Let’s face it. Switching to a plant-based lifestyle can create lots of changes to your life. It can also cause anxiety in what to feed a group of guests who have a range of eating habits. You know what I mean. You want to host a dinner for friends or family and still eat a plant-based meal. But you don’t know what to serve that every guest will eat, let alone enjoy. Recently my husband and I struck gold. We combined our “best of” recipes and put together a winning combination. We’ve created the perfect plant-based|vegan meal to serve any guest!
It might be fair to say that the menu we created is the “almost perfect”plant-based meal to serve. I say this because we realized that we overlooked creating an appetizer for said meal. No worries-the meal is still fabulous without an appetizer!
Soup, Salad, Roll and Apple Pie
What does the perfect plant-based meal to serve any type of guest include you ask? And why does it work for everyone? (Thanks for asking). It’s a simple meal (in concept) because it highlights an amazing creamy carrot ginger bisque soup. It also features delicious fluffy dinner rolls and a salad. It’s topped off with a killer salted caramel apple pie. Why does it work for everyone? Because it tastes amazing and even meat lovers don’t miss the meat for this one meal and little kids love the soup. Besides, who doesn’t love a good homemade apple pie?! Pies are great for every season. Check out this delicious berry pie which features the same crust as the one for the apple pie.
So when we created this menu, we took “the best” of recipes from our ever growing recipe collection. We like the soup recipe because it can be served both warm or cold depending on the season. The dinner roll recipe is a favorite all throughout the year. The pie shines in the fall with apples being in season. It’s true that said pie (and even the dinner rolls) are best saved for a once in a while treat. That’s because they include the likes of processed plant-based butter and refined sugar.
We recently served this line up to a group with toddlers as well as senior citizens in the mix. It even included several confirmed carnivores. Everyone loved it and to no one’s surprise the pie was devoured.
If you’re looking for a great meal for a variety of guests, or if you want to treat yourself, look no further. This is a wonderful combination under any circ*mstance. I do think it’s fair to warn you. When you set out to make this masterpiece of a meal, allow yourself the time that it takes to make it right. There are few time saving shortcuts in this meal. There’s yeast involved along with peeling and chopping. Each can keep you in the kitchen for quite awhile. But it’s worth all your efforts.
A Humorous Life Hack
Knowing that this meal involves a chunk of prep work, we were discussing ways that we could speed up the process. We grumbled about the fact that peeling apples can take a bunch of time and we don’t have a fancy apple peeler. Somehow in conversation we wandered onto a “life hack” for peeling apples. It involved a drill bit. It was then that my husband said that he could use his power drill and we could use the life hack on our apples. What happened next was hilarious. You see, my husband has both a battery operated drill and the plug in version. The battery operated drill was out of juice so he had to use the plug in model. Apparently the type of drill makes all the difference in the world when it comes to peeling apples. Take a look at our
and what using a plug in drill (without a speed regulator) does to this life hack. Let’s just say we’re still finding apple peels in places we didn’t know they could reach! It’s certainly a fun way to peel apples, but the jury is still out on whether it was a time saver or not.
No matter how you peel your apples, I invite you to enjoy the recipes involved. You’re also invited to enjoy making the perfect plant-based meal. Especially for all the eaters that you will be serving!
Recipes for the Perfect Plant-Based Meal to Serve to any Guest
Creamy Plant-Based Carrot Ginger Bisque
Ingredients
- 3lbsbaby carrotscut into small pieces
- 6clovesgarlicuse large cloves
- 2mediumonionscoarsley chop
- 6stalkscelerycut into small pieces
- 2Tbspfresh gingerminced
- 2 tspcurry powder
- 7cupsvegetable broth
- 215 oz. canscoconut milkregular, not lite
- 1Tbsphot sauceCholula brand works well
Instructions
Simmer the carrots, onions, celery, ginger, curry powder and garlic in the vegetable broth for 20-25 minutes, until carrots are soft.
Allow to cool slightly, and then puree in blender, working in batches if needed.
Return to heat and stir in coconut milk until well combined
Season with sea salt and pepper to taste
Serve, or , chill until cold. This soup thickens as it cools, so if serving as a cold dish you may want to add additional liquid.
Crowd Pleasing Vegan Dinner Rolls
Adapted from ohsheglows.com
Ingredients
- 2 1/4cupsall-purpose flour
- 2tbspsugar
- 1tspsea salt
- 2 1/4tspActive Dry Yeast
- 2tbspPlant-based butterEarth Balance Brand works well
- 1tspegg replacerpowder egg replacer works well, no need to add water
- 1/4cupvery warm waterbetween 110 and 115 degrees F
Instructions
Proof the yeast. In a small bowl mix the Active Dry Yeast with the warm water. Stir and let disolve.
