Luscious saffron, cardamom & pistachio cream layered over an almond crust! These gluten-free Kesar Pista bars secretly pack 7g protein. Perfect for Diwali or any other holiday meal! (soy-free, dairy-free, vegan)

Kesar means saffron, and pista means pistachio. These saffron pistachio bars are just so delicious. I just wasn’t ready for how decadent and luxurious they were going to turn out! They’re kind of like creamy lemon bars, but with nutty pistachio and floral saffron flavors in them. 

The saffron-pistachio combination is very popular in Indian desserts and also desserts from many other cuisines. These two flavors just work so amazingly well together, especially raw, fresh pistachios and floral saffron.

I’m using that today to make a fusion Indian dessert based on kesar burfi, kesar pista ladoo, or pedas, but I made them into these bars. We make this almond flour crust with some cardamom and then make the cream topping with cashews, coconut milk, saffron, and a little pistachio, and then top it with generous amounts of chopped pistachio. It all sets up and it becomes just amazing!

If you don’t have saffron, you can skip that flavor, and add extra cardamom, add a pinch of turmeric for color, and an extra splash of vanilla. That flavor profile pairs really well with the pistachios, as well.

Why You’ll Love Kesar Pista Bars

• rich, creamy, decadent bars with nutty pistachios and floral saffron and cardamom flavors
• quick almond flour crust
• easy to make with simple ingredients
• naturally gluten-free and soy-free with almond-free option

Continue reading: Kesar Pista Bars (Saffron Pistachio Cream Bars)

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I can’t believe this is tofu! This creamy, tangy whipped tofu feta with smoky, savory, sweet, spicy ‘honey’ on top takes just 15 minutes. It’s perfect for snacking, potlucks, and holiday parties! (gluten-free and nut-free with soy-free option. 15g protein and 3g fiber per serving not including sides)

This dip, it’s luscious, tangy, creamy, delicious! Topped with a smoky savory spicy sweet topping. And it takes just 15 minutes! Once you try this dip, you’ll keep coming back with I can’t believe it’s tofu! I can’t believe it’s vegan!

We make the whipped feta with a block of tofu, but nobody will believe that it’s tofu-based. Even Dalana, my assistant, who is a level 10 tofu skeptic, said that she can’t taste the tofu in this vegan whipped feta at all. 

Then, we top the dip with this spicy, savory, smoky, bacon-y, hot honey kind of situation. Of course, vegan. And then there’s a crunchy topping with crisp garlic, some toasty seeds, and pine nuts. 

This vegan tofu feta is easy to put together and it will disappear so quickly. You just add everything to the food processor for the tofu feta and it’s done. You crisp up a little bit of the garlic and toast the seeds, and that’s done. Mix the hot honey ingredients together, and that’s done.

It’s just an awesome dip, and it’s packed with protein, from the tofu and the seeds on top. A serving of this delicious dip has 15 grams of protein!

Whipped tofu feta is smooth, creamy, and versatile. You can serve it as a dip with a side of garlic bread, pita, veggies, or whatever else you like. You can use it to make sandwiches with crisp, fresh veggies, and it’s so filling and delicious. You can spread it on the bread with some onion and peppers and bake it to make high protein cheese toast. Or, add it to your charcuterie board with some of my other dips, like my jalapeño popper dip, spinach artichoke dip, or French onion dip. So many ways to use it!!

Why You’ll Love Whipped Tofu Feta

• quick 15 minutes! and easy to make
• a hit at potlucks, parties, holiday parties, etc.
• creamy, protein-packed dairy-free whipped feta that no one will believe is tofu
• crispy garlic and smoky-sweet vegan hot ‘honey’ topping
• naturally gluten-free and nut-free with easy soy-free option

Continue reading: Creamy Whipped Tofu Feta with Smoky Hot “Honey”

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This easy vegan cream of mushroom soup is rich, savory, and packed with mushroom flavor, plus 14g protein per serving! Made with simple ingredients and ready in just 30 minutes. Perfect with crusty bread for dipping! With a side of whole grain bread – 18g Protein. (gluten-free, soy-free with easy nut-free option)

This recipe was originally posted March 6, 2013. It has been updated with modified recipe, pictures and video.

This cream of mushroom soup is a recipe that my friend Somer McCowan shared on my site over 10 years ago. Somer passed away from cancer months ago, and I’ve been thinking about her a lot, which got me thinking about this soup .

