When I initially had the idea for a post on the top 10 or 15 recipes in my new cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor, I thought it would be a pretty straightforward task.
Two hours later—having written and rewritten my list over a dozen times—I realized that trying to pick a few favorites from the 150 recipes in the book was like asking a parent to choose which of their 150 children is their favorite.
After all, if I didn’t absolutely love a recipe, it simply didn’t make the cut. How could I possibly narrow down that list into just 10 or 15 favorites?
So, I decided to call in the cavalry.
Rather than choose the recipes myself, I asked my two primary recipe testers as well as my partner to each share five of their favorite recipes.
Below, you’ll hear from them in their own (very entertaining) words. I wrote a brief blurb introducing each of them, but the remainder is their own pure, unadulterated thoughts.
Enjoy!
Table of Contents
1. Hannah, my in-person recipe tester
2. Callie, my remote recipe tester
3. Max, my partner
Hannah, my in-person recipe tester
Nisha’s Note:
For two years, Hannah worked out of my home kitchen, testing recipes both for Big Vegan Flavor and the RPL website. I was nervous when she came onboard—if someone is working out of your home for 8 hours a day, you’d better get along well—but thankfully Hannah turned out to be super cool, funny, and kind, and it was a true joy to work with her every weekday.
Though she has since moved across the country, she’s still testing recipes remotely for Rainbow Plant Life.
Below, she shares her thoughts on her favorite recipes from Big Vegan Flavor.
As some of you may know, I had the pleasure of working in Nisha and Max’s home for several years as her culinary assistant/recipe tester. Since working with Nisha, she has given me some difficult tasks to complete, but I think it’s quite rude of Nisha to only let me choose 5 favorite recipes from her new book when there are obviously at least 50.
Although excruciating, I’ve chosen 5 recipes that I will make every year until I quite literally perish. I cannot emphasize enough on how every single recipe in this cookbook is 10/10.
The lawyer within Nisha is still present, as the organization and ease of this cookbook will make you smile. I have to admit, I cried over seeing the photographs, and I’ll be contacting National Geographic about this matter.
I’m so proud as a friend of Nisha’s to see a truly Nishafied book, where her recipes, photographs, and writing have all grown so exponentially and shine bright throughout Big Vegan Flavor.
Sticky Coconut Milk Braised Tofu (p. 278)
I’ve chosen two tofu recipes. Please understand that if you were standing in my shoes (more like my tastebuds), you’d have done the same.
My favorite tofu recipes have always been crispy/crunchy tofu. Enter braised tofu with Nisha as the recipe developer for something totally different.
The aromatics do not play around—lemongrass, ginger, garlic and Thai chiles all come to play here. Please do not skip the thai basil. I’ve made this for several people already, and I’ve been made uncomfortable with the enthusiastic joy of their reactions to this dish.
Tofu 65 (p. 477)
This is the tofu recipe I’d make if someone were to ever confide in me that they’ve never liked tofu and no recipe would ever convince them otherwise. As a result, said person will confirm that tofu is actually their favorite food of all time.
We tested this recipe so many times and I was always thrilled upon finding out we were making it yet again. It is breathtaking in its crackly crunchy texture, and so unapologetically bold in umami Indian-packed flavor. Do yourself a favor, and quadruple this recipe when you make it, as leftovers are also fantastic (you won’t have any).
The Fancy Caesar Salad (p. 362)
As we all know and appreciate, Nisha takes her salad game so seriously. For instance, my least favorite lettuce *was* radicchio, and yet a radicchio salad was the runner up to this salad. She’s an absolute wizard, my friends.
However, this fancy caesar salad is easily my most made recipe out of the entire cookbook, and my favorite salad I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
There is no doubt in my mind that the caesar dressing is the best you’ll ever taste, vegan or not. You’ll find yourself just throwing back the “Cheesy Crunchies” as a midday pick me up. If this salad were served at a restaurant, I fear I’d pay $25 without blinking an eye, and I’m mindful of my spending!
Make this for yourself, your family and friends, and especially anytime you get asked to bring a dish to a get together. You will win the best dish of the night and go home with an award even when there wasn’t a contest.
Adult Grilled Cheese with Chili Crisp (p. 516)
This is my favorite sandwich in this entire book and of my entire life. I realized I could take two of my favorite recipes and only count it as 1—I love this for me!
