Delicious Vegan Recipes for Valentines Day

Valentines Day is a time for love and showing your significant other how much you care. It's also a great opportunity to try out some new recipes! In this blog post, we're going to give you some delicious vegan recipes that will work as an appetizer, dinner, or dessert.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

-One can of full-fat coconut milk

-Two tablespoons of cocoa powder

-One tablespoon of maple syrup

Directions:

Open the can of coconut milk and scoop out the cream on top. Discard or save the liquid for another purpose.

Add the cocoa powder and maple syrup to the cream and whip together until the mixture starts to form peaks.

Transfer the mousse into individual serving glasses and refrigerate for about an hour before serving.

-One cup of cashews, soaked overnight or boiled for 20 minutes

-Two tablespoons of cocoa powder

-Three dates (previously removed from their pits)

-Half a teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

This recipe makes one serving but can be easily doubled, tripled, or quadrupled depending on how many people you are serving!

Vegan Basil Ricotta Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

-One cup of cashews, soaked overnight or boiled for 20 minutes

-One cup of fresh basil leaves

-Two cloves of garlic

-Juice from one lemon

-Salt and pepper to taste

-Ten to twelve large mushrooms, cleaned with the stems removed

Directions:

Add all the ingredients (except for the mushrooms) to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Fill each mushroom with a dollop of the ricotta mixture, making sure to pack it in well.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-25 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked through. Serve immediately.

Vegan Quinoa Chili

Ingredients:

-One cup of dry quinoa, rinsed and drained thoroughly (yields about two cups cooked)

-Two tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter substitute like Earth Balance. If you are using liquid instead of solid fat, add one tablespoon at a time until the chili reaches your desired consistency.

We recommend using one tablespoon of olive oil and two tablespoons of vegan butter.

-One medium yellow or white onion, chopped finely

-Two cloves garlic, minced

-Three stalks of celery (leaves included), diced small

-One red bell pepper (capsicum) seeded and deveined, cut into a medium dice

-One jalapeno pepper, seeded and deveined, cut into a small dice

-One teaspoon of cumin

-Three tablespoons chili powder

-Two teaspoons oregano

-One 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes (or whole tomatoes blended until smooth)

-Eight ounces tomato paste

Directions: Heat the oil or vegan butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper, and sauté until all the vegetables are soft.

Add the quinoa, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and jalapeno pepper and stir everything together well.

Pour in the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked through.

Serve hot with vegan cheese shreds (optional) and chopped green onions on top.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

-Two cups of all-purpose flour or gluten-free baking mix (like Bob's Red Mill) if you are making this cake gluten-free.

We recommend using two and a half cups for best results, but it can work with as little as two cups.

You will need to increase the amount of milk used by about a quarter cup if you go down to two cups.

-Three teaspoons of baking powder

-One teaspoon of salt

-Two and a half cups sugar (can substitute with an equal amount of agave nectar or maple syrup for vegan)

-Ten tablespoons cocoa powder, divided (we recommend using Dutch-processed but it's up to you)

-Two cups water or two cups milk of your choice, room temperature is best

-One tablespoon white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar for vegan/dairy-free version)

-Three tablespoons vegetable oil (can substitute with applesauce but the cake will not be as moist and fluffy. I recommend using three tablespoons of oil for best results)

-Two teaspoons vanilla extract (or one teaspoon if using cocoa powder with strong flavoring like Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate.

Can also substitute with two teaspoons mint or almond extract, but you will lose the "chocolate" flavor.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two or three eight-inch cake pans with cooking spray.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl then set aside. In another large bowl mix together sugar (or agave nectar), ten tablespoons of cocoa powder, and water until smooth (leave out half a cup if you plan to use Hershey's special dark chocolate). Add the vinegar and vegetable oil and mix well.

Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture in three batches, stirring until just combined after each addition (this is where having a stand mixer makes life easier but it's not required). Mix for about two minutes on medium speed or until completely smooth then stir in vanilla extract. Divide evenly into cake pans if using and enjoy!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy these wonderful recipes with your partner, friends, or family.