High impact tips for becoming a great plant-based cook
More and more people are turning to a plant-based or vegan diet than ever before. But what I often hear, is that it’s a struggle to create healthy plant-focused meals at home that also taste good.
If you’re reading this and thinking “yes, that’s me” you can rest assured that you’re not alone.
I’ve been plant-based for nearly 10 years, develop recipes as part of my living, cook what feels like 4598324234 meals a day… And still end up with so-so tasting meals all the time!
That said, there are a lot of things I’ve learned along the way that have helped me become a better plant-based cook. And today, I’m sharing eight small but impactful things that have made the biggest difference and took my cooking to the next level.
Don’t try to wing it
If you’re new to plant-based cooking, or struggle with cooking in general, try to focus on following recipes until plant-based cooking becomes more intuitive to you. Learning from seasoned recipe developers gives you a great education in so many things - ingredient proportions, understanding flavor combinations, the art of balancing textures and flavors without including meat, and so much more.
Start with the basics
With more people turning to a plant-focused diet, dishes are getting more and more elevated with every new restaurant or food blogger that enters the scene. But if you’re new to plant-based eating and cooking, it’s probably a good idea to start with the basics - recipes that require simple ingredients and minimal effort and tools. Once you get the hang of things and come up with your best version of a simple dish, then go ahead and challenge yourself to explore other, more complex recipes and ideas that interest you.
Salt at every stage
Plant-based dishes don’t just need salt, they need it at every stage of the cooking process. Flavors develop as a dish cooks, so it’s important to use salt incrementally throughout the process based on how the dish evolves. Personally, I also like to add salt as I go, instead of putting it in all at once, because it’s much easier to add it than take it away.
Fill out your spice rack
Spices are critical to cooking delicious plant-based dishes. They’re what give any dish their unique character. Two very important tips when it comes to using spices: 1) make sure yours are fresh and never expired, and 2) For even more flavor, when using seeds, I like to throw them into a mortar and pestle first and grind them up before adding them to a dish.
Master the art of roasting
Whoever calls vegetables “boring” has clearly never tried the magic of a roasted vegetable. What makes a roasted vegetable so special? Roasting caramelizes the sugars found in veggies, and the end result is a very, very, flavorful vegetable. Not all vegetables are roasted for the same time or at the same temperature, so this is something you’ll want to look at closely when following recipes, or be aware of when creating your own.
Lean into sauces
Because store-bought sauces often have what looks like a never-ending list of ingredients, we make the mistake of believing we couldn’t possible create something like it at home. But you can, quite easily in fact, using some of very basic plant-based ingredients. I like to make 1-2 sauces every week to have on hand for salads and bowls. You can find the exact recipes for my favorite homemade sauces and dressings here.
Make notes
Soup could have used more spice? Carrots needed more time in the oven? Whether you’re coming up with your own creations or making someone else’s, make a note of what worked and what didn’t each time you go to make something so you never make the same mistake twice and each version gets better and better.
Never stop learning
Like any other skill or craft, the more you do it and the more interest you take in furthering your development, the better you will get at it. I have been plant-based for nearly a decade, and still learn new things every day.
Wherever you are on your journey, it’s important to not get too discouraged when dishes don’t work out.
Most traditional chefs and recipe developers agree that plant-based cooking, in many ways, is a lot more difficult to get right than, say, cooking with meat or fish. This is because, unlike meat and fish, the natural flavors of a vegetable aren’t quite as potent and therefore need to be “brought out” by particular cooking methods, spices, herbs, etc.
If creating flavorful plant-based meals is something you want to get good at, focus on the tips shared here in this article. Following recipes, having the courage to create your own eventually, using herbs and spices, playing with different techniques, utilizing sauces and a commitment to learning are not just integral to the process but also part of the fun!
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