Dairy Free

Plant-based Earth Balance baking sticks make a wonderful substitute for butter.

Toss this simple dressing through an easy summer salad.

No, you don’t have to tear the zucchini with your hands, but it makes for a cool presentation—and we all know it’s way more fun than using a knife.

This dressing is creamy, savory, and perfectly balanced. Put it on udon noodles—or just drink it.

This dressing is delicious on a colorful cold noodle salad with shrimp.

Everything for this simple, Spanish-inspired dish gets tossed in the same lemon, garlic, and smoked paprika marinade, then cooked in a grill basket for an easier, faster way to grill dinner.

Cool romaine lettuce and barbecue-flavored chickpeas combine to create great flavor and texture in this hearty pita sandwich. This pairs well with many simple companions—potatoes or sweet potatoes, fresh corn, a simple quinoa salad or pilaf, or a light soup. And steamed green veggies are always welcome, too.

Though I’m all for high-quality prepared sauces and such to use as shortcuts, I’ve never found a bottled vegan barbecue sauce I really like. But this nearly instant sauce is so easy that I’ve ended the search. It’s especially good with tofu, tempeh, and seitan.

I’ve already admitted that I’m usually too lazy to make pizza dough from scratch, what with good, natural brands of prepared crust so widely available. Once in a blue moon, though, I like to indulge; it’s really not that difficult. This is a recipe I’ve relied on for years when those blue moons come along.

If you want boozier pops, increase the gin to 1/3 cup. They will still freeze but not quite as hard, and they will get slushy quickly once unmolded.

There’s no need to roll these super-thin. In fact, a little heft keeps them moist.

Japanese sweet potatoes are starchier than yams and worth seeking out. Steaming before grilling keeps them moist.

Don’t fuss with the salmon too much once it’s on the grill: Let the flesh naturally release from the grate before attempting to turn it. You can also use the tare marinade for any cut of salmon.

The ingredients for a meringue are very simple; you need double the weight of sugar to egg whites. It is easy to make any quantity of meringue if you follow this 2:1 ratio.

Make this salad ahead of time to allow the flavors to become bolder. This is delicious in a bowl as a refreshing summer meal. Or serve this on top of a plate of assorted greens or bowl of cooked grains, rolled up in a tortilla, or as a topping for baked potatoes.

Salade Niçoise is a beautifully composed salad of French origin that looks fancy but is incredibly easy to make. The traditional version is often made with tuna, but here the fish is replaced with baked tofu, which makes a great stand-in. And the array of ingredients—white beans or chickpeas, slender green beans, tomatoes, and olives—makes it a splendid main dish salad for a summer meal, either on busy weeknights or festive occasions.

Packaged baked tofu is tasty and not all that expensive, but homemade baked tofu is even better. The trick to this chewy, savory transformation of bland white tofu is to make sure it’s well pressed and to let it marinate for plenty of time.

Large jagged sheets of chicharrón, or pork crackling, can be found at any Mexico City market. Homemade chicharrón is wonderful with pico de gallo, any salsa, guacamole, or cooked in green sauce and served in a taco when soft.

A quick toss in sweet, softly spicy Korean red pepper sauce makes these wings irresistible, while sliced scallion adds a fresh finish.

Combine garlic and your favorite hardy herbs like rosemary, thyme, or oregano, for a marinade that's quick, easy, and oh-so-delicious on these grilled wings.