I tweaked Somer’s recipe a little bit, reducing the cashews, and changed a couple of the steps in the cooking method to make it simpler. 

The original recipe called for adding all of the stock to the mushroom mixture and boiling it and then blending some of that soup, but it’s not as easy when you have to transfer boiling liquid into a blender. So instead, I’m blending part of the cooked onion and mushroom mixture with the cashews and adding that back into the pan, then adding the remaining stock. 

This is just such a simple and delicious soup! You can change up the flavors to preference, deepen the flavors by adding some miso, add some fresh herbs for additional flavor, and some pepper flakes for a little bit of heat, if you like. If you don’t have wine, you can use balsamic vinegar instead.

Somer was just an amazing person, and her recipes were always incredible. When I was dealing with health issues, she pitched in with this recipe to help keep my blog going. She was just an absolute superwoman. She wrote for Forks Over Knives, co-hosted the Virtual Vegan Potluck, and was just the sweetest, most beautiful, compassionate person.

Somer’s cream of mushroom soup recipe is simple, yet it’s so creamy and flavorful with herbs and plenty of umami! She said, “I’d like to think if I was able to go to Richa’s house and bring her some lunch, that I’d bring her a big bowl of this soup. Feel better soon, girl.”

Why You’ll Love Cream of Mushroom Soup

• delicious, creamy soup with amazing herb and mushroom flavor
• easy to make in 30 minutes with simple ingredients
• gluten-free and soy-free with nut-free and oil-free options

Continue reading: Easy Cream of Mushroom Soup

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Smoky Moroccan harira soup with chickpeas, red lentils, and quinoa is a budget friendly, 1-pot meal! Bring crusty bread to dip. (21g protein, 21g fiber, 8 mg iron. Gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free. Oil-free option.)

This is such a hearty, delicious, and easy one-pot soup. Today, we’re converting pantry staples into a rich, deeply flavored, hearty, and satisfying harira. This Moroccan chickpea and lentil soup is budget-friendly, one-pot, meal prep-friendly, and packs 21 grams of protein and 21 grams of fiber per serving, and 8 mg Iron. It is cozy, and it tastes like it has been simmering all day, but it really only simmers for about 30 minutes!

Often, harira has either pasta or grains added in it. I am using quinoa in the soup along with the chickpeas and lentils. That makes the soup gluten-free. It is also nut-free and soy-free, if you use nut-free and/or soy-free non-dairy yogurt for the topping, or just skip the yogurt topping altogether. Harira is rich and hearty, even without it.

Serve this with a side of toasty bread, garlic bread, or pita bread, and topped with some creamy non-dairy yogurt and lemon juice. It’s also great over a baked potato or over roasted veggies.

This recipe is rich in folate, iron, potassium, and magnesium from the lentils. It also has vitamin C and lycopene from the tomato. It is very budget-friendly, about $6.50 to $7 for the whole pot!

Why You’ll Love Harira

• 1-pot soup packed with veggies, protein, fiber, and FLAVOR!
• easy to make with simple, budget-friendly ingredients
• flavors of cumin, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and black pepper paired with hearty chickpeas, lentils and quinoa
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free with an oil-free option

Continue reading: Moroccan Harira with Chickpeas and Lentils

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Marry me white bean soup is a creamy, smoky soup with rich, Italian flavors. That tofu cashew hemp cream packs nutrition! (gluten-free with easy soy-free and nut-free options. 23g Protein, 13g fiber 7mg iron. 1-pot, 30 minutes. Freezer friendly and budget friendly!)

What if I told you that you could make an amazing, creamy, 1-pot soup that is also comforting and nutrient-dense? It is hearty, budget-friendly, easy, and packed with protein, fiber, and iron. It is also packed with amazing flavor and is ready within 30 minutes. It is also weeknight-friendly and uses mostly pantry staples. The whole pot only costs about $5 to $6 to make.

Marry me white bean soup is creamy, hearty, and nutrient-dense. There’s 23 grams protein, 13 grams fiber, 7 mg iron, and even more nutrients in a bowl of this marry me soup! There’s protein from the white beans, cashews, hemp seeds, tofu, and nutritional yeast, and fiber from the vegetables, greens, and white beans.

