It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken logo

menu icon
search icon

  • Join over 500,000 followers

    • ×

    Hi friends!

    I'm Sam Turnbull, vegan recipe blogger, and bestselling cookbook author, writing to you from Toronto, Canada.

    Here's my story...

    Going vegan

    You might be surprised to hear that the moment I decided I was going to go vegan, I was completely and utterly bummed about it.

    Let me explain, I NEVER in a million years thought I would become vegan.

    I grew up in a family of foodies, chefs, butchers, and hunters (yes, it's true). My household had a flock of chickens (both for eggs and for eating), the freezers were stocked full of meat, steaks were cooked rare, and there were even real animal heads decorating the walls (not that I ever liked the heads). Now, doesn’t that just sound like the most vegan household you have ever heard of? Probably not. So, as I’m sure you can imagine, switching to veganism was a BIG change for me.

    So what in the world happened?

    As a kid I always loved animals. I had dogs, cats, gerbils, turtles, and even a rabbit named Gravy (no, I didn’t realize how incredibly odd that was at the time). But even though I loved animals, I was still an avid meat eater. It made sense to me: animals were killed because we “needed” to eat meat and that seemed a-ok to me.

    I thought vegetarians, and especially vegans, were so extreme and silly. They were all dying of protein deficiency for sure. (Insert eye roll here.) So, that’s how I was coasting along through life. Loving my pets, being creeped out by fur and taxidermy, all while wearing leather and eating meat, eggs, and dairy.

    Then…

    One fine day in 2012, I made (what turned out to be) the best decision ever: to sit down and watch a documentary about being vegan called "Vegucated". And that triggered some uncomfortable questions in my brain.

    So the next morning I woke up and decided to try being vegan. I cleaned out my cupboards and fridge of anything that wasn't vegan and started this crazy new adventure. I knew I wanted to try it, but I also knew I wasn't entirely convinced yet, so that night I watched "Forks Over Knives".  And then I followed that up with every health, environment, and animal cruelty book and film I could get my hands on.

    The result? You guessed it, here I am today, dun dun duuuuun! A vegan. (Hi!) 👋

    By the end of my documentary and book binge-fest, two things were absolutely clear to me:

    1. I was officially going vegan.
    2. I didn’t want to be vegan.

    After all of my research, it made 100% logical sense to me to be vegan. It was better for my health, the environment, and, of course, the animals. The problem was, I actually hated the idea of adopting a vegan lifestyle. I remember being so frustrated, almost wishing I could unlearn all of the facts I had learned. I loved meat and cheese, and I really didn’t want to be “that weird vegan girl.” Well, I couldn’t unlearn, so I had to come up with a new plan of attack: be the best damn vegan I could be!

    Becoming the best damn vegan I could be...

    I had always loved to cook, so I started researching vegan cooking. I stocked my cupboards with what the recipes required: hard-to-find, expensive, and odd ingredients such as arrowroot starch, brown rice syrup, xylitol, guar gum, spelt, hemp, and other things that I still have lingering in some back corner.

    All the recipes had names that included the words “energy,” “glow,” “detox,” or “power,” and were mainly for bars, balls, juices, smoothies, and salads. They required hours of prep, dehydrating, and straining, and had a ton of steps.

    Cookies were raw, chocolate was frozen, desserts were healthy, dinner was spiralized, grain bowls were a must, and everything had kale, quinoa, chia seeds, sprouts, avocado, and coconut oil in it. This, to me, was indeed boring food

    Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with those kinds of recipes. They just weren’t for me. Sometimes I love a smoothie or juice, but for the most part, I just want pancakes and pasta. Why did I have to become all sprouts and kale just because I was vegan?

    So, I began playing around in the kitchen...

    Not only were my new creations satisfying, hearty, full of flavour, and straight-up delicious, but they were just as easy to make as any other meal. With limitation came inspiration, and before I knew it, going vegan had become one of the best decisions I’d ever made!

    As a sweet bonus, I saw my health improve. I didn’t even know that I had been feeling bad until I learned what it felt like to truly feel great! Gone were the days of feeling bloated after eating, of having a sensitive stomach, of getting drowsy mid-afternoon, of unbuttoning my jeans after meals, and of feeling guilty and grossed out when I thought about what my dinner really was. I was now healthier, leaner, more energetic, and just overall happier.

