Vegan Kitchen Essentials

No vegan kitchen would be complete without these helpful items:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables: Don't be afraid to try new ones.

• Soy, rice, or nut milk: Both are great for sauces and salad dressings.

• Coconut milk and coconut cream: The higher fat content is great for sorbets, ice creams, and baking.

• Soy sauce and tamari: These are great as a basic sauce ingredient.

• Vegetarian stock: There is a wide variety of faux-chicken stocks and vegetable stocks available. If you have the time, try making our Roasted Vegetable Stock, which can be kept in the freezer for future use.

• Nonhydrogenated margarine: Good brands to look for are Earth Balance and Soy Garden.

• High-quality oils: extra-virgin olive oil, safflower oil, canola oil, and coconut oil

• Nondairy sour cream: try Tofutti brand

• Maple syrup: an alternative to sugar for baking and for sauces

• Agave or brown rice syrup: can be used in place of honey in recipes

• Florida Crystals: unprocessed vegan sugar that can be used instead of refined sugar in any recipe

• Nutritional yeast: has a rich, nutty flavor and makes delicious cheesy sauces; can also be used in breading, dressings, and soups as well as on pasta

• Agar-agar: creates delicious vegan Jell-O, pudding, and jelly

• Arrowroot and/or cornstarch: great as a thickening agent in soups, stews, and sauces.

• Canned tomato sauce: always useful in preparing last-minute meal

• Staples: beans, rice, frozen veggies, and garlic

• Soy mayonnaise: Use in place of traditional mayonnaise in pasta and potato salads, sandwich spreads, and sauces; try Nayonaise or Vegenaise brands.

• A blender

• A food processor

• A chef's knife: It has a rigid blade with a slight curve that facilitates the rocking motion most chefs use in chopping and is perfect for slicing, dicing, and chopping.

• Good cookbooks: Check out the fabulous selection of vegan cookbooks at PETABookstore.com.

Don't forget to check out our vegan shopping guide and delicious recipes.

Back to Top