Host a Vegan BBQ or Potluck
Summer is a great time to get your friends and family more interested in vegan eating. One simple and fun way to do this is to host a vegan BBQ and/or potluck. It's as easy as one, two, three!
1) Pick a location.
If you have a house with a yard, you’re pretty much set. Or if you have a friend with a nice house, you can ask them. A friend with a pool would be even better! If those are not good options, find a park with picnic tables and perhaps a shelter. You may need to reserve a shelter space at the park, so check into that.
2) Prepare for your event.
Potluck only:
If you are having a potluck, you just need to ask people to bring a vegan dish. We have included a few recipes below and a list of suggestions. Google the name of any food dish and add "vegan" and you are sure to get recipes. We also listed below other items you will need.
BBQ & Potluck:
If you have a gas BBQ, you are good to go. Make sure you have enough propane in the tank. Or if you are using a grill at a park, make sure to bring charcoal brickets, lighter fluid, and matches. You may want to bring a metal brush to clean off a public grill, or even your home grill, if it was used for meat previously.
3) Invite your friends and family.
Send emails, bulletins, IMs, texts, and evites, and make calls to your friends and family with the date, time, and location of the event. Be clear that it is an all vegan event. That means the food must all be vegan, not the people attending. Be friendly and let people know they can email or call you if they are not sure what to bring or if they need to know if something is vegan. Some common ingredients that aren’t vegan to watch out for: milk, cream, mayonnaise, whey, butter, eggs, egg whites.
Make sure to let people know if they can bring their dogs or not, if the event has a specific ending time, and if there are other house rules or requests. If you have a pool, volleyball net, or other activities, include that information.
You may want to ask people to list the ingredients on a note card for anyone with food allergies. You can also ask people to bring copies of the recipe to exchange.
If your non-vegan friends are critical of a vegan potluck or aren't comfortable with making vegan food, let them know how much it would mean to you for them to attend and be open to trying the vegan food. Point out to them how many common foods are vegan and suggest that they bring an item that they are familiar with, such as chips and salsa, a vegetable tray, or even a packaged food such as Oreos.
Food suggestions
Burgers:
> Boca Burgers [original "hamburger" style or "chicken" burgers]
> Gardenburger [several varieties are vegan, but not the original Gardenburger]
> Several other brands make vegan burgers also, so check the ingredients. Costco often carries Boca Burgers in a 15 pack. Costco buns are also usually vegan. Cheap store brand buns are often vegan, as are sourdough rolls.
Dogs:
> Almost all brands of veggie dogs are vegan. Yves, Lightlife, and others make vegan veggie dogs.
Other food and drink:
> Tortilla or potato chips [many are vegan but many are not, so check labels]
> Salsa, guacamole, and/or bean dip [check for dairy in the guac and dips]
> Potato salad [see recipe below]
> Fruit salad
> Juice, soda, and/or fruit drinks [ Capri Sun, etc]
> Condiments: Ketchup, relish, and mustard are almost always vegan. BBQ sauce [watch for honey]. Mayonnaise is not vegan unless you get Vegenaise or Nayonaise. Most non-vegans who try Vegenaise love it, so we recommend that brand [available at Whole Foods and other health food stores or in the natural food section at your local store].
Other things you will need:
> Paper or plastic plates and cups, and plastic utensils. If you use a house, you can use washable plates and cups to help the Earth. Plastic plates, cups, and silverware can usually be hand washed for reuse also [the dishwasher might melt them].
> You may want a tablecloth if you are using a public picnic table.
> You may wish to have vegan recipes and literature on display for people. Contact us for flyers or print out your own here: http://afa-online.org/
Recipes
Some vegan recipe sites:
http://www.vegweb.com/
http://www.theppk.com/
http://www.vegcooking.com/
http://www.chooseveg.com/
A few of our favorite vegan recipes:
Vegan Potato Salad #1
5 lbs potatoes
Boil potatoes until just done, let cool. (You can use any type of potato, but russets cook quicker, so boil separately if you're combining.) Cut in small chunks when cool.
Half block firm tofu
Drain and press tofu (wrap in towel, with a little weight on top, let sit for 15-30 minutes), then slice and dice into tiny rectangles.