    The best and most surprising part of going vegan was that I absolutely loved it!

    I started to document my recipes so I could make them again and again. At first, I was just taking quick snaps on my phone and jotted down the ingredients, but I decided a better plan was to (not so subtly) woo my friends, family, and anyone who would listen to the greener side by sharing my recipes online. And so this blog, It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken, was born. Hot dang, it worked! Friends, family, vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores from across the world were making my recipes — and raving about them!

    As the feedback started rolling in, I fell in love with recipe writing. It was so fun, creative, and tasty! Not only that, but I was helping to show people that a plant-based diet can be totally delicious, easy, doable, and good for you! Now, fast forward 10 years, and I'm proud to be "that weird vegan girl". Haha. I have made it my full-time career to share all of my totally scrumptious, approachable, comfort food favorites, and everyday meals made vegan. No fussing about, just good ol’ food that everyone will love, vegan or not.

    This blog now gets millions of visitors every month, I have two bestselling and award-winning cookbooks, I run an online subscription meal planner called The Easy Vegan Meal Plan, I teach online cooking courses at The Ultimate Vegan Kitchen, and you could easily say that going vegan was one of the best decisions I ever made. 🙂

    If you are new here...

    If you're like me, a reluctant vegan, or if you are just looking to incorporate more plant-based foods into your diet, I'm here for you! I promise to help you fall in love with vegan food.

    The best place to start is by signing up to receive my free eCookbook of the Top 30 Vegan Recipes! In this book, you will receive 30 fan-favorite, easy, and incredibly delicious vegan recipes. Whether you're new to plant-based cooking or not, you are going to love these recipes!

    Just enter your name and email address below and get ready to start receiving a whole bunch of mouth-watering, easy-to-make vegan recipes.

    Sign up here

    (And of course, we respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time).

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Barbara says

      Hi, Sam. I have been vegan for a little over a year, diet-wise, though not yet transitioned on the extras (cleaning products, etc.) - I'm working on it. I'm a cookbook-aholic, have a zillion recipes bookmarked, yet often find myself reaching for a frozen dinner. My biggest challenges are that I work long hours (so I need to prep on the weekends) and I'm cooking for 1 (have you ever eaten curry 6 nights in a row? Ugh). Any suggestions for well-balanced, quick, 1-2 portion recipes?

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Hi Barbara, I definitely recommend doing some batch cooking on the weekend and freezing individual portions of food. Also it's a great idea to learn a few quick vegan recipes that you enjoy that only take a few minutes to whip up. Hopefully my new book Fast Easy Cheap Vegan will help you. Every recipe takes 30 minutes or less to prepare and many of them are freezer friendly. 🙂

    2. Joslin says

      Hi Sam! I know you are super busy. So thanks for your time! I have a few questions that I am asking famous vegan bloggers for an article I am writing. I would love your input. Let me know, thanks. There are ten questions...

    3. Jeff Fagnan says

      Have you considered coming up with a potato chip recipe? I'm looking at YouTube videos, but I would like your input?

    4. Jeff Fagnan says

      We like the Crispy Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas. Still like the Frito-Lay Classic potato chips better. Too bad they are unhealthy so we have them only once a year at the BBQ. We just got our food processor from Amazon. So many recipes where it is needed!

    5. Linda says

      Hi Sam,
      I am so happy to have been introduced to you and your recipes. my first one was the easy sticky teriyaki tofu and i fell in love! I have been wanting to eat less and less meat products for a long time now but find it stressful when married to a meat lover. How did you go vegan when your whole family are meat eaters? I cant think of what im actually eating when i eat meat, it just grosses me out. what stops me from going vegan or vegetarian is how will icook for my family but not eat the meat? And what will others think? How did you navigate all this when you made the switch?

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Hi Linda, when I went vegan I lived alone (not with my family) so that definitely helped make it easier as I didn't have anyone to worry about unless I was visiting family or friends. That said I know lots of people who have only one vegan family member. I've heard that what helps is if you make an all vegan meal, and then tell the meat eaters that they can prepare and add any animal products they like. So for example, make pasta with tomato sauce, and if they want to add meat or cheese that's up to them. I also recommend joining some vegan communities. There are many online on facebook and most cities will also have them. This can be helpful so you can get advice and support from people in similar situations. Hope that helps!