Add 1 tsp of sugar and stir. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. The yeast should be slightly foamy and smell like bread.
In a stand mixer or by hand, add 1 and 1/4 cup of four, remaining sugar, salt and yeast mixture
Mix briefly for about 10 seconds.
Add the remaining warm water (3/4 cup), the slightly melted butter and egg replacer. Mix until smooth.
Slowly add the rest of the flour (1 cup) and mix until smooth.
Cover with a dish towl and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Tip: place the covered dough in a cold oven and turn the oven light on. Do NOT turn on the oven!
Grease a pie dish and set aside. After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the oven and briefly knead with hands. Divide the dough by hand into 12 balls and place into the pie dish.
Cover pie dish with towel and place back in the cold oven with the oven light on for an additional 25 minutes. The rolls will expand and fill the dish during this time.
Remove the dish from the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake the rolls for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy the 12 pull apart rolls!
Vegan Salted Caramel Apple Pie
Adapted from Wallflower Kitchen recipe
Ingredients
Apple Pie Filling
- 5-6mediumgranny smith apples
- 2tspground cinnamon
- 1 tsppumpkin pie spice mix
- 1 tbspcorn starch
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 340 Degree F.
Peel the apples and cut into thin slices.
Place apples slices in a large saucepan, add the spices and corn starch and mix to combine.
Over medium heat, let the apples stew for a few minutes until slightly softened. Stir occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in half of the caramel sauce (see caramel sauce recipe)
Preparing the pie for the oven
Using chilled dough (see dough recipe), roll out one half to fit the bottom of the pastry dish.
Fill teh pastry with the apple and caramel mixture so it's mounded on top.
Roll out the rest of the dough and cut into 1-inch strips and use to form a lattice design.
Use leftover dough to make optional decorations for the pie. i.e. leaf design, apple design, etc.
Using a pastry brush, glaze the pie with some of the caramel sauce.
Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown. Check during baking to determine if pie crust should be covered with foil to prevent over browning.
Let the pie cool for at least one hour before serving. This helps the caramel to set and makes the pastry easier to cut.
Optional: serve with a dolloip of dairy-free ice cream and extra caramel sauce. Enjoy!
The BEST Easy Vegan Pie Crust
This is closely adapted from It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken's recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2cupAll purpose flour (plus more for rolling)
- 1/4tspsalt
- 1/4tsp sugar
- 1/2cupplus 1 tablespoon vegetable shortingEarth Balance brand works well
- 1/4cupnon-dairy milk (or more if needed)
Instructions
Before you make your pastry, it works best if everything is cold. Put all of your tools, your bowl, fork or pastry cutter, and rolling pin in the fridge to chill.
Measure the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and whisk to combine.
Cut the vegetable shortening (or Earth Balance) into cubes and sprinkle into the flour. Use a fork or pastry cutter to slice the shortening into the flour until you reach a crumbly texture.
Drizzle the milk across the flour mixture and use the fork to combine. Mix until everything comes together and you will be able to form a ball of dough. Don't over mix.
Spread a clean tea towel over your work surface and lightly sprinkle four over it. Scoop the dough into a rough ball, and put it in the center of the floured tea towel. Roll it out until you have a rough circle that is several inches bigger than your pie dish to allow room for the sides and edges of the crust.
Ues the tea towel to help you flip the dough into the pie dish. If some pieces fall off that's fine. Use a knife to cut the excess pastry around the edges. If there are any holes, fill them with some fo the extra pieces. Pinch the edges to form a pretty crust.
Brust crust with agave or maple syrup (wisk the two together) and sprinkle turbanado sugar for a finishing touch.
5-Minute Vegan Caramel
Recipe by Wallflower Kitchen at wallflowerkitchen.com/vegan-carmel-5-minute/
Ingredients
- 1cupbrown sugar
- 4tbspdairy-free milksoy milk or full-fat coconut milk works best
- 8tbspdairy-free butterEarth Balance brand works well
- 1tspvanilla extract
- 1pinchsea saltoptional
Instructions
Simply mix all the ingredients together, except the vanilla extract, in a saucepan on a medium boil.
Once the mixture has thickened and is bubbling slightly, after approximately 5 minutes, remove from teh heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Use the sauce straight away or keep refrigerated for up to a week. The sauce will "set" when it's cooled so you will probably need to reheat it for it to regain a pourable consistency.