1 large onion, diced small
4-5 dill pickles, diced
1 ½ cup Vegenaise
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/3 cup pickle juice
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1+ teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
Combine onion, pickle, Vegenaise, mustard, pickle juice, yeast, salt and pepper. Gently fold in potatoes and tofu. You can adjust seasonings to taste. The potatoes will absorb moisture as it sits, add more Vegenaise, mustard and/or pickle juice if necessary.
Vegenaise is an incredible vegan mayonnaise [made without eggs] that is available at Whole Foods and many other stores. If your local grocer does not carry it, ask that they do.
Macaroni Salad
1 lb macaroni pasta
3/4 cup Vegenaise
1/8 cup dill pickle juice
1/2 cup dill pickles, diced
1 cup vegan cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
Cook the pasta; rinse and let cool. Mix the vegan mayonnaise with the pickle juice, then stir in the pasta until evenly coated. Add the pickles and vegan cheese, then mix until evenly distributed with the pasta. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tater Tot Salad
1 package Tater Tots (enough for one cookie sheet full)
1 small jar Vegenaise
1 cucumber, chopped
4 firm tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 small orange bell pepper, chopped
Dash of balsamic vinegar
Salt, pepper to taste
Mix all together.
Goddess Pasta Salad
1 lb. pasta (rotini, penne, macaroni, etc)
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen; cooked, then cooled)
1 cup broccoli (cooked, then cooled)
One 8oz bottle Annie’s Naturals Goddess Dressing or Trader Joe’s Goddess Dressing
Other vegetable options: red, yellow, and/or orange peppers (raw and diced); diced tomatoes; avocado; etc.
Cook the pasta; rinse and let cool. Add the vegetables and dressing. Mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Vegan Potato Salad #2
6 small baking potatoes or red potatoes, peeled
1 cup vegan mayonnaise (Vegenaise is a good option.)
1 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp dill
2 T nutritional yeast
2 T relish (dill or sweet)
1/4 tsp vegetable broth mix
Salt and pepper, as desired
Cut potatoes into cubes and boil until soft. Drain the potatoes. Mix the other ingredients in a separate bowl, then add the potatoes and mix until they are evenly coated. Refrigerate to cool.
Desserts
Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks or 1/2 of a 16 oz tub) vegan margarine [Nucoa or Earth Balance], room temperature
1 ½ cups brown or light brown sugar
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cup quick oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 “eggs” [Ener-G Egg Replacer powder or other egg substitute*]
1/2 to 3/4 bag of semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips.**
Preheat oven to 325F.
Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the soft [room temp] margarine and the water from the “eggs” and mix with a hand blender. Dribble vanilla over mixed ingredients and mix again. Dough should stick together but not be too wet; it should hold its shape when formed into a ball and not stick to the spoon. If too dry, add a teaspoon of water and mix more. If too wet, add 1/4 cup flour or oats and mix more. Do this until you have a good consistency.
Add chocolate chips and either mix in by hand or with a mixer.
Using a soup spoon, form balls of dough and place on cookie sheet about two inches apart. Air bake cookie sheets work the best.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes depending on cookie size. Let cookies cool on sheet before removing.
*Other egg substitutes:
Arrowroot Flour - 2 TB for 1 egg
Potato Starch - 2 TB for 1 egg
Soy Powder - 1 heaping TB + 2 TB water for 1 egg
Flax Seed & Water Puree - 1 TB flaxseeds + 1 Cup water for 1 egg. Blend flaxseeds and water in blender for 1 to 2 minutes until mixture is thick and has the consistency of a beaten egg white.
**Vegan brands of chocolate chips:
Ghirardelli semi-sweet
Guittard semi-sweet
Trader Joe's brand semi-sweet
Whole Foods brand semi-sweet
Kroger Private Selection chocolate chunks
Many store brands are as well, so check ingredients.
Note: “Cocoa butter” is a common ingredient in chocolate chips. It is not dairy derived and is vegan.
Chewy Vegan Brownies
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup water
1 cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T ground flax seed
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients. Pour into a greased 6 x 9 inch pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. To make them more chocolate-y, crush chocolate chips or a chocolate bar and stir the flakes into the batter.
Banana Muffins (or Blueberry-Banana Muffins)
3 ripe bananas
1/4 cup oil or melted margarine
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
Optional: 3/4 cup blueberries
In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Add the oil or margarine, and add the sugar. Add the dry ingredients. If desired, fold in blueberries. Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes in a muffin tin.
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