Have you been stuck in a rut? Eating the same thing over and over again? You know there is more to life than tempeh loaf or tofu dogs.
Vegetarian dishes do not need to be complicated; in fact, sometimes simple meals have the most prominent flavor.
You just need some inspiration, perhaps a little confidence, to turn your kitchen into a vegetarian bistro and start creating the meals you’ve been drooling over.
Listed below are 13 of the best vegetarian cooking classes you can find online, let’s dig in.
Cook Real Food: How to Make Simple Plant-Based Meals By Evita Ochel
Best for those just starting on their plant-based journey, Evita will teach you practical skills useful in creating simple, delicious everyday meals.
Using ingredients easily found at your neighborhood grocery store and implementing time-saving tips, you can have dinner on the table in 15 minutes, start to finish.
This course takes an integrated approach to preparing food and encourages a practice of mindfulness and developing an appreciation of not only the food itself but your hand in creating it.
Cook Real Food: How to Make Simple Plant-Based meals will walk you through preparing your kitchen to the best methods of cooking plant-based foods for minimal nutrient loss.
Evita Ochel is a certified holistic nutritionist, yoga instructor, and meditation teacher with over 20 years of experience in the wellness field.
Indian Vegetarian Cooking for Beginners By Jay Rughani
Capturing the bold flavors of Indian cuisine can seem intimidating; that’s where Jay Rughani comes in to help lead you through authentic dishes passed down from her mother.
Through this course, Jay will help you master the flavors of Indian food and enjoy a piece of the ayurvedic lifestyle for yourself.
This course will teach you to prepare an authentic Indian three-course vegetarian meal, included on the menu are spinach and paneer curry and mung dahl.
Spices are the cornerstone of Indian cooking, and you may be required to purchase specialty spices to complete a dish.
Most are available at your local supermarket, though some of the more unique types may need to be sourced online; your tastebuds will thank you for your efforts.
Andhra and Telangana Vegetarian Traditional Cooking By Vani Arvind
This class can be taken on its own as it is aimed toward the beginning cook (rest assured, those with culinary experience will be sure to benefit as well), but it would be a significant expansion when paired with the #2 course above, Indian Vegetarian Cooking for Beginners.
Originating in Northern India, Andhra and Telangana food is known for its richness and complexity in spice.
With 45 video lectures and over 4 hours of instruction, you will learn to replicate the intricacies of chutneys, the tanginess of pickles, and learn the difference between idli, sambar, and dosa.
Your instructor Vani Arvind is a professional baker and food photographer; she enjoys creating North Indian pastries, Bengali sweets, and cake decorating when at home.
She will guide you through the lessons and offer tips to achieve the perfect balance of flavor while creating beautifully authentic Andhra and Telangana cuisines.
Happy Vegetarian Kids Cooking Healthy By Angela Poch
Nothing is more important than raising children to have healthy eating habits, and the best way to accomplish that is in the kitchen.
This course is unlike most cooking courses as the instructor is a kid himself. Happy Vegetarian Kids Cooking Healthy is recommended for children between the ages of 7-12; the instructor Jordan is 12 years old (at the time of filming) and is sure to inspire your children.
Perfect for homeschoolers, this course comes with printable materials compiled by Angela, a final exam, and an answer key.
Kids will learn to cook fun and wholesome vegetarian foods like burgers and fries (yes, burgers! Veggie, of course!), mac and cheese, and pizza, all from scratch.
Encouraging creativity in the kitchen at a young age is a positive step toward building a solid foundation for healthy eating.
The creator Angela Poch is a plant-based nutritional counselor committed to educating others about the benefits of emotional and physical wellbeing and how one can help reach those goals through proper food choices.
Cooking Arabic Food: Vegetarian Foods By Aseel Arabia
Do you want to impress at your next dinner party by serving mouthwatering Arabic dishes? Then this is the course for you.
