Drumroll, please... It's time to announce the Top 10 Vegan Recipes of 2022!! Every year I post a ton of new vegan recipes here on my blog It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken, and at this time of year, I like to look back and see which of the new recipes you loved most over the year!
Before I jump into the Top 10 Vegan Recipes of 2022, I'd like to visit some other milestones that occurred this year.
10-year veganniversary:
This year marked my 10th year as a vegan! It's really amazing how much has happened over the last years and how many good things going vegan has brought me. A whole new career, multiple cookbooks, an amazing husband, and a rescue dog (both are vegan). 10 years may seem like a huge challenge, but it's just about forming new habits. Once you form those habits, it no longer becomes a struggle to eat vegan, that's just the way you eat. Now, I wouldn't know how to eat any other way. (Nor would I want to). My only regret about going vegan is that I wish I did it sooner. 💚
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Awards:
My cookbook Fast Easy Cheap Vegan won Silver for best cookbook in Canada at the Taste Canada Awards! I was so incredibly honored to receive this award and recognition! My favorite part of this award is that Fast Easy Cheap Vegan was in the "general cookbooks" category which means I was competing against non-vegan books. That's a sign the vegan movement is taking off in Canada, woot woot!
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Speaking Events:
I had the honor of being featured as a presenter at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge at their event Christmas In November! Over the course of 10 days I hosted 6 cooking demos showing everyone how easy and delicious vegan cooking can be. I normally do demonstrations at vegan or vegetarian events, so it was super interesting to cook for groups of non-vegans who were very intrigued and surprised by the food. I was told on multiple occasions that my vegan pumpkin cheesecake was the best dessert at the entire event!! I love wowing people with vegan food. As I said during my presentation, you don’t need animal products to make tasty meals. It’s all about taste and texture! To take part in such a wonderful event, surrounded by breathtaking views, lots of wildlife, and amazing presenters was such a treat!
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Cooking Classes:
We launched 2 online cooking classes this year. The first was Meal Prep Masterclass where I taught students to Prep 5-days worth of plant-based meals in just 90 minutes! We welcomed over 550 students into the class and had an absolute blast prepping amazing meals! We also launched The Ultimate Vegan Thanksgiving cooking class where I taught over 300 students how to prep a fully vegan Thanksgiving feast from scratch, from start to finish. These courses were such a blast and we definitely plan to run more courses in the future. If you are interested in learning about the new classes, sign up for the waitlist here.
Meal Plan:
We continue to run The Easy Vegan Meal Plan with hundreds of members. Every week we send out a brand new meal plan that includes recipes, shopping lists, and everything you need to eat beautiful plant-based meals all week long. Members rave about it and all of the bonus recipes they get that are exclusive to the meal plan. Click here to learn more about The Easy Vegan Meal Plan.
Travel:
We traveled! Now that the world has been opening up again after the pandemic I was able to do quite a bit of travel with my husband Adam. We first went to Barbados where we celebrated our honeymoon. We weren't able to travel right after our wedding due to travel restrictions at the time so we went in March which was actually 9 months after our wedding. My oh my was it a good feeling to dip our toes in the ocean again after so long. If you want to see photos and the food we ate as two traveling vegans, check out this saved highlight on Instagram.
Next, we went to Italy for our 1 year wedding anniversary. We started in Venice, then we went to Florence, and then Rome. Eating vegan in Italy was surprisingly vegan. There were a ton of restaurants that were vegan or had entirely vegan menus. But even the non-vegan restaurants we super accommodating to us. No one seemed to have any negative attitude towards veganism, and they would always help us find an option to eat. It was so special! You can see photos and the food by checking out my Instagram highlights on the trip, here is part 1, and here is part 2.
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A post shared by Sam Turnbull • vegan recipes 🌱 (@itdoesnttastelikechicken)
Now onto the Top 10 Vegan Recipes of 2022!
You voted by making these dishes, leaving star ratings, commenting, and sharing photos online. Thank you so much for your support! It is time to see which recipes are the winners of 2022!
Number 10:
Can you ever go wrong with vegan bacon? In the past years, I've made recipes for mushroom bacon, banana peel bacon, rice paper bacon, starch bacon, and bacon bits. This year I decided to release my tofu bacon recipe and you loved it!!
"Holy mother of whichever Higher entity you follow. This was by far in the 12 years I've been a vegetarian, the closest tasting thing to bacon I've ever eaten. I will forever be in your debt. Couldn't find liquid smoke in Ireland but found an online store that do it now. I'm after a delicious blt and smacking my lips. I thank you forever!!" -Marie
Number 9: My Go-To Vegan Soup Recipe
This was a good reminder for me that I don't always have to invent crazy new recipes. This soup is something I make all the time at home. Even though it is very simple and basic, I decided to share it as I love it so much and often have it for lunch or dinner with crusty bread. Simple, healthy, and delicious!
