A food processor is probably the most fun piece of kitchen kit. They’re just so versatile in what they can do, taking the place of your blender, whisk, sharp knife, cheese grater, pastry cutter and garlic press.
So have you been making the most of your food processor? Here are some tempting vegan food processor recipes to inspire you to embark on your next culinary adventure…
What vegan food can you make with a food processor?
Food processors can make all sorts of vegan food like hummus, pesto, puddings, cakes, veggie burgers, ice cream, breadcrumbs, pastry, dips, mashed potato and more. The best food processors can handle virtually any vegan ingredient.
What is the best food processor for vegan food?
Most vegans agree that the best food processor for vegans is the Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor with Auto-iQ. This clever 3-in-1 gadget includes a food processor, multi-serve blender and personal blender for smoothies on the go. It’s super simple to use yet powerful enough to slice up vegan favourites like nuts, carrots and potatoes.
The Best Vegan Food Processor Recipes
Now without further distraction, let’s dive into the best vegan recipes that you can make in your food processor at home…
1. Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Ladies and gentlemen… Allow me to introduce you to heaven in a bowl. This vegan nacho cheese dip is so creamy and cheesy, it may even fool your cheese-loving vegetarian friends.
One huge advantage of this vegan recipe is that it’s also healthy. You might not believe it, but the main ingredient of this cheesy dip is potatoes! So go ahead – whip up a huge batch in your food processor and you can indulge guilt-free.
2. Hummus
Fresh, homemade hummus is so much nicer than the store-bought variety. Once you learn how quick and easy it is to make hummus in a food processor you’ll never look back!
This authentic Lebanese recipe uses chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, baking soda and olive oil. You don’t have to add all of the garnish, but you know you’ll want to now you’ve seen how pretty a bowl of hummus can look.
3. No Bake Brownies
With the help of a food processor, you can whip up delicious fudgy vegan brownies in as little as ten minutes! No baking is required for this recipe which uses cashew or pecan, dates, cocoa powder and plant-based milk.
Topped with rich, fudgy frosting, these brownies are so tasty you’ll want to make them again and again.
4. Nut Roast
Nut roast is the traditional vegan staple for a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner. And if you want to make a nut roast from scratch, a food processor will make the job a whole lot easier.
Brazil nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans… the more the merrier when it comes to this tasty roast dinner centrepiece.
5. Avocado Pesto
If you like pesto with your pasta then you simply must try this avocado pesto recipe. It’s also a great way to use up any avocados in that brief window of time that they give you between rock hard and brown.
You can serve this pesto with regular wheat pasta, or for a healthier gluten-free version, it also goes great with courgette noodles.
6. Mushroom Meatballs
A fantastic alternative to meatballs, these mushroom balls can be enjoyed with pasta or on a sandwich with vegan cheese. If you like to use your food processor for meal prepping, you can make these and then freeze them to use later.
To make these gluten-free mushroom meatballs you’ll need to add mushrooms, black beans, walnuts, flour, oil and herbs and spices to your mixer and whizz it all together.
7. Gazpacho
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love gazpacho in the summertime. Cold soup might not be to everyone’s taste, but you shouldn’t knock it until you’ve tried it. And this vegan recipe is simply the best.
You’ll want to add only the freshest vegetables to your food mixer, although stale bread is great to add thickness to the recipe.
8. Falafel
Falafels are fantastic Lebanese street food that can be served in a wrap, on top of a salad or in a rice bowl. They can sometimes be a little dry, so you’ll want to combat this with lashings of tahini dressing.
The main ingredient in falafel is chickpeas. Add them to your food processor along with fava beans, onion, flour and the required herbs and spices. After forming into balls, you’ll pan fry them in hot oil.
9. Strawberry Cheesecake
This vegan strawberry cheesecake might be the best dessert you’ll ever make. If you’ve ever tried the strawberry cheesecake drinks at Starbucks, this tastes almost the same, but somehow even better!
Not only is this food processor recipe dairy-free; it’s also nut-free and doesn’t require any baking. As the base is made from crackers rather than cashews, you don’t need a particularly high-powered food processor as any old blender will do the job just fine.
10. Dill Dip
Once you get into making vegan dips with your food processor you’ll want to serve dip with everything.
This healthy yet creamy vegan dill dip goes great with crackers, veggies, pretzels or you can spread it on sandwiches, put it on burgers or even add it to a jacket potato.
11. Vegan Chicken Patties
These vegan chicken patties will make burgers that taste as good as a KFC, without harming any animals. With a crunchy, herby coating and homemade vegan chicken inside, even meat-eaters will love these.
If you think that making your own burger patties from scratch is a bit of a faff, you should know that you can whip up a big batch of them in your food processor and freeze them to cook as needed.
12. Mango Sorbet
You don’t need a fancy ice cream maker to make sorbet, all you need is a food processor or blender. You don’t even need fresh mangoes as frozen ones will work great too.
All you’ll need to do is blend until smooth and freeze. Want to spice up your sorbet? Why not add some chilli flakes. Or if you’re feeling night, add a splash of your favourite booze.
13. Homemade Nutella
Sadly, Nutella is not vegan as it contains milk powder. But worry not, it’s actually super easy to make your own vegan Nutella at home with the help of your faithful food processor.
Simple to make with just seven ingredients, this homemade Nutella tastes just as good as the real deal, without the cow juice.
14. Cauliflower Mash
Creamy, fluffy and delicious, this alternative to mashed potatoes will make you wonder why everyone doesn’t use cauliflower instead. The answer is probably because cauliflower mash requires a food processor, whereas regular mashed potato doesn’t.
Cauliflower mash is also much healthier than mashed potato as it’s low-carb and packed full of vitamins and anti-oxidants.
15. Vegan Bounty Bars
Bounty bars aren’t suitable for vegans as they contain milk. I tried that vegan Bounty chocolate and not only is it incredibly expensive, it also doesn’t taste very nice.
Enter these homemade vegan coconut chocolate bars… They’re just like Bounties and easy to whip up with your food processor or a high-powered blender.
16. Muhammara
You may not be familiar with muhammara, but it’s a traditional Middle Eastern dip that’s made with roasted red pepper, walnuts, Aleppo peppers, breadcrumbs and pomegranate molasses. It’s sweet, tangy, smoky and ever so slightly spicy.
If you fancy using your food processor to create something that you’ve never tried before and certainly can’t buy in your local supermarket, how about you give this dip a go?
17. Pad Thai Burgers
Love Pad Thai? Love burgers? East meets west is this genius combo. Made with broccoli and chickpeas, these veggie burgers have an incredible Thai flavour.
If you want to impress your omnivore friends by showing them how tasty homemade vegan burgers can be, this is the recipe to do it with.
18. Spinach and Artichoke Dip
This vegan spinach and artichoke dip is made with cashews and almond milk, so it’s much healthier than the traditional recipe that’s made with cream. This dip is best served hot or warm and tastes delicious with freshly-baked crusty bread.
To Conclude
With recipes this tasty, it would be a crime to let your food processor sit unused in the back of the cupboard. There are just so many yummy vegans treats you can make with it!
If you only have a blender, you’ll still be able to make soups, dips and smoothies. But for the full range of culinary masterpieces, you’ll need to invest in a good food processor.
The Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor with Auto-iQ is considered to be the best. But, if you don’t need the blender attachments, I’d go for the more basic Ninja Food Processor with Auto-iQ as this is much cheaper.
