5 Irresistible Savory Recipes

From a creamy risotto to gluten-free BBQ pizza, these recipes will satisfy all your cravings this week

Creamy Leek Risotto. Credit: FIT & NU™

Looking for some variety this week? We have you covered. Check out these 5 plant-based recipes that will satisfy all of your cravings, from lighter recipes like a creamy mushroom soup, zoodles and quinoa with poached egg, and tofu in peanut sauce, to more filling recipes such as our creamy leek risotto and sweet potato BBQ pizza.

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1. Creamy Mushroom Soup

Credit: FIT & NU™

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced
• ½ leek
• 5 ⅓ cups cremini mushrooms (500g)
• 1 small chopped carrot
• 1 small chopped parsnip
• 1 small chopped russet potato
• 2½ cups low sodium vegetable stock (600ml)
• ½ cup heavy cream (100ml)

Directions

Total prep time is about 45 minutes.

1. Coat the inside of a large pot with the coconut oil and warm to medium heat.
2. Wash, dry, peel, and chop all of the produce. Make sure that the carrots, parsnip, and potato are chopped thinly so that they will become soft for the soup.
3. Sauté the onion and sliced leek for about 3 minutes. Then add the rest of the veggies to cook for an additional 13–15 minutes. Stir every couple of minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Once the vegetable mixture is nearly cooked, add the vegetable stock and cover the pot to bring to a boil (Tip: leave out a few of the mushrooms before this step if you want to garnish the soup bowls as shown in our photo). Then turn down the heat to let it simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all vegetables are soft.
5. Once the vegetables are thoroughly cooked, puree the soup with a hand blender (like this one) until smooth. Stir in the cream after the soup is blended and serve the soup while it’s hot.

2. Zoodles and Quinoa with Poached Egg

Credit: FIT & NU™

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 cups cooked quinoa (560g)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 4 crushed garlic cloves
• 4 medium zucchinis, spiralized
• 24 cherry tomatoes
• 2 tsp dried oregano or mixed herbs
• 4 medium poached eggs
• (optional) chili flakes

Directions

Total prep time is about 30 minutes.

1. Prepare and cook the quinoa and divide evenly across 4 plates, when finished. If you need a refresher on how to cook quinoa, check out our Vibrant Detox Salad that we posted last week.
2. Wash, dry, and spiralize the zucchinis to create the zoodles. Also, slice the cherry tomatoes into halves.
3. Thoroughly coat the inside of a large frying pan with 1 tbsp of coconut oil and warm to medium heat. Once the pan is heated, sauté the crushed garlic for 1–2 minutes and then gently add the zoodles to cook for another 3–4 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. In the same pan, add the remaining coconut oil and cook the cherry tomatoes for another 2–3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Add the quinoa and zoodles back into the pan and mix together when the tomatoes are finished. Divide the mixture across 4 plates evenly.
5. Bring a medium to large sized pot of water to boil for the poached eggs. The water should be about knuckle deep. When the water comes to a boil, crack four eggs into a bowl, without breaking the yolk. Slowly and gently drop in each egg from the bowl. Turn down the heat and let the eggs simmer for about 3 minutes. Do not cover the pot because it will boil over. After 3 minutes, remove each egg, one by one, using a slotted spoon (I use one that looks like this) or spatula and place on paper towel or clean dish cloth. Top off each plate with one poached egg. For more tips on how to cook poached eggs, check out our Roasted Sweet Potato, Kale, and Egg Salad recipe.

Also, if you enjoyed this dish, you may want to also check out our Pesto Zoodles recipe!

3. Creamy Leek Risotto Recipe

Credit: FIT & NU™

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 leeks
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1½ cup risotto rice (350g)
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable stock (500ml)
• 3 rosemary springs
• ½ cup grated Parmesan (60g)
• 3 tbsp cream (substitute with non-dairy option to make this dish vegan)

Directions

Total prep time is about 35 minutes.

1. Coat the inside of a non-stick skillet with oil and warm to medium heat.
2. Wash, dry, and chop/dice the veggies. Then add them to the pan and sauté for about 5 minutes. Next, add the risotto rice and sauté for an additional minute and then add half the vegetable stock and rosemary springs, while gently stirring. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer until the liquid is almost fully absorbed and then add the remaining vegetable stock (Tip: add a quarter cup at a time to ensure that your risotto is not soggy). Remove the rosemary springs when all of the vegetable stock has been absorbed.
3. Season the risotto with salt and pepper and add half of the Parmesan cheese and the cream. You can add more vegetable stock if you want the risotto to be creamier. Mix well before serving with the remaining Parmesan.

