender. Add chia seeds and lemon zest and cook for several more minutes, until the jam thickens a little bit. Let cool. It will thicken a bit more when it cools.

Make strawberry jam

Melt chocolate on a water bath or in the microwave. In a blender (preferably a high powered one), put cashews, maple syrup, instant coffee, vanilla, plant milk and melted chocolate. Blend until combined.

Make chocolate mousse

Fill a muffin tray or a similar tray by filling half with chocolate and a half with strawberry mouse. I use a tray for 24 mini muffins.

Put in the freezer for a few hours to set.

Remove from the freezer and carefully remove each cup from the tray. If you are using a muffin tray, it's best to use a plastic knife to remove them, not to damage the tray.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate on a water bath. When melted, dip each cup in the chocolate using a fork, turn it a few times to cover completely, then raise it on the fork so the excess chocolate can drip. Put it a on a baking paper to firm up.

Chocolate will firm up quickly because the cups are cold. If your dipping chocolate cools too much, reheat it on the water bath.

Put the cups in the fridge so the insides defrost completely before serving. You can keep them stored in the fridge for several days.

Strawberry and Chocolate Mousse Cups

Soup

Cashew cream topping

Other toppings

Cover all soup ingredients with boiling water and simmer until everything is cooked through, around 20 minutes.

Blend the soup using an immersion blender or a food processor. 

This soup is good on its own, but some acidity really freshens it up. Blend cashews, water and lemon juice to make a sour cream topping. This looks nice but it is optional, you can use a bit of lemon juice instead or omit entirely.

Serve with croutons and optionally sour cream or lemon juice. Add pepper and some more salt if needed.

Butternut Squash Soup

Strawberry filling

Mix flax seeds and water and let it sit for several minutes.

Blend dates with water (or sweetener) and apple sauce. In another bowl, mix it with flax egg and vanilla.

Put some baking paper on a baking pan. Make around round 10 cookies and place them on the baking sheet. 

Shape the cookies

Using your fingers or a spoon, make a hole in every cookie. They will pretty much keep their form while baking. This will be a placeholder for chocolate and strawberries.

Bake

Prepare strawberries

Mix chocolate and plant milk, and melt it (e.g. in a dish over simmering water, or in a microwave).

Melt chocolate

When the cookies are done, pour the melted chocolate into the holes and while the chocolate is still warm, put some strawberries on top and press them into the chocolate.

Wait until the chocolate firms up and serve. They are best stored in the fridge.

Let them cool

Strawberry Chocolate Cookies

Add all ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth

Delicious Iron Booster Smoothie

if you have some very ripe bananas sitting around and you're thinking they might go to waste, don't worry - they are perfect for these banana-bread-style muffins.

Wet 

Fillings

Mix dry ingredients

Grind oats

You could also buy ground flax seeds, but ground flex seeds are best used fresh because they don't react well with air and light after their shells are broken. After grinding, you can keep them in a dark, airtight container in the fridge for several days.

Grind flex seeds

Add baking powder, baking soda and salt, and mix all dry ingredients well.

Mix wet ingredients

Peel bananas, break them down to pieces using your hands, and mash them in a bowl using a fork.

Mash bananas

Combine

Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir to incorporate.

Add cherries, chocolate chips and chopped almonds and mix it all together, but don't overdo it so cherries don't fall apart.

Bake & serve

Bake for cca. 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool for an hour before serving, to firm up. 

Be patient

If you like your sweets warm, soft and gooey, you can eat them right away. Enjoy the melted, creamy chocolate!

Or don't

Vegan Banana and Cherry Muffins

A simple vegan mushroom sauce that you can use with rice or pasta to make a main dish, or serve it on its own as a side.

Slice mushrooms and cook until they are soft. You can cook them on some oil or on water, adding 1 tbsp water a time.

Meanwhile, blend cashews, water, onion and garlic. 

Add sauce to the pan with mushrooms. Add salt, mustard, turmeric, thyme and basil.

Cook until mushrooms are soft and you are happy with the sauce consistency.

Season with pepper, and add more salt if needed.

Serve with pasta as a main dish, or separately as a sauce.