"Such an easy-to-make soup that more than repays your efforts. So delectable and cozy and adaptable. First day, we eat this as is, second day I add some sautéed soy curls and a little more broth and (if there's a) third day, add some cooked pasta with a little more broth and savour this deliciousness" - fenice
Number 8: Homemade Vegan Deli Slices (Smoked Turkey Seitan)
Store-bought vegan deli slices can be pricey, not that healthy for you, and come in way too much packaging. Making homemade deli slices is easy, way tastier, healthy, and they freeze wonderfully so you always have ingredients on hand to make an epic sandwich!
"I've been vegan for over a decade but never got to making my own meats like this. I really liked how straightforward this recipe was so I thought I would give it a try. It did not disappoint. The texture and flavor were spot on.... I couldn't stop slicing off another piece and eating it . Thank you so much, Sam!!!" - Zac
Number 7: Easy Homemade Lentil Tofu
Did you know that you can make tofu using red lentils? This tofu doesn't have exactly the same texture as soy tofu, but it is a tasty substitute that is easy to make. It gets crispy on the outside and is creamy on the inside.
"I have no words! Probably the coolest thing I have ever made! So much fun to make and even more fun to eat! I cooked it exactly as Sam suggested and it is amazing. My non-veg husband kept eating them and saying wow these are good! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!" - Diana
Number 6: The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies are hands down my most favorite dessert, so I am not surprised this recipe preformed so well. I have been perfecting my chocolate chip cookie recipe since I was a little kid!
"I’ve tried a lot of vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes, and I can confidently say these are both the easiest to make and the best tasting!" - Sheri
Number 5: Easy TVP Tacos
This year I started sharing some TVP recipes. TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) is a terrible name for a delicious food. It's dried soy protein and is very healthy, it's super easy to cook up, and it has a pretty mild flavor similar to tofu that takes on any flavor you give it. The ground beef texture is wonderful in these tacos!
"This recipe is BOMB! I love taco salad for lunch and I usually use a meat substitute and a packaged taco seasoning but this was so much cheaper and healthier and tastes amazing. Adding this into the weekly rotation! So good!" - Kristine
Number 4:
I've shared a lot of vegan cheese recipes here on the blog, but this quick & easy cheese uses just 5 ingredients and takes just 15 minutes to make and of course, is super tasty! It's way more affordable than store-bought vegan cheeses and you can add any seasonings you like to give the cheese some oomph and variety.
"I made this last night and served it today to my non-vegan friends and they loved it. I put in extra garlic and a bit of onion powder for seasoning and it was amazing. Will definitely be a staple for me now" - Gail
Number 3: Homemade Creamy Oat Milk
These days oat milk is all the rage! Making it at home is super simple and saves on the price and packaging. I include a secret ingredient in my oat milk recipe that makes it extra creamy.
"Came out creamy and delicious...thanks!" - Merci
Number 2: Easy Vegan Breakfast Sausage Patties (TVP)
Coming in at number 2 are my TVP breakfast sausages! I can see that my TVP recipes have been very popular this year so I will definitely be posting more TVP recipes in the future. The vegan sausages are easy to make, and have quickly become a fan-favorite recipe!
"These are SO GOOD! Made these on the weekend. I made them exactly as they are listed; and they turned out perfect. Another winner, Sam!" - Sara
Number 1: And the winner is... Easy Homemade Dog Treats!
Our furry friends got many lovely treats this year! With so many people getting dogs during the pandemic, and store-bought dog treats being needlesly expensive, this recipe stood out as the most popular recipe this year! Lucky pooches!
"Freya says WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF! That's dog for Thanks, Sam! More, mom?" - Dina
Honorable Mention:
And lastly, I wanted to give an honorable mention to: The Best Vegan Turkey Roast. This recipe was published at the end of 2021 so it didn't really get a chance to shine in the 2021 Top 10 recipe list, but it is now one of the most popular recipes on my blog! An estimated 40,000 people cooked this roast during their Thanksgiving feast this year!
"Made this recipe today! First time using vital wheat gluten or making seitan ever in my life and it turned out AMAZING!!!" - Angela
And that's a wrap for 2022! Thank you to everyone who enjoys my recipes, and leaves star ratings and comments (they really help so much).
If you have any recipe requests for 2023 let me know in the comments!
Happy New Year to all!
Sam Turnbull.