    6. Jeff Fagnan says

      Yes, this really is vegan cheesecake. It is good. I had trouble making the crust stay together using the one quarter cup of vegan butter. So instead of adding more butter I mashed a banana and worked it into the crumbs, but even though it made the crust stay together for baking the crust seemed too dense when eating. Next time I'll try using a third or half of a banana.

    7. elizabeth shipley says

      I enjoyed your story very much. I read Diet for a small planet by Francis M Lappe in the early 70's and decided right then and there, I wanted to change my eating habits and that of my family which I did. later on I read an article in Organic gardening and farming about the benefits of tempeh and when I found a starter kit at the local E. Lansing food coop with the soybeans, starter and culture I gave it to my late husband who started making tempeh in a small oven. We later started a business called Betsy's Tempeh in the mid 80's and were on the market for 9 1/2 years until we retired. Since I am alone now and only cook for myself during this pandemic, it's always fun and interesting to read other people's stories. I am in the process of writing a story about how we built our food processing building from the ground up and when and how we made the decision that this was a way forward, instead of just talking about what we could do, we actually put our total savings into this project and never looked back.

      • Sam Turnbull says

        That's wonderful elizabeth! Welcome to my blog 🙂

      • Sarah K Newcombe says

        wow thats a great story! Good luck with your book!

    8. Hanna Pierce says

      Hey,
      I am so excited to try your mac and cheese recipe! One thing I am really struggling with is eggs! I love savory breakfast and no matter how ita made I really dislike tofu scrambles.... any suggestions for a savory, satisfying breakfast that doesn't take ages to make

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Hi Hanna, yes I do! You MUST try my vegan egg yolk. It is to die for. Make sure you get the black salt that is also called kala namak (not Himalayan or any other kind of salt). 🙂

    9. Conchur says

      Hi Sam,
      Like you I was an avowed meat eater and loved nothing more than a rare steak!
      A switch suddenly flipped in me January of last year and I became vegetarian and haven't looked back since.
      Unfortunately, the first thing I noticed is that I dramatically upped my cheese intake!
      Do you have any advice on dumping the cheese and going plant based?

      Also your recipes look really tasty, can't wait to try some!

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Hi Conchur, I totally get you, I used to be addicted to cheese too. I recommend watching this lecture that explains how cheese is actually physically addictive. I suggest giving it up for good. It sounds difficult, but after about 30 days you will lose the cravings and (if you're like me) you will actually begin to find it really unappealing. The smell grosses me out so much now! I also recommend trying some of my creamier recipes which will help satisfy the cravings. Hope that helps!

        • Erin Neu says

          Neal Barnard is well known as a cherry picker of data and promoter of pseudoscience.

    10. Jeff M Fagnan says

      Hello Sam
      I have been a pescatarian for 30 years. Since being retired I have had the time to learn to cook vegan. A couple of months ago I contacted Laura Theodore of the Jazzy Vegetarian who I have been following for several years and have two of the books. I said that when I go to the grocery store I see no vegan cottage cheese. She replied to go to your site! I like the site and now have many new recipes to try plus I just got your first book. I enjoy reading about how you became vegan and the posted readers comments. I became vegan after many years of just living. I felt better eating vegan and for the planet its better and I feel for ALL the animals. We don't have to eat meat! We do need our vitamin B12 so I eat and enjoy the fish. To be a vegan cook requires more creativity. I enjoy watching you, so exciting to see your energy!

      • Sam Turnbull says

        So glad you're enjoying my recipes Jeff! Just to be clear, B12 is a bacteria based vitamin, not meat based. Animals and fish don’t make it and neither do plants. Microbes make it! B12 can be found in soil, water, and feces (ew), but since we wash our produce so heavily, filter our water, and (I hope) don’t eat feces, we often remove a lot of this bacteria from our foods. Just like us, animals need to get B12 in their diets too. In the wild, the animals get it from those natural sources. In animal agriculture, the animals are often supplemented with it. Drinking unfiltered water can carry many diseases, so the healthiest, safest, and most effective source of B12 are supplements. Lots of vegan foods are fortified with B12 such as nutritional yeast and non-dairy milks, but just to make sure it’s a good idea to supplement. You need 2,500 mcg a week. You can either take that once a week, or divide it in smaller doses everyday.

