You’re having a BBQ and you have invited your friends. You have a variety of friends, with a variety of lifestyles, and you want everyone to feel welcome and enjoy the food. Not everyone wants grilled meat. Someone at your BBQ may be vegan.
Here are some easy ways to veganize your BBQ that don’t take any special effort:
Make Potato Salad Without Mayonnaise
A better choice is avocado dressing. Your potato salad will still be creamy and it’s good for everyone.
Vegetables are Great on the Grill
In fact, vegetables like corn on the cob seem to be made just for grills! Use spices and seasoning to bring out the flavour of vegetables instead of butter. A healthier and tastier option.
Sweet Treats
For dessert, or just for those with a sweet tooth, skewer fruits. Pineapple rings are classic, done right on the grill. It’s easy!
If you want to provide the whole BBQ rib experience for your vegan friends, try this vegan BBQ ribs recipe.
It won’t fool any carnivores, mostly because it doesn’t have bones, but the seitan that the ribs are made of have a hearty texture that can hold up to BBQ grilling. They get their smoky flavour from the BBQ sauce that covers them.
The Recipe
Vegan BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
Fresh black pepper, to taste
¾ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup of your favourite barbecue sauce
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking dish and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper.
In a measuring cup, whisk together broth, peanut butter, liquid smoke, and soy sauce until incorporated. Pour mixture into bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir gently until well-incorporated and the mixture has formed a soft dough. With your hands, knead gently for 2-3 minutes.
Transfer mixture into greased baking dish and flatten so it’s spread evenly across the entire pan. Use a knife to make one lengthwise cut across the dough, then cut evenly crosswise to make 1-inch slices. You don’t need to pull them apart; you just want the ability to easily separate them after grilling.
Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. While the ribs are baking, heat up your grill or lightly oil a grill pan.
Remove from oven and brush the top of the ribs with barbecue sauce. Place sauce side down on heated grill (or grill pan on the stove over medium heat). Brush the top with more barbecue sauce.
When the bottom of the ribs are deeply browned (about 5-6 minutes), flip over and cook the other side until brown. Remove from heat and serve immediately, with more barbecue sauce if desired.
Even meat eaters will want to try these ribs!