Vegan mushroom sauce

In a skillet, cook leek and garlic (if using) for a few minutes. Add swiss chard and cook until it's wilted. You can cook this on olive oil or on water. If using water, just add a few tbsp of water a time so it doesn't stick. Let cool a little bit.

Cook greens

Add olive oil, grated zucchini, cooked leek and swiss chard, and sparkling water. Mix well until everything's incorporated.

Add wet ingredients

Pour the mixture into an oven pan which you have previously lined with baking paper. 

If the sesame is still a bit pale after baking, you can put it under the grill for a few minutes so it becomes fragrant and golden.

Let it cool a little bit before slicing. Enjoy!

Slice and serve

Cornbread With Swiss Chard and Zucchini

Blend all ingredients. It's best to do this in a food processor, and not in a bullet-style blender, because walnuts might become oily and sticky (start turning into a paste) when blended in a powerful blender.

That's it

Vegan Parmesan

I just love pesto, especially when it's a vegan and healthier version without oil. We use sunflower seeds and cashews. Due to corona we cannot find any pine nuts but you can add some toasted pine nuts for a richer flavour.

Toast sunflower seeds in a non stick pan for several minutes on low to medium heat. Stir constantly so they don't burn. They should be brown but not black (burnt).

Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Check and adjust seasoning.

Vegan (and WFPB) Sunflower Seeds Pesto

Tomato sauce is a pantry staple, but since it's hard to buy one that doesn't contain any junk ingredients, I like to make a batch of my own so I always have some ready when I'm making pizza or pasta.

Process onions, garlic and carrots in a food processor. If you don't have one, chop everything finely.

Chop tomatoes. I used organic tomatoes from a local producer, and since they had very thin skin I did not peel them beforehand, however you may want to do it depending on your tomatoes.

Cook for at least an hour. Cook time will depend on the desired thickness of your sauce.

If there are large chunks in your sauce, you can blend it using an immersion blender or a regular blender, but make sure they can stand hot liquids. I like to leave some chunks.

I had enough sauce for 8 jars of 370ml. I pasturized them and will store them in my pantry. You can freeze the sauce in meal-size portions and thaw when necessary.

Tomato Sauce Batch Prep

Blend everything in a food processor until you reach the desired consistency. That's it!

5 Minute Avocado-Walnut Spread

In a pot, boil lentils with water, salt and bay leaf. For 1 cup of lentils you can use 3 cups of water. Lower to medium heat, cover and cook for around 30 minutes (check the instructions on the packaging). When done, drain any excess water.

In a pan, cook onions, carrots, garlic, dried tomatoes and dates for several minutes. Add water bit by bit so it doesn't burn (or use olive oil if you want).

Add cooked lentils, canned tomatoes and all the spices. Mix and cook for several more minutes, then turn off the heat.

Separately cook the pasta as instructed on the package.

Grind the almonds. Put them in a non-stick pan and cook on medium heat for several minutes, until they become fragrant. Mix all the time so they don't burn (they can burn very quickly).

Serve the pasta, put some bolognese sauce on top and sprinkle everything with ground almonds.

Lentil Bolognese

Stuffed peppers are a vegan classic and these are packed with proteins from tofu, chickpeas and quinoa. Serve them with bread or mashed potatoes.

Cook quinoa according to package instructions. I cook it with 2.5x amount water and for ca. 15-20 minutes.

Process onion, garlic, celery, carrots, zucchini, olives and tofu in a food processor. If you don't have one, chop everything finely and crumble the tofu.

Cook all veggies in a large pan for cca. 10 minutes. 

Add canned chopped tomatoes and spices. Cook for a few more minutes.

Remove tops from the peppers. Right after removing the top, place the pepper in the baking dish. This way you'll clean as many peppers as can fit in the dish. You'll need a baking dish that's deep enough to fit the peppers, since they should be covered with foil while they're in the oven.

Add filling to each pepper. It's possible that you'll have leftover filling, depending on the size and number of peppers you used. You can just spread it around the peppers or use it as a side dish in another meal.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for cca. 50 minutes. The peppers should be soft and easily pierced with a fork.

