2017 – whew! Am I right!? What a whirlwind of a year. A fabulous whirlwind. Like a jacuzzi style whirlwind with jets and a glass of wine … if that’s a thing that exists. (That should totally be a thing that exists).
Every year at the end of the year it has been my tradition to share with you the top 10 vegan recipes of the year. You can also check out the top 10 vegan recipes for 2016, 2015, and 2014. It’s a fun little way to recap and remember 2017 for all the deliciousness it could muster. (Which was a LOT of deliciousness).
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED OVER THE LAST YEAR:
- It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken broke a new record that I had dreamed of breaking but didn’t really think it would happen for a long, long time. My blog now receives over 1 MILLION pageviews a month!! Yeah, I know. Crazy talk. That’s more than double what my site received last year. Now that’s a LOT of vegan recipe love. ❤️
- I released my first cookbook Fuss-Free Vegan which has been met with rave reviews from you! I love being tagged in all your pictures on Instagram and am continually blown away by all of the amazing 5-star reviews on Amazon. All my hard work paid off because, within a month of the release date, Fuss-Free Vegan is already getting a reprint, meaning what’s out now is the first edition print! How cool is that?
- I made my TV, radio, and public speaking debuts. With the release of Fuss-Free Vegan came a lot of press, and I mean a lot! I was on TV 7 times, on the radio well over 20 times, and did 5 public speaking events. The first few times were terrifying, but once I relaxed into it, I began having a lot of fun and now I suddenly have a burning desire to have a cooking show… Hey there Food Network, you in?
Honourable Mentions:
Because I do this wrap every year right at the end of the year, the recipes posted in December don’t get much of a fighting chance to make it to the list. But if I were to edit the Top Vegan Recipes of 2016 list, I would now have to add my Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash and Perfect Vegan Sugar Cookies which have both become very popular recipes on my blog, so if you haven’t checked them out yet, take a look now.
Every now and then I also like to share non-recipe content on my blog, and you seem to love it because my How to Swap This for That to Make it Vegan was a huge hit and helped many new vegans see how easy it can be. 50 – 5 Ingredient or Less Vegan Recipes, 25 Game-Changing Vegan Taco Recipes, 25 Vegan Holiday Main Dishes That Will Be the Star of the Show were also popular posts.
And now for the drumroll please! The top 10 vegan recipes of 2017 are:
10. Quick & Easy Vegan Cottage Cheese
I LOVE when you request recipes because it’s my goal to make vegan cooking, easy, fun, and totally delicious. After a poll on Facebook (which I run fairly often), it was clear that a lot of you missed cottage cheese. Now wrapping up the year, it’s very, very clear that you wanted and fell in love my cottage cheese recipe. It quickly became a fan favourite and has wowed many.
9. Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
KISS- Keep It Simple Stupid. Sometimes I almost feel guilty posting recipes such as this mushroom soup as it’s just such an easy recipe. I have learned that I should never feel guilty posting simple recipes because you love simple recipes just as much as I do. Woohoo!! This mushroom soup recipe has been a hit with vegans and non-vegans. Some of you were sceptical about the coconut milk used, but once you tasted it for yourself, you fell madly in love!
8. Quick Vegan Tofu Ricotta
Basics make the world go round. Well maybe not, but tofu ricotta is so easy to whip up and is perfect for layering into lasagna, pasta dishes, or anywhere that ricotta is used. Yes, it’s made from tofu, and yes, it really is delicious.
7. Vegan Beet Burgers
This recipe was a remake of a beet burger I posted on my blog way back when I didn’t know how to write a recipe and I would have incredibly vague instructions. Luckily, since then I have learned a lot about recipe writing and was able to tweak this recipe to not only be much more clear but make it easier and tastier. You approved.
6. Vegan Tiramisu
Ahhhh classics. Definitely not my easiest recipe on the blog, but sometimes a little fuss is worth it. Especially when espresso, cake, and cashew cream are involved. My favourite was when I served this to an Italian friend of mine and she couldn’t believe it was vegan… well she did, but only because I was the one serving her.
5. Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower
I’m certainly not the first person to do a version of cauliflower bites, so I put off posting this recipe for a long time… like 2 years because I thought it had been soooo done. But gosh, I really do like my recipes the most sometimes, so I thought I should share with you the version I had been secretly perfecting over the years. I’m so glad I did. This taught me that just because something has been done a million times before, it doesn’t mean that I can’t share my own version.