It features the life-changing homemade chili crisp, which is titled correctly (it is truly life-changing). I swear you could drizzle it over dirt and it would taste incredible. I recently just bought my old favorite brand of chili crisp when I was in a pinch, and I’ll never make that mistake again. Don’t do this to yourself!
Now, this Adult Grilled Cheese is 100% the best grilled cheese / warm sandwich you’ll ever put in your mouth. It has chopped medjool dates, fermented cashew cheese (another fantastic recipe in the book) and the life-changing chili crisp.
I’d make this if you were about to propose to someone or announce/reveal some life changing news. Because this grilled cheese is a cause for celebration.
Buttermilk Fried “Chicken” with Cornbread & Dilly Slaw (p. 524)
Max went ahead submitted his “top 5” list before me, and he submitted my very favorite mushroom recipe in the book (btw I loved seeing Max go from despising mushrooms to coming back for seconds, A+ bonus material of working inside their home).
This recipe is a very close second. This entire meal brings so much nostalgia to childhood fried chicken meals, but this time, everything tastes significantly better. This is my partner’s favorite recipe of the entire book, and he has requested this as his birthday dinner every year until further notice.
Callie, my remote recipe tester
Note from Nisha:
Callie initially came onboard in early 2021 as a remote recipe tester for Big Vegan Flavor and immediately became an invaluable asset. With her background in linguistics, she has an eagle-eyed attention to detail and has identified countless typos and errors well before they can turn into a problem for readers.
Today, she’s still working with us, testing recipes for the RPL website and for Meal Plans by Rainbow Plant Life (many of you will recognize her as the very helpful individual in the RPL Meal Plans facebook group).
Here, she shares her experience working with us and her top five recipes.
My name is Callie, and I get to try RPL recipes (sometimes many times over) before they get into your hands.
Recipe testing sounds like a glamorous job (it is often a tasty one), but sometimes the day consists of burning tempeh, making grainy granola, or putting together a salad that just misses the mark.
But, other days, you get to go to an international grocery store and talk to a lady who tells you all about the best noodles to buy, leading to a delicious curry noodle soup; or you pair ingredients that seem weird together on paper (leeks and maple syrup?) but it turns out to be one of your favorite dishes.
As a recipe tester I never know what the day will hold, or how the bites will taste, but I do know that every day will be a culinary adventure.
Perfectly Sweet-yet-Tart Plum Galette (p. 570)
I’ll admit I’m not a big fan of desserts. I find that many are too sweet and leave you feeling stuffed. Speaking of things I’m not a fan of—pie crust also falls in that category. (You’re seeing how this whole plum galette thing didn’t look so good to me.)
So I was pleasantly surprised when I loved every. single. bite. I even ate the entire crust piece (who am I? Can a galette give you an identity crisis?). Well, apparently this falls into the dessert category, so I guess I am now a fan of desserts.
Scrambled Shakshuka (p. 437)
Have you ever seen a recipe and thought “Been there, done that. Don’t need to try this recipe.” Well that was my thought when I saw this shakshuka recipe. I’ve tried many, and they all left me feeling like it was so much work for just okay flavor.
Well not this shakshuka! It’s smoky, a tad spicy, and has such great depth of flavor. Step aside all other shakshuka recipes.
French Toast Casserole with Black Sesame Butter (p. 453)
I’ve never had French toast like this before, and I didn’t know that pairing black sesame seeds, vegan butter, and sugar together would make such a craveable combo (and an enchanting black color too!)
The bread is creamy and warming, and the spices kept me coming back for more. It’s sweet enough to eat on its own and makes a lot (yay! easy breakfast!) and fancy enough to share (which I have done, always with rave reviews.)
Chocolate-Covered Dates with Pistachio Butter (p. 574)
Now this recipe I knew I would like just seeing it on paper. Dates, pistachio butter, and chocolate? I’m in.
Every bite is a party of flavors and textures—sweet, salty, nutty, chewy, and creamy. Keep some of these in your freezer for easy snacks or dessert and thank me later.
Cheesy Herb Bread Pudding with Caramelized Leeks (p. 459)
To me “bread pudding” means overly-sweet bread with tons of sugar. So adding leeks to that? Eww. But wait. A savory bread pudding? I’m intrigued.
Join me and bookmark this recipe for Thanksgiving. I expect it will become your go-to stuffing recipe for years to come. It’s rich and indulgent, with lovely caramelized leeks and rich milky bread. Every bite of this dish had me wanting more.
