Summertime is here and that means we can grill out! Yes, us vegans get to enjoy BBQ food too. Its 2021 and just about anything can be made vegan. I highly suggest looking into these options because outside of vegans, some people like dairy free or pork free or beef free options to enjoy for health or religious reasons. Here is an easy guide of vegan substitutes that makes everyone feels included!
Beans
In case you didn't know, a lot of beans have lard or pork in it. Thankfully, Bush's makes a vegetarian one! This made life so much easier because who wants to make baked beans from scratch?????
Burgers
There are almost too many vegan ground beef alternatives on the market that you can find in every grocery store now woo! My favorites are Beyond Meat and Impossible. My tip for these is to add BBQ sauce and re-patty them out for more flavor.
Hot Dogs
I LOVE hot dogs with a passion. God only knows what is in a pork hot dog...so you shouldn't worry about what's in a vegan one! Well its just soy and seasonings but you get my point. The most common brand you can find is LightLife Smart Dogs but my new favorite is the new Field Roast Stadium Dogs (those are too good, I am skeptical about how they made them taste so good but I'm gonna keep eating them).
Potato Salad and Cole Slaw
We can talk shit about people who like mayo all we want but you must remember that mayo blesses us with things like potato salad and cole slaw. Some people are simply not gifted with the ability to make good potato salad however. I will give you the ingredients but you need to be a true Southerner to make it taste right. Sorry but those are the rules. Also, if I told you exactly how to do this, I'd be betraying my Grandmother sooooo.
Vegan Potato Salad
Ingredients:
Yukon Potatoes
Vegan Mayo (I use Hellman's)
Sweet Relish
Celery
Green Onions
Mustard
Black Pepper
Paprika
Black Salt (this replaces the boiled egg)
Method:
Boiled chopped potatoes until kinda firm kinda soft
Drain potatoes
Mix all remaining ingredients
Say a prayer that you won't be roasted by your family
Dessert
I personally love eating anything at the cookout from banana pudding to ice cream to cake. My favorite as a child growing up was strawberry cake. So I grabbed a box of cake mix and vanilla frosting and creating pure joy in the form of cupcakes. I used the water and oil measurements like the box said but used 1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce to sub out the eggs. I would suggest watching these bake carefully because cupcakes burn more easily in my opinion but you can also just follow the box instructions from the trash can because that's what we all do...
There are plenty of other foods we can enjoy at cookouts like chips and fruit but we deserve more options! I want to point out that vegan options like this are not consumed for good health specifically, you aren't eating cookout food for your health so don't assume we are too all the time. This kind of food is fun to eat in moderation! So be kind and courteous and have fun at the grill this summer! Take care!