It has been said that Arabic food is best enjoyed by a group of friends and family, so be prepared, Cooking Arabic Food leans toward shareable portion sizes.
Geared towards intermediate cooks, you should have basic cooking knowledge and knife skills before starting this course.
Whether you consider yourself a foodie or want to stretch your culinary wings, diving into Arabic foods and flavors is sure to satisfy your craving.
This course covers light bites (appetizers), grains and vegetables, and main courses.
Aseel walks you through Levantine-inspired dishes, introducing vegetables and spices that may be entirely new to you. Build your confidence while you learn to prepare mouthwatering lentil dishes and sambousehs.
Aseel is a private chef known as a specialist in Arab cuisine. With over 40 years of experience, her roster of clients includes dukes and duchesses’.
She is influenced by the foods and flavors of the Gulf Arab, Levantine Arab, and African Arab states.
Vegan Mediterranean Street Food By Chef Stacy D.
Are you ready to experience a virtual immersion into classic Mediterranean street food (made vegan)? Grab some friends and prepare to take to the sidewalks of Greece.
Vegan Mediterranean Street Food is an interactive cooking class; Chef Stacy will be right there with you, teaching you via zoom how to prepare dishes like vegan chickpea falafel and dairy-free tahini sauce right in the comfort of your kitchen and giving you the ability to ask questions in real-time as you follow along.
The class is 75 minutes long, with 30 min of prep beforehand. Ingredients and kits (if you choose) should be purchased before the class.
Chef Stacy is a private chef who attended culinary school at San Diego City College, a lover of clean eating, and an experienced Kosher Chef; Stacy is an educator and advocates for choosing fresh and healthy ingredients in her online vegan cooking classes.
In this course, she will tempt your tastebuds and delight your senses with the unique flavors and aromas specific to Mediterranean cuisine.
Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking (40 Dishes) By Chef Saurabh Nandwani
With India having the most significant number of vegetarians in the world, it is no wonder that Indian cuisine dominates this list.
The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking is no exception with its mesmerizing blend of the tastes and aromas of Indian cooking.
In this 42-lesson 4-hour course Saurabh covers everything from gravies to paneer butter masala to the preparation of Indian coffee. A comprehensive course suitable for both the home cook and the café owner.
Your course creator Saurabh Nandwani is a food stylist with over ten years of experience in the food industry.
Cook Wicked Healthy Plant-Based Online Cooking Classes By Chefs Chad and Derek Sarno
What sets Wicked Healthy apart from the other classes mentioned so far is that it is free.
That’s right, brothers Chad and Derek felt a calling to help people live a healthier lifestyle, and that starts in the kitchen preparing delicious vegan foods.
The first series of free vegan cooking classes that they offer are geared towards kids. Wicked Healthy Kids helps you get your kids into the kitchen with you. Kids will enthusiastically want to be involved with fun snacks and bento box-inspired lunches.
They also have a party food-themed class in the works that you will not want to miss.
They appear to be a little bit rock n roll, but the Sarno brothers pride themselves on creating healthy food that tastes good. Both have led fascinating careers.
Derek is currently the Executive Chef & Director of Plant-Based Innovation for Tesco PLC and was also the resident chef for a Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
Chad is the co-founder and VP of Culinary for Good Catch Foods, a plant-based seafood company, and also co-wrote New York Times bestseller Crazy Sexy Kitchen with Kris Carr.
Veecoco Vegan Online Cooking School By Lukas and Samuel
If you are looking for one place to gain an education on creating delectable vegan meals, Veecoco is that place.
With your annual subscription (you can also subscribe monthly), you get all that Veecoco has to offer; over 800 lessons, 22 different cooking courses, an online community, and many extras. Veecoco Cooking School will help you become more adventurous and confident in your vegan cooking.
Could you imagine whipping up vegan pastry, vegan Thai, or vegan sushi and ramen? With the guidance of Veecoco’s instructional chefs, you will soon be on your way.