Max, my partner
Nisha’s Note:
Max is my life partner and, starting a few years ago, my business partner, too. While he did not do any of the test-cooking for Big Vegan Flavor, he did get to try almost every dish in the book.
Here, he shares his experience and his top 5 recipes.
I’m Nisha’s partner of over 14 years, and as many of you will know from watching her YouTube videos, I am a very picky eater. I randomly don’t like certain vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, etc.). Consequently, I am not the best taste tester.
And yet, there are a ridiculous number of recipes from Nisha’s new cookbook that I absolutely adore. Whittling down a list of my favorites to just five has been a nearly impossible task and it took me the better part of two days.
So, to make this exercise a little easier, I’ve put an emphasis on the recipes that surprised me the most (in a good way).
Life-Changing Homemade Chili Crisp (p. 187)
I’m a huge Chinese chili crisp fan. When Nisha told me she was working on a recipe, I told her it was a bad idea. She wasn’t going to create anything better than what’s already on the market, so why bother?
I was wrong. Way wrong. This stuff is gold. Put it on noodles, noodle soups, tofu scramble, green veggies, pizza, or nearly anything else you can think of.
Scrambled Chickpeas with Chile Yogurt Sauce and Za’atar Pita (p. 455)
The idea of scrambled chickpeas as a replacement for tofu scramble or scrambled eggs seemed like a bonkers idea to me.
Yup, I was wrong again. Are you sensing a theme here?
I would happily eat this everyday for breakfast. It’s delicious and fully rivals Nisha’s already excellent tofu scramble.
Jammy Plantains and Black beans in Charred Poblano Sauce (p. 505)
A Cuban-meets-Mexican take on tacos. Plantains and black beans go so well together with the savory/spicy/smokey Mexican-ish sauce. They might just be my favorite tacos ever.
The Sexy Skillet Lasagna (p. 519)
I’d had a fair amount of vegan lasagna before trying Nisha’s version and most of it was not very good. So, I was pretty sure Nisha’s version would be disappointing.
Can you see where I’m going with this? Yes, dear reader, I was wrong yet again. Since trying it, I have requested that Nisha make this for every holiday dinner for all of eternity, thank you very much.
Mushroom Shawarma Flatbreads (p. 531)
As an avowed mushroom skeptic, there is no recipe I was more certain I wouldn’t like than this one.
I know, I know. You would think that by now I would have realized that Nisha is an actual wizard and prepared myself to actually enjoy this dish.
Alas, I was blown away yet again. The combination of the juicy/tender/meaty/crispy mushrooms with the yogurt-tahini sauce and the spicy mint and cilantro sauce, plus a few assorted veggies, is to die for. This one is a show-stopper and yet another perfect 10/10 recipe.
Thank you
A big thank you to Hannah, Callie, and Max for sharing their thoughts. And for their incredible work and support over the last 3 1/2 years!
And a big thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered Big Vegan Flavor!
As you may have heard, pre-orders are super important for authors because they signal to bookshops, retailers, and the press that people are excited about a book. That excitement makes it much easier for the book to stocked on shelves and to get media coverage (no easy feat for a vegan cookbook!).
So if you love making my recipes, have learned how to become a better cook, or just enjoy watching my videos, pre-ordering my cookbook is the best way to support my work. And I would be so very grateful 🥹.
AND, if you pre-order before September 3rd, you can get some phenomenal bonus content!
Bonus content for Pre-orders
Here’s what the preorder bonus package includes:
- A 7-Course Indian-Inspired Dinner Party Menu
- The Ultimate Vegan Grocery List
- My Indian Spice Starter Kit
- The Complete Guide to Vegan Entertaining
Check out the section of this page titled “Bonus content, exclusively for pre-orders“ for details on how you can receive this package.
And for a detailed look at the bonus content, check out this blog post.
Thank you for being here and for your support—it means the world to me, and it’s the reason I get up excited out of bed every morning 🥰
I am personally obsessed with it’s the vegan shakshuka recipe, and even bought a new sauté pan to properly develop it into one of my favorite meals! This is baffling because a) I don’t like tomatoes and b) tofu is, well, boring, but together with wonderful seasoning they make for a truly crave-worthy dinner. And I agree that the vegan feta puts it over the top.
Hi Christine, thanks for the amazing review! I need to make this recipe myself ASAP! :)