There’s no way around it, 2016 was a pretty great year to be a vegan foodie. Rainbow food took over our collective Instagram accounts, we all discover just how amazing pea protein really is, and we’re particularly grateful for this Tahini-Roasted Cauliflower With Lemony Herb Oil (it’s amazing!). If you’re feeling nostalgic for last year you can always check out The 30 Most Viral Vegan Recipes of 2016, but we prefer to dwell in the not so distant past. Kitchens didn’t shut down when the proverbial ball dropped in 2017; our talented recipe specialists kept it rolling all spring by creating some of the most mouthwatering, crave-worthy, plant-based recipes we’ve ever seen. We didn’t think the bar for food porn could get any higher and yet, here we are.

From outlandishly decadent burgers to praiseworthy pizzas, we’ve been eating well. Since spring has come to a close, let’s go back and revisit some of our favorite, savory appetizers, snack, entrees that we’ve been drooling over for the past few months. If you haven’t been keeping up with all of the amazing vegan food, prepare to have your mind blown. And if you have, then join us for a delicious stroll down memory lane as we walk through the 25 most viral, savory recipes of spring. When you decide to try some of these out (and you will believe us!), you can find them all on the Food Monster App alongside countless other incredible recipes.


1. Baked Smoky Carrot Bacon

Are you ready for Baked Smoky Carrot Bacon? This carrot bacon is deliciously smoky and so easy to make. Thinly sliced carrot strips are marinated in a blend of oil, garlic powder, and smoked paprika, then baked until wavy and slightly crisp. Eat this as a snack or serve it with your favorite tofu scramble.

2. Curry and Coconut Potatoes With Cashews and Peas

This Curry and Coconut Potatoes With Cashews and Peas is the complete package – with fiber and protein from the peas, a rich creamy consistency from the coconut milk, a magical aroma from the spices, tender cherry tomatoes, and of course, fresh herbs for an added bit of flavor. What is not to love? Plus this dish is affordable, easy to make, and absolutely delightful to eat.

3. ‘Crab’ Rangoons

These “Crab” Rangoons are stuffed with carrots, vegan cream cheese, and a secret blend of ingredients that makes them taste better than the real thing. Their crunchy, golden shells are wrapped around an indulgent, velvety filling that will make your mouth smile.

4. Taco Pizza

That viral Taco Pizza we’ve all been seeing just got its game stepped up! This is all vegan, oil-free, healthier for ya but with all the delicious flavor! Traditional pizza crust is topped with spicy, Mexican-inspired sauce, then tacos stuffed with fajita-style Portobello mushrooms and red peppers. A huge dollop of guacamole, plenty of dairy-free potato cheese sauce, pico de gallo, and your favorite taco toppings all send this pizza into the stratosphere


5. Pineapple Jalapeño Burger

It’s sweet, it’s spicy, and it’s a whole lotta delicious — these Pineapple Jalapeño Burgers are a must-make. The patties are made from mashed chickpeas combined with chopped pineapple and jalapeño, so each bite bursts with flavor. Throw them on a bun with some barbecue sauce and vegan cheese and dig in.

6. Stuffed Pasilla Peppers With Habanero Pesto

These Stuffed Pasilla Peppers With Habanero Pesto have pretty much everything out could ask for inside of them. They are filled with zesty vegan chorizo, tender quinoa, plenty of vegan cheese, and then topped off with a fiery habanero pesto. This recipe is definitely going to be one of your favorites the moment you taste it.


7. Shake Shack Double Stack Copycat: Cashew Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Burger

The Shake Shack Double Stack Copycat: Cashew Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Burger is the ultimate vegan Portobello mushroom burger – two Portobello mushrooms stuffed with melty cashew cheese, coated in panko breadcrumbs and fried until crispy then sprinkled with rosemary salt. Layered on a toasted burger bun with a spicy cashew mayo, avocado, tomato, lettuce, and pickles if you’re feeling it. Eat with thick-cut, rosemary salt sprinkled, potato or sweet potato chips, extra spicy mayo, and a cold beer for the best vegan burger meal you’ve ever had!

