Vegan Greek No-gurt and Granola

I am exceptionally proud of this recipe. This will be a game-changer to those of you who love the creaminess of yogurt but choose to go animal-free. This is better than the chalky stuff that was available six years ago. This is creamier than the lumpy cultured soy product that’s been around for years. This is on par with the current coconut and almond yogurts, but with less sugar, refined and plant-based starches, and way more protein.

Don’t believe me? See the bottom of this post for a detailed nutritional comparison…. I won’t put it here to bore the people just looking for vegan food porn.

I’m working on a cultured version right now, but this stuff tastes just as good anyway.

Imagine it layered with fruit and cereal for breakfast. Smeared onto tacos instead of sour cream. Swirled into soups for awesome creaminess. Dive in!

I have also included a protein-packed granola recipe to go with it. It uses a hearty mix of seeds, grains, and nuts to keep you full.

A few notes about special ingredients:

The yogurt uses agar-agar, which I also used in my previous marshmallow recipe. This is an animal-free gelatine-like product, commonly used in asian desserts. It can be found at asian grocery stores, or at organic foods stores. You can buy flakes or powder. I prefer powder, as it is more precise to measure. My measurements are using powder, so if you can only get flakes, go by weight. It is assumed that you can use 3x the volume when subbing flakes for powder, but I have not personally tried this.

I use Soya Flakes, also called Rolled Soya, as a major ingredient in the granola. I’ve seen it online from Indian import stores, and from a british muesli store. If you’re Canadian and can get to a Bulk Barn, this is your best bet. If you can’t find soya flakes, no sweat. Use more old-fashioned oats, or try rolled Kamut flakes for a heartier crunch. I haven’t posted nutritional information for this recipe, as I suspect everyone’s choices will make macronutrient values vary.

Vegan Greek No-Gurt

An original recipe by Agent Minty

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package traditional tofu (340g), not pressed
• 1/4 cup coconut cream from a can – if you want less fat, use light canned coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp +1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1.5 tsp (4g) agar-agar powder

Instructions:

1. Puree tofu in a food processor or high-speed blender for at least one minute.
2. Stir, scraping down sides of bowl, and process for at least another minute, until it is completely smooth to touch and taste.
3. Add coconut milk, 3 Tbsp of almond milk, lemon juice, and maple syrup.
4. Process for one more minute, scrape down bowl, and puree for another 10 seconds.
5. Whisk agar powder into remaining 1/4 cup almond milk in a small saucepan.
6. Heat on medium, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a gentle boil.
7. Turn down heat and whisk continuously for another two minutes until the agar is completely dissolved.
8. Take a spatula and scoop out approximately 1/4 of the tofu mixture into the agar mixture. Whisk well.
9. Heat mixture for another 30 seconds, whisking continuously, then add another scoop of tofu mixture to the pot as before.
10. Remove agar-tofu mixture from the heat. Start running food processor.
11. Slowly transfer the warmed mixture into the running food processor.
12. Process for another two minutes, until smooth and slightly cooled.
13. Place the mixture into the refrigerator for 20-40 minutes (I just place the bowl of the food processor straight into the fridge).
14. Once the mixture has solidified, return to the machine and process for 30-60 seconds until smooth.
15. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to ten days.

High-Protein Granola – An original recipe by Agent Minty

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
• 2.5 Tbsp fine, unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds
• 6.5 Tbsp sunflower seeds
• 3/4 cup raw cashews, broken into smaller pieces
• 1/4 roughly chopped raw almonds
• 2/3 cup rolled soya flakes
• 3 Tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup maple syrup (If not vegan, can substitute half volume for creamed honey)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Combine oats, soya, coconut, seeds, and nuts in a large bowl.
3. Combine coconut oil, maple syrup, spices, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl.
4. Microwave oil mixture on medium power for 30-60 seconds, until it is runny.
5. Stir liquid mixture briefly, then pour over dry oat mixture.
6. Mix with a wooden spoon until all dry ingredients are lightly coated.
7. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until mixture is fragrant and nuts/seeds are lightly toasted.
9. Cool for an hour before breaking granola into small clumps.
10. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

 Nutritional Comparison

My No-gurt:

125 mL (1/4 of recipe) has:

• 120 calories, 7g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 6 g carbs, 4 g sugar, 7 g protein, 13% RDA Calcium, 10% RDA Iron

A popular brand of coconut yogurt (using full-fat coconut cream):

125 mL (calculated from 175 mL serving on label) has:

• 100 calories, 3.6 g total fat, 3.2 g saturated fat, 16.4 g carbs, 5 g sugar, 1.4 g protein, 25% RDA Calcium, 4.2% RDA Iron

A popular brand of almond yogurt:

125 mL (calculated from 175 mL serving on label) has:

• 71 calories, 4.3 g total fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 9.3 g carbs, 5 g sugar, 2.1 g protein, 28.6% RDA Calcium, 2.8% RDA Iron

A popular brand of cultured soy product:

125 mL (calculated from 170 mL serving on label) has:

• 107 calories, 2.1 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 17.9 g carbs, 10.7 g sugar, 3.57 g protein, 10.7% RDA Calcium, 1.1% RDA Iron

Yes, mine has more calories and more fat than the others, but it tastes awesome… and the protein is great if (like me) you’re trying to put on muscle in the gym!

OMG VEGAN MARSHMALLOWS!!!

This is what has been missing in your animal-free life:

It isn’t an animal product, it’s a homemade marshmallow. Soft, fluffy, sweet. Toastable.

Delicious for piping onto cupcakes and making, say, s’mores-themed desserts.