        • Jeff M Fagnan says

          Thanks for clarifying.

      • Jeff M Fagnan says

        Do you have a recommendation for a certain food processor?

    11. vardhaman says

      love your recipes. i love your writing skills. i m trying your some recipes.

      • Sam Turnbull says

        THank you, vardhaman! I hope you enjoy every recipe you try 🙂

    12. Jane says

      I have the same problem. I know need to go vegan as I know it is the right thing to do for my health and the environment, but I hate the idea also. I went vegan for a few months a few years ago after watching cowspiracy and I felt amazing. The best I have ever felt! Everything I ever read about health and the environment always leads me back to being vegan. I am slowly making the switch now but it is going to be tough.

      • Sam Turnbull says

        You can do it Jane! I also recommend watching Earthlings, Dominion, What the Health, Game Changers, and Forks Over Knives. All movies should be easy to find and watch. Hopefully those will help keep you motivated to stay vegan 🙂

    13. Karen says

      Hi Sam - Love, Love, Love your cookbook & blog! Thanks for making our meal planning fun and yummy! Do you have an air fryer and if so, which one?

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Thank you Karen!! I do, but to be honest I don't like it so I wouldn't recommend it. I've been eyeing this one tho, but I haven't decided if I'm going to get it or not.

    14. Roseanna says

      Hi Sam!

      I enjoy your blog, it is so much fun. I bought your book Fuss-Free Vegan! Love it.Today I am excited about the Meal Prep Summit to learn more about organizing my kitchen for meal prep! Thanks for your enthusiasm about creating Vegan recipes and the preparation it involves. It makes it so much easier to learn from someone who has experience and the love for cooking to write it in a book. So wonderful!

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Aww thanks so much Roseanna! I really appreciate your support 🙂

    15. paige says

      What lipstick do you use? I am so impressed with it!

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Haha! Thank you! It's Lip Ink. I swear by it!

    16. Ilona says

      Hello Sam,
      My husband and I have been vegetarians for 35 years, and raised both our children (now both 22 years old) as vegetarians. My daughter became a vegan 2 years ago, but I was reluctant as the vegan recipes always seemed so convoluted to make. A work friend of mine recommended you and I so appreciated you sending free recipes out via email that I bought your book yesterday. Wonderful, simple recipes that are delicious! Thanks so much for this - we are just about to make the banana bread! Is there another book coming out any time soon? Best wishes.

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Hi Ilona! So happy you're enjoying my recipes so much 🙂 There may or may not be another book coming out 😉 I hope you enjoy the banana bread 🙂

    17. Grace Letourneau says

      Hey Sam!

      I recently used your ricotta and tofu Bolognese recipes and made the best vegan pasta bake ever! I can’t wait to make more from your website and I’m going to buy a copy of your cookbook for my kitchen as well!

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Aww amazing! Thrilled you're enjoying my recipes so much, Grace 🙂

    18. Cecilia says

      SAM!!! Just wanted to shout a huge THANK YOU all the way from Australia! I was never a foodie, but after being a vego for years, I took the plunge and went vegan 2 years ago, basically doing my best but dreaming of comfort foods and having a lot of hits and misses. I hate all those fancy schmancy vegan blogs - yours is the only one that makes sense and is drama free. Absolutely love it! Thanks again and keep 'em coming!

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Aww thanks so much, Cecilia! Thrilled you're enjoying my blog so much 🙂

    19. Paulina says

      I just want to tell you how beautiful your blog is and how tasteful everything looks and is once you cook it. You definitely make it simple and non expensive. Thanks

      • Sam Turnbull says

        Aww thank you so much, Paulina! Thrilled you're enjoying my blog so much 🙂

    20. Gail Hill says

      Sam,
      I’m looking at steamer pots but don’t know which ones are best. Too many on Amazon to count but perhaps you might have a recommendation?

      Thank you,
      Gail

      • Paul says

        A steamer pot is a steamer pot is a steamer pot. Really they all work the same. Just don't buy el cheapo ones because they will warp in a relatively short period of time. Absolutely no need to spend big bikkies to buy one though.