Vegan/Gluten Free St. Patrick's Day Meals
Let’s get creative. Each country with big Irish populations has its own traditions, but they all agree on tasty food, the color green, and recipes that celebrate their Irish heritage. Our collection of plant based traditional Irish recipes features vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free dishes that can accommodate those with dietary restrictions so no one goes hungry! They include main dishes, sides, bread, and beverages so you can plan a traditional menu and still be sensitive to special dietary needs.
Vegan Green Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free old fashion oats
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch (also known as arrowroot powder)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened, plain plant-milk (oat milk)
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3–4 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
- avocado oil, coconut oil or vegan butter for greasing the griddle
Instructions
- Heat a large griddle over medium heat. While it heats up, make the pancake batter.
- In a high speed blender, process the oats until a fine flour forms. I prefer homemade oat flour over store bought in terms of texture so I highly recommend this step.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (homemade oat flour, arrowroot starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon).
- Clean out the high speed blender jar and place all wet ingredients inside (plant-based milk of choice, maple syrup, vanilla and vinegar). Add the baby spinach overtop and blend on the highest speed until no spinach bits remain (30-60 seconds). Pour this green mixture into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk until no clumps remain. If you want to thin out the batter a bit, add 1-2 more tablespoons of milk and stir.
- Once the griddle is very hot, use avocado oil, coconut oil or vegan butter to coat the griddle. Then, place 2 tablespoons of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook 3-5 minutes per side. To tell when it is ready to flip, look for bubbles throughout the entire pancake and golden brown edges all around. Once both sides are golden brown gently remove from the griddle to a serving tray. Re-grease the griddle between each batch. Serve the pancakes while hot with nut or seed butter, maple syrup, chia jam, fresh berries, sliced banana or vegan butter.
Notes
The longer you cook the pancake the more the green will turn brown. So you may want to cook one side briefly to keep the green color for presentation. The inside will still be green regardless though.
Vegan Full Irish Breakfast (1 Serving)
- 2 slices Vegan Bacon, or Sausage, or 1 Veggie Burger
(Denny Vegan Sausage, or Tofurkey Tempeh Strips, or Morningstar Farms Veggie Burger)
- 2 scrambled eggs (Vegan Egg Substitute)
- 2 small tomatoes, quartered, and grilled (season with salt, pepper, and ground chives)
- 2 slices gluten free sandwich bread ( toasted and halved)
- 1 cup vegan baked beans (see recipe)
- 2 Tablespoons plant butter for toast (Country Crock)
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Instructions for Beans
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 6 to 10 minutes.
Add beans, water, ketchup, maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are very tender and the liquid has thickened, about 30 minutes.
Vegan Baked Beans
Ingredients
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 lb. great northern or navy beans, cooked
1 ½ cups water
¾ cup ketchup
⅓ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Vegan Irish Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil or other light vegetable oil
- 1 Spanish onion finely sliced
- 2 med-large leeks sliced into rounds
- 2 med-large stalks celery finely diced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or ½ tsp dried
- 1 large bay leaf
- 3 medium carrots cut into chunks
- 1.1 lb. new or baby potatoes, cut in half
- 6 3/4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 5 vegan sausages, cut into chunks
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan (e.g. a stock pot), and gently fry the onion, leeks, celery, thyme, bay, and carrot for 10 mins.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, except the parsley, stir well, cover the pan, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for around 25 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are tender.
- Stir in the parsley, and serve immediately.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to three months.
- To cook in a slow cooker: follow step 1 above, add the rest of the ingredients, as per step 2, then cook on low for 10 hours or high for 5. Follow step 3.
For those who can have nuts, here’s a delicious creamy dessert that’s vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, and refined sugar-free to top off any St. Patrick’s Day meal. No baking required.
Raw Vegan Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups mixed raw nuts and seeds of your choice (I used a mix of almonds, brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and a smaller amount of coconut slivers, raisins, and dried cherries)
- 4 medjool dates
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- 1–2 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, soft
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp pure mint extract
- dash of salt
FILLING: (MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS AT ROOM TEMP FOR THIS PART!)
- 2 small ripe avocados
- a big handful of baby spinach
- ⅔ cup raw cashews, pre-soaked and strained*
- ¾ cup liquid sweetener of your choice (I used maple syrup)
- ½ cup coconut water (or a mylk of your choice)
- ¼ cup coconut oil, soft or liquified (but not hot)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp pure mint extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
Topping
- a handful of cacao nibs (chocolate chips or shavings would work well too)
Instructions
- Place all crust ingredients in a food processor and process into a fine crumble. Scoop out this mixture into your pie dish and press it down with your fingers to form a thin pie crust. Place in the freezer while working on the next part.
- Make sure all your filling ingredients are at room temperature to prevent coconut oil from hardening up prematurely. Place all filling ingredients into a good blender {I used my Vitamix for this}, and process until the mixture is smooth and thoroughly blended {use your tamper, or stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula as needed}.
- Transfer this mixture into prepared tart crust. Smooth out the top to your liking. Sprinkle with cacao nibs and place back in the freezer to set for at least 4 hours. See notes for serving options. Enjoy!
NOTES
*To pre-soak nuts: place in a glass bowl, cover with water, and leave to soak for 4 hours (or overnight in the fridge). Then strain and discard the water.
For a quick pre-soak, cover with boiled water and soak for 15 mins, then strain and discard water. (Note: this technique doesn’t preserve the nutrition of the recipe as well as the traditional soaking technique above).
Note: the purpose of soaking the nuts is to re-hydrate them and plump them up for blending into a smooth, cheesecake-like consistency. Proper soaking techniques also maximize nutrition and digestibility.
Other notes: Use a non-stick tart pan with a removable bottom for easier handling and prettier serving. But any type of dish of a similar size will work.
– Because of the presence of avocado in this pie, you’ll have to keep it frozen until serving time, as otherwise it will brown up and you’ll be starting to pick up on a subtle avocado flavor, which you obviously don’t want. Seeing as it’s an ice cream pie, keeping it frozen just makes sense
It’s recommend to thaw the frozen ice cream pie for about 10-15 minutes prior to serving, and placing any leftovers back in the freezer when done.
Double ingredients for a larger pie.
Where there is a will, there is a way.