You CAN make these at home. Some of the ingredients are slightly exotic, but easy enough to find at any organic or health food store. The magic ingredient is the juice from a can of chickpeas, known by many vegans as aqua faba. This whips up to fabulous, magical fluffy mock egg whites and serves as the base for the marshmallows, along with a few other ingredients.

Next you beat in a hot syrup to make the candy, and then add in an agar-agar solution (instead of the traditional, animal-based gelatine). After a good amount of beating, the mixture will “vulcanize” and you’ll be ready to make marshmallows. Some recipes advise pouring it into a pan and cutting them into cubes, but I found that this makes a wet mess. Piping them into “kisses” provides more surface area, helping them dry properly.

I found the recipe originally on Seitan Is my Motor, but made a few modifications. Please read their link for more information… the more you read in preparation, the more likely it is to go smoothly!

In addition, I’ve provided a recipe below for some crazy-good s’mores cupcakes. These have a graham cracker-flavoured cake with a soft chocolate ganache, topped with toasted marshmallow. I thought they would be best fresh, but they are even more delicious if assembled the night before and allowed to sit at room temperature overnight before serving. Pull these babies out when you want to seriously impress people.

Vegan Marshmallows – Modified from Seitan is my Motor

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/3 cup golden cane or corn syrup (or half white corn syrup and half golden, but NOT ALL white corn syrup)
• 1/2 cup juice from canned chickpeas
• 1 tsp Xanthan gum
• 1/4 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp agar powder
• Icing sugar

Specialized equipment:

• Stand mixer with whisk attachment
• Candy thermometer
• Two small/medium saucepans
• Large piping bag
• Waxed paper

Instructions:

1. Combine 1/2 cup water and sugar in a medium pot. Whisk until combined.
2. Stir in cream of tartar and syrup.
3. Heat on medium, stirring once or twice, until mixture comes to a boil.
4. Continue to simmer without stirring, and place a candy thermometer in the pot to measure temperature.
5. Occasionally rush down splattered syrup from sides of pot with a brush dipped in water, and allow syrup to cook until it reaches 248F/120C. This will take five to ten minutes.
6. Meanwhile, combine chickpea juice, Xantham gum, and lemon juice in the bowl of your mixer with a whisk attachment.
7. Whisk chickpea mixture until it is stiff, about 2 minutes.
8. Add vanilla at beat for another two minutes.
9. Whisk together agar powder and 1/4 water in a small saucepan, and turn heat to low.
10. While still monitoring the syrup temperature, gently stir to agar mixture without letting it come to a simmer.
11. Once the syrup has reached 248F/120C, turn on mixer with chickpea foam inside. Slowly pour hot syrup into the mixing foam.
12. Beat on high speed for two-four minutes, while finishing the agar mixture.
13. Bring the agar to a simmer. Stir in 1 tsp more water.
14. Using your wet brush to wash any specks of agar the are on the sides of the pot while continuing to cook.
15. To test whether agar is ready, dip a fork into the solution and wave in the air to slightly cool off. When you taste the mixture, it should be smooth and not gritty.
16. Once the agar is ready, pour/scrape into the running mixer.
17. After incorporating the agar, pause mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
18. Resume beating the mixture at high speed for at least five minutes, until the mixture is cooled to just above room temperature. You will notice that a bit of the mixture, when spooned out and waved around to cool, starts to get a bit rubbery.
19. Scoop mixture into a large piping bag without a tip.
20. Dust a sheet of waxed paper with icing sugar.
21. Pipe dollops (about 1 Tbsp in size) of mixture onto the sheet; if you wish you can also pipe onto prepared cupcakes (see below).
22. For loose marshmallows, sift with icing sugar and allow to cure at room temperature, uncovered, for at least a day.

S’mores cupcakes – An original recipe by Agent Minty

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

• 70g vegan graham crackers (about 4.5 large sheets)
• 3/4 cup + 3 Tbsp white flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup Earth Balance/non-dairy hard margarine
• 6 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 Tbsp water
• 3 tsp egg replacer powder
• 2 Tbsp (40g) light syrup (non vegans could use creamed honey), melted
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk

Ganache

• 1/4 cup coconut cream from a can
• 2.3 cup chocolate chips

Prepared Marshmallow mix from above (Do not prepare until cupcakes and ganache have been assembled)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Process graham crackers in a food processor to get fine crumbs – This should make 1/2 cup +3 Tbsp.
3. Combine crumbs with flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Cream together margarine, brown sugar, and white sugar in a stand mixer.
5. Whisk together vanilla, water, and egg replacer until slightly frothy. Add to butter mixture.
6. Mix honey, canola oil, and lemon juice to butter mixture, stirring until well combined.
7. Add in half of flour mixture, stirring until evenly mixed.
8. Scrape down bowl and add milk, mixing well.
9. Mix in remaining dry mixture.
10. Divide mixture between 12 lined muffin tins.
11. Bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating once, until a toothpick inserted into cupcake come out dry.
12. Remove to cooling rack and cool for at least an hour (prepare ganache at this time).
13. Heat coconut cream in a saucepan or in the microwave until hot but not boiling.
14. Stir in chocolate chips until melted.
15. Set aside to cool for at least one hour.
16. Scoop a tablespoonful of ganache onto the centre of each cupcake.
17. Set cupcakes in the refrigerator to harden ganache for at least 20 minutes, while making marshmallow mixture.
18. Pipe a generous amount of marshmallow on top of each cupcake.
19. Allow to cure at room temperature for at least an hour.
20. Using a torch, toast the surface of the marshmallows before serving.