8. Tater Tot-Chos With Beer Cheese

What are Tater Tot-Chos With Beer Cheese? Only the best appetizer that you’re not eating. This awesome snack is the lovechild of nachos and tater tots — crispy tater tots are served with spicy, melty vegan cheese sauce, meat-free chili, and smoky vegetable protein bacon bits. Then, they’re topped with everything that belongs on loaded nachos: guac, pico de gallo, vegan sour cream, and of course, jalapeños. Dig in!


9. Creamy Mushroom Sauce With Spaghetti



If you are craving something creamy, hearty, and delicious – you’ve just found your recipe. This Creamy Mushroom Sauce With Spaghetti is topped with at with a velvety sauce made from cashews, onions, and garlic and then finished with some tender sautéed mushrooms. This is a great to serve a few friend over the weekend.

10. Stretchy Potato Cheese

Stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese … made with potatoes? While most melty, Stretchy Potato Cheese is made from cashews, these genius recipe makes the magic happen with just veggies! A simple cheese that goes great on sandwiches and pizza or that can be used as a dip!

11. Grilled Asparagus and Smoked Tofu Benedict

This Grilled Asparagus and Smoked Tofu Benedict is everything that you would expect from this classic brunch dish and more. The smokey tofu and grilled asparagus provide a perfect foundation upon which a luxurious, creamy, dairy-free hollandaise sauce is poured over.

12. Chickpea Salad Stuffed Avocados

These Chickpea Salad Stuffed Avocados use the flavors of a classic potato salad (like dill, celery, and onions) but instead of mayo, the recipe employs the texture deliciousness of avocados to give the dish a creamy texture. The only way to improve on an already stellar chickpea salad would be to make the bowl and avocado – and so here we are!

13. Oil-Free Mayonnaise With a Secret Ingredient

This clean-eating Oil-Free Mayonnaise With a Secret Ingredient is creamy and rich, with a tangy zip, and no oil. Where does all that low-fat creaminess come from? None other than cauliflower and cashews, which give it an incredibly silky texture. Try this delicious plant-based mayo on sandwiches, potato salad, and more!

14. Hash Brown Pizza

Hash Brown Pizza?! This is the best idea for a pizza crust we’ve ever seen – how did we not think to merge our favorite breakfast food with our favorite anytime food before now? The thin hash brown crust is pressed out thin and topped with whatever your little heart desires. This crust is the perfect vehicle to get creative with and make the comfort food of your dreams.


Recommendation: Download the Food Monster App

If you enjoy articles like this and want more, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App. For those that don’t have it, it’s a brilliant food app available for both Android and iPhone. It’s a great resource for anyone looking to cut out or reduce allergens like meat, dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, grains, and more find awesome recipes, cooking tips, articles, product recommendations and how-tos. The app shows you how having diet/health/food preferences can be full of delicious abundance rather than restrictions.

The Food Monster app has over 8000+ recipes and 500 are free. To access the rest, you have to pay a subscription fee but it’s totally worth it because not only do you get instant access to 8000+ recipes, you get 10 NEW recipes every day! You can also make meal plans, add bookmarks, read feature stories, and browse recipes across hundreds of categories like diet, cuisine, meal type, occasion, ingredient, popular, seasonal, and so much more!

15. Crispy Lemon Ginger Tofu With Broccoli

This Crispy Lemon Ginger Tofu With Broccoli is an elegant take on a stir-fry with a sauce that will blow your mind. The tofu is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside while the al dente broccoli shoots are tender and savory. Then both of these are tossed in a sticky lemon and ginger sauce that is bursting sweet floral flavors and fiery spices.

16. Bohemian Summer Salad With Grilled Corn

This Bohemian Summer Salad With Grilled Corn is the perfect meal to cool off with on a hot summer day; it’s light, filling, and fresh. The assorted greens are augmented with crisp radishes, crunchy nuts, ripe berries, creamy avocado, and a sweet and tangy honey mustard dressing then, the whole thing is topped off with a tender ear of grilled corn.