Brothers Lukas and Samuel both suffered health problems growing up. It was suggested to both that they give up meat.
Despite their skepticism and fear of having to eat tasteless food, they both traded in their omnivore diets for one more centered around plant-based foods, and they were surprised by their results.
This led them to create Vegecoco; they both firmly believe vegan food should be delicious and flavorful and want to help ensure you are creating amazing vegan dishes for you and your family.
Forks Over Knives| Plant-Based Living By Brian Wendel and FOK Team
Forks over Knives has two virtual plant-based cooking courses available.
The first is Fork Over Knives Essential Cooking Course; in this course, you will learn the basics that you can use in your everyday meal preparation. 97 videos and 20 hours of instruction will give tips and tricks for setting up your kitchen, choosing knives, cooking without oil, and planning meals.
The Ultimate course contains 55 hours of instruction. It covers everything in the Essential course and further expands into batch cooking methods and ideas, the art of balancing flavors, and everyday plant-based staples that would be convenient to have prepared and ready for use.
The Ultimate course comes with a certificate upon completion and 30 credits from the American Culinary Federation.
Forever changed by the decision to go plant-based, Brian Wendel immersed himself into the lifestyle. Wanting to bring his story and the health improvements he experienced to everyone he knew, he began filming the Fork Over Knives documentary, then the accompanying book became a New York Times bestseller. This ultimately led to this website’s creation and the plant-based recipe library and cooking courses.
Brownble Online Vegan Cooking Classes & Courses By Kim and Carlos
With a mixture of free and paid course material, there is something for everyone at Brownble.
A platform with a subscription-based offering called “My Brownble,” includes a plethora of recipes, tips, batch cooking ideas, and other information about living a vegan lifestyle.
From basic to advanced, every level of cook will find support and ways to expand their vegan cooking experience. With over 450 educational videos, and new ones added each week, there will always be something new to learn.
In addition to the subscription membership, you have the ability of purchasing either of their 2 paid courses; “The Roadmap” (showing you the ins and outs of going vegan and living a vegan lifestyle) and “Melt” (everything you need to know about making vegan cheese).
If you just want to dip your toes in, Brownble offers two classes: Tofu Mastery and Vegan Breakfast & Brunch Classics, free of charge, which gives you an excellent opportunity to check them out.
A husband-and-wife team, Kim and Carlos, initially became vegans for ethical reasons. This morphed into health and environmental reasons as well.
Brownble was created to help you on your journey to veganism, health, and happiness, however that may look to you.
Cuiline Vegetarian Cooking Classes Online Created by Tamar & Thomas Lowell and Team
A fantastic choice for adventurous cooks, online vegetarian cooking classes at Cuiline have gone global. International chefs contribute their expertise to help you experience authentic dishes from around the world. Are you interested in Vietnamese fare?
Perhaps Peruvian dishes are on your bucket list? Cuiline, has you covered. With over 17 regional selections and an extensive vegetarian collection, you will surely find something new and exciting.
Virtual classes via zoom are available for every skill level and cooking style. Once you sign up for a particular course, you will be given the option to purchase an ingredient kit.
This kit will arrive at your door (don’t worry, it will be there before you start your class) in a refrigerated box filled with all the goodies you need to complete your course.
This may be especially helpful to those in small towns with limited access to unique ingredients.
Virtual classes at Cuiline allow you to speak directly to the chef instructor, and asking questions is encouraged.
Husband and wife team Tamar and Thomas Lowell are both world travelers with a taste for exotic cuisine; coupled with a passion for bringing food and people together; they founded Cuiline.
Utilizing zoom, they began online virtual cooking classes to make authentic regional foods accessible to home cooks.
Plant-Based Vegan Online Cooking School By Food Future Institute
An entirely plant-based culinary institute, Food Future has two distinct online offerings. FFI Home helps you kickstart your vegan journey.
You will receive lifetime access to over 100 recipes, the ability to ask questions via live chat, and a private community for support.
