London is riding high on the great vegan tidal wave that has swept across much of the UK. Rejecting animals and their products has never been more popular. Supermarkets are increasingly featuring vegan options among the more traditional fare on their shelves and cafes are quickly following this trend to boost and maintain their customer base.
But when it comes to an occasion where meat is intrinsic to the meal, it can be tricky to find options to satisfy all tastes. A summer BBQ is one such occasion with its burgers, sausages, ribs and chicken alongside salads. But there’s no need to miss out, here we have six great vegan options for your BBQ, guaranteed to satisfy.
It’s About Thyme!
No need for meat – chickpeas, sweetcorn and herbs form the bulk of a vegan burger. With just a few key ingredients and this easy to follow recipe, you can magic up these up in no time.
A staple favourite in every BBQ, these veggie kebabs combine simplicity with great taste. It’s easy to stick a few peppers and onions onto a skewer and call it a kebab, so why not up the ante and go a bit further with this easy recipe, which combines vegetables and barbecued tofu with peanut sauce for that little something extra.
Tofu often gets a hard time as an ingredient. But as part of a vegan-friendly meal, BBQ tofu most definitely has a place with this straightforward recipe. And it isn’t just about barbecuing it; this recipe page also has a lot of information on cooking tofu in general. Let’s just say that even hardened tofu haters will struggle to hate it after this recipe!
And now we have a slightly more unusual one. The great thing about aubergine is that its soft, spongy texture easily absorbs sauces and flavourings so that you get a great tasting dish with minimal effort. Suggestions for sauces include a BBQ one (of course!), sweet miso, garlic and herb and a smoky, Texan traditional sauce. Slather the aubergine and then stick it under the grill – it’ll be ready in no time to add to your picnic.
Cauliflower steaks. If you like steaks on the BBQ but you don’t like the accompanying fat and calories, then these cauliflower steaks could be just the ticket. Already a firm favourite as a carb stand-in, these are perfect on the grill for a vegan-friendly steak. Oh, and they’re totally simple to make with this recipe.
Continuing with our meat substitute theme, vegan BBQ ribs are a great alternative to the meat ones. Ribs are all about the smoky, BBQ taste with sauce smothered all over them – and these vegan ones deliver just that. Made with seitan for an all-round good, healthy, vegan dish – you definitely won’t be missing the real thing.
So, there you have it. Perfectly simple, vegan dishes to incorporate with the rest of your BBQ to make sure that there’s something for everyone as the sun (hopefully!) shines down on us this summer.