17. Simple Aromatic Pho

This Simple Aromatic Pho is the perfect year round dish that is easily customizable to all tastes and preferences. Bok choy, asparagus, mushrooms, tofu, and a generous helping of rice noodles are served in an incredibly simple and healthy traditional Vietnamese broth that is all about its seasonings and garnishes. The broth truly is what makes this pho so special — it’s spiced with aromatics, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and more. You’ve never tasted anything quite like it.

18. Spaghetti Pie

This Spaghetti Pie is absolutely delicious, super creative, and incredibly affordable – what else could you ask for? The tender pan fried vegetables are tossed in a hearty tomato sauce and then the whole thing is wrapped in a ball of delicious noodles. Then the whole thing is topped with nooch and peppers and baked into the best-tasting dinner pie you’ve ever tasted.

19. Potato and Avocado Spanish Omelet

A Spanish omelet, also known as a tortilla, is like a thicker, heartier version of a scrambled egg (minus the eggs in this case) omelet – and they are pretty darn awesome. This Potato and Avocado Spanish Omelet uses chickpeas and aquafaba as a base and punctuates the batter with tender onions, crispy potatoes, fried avocado, and a touch of garlic. Spanish omelets make a great breakfast or lunch and they store well in the refrigerator so you can slice off a piece of it whenever you’re feeling a bit peckish.

20. Simple Turmeric Chickpea Sandwich

This Simpl Turmeric Chickpea Sandwich is a great substitute for chicken or tuna salad. Chickpeas are packed with protein, low in fat, and also contain fiber. If you pile on the veggies in your sandwiches, you have an incredibly healthy, filling lunch! Prep a big container of this golden chickpea salad on Sunday and you’ll have lunches for the whole week

21. ‘Chicken’ Sriracha Jalapeño Mac n’ Cheese

This “Chicken” Sriracha Jalapeño Mac n’ Cheese is definitely not your average mac and cheese recipe. The decadent smokey cheese sauce is packed with sautéed jalapeños and vegan chicken, pasta, and breadcrumbs before being baked until it’s hot and bubbling. It’s the best bar food you can imagine – without the bar.

22. Stovetop Lemon Roasted Eggplant Tagine

This Stovetop Lemon Roasted Eggplant Tagine is rich, perfectly spiced, and will melt in your mouth – it’s the definition of middle eastern comfort food. A tagine is a heavy clay pot that is used in Moroccan cooking to stew a wealth of ingredients until all of the flavors combine into a symphony of deliciousness. But even if you don’t have a tagine, this stovetop version of the dish is just as good as the classic method.

23. Kitchari: Ayurvedic Dish for Gut Health

Kitchari: Ayurvedic Dish for Gut Health is traditionally an Indian dish that is designed as a hearty meal that will assist with your digestion. The beans and rice are soaked overnight with apple cider vinegar make it easier for your body to digest them and retain the important vitamins and minerals. On top of that, the ginger and turmeric added to the rice and beans have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. So this dish tastes great and it will make you feel great!

24. Mediterranean Vegetable Gratin

This Mediterranean Vegetable Gratin tastes like summer and takes you on a little trip to Southern Europe. It’s enjoyed best when served warm, either with polenta or potato wedges but really, you can put it with pretty much anything – it’s delicous.

25. One-Pot Coconut Dal With Spiced Cauliflower

A traditional Nepali-inspired dish, with a coconut twist that’s topped off with spicy, tender cauliflower. This super simple One-Pot Coconut Dal With Spiced Cauliflower is guaranteed to satisfy your belly. Serve this dish with rice of your choice or on its own, as a meal — it’s so filling!

Well, now we’re hungry – time to get in the kitchen and whip up something delicious. If you’re cooking at home, download the Food Monster App; it will make your life so much easier. You’ll have over 8,000 recipes at your fingertips that you can filter by diet type, ingredient, and season so that you can find the perfect recipe without spending an hour on google. So let’s eat!

Lead image source: Taco Pizza