Brownies from a mix are an easy vegan dessert
What’s for dessert when you are vegan—and especially if you are having omnivore guests for dinner? While health conscious choices like fruit are fine for everyday meals, special occasion dinners call for something more. If you don’t have time to bake a fancy cake from scratch, it takes just a few minutes to whip up these five easy vegan desserts.
Fast Vegan Brownies
There are lots of good vegan brownie recipes in cookbooks and on the internet. But if you are crunched for time, why not use a mix? Look for those that require the addition of just one egg like Ghirardelli brand Walnut Brownie mix. Simply replace the egg with one of these vegan options. Nothing could be easier!
Pancakes for Dessert
You don’t have to get all fancy and make crepes. Pancakes from a mix can be dressed up to make a fun and delicious dessert. Choose a whole grain vegan mix and make it with egg replacer and soy (or other vegan) milk. Stir chocolate chips and pecans into the batter, and serve the cooked pancakes with maple syrup and fresh fruit. Or go all out and top them with a scoop of non-dairy ice cream.
Vegan Ice Cream
Some nondairy frozen desserts are better than others, but most vegans agree that Coconut Bliss made by Luna and Larry’s is a winner! It’s made from creamy coconut milk and has a wonderful fresh flavor. Serve Naked Coconut Bliss with fresh strawberries or figs in parfait glasses for something a little elegant and luscious.
Fast Homemade Apple Crisp
If you prefer to treat your guests to homemade goodies, nothing is faster, easier or more foolproof than apple crisp. Try this simple recipe:
2 1/ 2 cups sliced apples
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup white all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
¾ cup plain soymilk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the apples and brown sugar in a deep baking dish. In a bowl, mix the oats, flour and soymilk. Pour the mixture over the apples. Bake for one hour or until the apples are soft and the topping is crisp, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Three Ingredient Chocolate Blueberry Crescents
Did you know that Pillsbury Crescent Rolls are vegan? And you can do so much more with them than make plain old dinner rolls. My colleague Alice McCart, the Kansas City Vegan Examiner recently shared this fabulous idea for an easy vegan dessert using blueberries and chocolate chips rolled up in prepared crescent roll pastry. See her instructions here.
| Check out my blog The Vegan Dietitian to learn more about vegan diet and lifestyle! |
Comments
Great ideas for vegan desserts!
A frozen dessert I have recently discovered: sorbet!
What temperature for the apple crisp?
Don't be dismayed if your from-a-mix brownies turn out hard and oily and gross. I gave up on using egg replacer for brownie mix a long time ago. But another super easy vegan dessert recipe: follow any traditional choc chip cookie recipe using Earth Balance (or other vegan margarine) and replace the eggs with soy milk (about 1/4 cup total). You can toss in some ground flaxseed for good measure, but it's not necessary. Just be sure to buy chocolate chips that are genuinely semi-sweet (which don't contain milk). Ghiradelli makes them, as do many natural brands and many generic store brands.
where is that coconut bliss recipe
Oops--I just added the temp for the apple crisp. It's 375 degrees.
Lorraine, Coconut Bliss is a commercial product, made by the Luna and Larry's company. It's in the freezer section of natural foods stores.
And Carmen, thanks for the tip on using soymilk rather than egg replacer in vegan baked recipes. I have had good luck with that, too, for cookies especially.
And thanks,
"Nothing could be easier!' You're joking, right?
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