There are a lot of misconceptions about veganism. Many think it’s only for those who feel passionate about animal rights, or that those who embrace it are deficient in protein and other key vitamins. None of that is true. While there are some that embrace it solely for animal rights ideals, there are others who embrace veganism for the health benefits.
There are so many health benefits to veganism! Among them: lower consumption of animal fats, higher consumption of fiber, and lower consumption of carcinogens. So let’s get talking about vegan desserts.Dessert is one of our favorite parts of any meal (we especially love chocolate. And trying desserts from other cultures) and we assume it’s yours as well. We’re starting to embrace “Meatless Mondays” to do our part to improve the environment, and we had been toying around with the idea of adding a few vegan dishes into our lives to both better the environment and our diets. After researching a few vegan desserts, we’re no longer toying around with the idea. We are embracing it head on!
Here are five vegan desserts that are so delicious and amazing, no one will ever know they’re vegan! They’ll make you want to embrace vegan dishes as well.
5.) 3-Ingredient Flourless Brownies
The Big Man’s World
Yes, you read that right … these delicious concoctions are brought to us from The Big Man’s World, have just three ingredients and are the easiest things to make, making them one of our favorite vegan desserts. Seriously — how can you screw up with only three ingredients? Plus, they’re gluten-free, 360-diet approved and paleo! No matter what diet you may be on, these are likely approved. Unless of course “no chocolate” is on your diet. Then we just feel bad for you.
Overview
- Prep time: 10 minutes (max)
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 3 medium, overripe bananas (approximately 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup smooth almond butter (can substitute any smooth nut butter)
- 2 tbsp. – 1/4 cup cocoa powder (more = richer taste)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350º, grease a small cake pan or loaf pan and set aside.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl or on the stovetop, melt your nut butter. In a large mixing bowl, add the banana, nut butter and cocoa powder and mix very well.
- Pour the mixture into the greased pan and bake for around 20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing into pieces.
Additional Tips
- For a smoother batter, add all the ingredients into a blender and blend well.
- For the best texture, enjoy refrigerated
4.) Black Bean Brownies
skinnybitchofficial
Have you read the book Skinny Bitch? A New York Times Bestseller, its tagline calls it a A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want To Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous!
If you need a quick read to jumpstart a health cleanse, we recommend it. It’s quirky, it’s fun and, to be honest, it’s inspiring! It breaks down the benefits of cutting animal products out of your life for health reasons and then gives you some amazing recipes.
Plus, when people ask you where you got your recipe from? It’s kinda fun to reply, “Oh, some skinny bitch gave it to me.” As one of their writers is a self-proclaimed sweets lover, what better place to find some great desserts? Here is one of our favorite vegan desserts from Skinny Bitch (and because it’s healthy, it makes eating chocolate for breakfast acceptable, right?).
Overview
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 25 minute
- Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 1 cup black beans
- 2 tbsp. ground flaxseed
- 6 tbsp. water
- 3 tbsp. coconut oil
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 175°C, 350°F.
- Put flaxseed and water in a food processor and pulse to a paste.
- Drain and rinse the black beans.
- Add black beans and the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and blend till smooth.
- If it looks too thick, add a bit of water.
- Put the mixture into a pre-greased baking tray.
- Bake for about 25 minutes.
- Cool.
- Serve.
- Voila!
3.) Pumpkin Caramel Corn
One of the things we love about Jessica Seinfeld (yes, she’sJerry’s wife) is that she teaches parents how to sneak veggies into their children’s diets without them knowing. We love this because we do it to our husbands, boyfriends and unhealthy friends as well and they never know! Eating veggies is so much more fun when it’s disguised as dessert (and we love tricking our friends into eating vegan desserts).
One of our favorite vegan recipes of hers is her pumpkin caramel corn. Not only is it vegan, it’s gluten-free as well! We love binge-watching our fave Netflix shows while eating this.
Overview
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 25 minutes
- Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp. coconut oil
- 2/3 cup popcorn kernels
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg or 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Directions
- Heat the oven (with the oven racks toward the center) to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp. of the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the popcorn, cover tightly and wait for it to start popping. Once it does, shake the pot often until it stops popping. You should get about 12 cups of popcorn. Divide between 2 large bowls.
- In a medium skillet, melt the remaining 3 tbsp. coconut oil over medium heat. Add the honey, pumpkin, and brown sugar and whisk together. Let simmer, whisking often, until the mixture is thick like caramel, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cinnamon and nutmeg. Dividing evenly, pour over each bowl of popcorn and toss to combine.
- Divide the popcorn among the 2 prepared pans and sprinkle with salt. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until just set. Let cool (it will crisp up even more as it cools).
2.) Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
The Kind Diet
We’ve loved Alicia Silverstone ever since Cher Horowitz taught the world to say, “as if.” And now we love her even more for sharing her favorite vegan recipes with us in her book, The Kind Diet, where she teaches us how to get “off-the-chart” energy — by forgoing meat and dairy.
While we loved all of her recipes, we were drawn to her vegan desserts. Particularly, the peanut butter cups. Who doesn’t love peanut butter? We certainly do and even keep a list of our favorite restaurants that serve peanut butter delicacies. Here is Alicia Silverstone’s vegan dessert recipe for chocolate peanut butter cups.
Overview
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 135 minutes
- Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
- 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (preferably unsweetened and unsalted)
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (10 graham cracker squares)
- 1/4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener
- 1 cup grain-sweetened nondairy chocolate or carob chips
- 1/4 cup soy, rice or nut milk
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans, almonds or peanuts
Directions
- Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs and maple sugar and mix well.
- Remove the mixture from the heat.
- Evenly divide the mixture (approximately 2 tbsp. per cup) among the muffin cups.
- Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.
- Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.
- Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.
- Top with chopped nuts.
- Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.
Additional Tips
They are great soft but even better a little firmer!
1.) Vegan Peppermint Meringues
Goop
Gwyneth Paltrow slays at having an all-natural, eco-chic lifestyle and shares it with the world through her company, Goop. We first discovered her peppermint meringues during the holiday season and quickly realized they’re too good to only eat seasonally. So we make them year round. With only 4 ingredients, they’re super delish, oh-so-easy and another of our favorite vegan desserts!
Overview
- Prep time: 2 minutes
- Cook time: 160 minutes
- Serves: 20 single servings
Ingredients
- Chickpea water from one 14-oz. can
- 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/3 cup superfine sugar
- 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Pour the chickpea water into a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the cream of tartar and beat on the highest setting until the mixture is crazy stiff (it should fill up the inside of the whisk and not move when turned upside down); this could take anywhere from 10–20 minutes, depending on how powerful your mixer is.
- With the mixer still going, add the sugar 1 tbsp. at a time, mixing well after each addition. Turn off the mixer and fold in the peppermint extract.
- Spoon heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (you can also pipe them — just be sure not to deflate the air).
- Place in the preheated oven and cook for 2 hours. Turn off the oven and let the meringues cool completely inside.
- Eat immediately or place in an airtight container to store for a few days.
Love vegan desserts, but hate to cook? Check out a few of our favorite vegan bakeries in the US!
We’re not trying to brainwash into going vegan, but we hope these desserts showed you that veganism can be quite delicious. Do you have a favorite vegan dessert? Tell us about it in the comments!
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