Plant Based U

Fat-Free and Low Fat Vegan Plant Based Recipes

Dressing

Plant Based Tempeh Bacon and Tofu Caesar Wraps

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These tofu Caesar wraps are great for packed lunches or picnics. You can prep the ingredients the day before and combine and wrap up in the morning to take with you wherever you go.

Alternatively, you can skip the wrap and just make a big bowl of Caesar salad with the tempeh or tofu and add any other salad ingredients you like. It’s great for family dinners and barbecues too.

Even kids will enjoy the Caesar dressing to dip veggies into as an alternative to hummus!

I use a mix of nuts and seeds in the Caesar dressing to reduce some of the fat content and cashews can be expensive in some places so I only use them in small quantities. Use whatever you have if necessary. Any mild nut or seed like cashews, sunflower, sesame (or tahini paste) or pinenuts can be used.

To get some umami and fishy taste into the Caesar dressing I use a mix of miso paste and seaweed flakes/granules. The roasted garlic gives a really wonderful flavor, but in a pinch you can use raw garlic as well.

I just go these cute lunch box bentos to try out and was looking for something that could easily fit inside.

These bento box containers come with 2 sections and a lid and elastic to hold them together. I just thought they were a cute idea to carry lunches in and wanted to share them with you. You can absolutely use plastic or glass containers or use reuseable protective wrap to cover them in.

I make this dressing ahead of time so I can add it to salads or wraps as needed. You can use tempeh or tofu or both to fill out the wraps as well

Roasted Garlic Vegan Caesar Dressing 

  • 1/2 cup raw cashews (soak overnight and drain if you don’t have a high powered blender)
  • 1 bulb roasted garlic  (recipe here)
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice 
  • 2 small pitted dates (soak overnight and drain if you don’t have a high powered blender) 
  • 2 tsp miso paste (mild yellow or brown) 
  • 1 tsp dried dill
  • 3/4 tsp seaweed flakes or crushed nori flakes
  • Fresh ground pepper 
  • 2/3 cup filtered water 

Directions: 

  1. Place ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add a little more water as needed. (As this is oil free it’s best that it’s thick and not too watery so it coats lettuce leaves better.)  
  2. Taste test and adjust for salt, pepper and tanginess as needed.
  3. Cover and refrigerate up to 5 days in the fridge.

Vegan Tempeh Bacon Bits

  • 1 package of plain tempeh
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos
  • 2 tbsps maple syrup or sweetener of choice
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 3/4 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  1. Slice the tempeh into strips and then cut the slices into small pieces.
  2. In a container with a lid mix the marinade ingredients and add the tempeh and seal.
  3. Toss to combine and refrigerate. It’s best marinated over night or up to 3 days. At least a few hours is required to get the best results.
  4. Preheat 400F line a baking sheet with a non stick mat.
  5. Drain out extra marinade from the container.
  6. Spread out on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
  7. Turn and bake another 3-5 minutes being sure they don’t burn.
  8. Let cool and refrigerate up to 5 days.

Vegan Caesar Wraps

Ingredients:

  • Package of large tortilla wraps
  • Caesar dressing recipe above
  • Tempeh Bacon recipe above
  • 1 block of tofu baked or marinated and sliced. I marinated the cubes in vegan “chicken broth powder” mixed with water overnight and baked at 400 degrees on my convection oven (or use air fryer) for 25-30 minutes until dry and “crispy” *Optional
  • Romaine lettuce, chopped or bagged salad of choice
  • Cherry tomatoes sliced, or cucumber, diced

Assembly Directions:

  1. In a bowl combine the salad ingredients, a few table spoons of dressing, tempeh and/or tofu together.
  2. Toss to combine and check if you need more dressing.
  3. Heat the tortilla wraps for 10-15 seconds in the microwave to soften.
  4. Assemble the wraps by adding the caesar salad mixture in the bottom 1/3 of the wrap and fold the bottom up and over the filling. Fold the sides in over the middle and continuing rolling the tortilla upward as tightly as you can without the filling breaking out.
  5. Slice the wraps if desired and serve.

Let me know what you think of this recipe and what your favourite lunch wraps are that you make!