To make it more hearty, you can add red lentils to the soup while simmering in the stock. The lentils add even more protein and fiber! Or, you can double up on the white beans. 

The sun-dried tomato, smoked paprika, creamy texture, and garlicky flavors work really well with some pasta as well. You can also serve it with cheese toast or toasted sourdough, garlic bread, pita.

Why You’ll Love Marry Me White Bean Soup

• The flavor! We build the flavor by
  • 1. Toasting garlic and pepper flakes to infuse the oil
  • 2. Toasting the tomato paste and sun dried tomatoes to deepen the umami
  • 3. Using a combination of tofu hemp seeds and cashews for cream so that the cream has volume and hearty creamy flavor!
• 30-minute 1-pot meal, easy weeknight dinner using mostly pantry ingredients
• creamy, smoky, hearty soup with tons of Protein and Fiber in every bite
• Meal prep, freezer friendly.
• naturally gluten-free with easy soy-free and nut-free options

Continue reading: Marry Me White Bean Soup (23g Protein 1-Pot, 30 minutes)

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I’ve made plenty of lentil soups, but this lentil potato soup is the one I keep coming back to. It always wins on flavor and nutrition, and I’ll tell you the simple techniques that make it unbelievably flavorful every time. Each serve packs 20g Protein 14g Fiber 8mg Iron (gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free)

This pot of lentil potato soup, including the toasted seed topping, has 75+ grams of protein, 56 grams of fiber, 24 milligrams of iron(8 per serve is 44% dv), about 700 milligrams of magnesium, 12 milligrams of zinc, plenty of omega fats, and lots of vitamins A and C, along with calcium.

This lentil soup has so much flavor from the way we build up the flavor profile and spices. It is hearty with plenty of veggies and kale, and then we level it up with a toasty seed topping that not only adds amazing texture but also boosts the nutrient profile of the soup.

The lentils bring protein, fiber, iron, and folate. Kale adds vitamins K, C, and A, along with calcium. Pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds bring magnesium, zinc, calcium, omegas, and even more protein. The potatoes add vitamin B6 and potassium, while the carrots contribute beta-carotene. This lentil soup is truly a powerhouse of nutrients.

To level up this lentil potato soup, 1. we first toast the garlic in the oil. Toasting the garlic releases its flavor into the oil, and then we add the onion. The onion stops the garlic from continuing to cook, so you get perfectly golden garlic without burning it. Next, we toast the tomato paste with the onion. This caramelizes the tomato paste and builds even more umami into the soup.

2. The flavors: we build layers of flavor with herbs and spices. I use oregano, but basil or thyme work just as well. 

Then, I make a quick harissa-style spice blend with ground coriander, cumin, onion powder, and smoked paprika. You can also use a prepared harissa blend, sumac, shawarma spice blend, baharat, curry powder, or Cajun seasoning. All of these work wonderfully here. I also add black pepper to deepen the flavor and add a gentle heat. 

These layers of herbs and spices create an incredibly flavorful broth for the lentils and potatoes to cook in.

3. The potatoes are added midway through cooking, so they become perfectly tender while still holding their shape. They soak up all of the delicious broth without falling apart. If you prefer a thicker soup, you can add the potatoes at the beginning, so they break down into the broth. 

Toward the end of cooking, we stir in plenty of kale to make the soup even more nutrient-dense. 

4. We make a quick toasted seed topping. This adds to much texture and flavor, it’s surprising and incredible! We use pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds. The seeds are toasted with lemon zest, which adds a bright, zesty flavor that pairs beautifully with their nutty richness. We finish the topping with Aleppo pepper flakes for a smoky, gentle heat. If you don’t have all three kinds of seeds, use one or two instead, but definitely make the topping!

Why You’ll Love Lentil Potato Soup

• nutrient-packed pot of soup with tons of amazing flavor
• easy to make with simple ingredients
• versatile! Use different spice blends and additions to change the flavor profile to preference.
• crunchy seed topping adds even more flavor, an incredible texture and nutrient boost
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

Continue reading: Lentil Potato Soup with Crunchy Seed Topping

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There is something about freshly baked cinnamon rolls, that is filled with cinnamon butter and baked soft and pillow like which finished with a powdered sugar glaze. Cold winter day morning deserves a pan of soft baked cinnamon rolls to preserve all the comfort needs. Warm buttery cinnamon rolls with a glass of milk or...

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