3 Vegan Comfort Food Recipes

Reader Contribution by Jessica Kellner and Editor-In-Chief
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It may not be a metropolis, but my home of Lawrence, Kansas, is pretty cool. A college town filled with art, music and intellectuals (we’re the 9th-smartest city in America, according to this recent study), we’re also lucky to have access to some pretty amazing food. One of our leading businesspeople is Hilary Brown. The founder of the visionary café Local Burger—think healthy, local fast food—Hilary has now moved on to be the owner of an expanding veggie burger business, Hilary’s Eat Well, making her delicious burgers available at Whole Foods and other grocery chains nationwide. We’re all proud of this local dynamo (and quite lucky that she will be catering some events surrounding our upcoming Lawrence Mother Earth News Fair). Hilary agreed to share some of her recipes with us. The great thing about these delicious vegan recipes is that they are much healthier alternatives to the conventional versions of these classic comfort foods: nachos, sloppy Joes and Swedish meatballs. Enjoy!

Hilary’s Nacho Typical Nachos!

Adzuki Bean Burgers add amazing flavor and extra crunch to these nachos. The secret to great vegan nachos is the cheese—we love WayFare cheese dips because they’re dairy-, soy-, egg- and gluten-free and taste really (really) good! Also great with black olives, WayFare sour cream, jalapenos and extra salsa!

• 30 tortilla chips
• 2 Hilary’s Eat Well Adzuki Bean Burgers (toasted)
• 1/2 cup black beans (rinsed)
• 4 green onions (chopped)
• 3/4 cup WayFare Mexi Cheddar Spread
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (quartered)

1. Heat cheddar spread in a small saucepan over low heat.

2. Arrange chips on large plate. Crumble toasted burgers over chips and add black beans.

3. Drizzle with cheese dip and top with green onions and tomatoes.

Hilary’s “Sloppy Joannas” Vegan Sloppy Joes Recipe

This is a great gluten-, soy- and meat-free version of sloppy Joes! Sir Kensington’s Spicy Ketchup is perfect with this recipe—it has great flavor and is made with real, whole-food ingredients.

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 4 Hilary’s Eat Well Adzuki Bean Burgers, chopped into ¼-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1 cup Sir Kensington’s Gourmet Scooping Ketchup, Spicy
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• Gluten-free hamburger bun
• Sliced red onion (to serve, optional)

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent.

2. Add bell pepper and cook another 3 minutes or until softened.

3. Add burgers and cook until browned and heated through.

4. Stir in brown sugar and chili powder. Add mustard and ketchup and stir until combined. Add salt to taste.

5. Serve heaping on a gluten-free bun with sliced red onion.

Hilary’s Vegan Swedish “Meat” Balls Recipe


This easy-to-make vegetarian version of Swedish meatballs is great for parties!

• 4 Adzuki Bean Burgers, crumbled
• 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup raw unsalted almonds, chopped
• 1-1/2 cup vegan, soy-free Diaya
• 3 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Pickapeppa or vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg (omit if vegan)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and shape mixture to walnut sized balls.

3. Place in a lightly greased or oiled pan and bake covered with foil for 20 minutes. Turn periodically to brown each side.

4. Remove from pan and let sit 5 minutes before serving. For Vegan Swedish Meatball Sauce follow a traditional recipe and substitute Vegan Sour Cream or find a recipe here.

  • Published on Sep 26, 2013
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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