The course includes tips and tricks to save you time and money as well as hone your knife skills. FFI Foundations is based on a deeper dive into the art and technique of food preparation.
Suitable for home cooks and chefs with intermediate cooking skills looking to expand their knowledge. With over 100 recipes available including macarons, saffron risotto, croissants, and much more, the most adventurous chefs will surely be pleased.
The Food Future Institute was created by chef Matthew Kenney to encourage and welcome like-minded individuals.
FFI seeks to help students elevate their experience with plant-based cuisine, achieve greater health, and move towards a more sustainable lifestyle.
Recommended Cookbooks
The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook: A Fresh Guide to Eating Well With 700 Foolproof Recipes By America’s Test Kitchen
America’s Test Kitchen is a go-to for all things culinary; the Boston-based organization is the work of over 60 chefs whose passion is testing and running recipes through the mill to discover only the very best.
This book contains a selection of 700 recipes that met their mark.
With a focus on real foods, which can be prepared by real people and used on the daily, The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook is likely to become your main go-to recipe book.
Love Real Food: More Than 100 Feel-Good Favorites to Delight the Senses and Nourish the Body Written by Kathryne Taylor
What’s excellent about Love Real Food is that it is not only vegetarian but also provides substitutions for those that are gluten, dairy and egg-free as well; every dietary choice is covered.
Written by Kathryne Taylor, the vegetarian food blogger behind Cookie + Kate, this book will enliven your desire to craft nutritious plant-based delicacies.
With seasonal suggestions and tips for healthy living, this book is far more than just a collection of recipes.
Kathryne is helping you make changes that will last a lifetime.
And because sometimes you need a treat, it certainly helps that she has given a healthy twist to our favorite stand-bys; recipes like carrot cake, Greek nachos, and eggplant lasagna can also be found between the covers.
A delight for the tastebuds and the eyes, Kathryne has given us not only a collection of fabulous vegetarian recipes but has also beautifully presented them; the old adage “you first eat with your eyes” is no more accurate than with this thoughtfully laid out book. A must-have for any vegetarian kitchen.
Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes Written by Martha Stewart Living
America’s Test Kitchen is a go-to for all things culinary; the Boston-based organization is the work of over 60 chefs whose passion is testing and running recipes through the mill to discover only the very best.
This book contains a selection of 700 recipes that met their mark.
With a focus on real foods, which can be prepared by real people and used on the daily, The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook is likely to become your main go-to recipe book.
Martha Stewart, queen of the domestic arts and all things food and entertaining, has not disappointed with her book Meatless.
Whether you are brand new to vegetarian eating or you’ve been on this path for years, you are sure to find yourself turning to this book every day.
Filled with restaurant-quality dishes that can be made and enjoyed at home (can you say, French Lentils with Caramelized Celery Root and Parsley) through easy-to-understand step-by-step instructions.
Meatless is a timeless collection of recipes that embraces the seasonality of food so that you can enjoy ingredients at their freshest.
Whether meatless or not, everyone can enjoy the variety of dishes offered in this cookbook, perfect for dinner parties or backyard BBQs, be sure to add Meatless to your list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Resources
- Becoming a Vegetarian – Harvard Health
- The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG)
- The Vegetarian Times (Recipes, News …)
- Vegetarian Society
- VENDERLEY, Angela M. et CAMPBELL, Wayne W. Vegetarian diets. Sports medicine, 2006, vol. 36, no 4, p. 293-305. MLA
Conclusion
Perhaps you are just beginning to think about becoming a vegetarian, or maybe you have been a vegetarian forever.
By looking through these courses you can see there are endless possibilities. From the basic to the extravagant there are no limits to the amazing foods you can create with plant-based foods.
Have you taken one of the courses listed? Or a course that is not listed? Tell us your favorite vegetarian meal, you know the one you eat constantly? Tell us about it. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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