Protein Packed Vegan Stuffed Peppers

This soup is so simple to make, but it's full of comforting flavor of lentils. It's light but nutritious. Eat it as a starter or as a light meal with some whole grain bread.

Prepare

If you have a food processor, process onion, garlic and carrots. This way they will not be very visible in the soup but will give a nice flavor to it. If you don't have a food processor, you can finely chop onion, mince garlic, and grate or chop the carrot.

Prepare aromatics

Prepare lentils

Cook

Add onion, garlic and carrots to a non stick pot and cook them for several minutes. You can either use some oil or add some water one tablespoon a time so it doesn't stick.

Add water and rinsed lentils to the pot and let it boil, then reduce heat. If you have a kettle you can boil the water in it.

Add the spices. Feel free to add any spices that you like.

Cook for at least 15 minutes or until the lentils are cooked. They will fall apart, lose their red color and become mushy, which will make the soup nice and thick.

Serve with whole grain bread or eat on its own. Enjoy!

Simple Red Lentil Soup

This veggie and string beans stew is a light but comforting summer dish. It's best served with whole-grain bread.

If you have a food processor, you can process onion, garlic and carrots. This way they will not be visible in the stew but they will give a nice flavor to it. If you don't have one, you can finely chop onion and garlic and grate the carrots.

Prepare onion, garlic and carrots

If using fresh string beans, wash them and remove their ends. Chop them if they are too large.

Prepare string beans

Cook onion, garlic and carrot on medium heat for several minutes. You can use oil or add water a few tbsp at a time instead.

Cook aromatics

Add vegetable broth, potatoes and string beans. Turn the heat up until the water boils, then turn it back down to medium.

Add tomato sauce and mix it in. You might need to lower the heat a bit more because tomato sauce has a lower boiling point than water.

Add salt, sweet paprika, chili and any other spices you like.

Cook for about an hour or until the string beans are soft (depending on the variety you are using).

Just before you finish cooking, add some chopped fresh parsley. Add some pepper, and adjust seasoning per taste.

String Beans Stew

Base

Topping

Wash and slice the fruit. Grind walnuts, hazelnuts and make oat flour.

Add sliced fruit to a baking dish. I used a 20x28cm dish.

Add balsamic vinegar, cinnamon, vanilla and sugar (if using). Mix well.

In a bowl, mix ground walnuts, hazelnuts and oat flour. Add maple syrup, and mix well until it becomes crumbly.

Make topping

Take out of the oven and let it cool a little bit.

Serve warm with ice cream, or on its own. It can also be eaten straight out of the fridge as a refreshing summer snack.

Tasty 8 Bits

Tasty 8 Bits

All Recipes

Green Vegan Pasta (wfpb)

Bosnian Hash Brown Potato Pie / Kljukusa

Apple-Cherry Phyllo Pie

Apple and Prunes Compote

Sweet Potato and Peanut Butter Brownies

Satarash

Strawberry and Chocolate Mousse Cups

Butternut Squash Soup

Strawberry Chocolate Cookies

Delicious Iron Booster Smoothie

Vegan Banana and Cherry Muffins

Vegan mushroom sauce

Cornbread With Swiss Chard and Zucchini

Vegan Parmesan

Vegan (and WFPB) Sunflower Seeds Pesto

Tomato Sauce Batch Prep

5 Minute Avocado-Walnut Spread

Lentil Bolognese

Protein Packed Vegan Stuffed Peppers

Simple Red Lentil Soup

String Beans Stew

Healthy Fruit Crumble

Overnight Oats

Plant Based Waldorf-Like Salad

Beet Carrot Smoothie

Simple Vegan Chocolate and Plum Tart

Protein Chickpea Brownies

Cous-Cous and Tofu Salad

Pasta With Peanut Butter Sauce, Tofu and Broccoli

Whole-Food Plant-Based Hummus With Olives

Lentil Lasagna

Chickpea Flour & Potato Frittata

Banana and Peach Soft Serve

Creamy Leek and Chickpea Risotto

Tomato Basil Soup With Millet (Fresh Tomatoes)

Vegan Moussaka

Vegan black bean brownies [gluten free, wfpb]

Banana Oat Bites