4. Tofu in Peanut Sauce

Credit: FIT & NU™

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2¼ cups baby broccoli (400g)
• 1 package firm tofu

For the sauce:

• ¼ cup natural peanut butter (65g)
• 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• 5 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• ½ tsp chili flakes
• 1 tbsp grated ginger

Directions

Total prep time is about 45 minutes.

1. Prepare the tofu by draining all of the water from the package and sandwiching the tofu between two plates. Place a heavy item like can on top of the top plate (check out this example if you’re unsure what this should look like). Press for at least 30 minutes (Tip: do this the night before if you like extra firm tofu). When you’re ready to prepare the dish, drain the remaining liquid from the plate and cut the tofu into ½ inch cubes.
2. Wash and pat dry the baby broccoli. Then roughly chop. Steam or boil until tender and set aside.
3. Mix all of the ingredients for the peanut sauce in a small bowl.
4. Coat a frying pan with the oil and warm to medium high heat. When warm, fry the tofu for about 10–15 minutes, occasionally turning to brown all sides. Add the sauce and broccoli to the pan when the tofu has cooked. Stir and fry for an addition 1–2 minutes.
5. Divide across 4 plates and enjoy!

If you enjoyed this dish, check out our Grilled Pumpkin, Tofu, and Bulgur Salad recipe!

5. Gluten-free Sweet Potato BBQ Pizza

Credit: FIT & NU™. Note that this version of the recipe includes chicken.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 small sweet potatoes
• 1½ cups of oat flour (150g)
• 1 egg
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 tbsp of your favorite kind of sauce
• ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
• ¼ red bell pepper
• ¼ green bell pepper
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of chickpeas or your choice of protein such as chicken or seitan
• (optional) ¼ cup hot banana peppers, sliced
• (optional) ¼ cup pickled jalapeños, sliced
• (optional) Handful of fresh cilantro

This pizza is fully customizable when it comes to the toppings, so feel free to add or substitute whatever toppings you like. Just make sure not to overload it with too many toppings or the crust will not hold. Also, dry any wet toppings as much as possible to prevent the crust from being soggy.

If you prefer to use regular flour dough, instead of making this gluten free version, you can be more liberal with the toppings. The wheat gluten in regular flour dough makes the dough more stretchy, which makes it less likely to break or collapse under the weight of all the pizza toppings. If you want to make this recipe even more convenient, and if gluten does not affect your digestive tract, you can purchase pre-made pizza dough from the store. If you purchase pre-made pizza dough from the store, follow the instructions on the package rather than the instructions provided below.

Directions

Total prep time is about an hour.

1. Heat the oven to 400°F (about 200°C).
2. Line a 12 x 10½ rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In the meantime, peel and slice the sweet potatoes into very thin slices to cook quickly. If you have a instant pot or a pressure cooker, you can skip the peeling and slicing and place them directly into the cooker for about 15 minutes (plus about 10 minutes to naturally release the steam). For more detailed instructions, checkout this blogger’s excellent guide for cooking sweet potatoes in an instant pot. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, drain any excess water from the pot and transfer them to a large bowl. Then mash them until they are completely smooth — I like to use a hand blender like this one to make this step easier. Set aside and let the potatoes fully cool to room temperature.
4. Once the potatoes have cooled, add the flour, egg, and salt. Mix well to fully combine. Then spread the mixture out evenly across the baking sheet. Bake the dough for about 25 minutes, or until the dough is dry to touch and has begun to brown around the edges. If you are using a convection oven, check on your dough at about 18–20 minutes.
5. While the dough is cooking, prepare your toppings by drying off any excess liquids from canned and jarred ingredients, slicing the red onion, and dicing up the red and green bell peppers.
6. After the dough has cooked, spread the tomato paste and BBQ sauce evenly on the pizza base and distribute the toppings across the top. Bake for 10 minutes and then add the cheese on top to bake for an additional 10 minutes.
7. Top off the pizza with fresh cilantro and slice into squares for serving.