4. Easy Vegan Jackfruit Tacos
Jackfruit the wonder fruit that looks and tastes like meat! How weird and by weird I mean delicious! The only thing that I don’t love about jackfruit is that it can be difficult to find, but if you are able to lay your mitts on a couple of cans, it is oh so worth it!
3. Vegan Irish Stew
Rich, veggie-packed, hearty, beer-infused stew… need I say more? No, I don’t think I do.
2. The Best Vegan Chili Ever!!!
I’m so happy to see that my claims of this chili recipe being “the best” held up, but I can’t say I’m surprised because it really is the best I have ever had. #biased. When I have a group of people visiting and want to make something ahead of time, this is a go to. Everyone loves it, vegan or not.
1. The Easiest (and most delicious) Vegan Cornbread
It was so interesting to see that my cornbread recipe only has about 8k shares yet was the most popular recipe of the year. Now that may seem like a lot to some, but my Vegan Irish Stew had 43k shares, and it’s not unheard of for one of my recipes to reach over 100k shares. (I know, crazy talk). But what this cornbread recipe did have was super long average time spent on page. Meaning my most popular recipe this year isn’t something that people were sharing, but it was something they were cooking! Now that’s what I like to hear 😀
What a fabulous year! Thank you so much to all of you for sharing it with me, it’s truly the best job I could ever dream of. Now I can’t wait for 2018 where I will be sharing oh so many new vegan recipes and I also plan to hit YouTube hard by posting a brand new video every single week, so make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss that.
Happy New Year and bon appetegan!
Sam.
The cornbread was delicious!!! Thank you! I poured the batter into silicone muffin cups and cooked them in the airfryer for 10 minutes. They came out like little nuggets of golden tastiness just begging to be eaten! Of course, I obliged…
Hahahaha, thrilled you enjoyed them, Jennifer 🙂
I’m looking forward to making several of these recipes! Sadly, the link to the tirimisu isn’t taking me to recipe. It takes me to a page regarding podcasts. Can you post the recipe here?
Haha that’s weird. For sure, I have updated the link in the post, but you can also find the Vegan Tiramisu recipe here. 🙂
Thank you! I’m going to try making it with gf cupcakes!
Amazing, enjoy!
Dear Sam,
Congratulations on an amazing year!
So happy to see your hard work recognized in your success!
I make lots of your recipes and they are always tasty! I love the friendly, down-to-earth attitude that comes with your blog posts. I actually read your stories about the recipes as opposed to a lot of other bloggers out there where I just skip right to the recipe. Your posts are the perfect length – simple and to the point with relevant information! I like that you give your insight as to what has worked in the past and what you have done to improve things and other non-vegan reviews of your food too!
Thank you so much for sharing your passion with the world – you are a real inspiration to follow your heart
Hi Trina! Thank you so very much 🙂 So happy to learn that you enjoy not only my recipes but my entire posts as well! Thank you so much for reading along, it’s readers like you who make each and every day the best day ever!! 🙂
Congratulations on a terrific year! Love your top ten list, I have made most and love them all. I must say, however, that in a couple of weeks I think your recent corn chowder is going to be making its way up the charts.
Pork and sauerkraut is the traditional New Year’s Day meal where I live. I am using your smoked tofu from your bean soup recipe today in my vegan version today! Can’t wait to see how it works!
Thank you so very much, Joanne! Oooh what a great addition to the chowder. Thrilled you love the recipe so much!! 😀
Ahhhh Sam, many congrats on your cookbook. I can’t tell you how much I love this book! New to veganism and I’m loooovving how your recipes have made the transition sooooo easy. I made your killer lasagna for my friends at an animal sanctuary and at least three of them bought your book (including one who never even tasted it but we all raved on so, she had to have it!). Much success for 2018, looking forward to eating my way through it! Ha!
Thank you so very much, Sue!! Thrilled to hear you and your friends love the book so much. 😀
These are some great staples that look fast and easy, handy to swap out traditional recipes. What a great find. Thank you.
You’re welcome 🙂
Congratulations Sam. It truly was a fabulous year for you. I hope 2018 can keep up. That is a tough ask but with your drive, talent, creativity and did I say drive. You will give it good damn try. Can’t wait.
Hahaha! Thanks, Mom 🙂