Silken Tofu Plant Based Tzatzki Sauce (Vegan, Oil and Dairy Free)

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Silken Tofu Vegan Oil Free Tzatziki Sauce

Looking for a deliciously cool dip or sauce for veggies, wraps, or Greek pita sandwiches? This recipe is super easy and uses silken tofu instead of yogurt for the base. Tofu actually is processed like cheese is taking a “milk” and adding coagulant and then separating the curds from the whey in most cases.



Silken tofu is set with the soy bean whey in it, so it’s a little softer and creamier. Which makes it a great substitute for dairy when you want a creamy base and because it’s less processed than soy yogurts it’s usually cheaper too.

Silken Tofu Vegan Oil Free Tzatziki Sauce

Silken Tofu Tzatziki (Vegan and Oil Free)

Ingredients:
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 12oz pkg firm Mori-nu silken tofu, drained (make sure to use firm, soft will be too runny for dip but maybe ok for salad dressing)
2-3 large garlic cloves
2 tbsp raw unsalted cashews or pine nuts (Soaked and drained if you don’t have a high powered blender)
1/2 tsp Herbamare or sea salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp ground black or white pepper
1 English cucumber deseeded, peeled and grated
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (or 2 tsp dried)



Directions:

  1. Combine lemon juice, tofu, garlic, cashews, salt and pepper into food processor or blender and blend until creamy.
  2. Taste test and add more lemon juice, salt or pepper if desired.
  3. Squeeze out all of the excess water from the grated cucumber with your hands or with a spoon through a mesh strainer.
  4. Stir in the fresh dill and strained cucumber.
  5. Store in a container and refrigerate a few hours before serving.



Use within 3-4 days for best results due to the nature of fresh ingredients.

What are you going to serve with your Tzatziki?



Oil Free Vegan White Bean and Cashew Mayo Recipe (Plant Based)

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OilFreeVeganCashewWhiteBeanMayoPlantBased

Although egg free mayo is widely available in a lot of stores, it’s not really a recommended food for health because of how processed it is and that it’s based primarily on oil. So when you’re looking for a healthier version a homemade oil free plant based mayo can be really helpful for jazzing up sandwiches, wraps and other cold salad recipes.



I  especially recommend using this mayo for vegan friendly recipes like tofu “egg” salad, potato salad, or chickpea “tuna” salad. If you’re someone who makes a lot of wraps or sandwiches you might go through this quickly, but if not you can divide the recipe in half or even separate half and freeze it for later. I would use this plant based mayo within a week as it contains fresh ingredients and zero preservatives. What I did is use half of it to make tofu egg salad and the other half to make potato salad for lunches.

FTC Notice: This post includes affiliate links which go towards supporting the blog.

OilFreeVeganCashewWhiteBeanMayoPlantBased

Oil Free Vegan Cashew White Bean Mayo (Plant-Based)

Ingredients: 

½ cup cashews, raw and unsalted (If you don’t have a high powered blender soak them in hot water for 1/2 hour prior.)
1 15 oz/425 gram can of cooked white beans, OR 1.5 cups fresh cooked white beans, drained and rinsed (white kidney beans, cannellini, great northern etc.)
3 tbsp of dijon mustard (or mustard of choice)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or substitute extra apple cider vinegar)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp kala namak (black salt) or Herbamare or sea salt (If you’re not making egg or potato salad with this you can just use Herbamare or Salt if you don’t  want a sulphurous egg flavour)
1/4 tsp white or black pepper
*Water  to blend if using a low powered blender. Not necessary if using  a Vitamix or Blendtec



Directions:

  1. Place ingredients into Vitamix or blender or food processor  in the order above. (Skip the extra water if using a high powered blender.)
  2. A) Turn on your Vitamix and use the tamper to push  everything down into the blade and blend on medium high until you see a creamy consistency.
    B) If using a regular blender use just enough water as needed to blend and sttop and  scrape down the  sides with a spoon and continue blending until smooth.
  3. Once completely smooth, store in a glass jar in the fridge.

 Storage:

Use within preferably within 5 days, but may last up until 7 days if stored air tight. Put any extra in a freezer safe container before  it  spoils to freeze for later.



Variations:

For tofu “egg” salad and potato salad the kala namak (black salt) gives it that egg-like flavour. If you’re using it for chickpea “tuna” salad or other veggie sandwiches  and don’t want that egg-like flavour you can use regular sea salt or my favourite: Herbamare instead.

Try it with different types of mustard too if you prefer a sweeter or spicier one as well.

What is your favourite sandwich  or wrap to use with vegan mayo?