Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Love chipotle sauce? Love ranch? Then you have to try this chipotle ranch dressing recipe! It's creamy, tangy, smoky, savory, and super easy to make.

What happens when chipotle sauce meets ranch dressing? This chipotle ranch dressing recipe! It’s a simple mashup of my go-to chipotle sauce and my vegan ranch, and, let me tell you, I can’t get enough of it. It’s creamy, tangy, smoky, and savory, with a little bit of heat from the chipotles. Use it as a sandwich spread, a salad dressing, or dip…or steal tastes straight off a spoon. This chipotle ranch dressing is bold, punchy, and downright delicious. I think you’re going to love it. Chipotle Ranch Dressing Recipe Ingredients You just need 8 ingredients to make this recipe:…

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Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Say hello to the best vegan peanut butter cookies out there! These easy cookies have chewy middles, crumbly edges, and a fantastic nutty flavor.

As soon as I tried these vegan peanut butter cookies, I exclaimed, “They taste like Nutter Butters!” I meant it in the best way. They have a delicious crumbly texture with slightly chewy middles, and they’re bursting with sweet peanut butter flavor. For me, they’re the perfect peanut butter cookies. If you need a second opinion, talk to Jack. I’ve made over six batches of these vegan peanut butter cookies in the last two weeks, and they’ve all disappeared. Suffice it to say, we’re hooked. Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredients Here’s what you’ll need to make these vegan peanut butter…

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Homemade Chili Powder

The first time I tried this chili powder recipe, I knew I'd never get the store-bought kind again. It's flavorful, complex, and surprisingly easy to make.

It’s official: I’m never buying chili powder at the store again. This homemade chili powder is so much more flavorful, nuanced, and complex, and it’s not at all tricky to make, either. Toast some spices and dried chiles on the stove, whizz them up in a spice grinder, and voila! You’ll have made delicious homemade chili powder in under 10 minutes. I know I’ve mentioned Kite String Cantina a few times before, but I have to give them another shoutout here. They’re a bar in our neighborhood that serves amazing sauces and taquitos, and their signature chili seasoning (aka “Kite…

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Instant Pot Black Beans

These no-soak Instant Pot black beans are so flavorful and easy to make! Serve them as a side dish, or add them to your favorite black bean recipes.

These Instant Pot black beans did something that I didn’t think was possible – they changed my mind about the Instant Pot. After I made them…and then rice…and then soup (recipes coming soon!), I went from being an Instant Pot skeptic to a total convert. It is so handy to be able to start cooking your beans/rice/whatever you’re making and then walk away, not having to worry about adjusting the heat on the stove or having a pot boil over. Plus, it does speed things along, at least in the case of these Instant Pot black beans. They cook up in…

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How to Make Vegetable Stock

Learn how to make vegetable stock! Perfect for using in soups, sauces, risottos, and more, this homemade broth is super flavorful and easy to make.

The other day, I was making vegetable stock with veggie odds and ends I’d accumulated throughout the week. As I stood in the kitchen, savoring the delicious aroma wafting from my stock pot, I realized that I had yet to share my method for how to make vegetable broth on the blog. I have over 80(!!) soup recipes on here, and another soup season is right around the corner. Suffice it to say, this vegetable stock recipe is long overdue. I’m so excited to share it today because I believe that vegetable stock is something that everyone can and should…

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San Marzano Pizza Sauce

This San Marzano pizza sauce is perfect for Margherita pizzas and more. Made with 5 simple ingredients, it's fresh, flavorful, and easy to make!

I love my classic pizza sauce recipe, but when I’m making a Margherita pizza or another Neapolitan-style pie, this San Marzano pizza sauce is a must. Made with 5 simple ingredients, this sauce is similar to pizza sauces I’ve enjoyed in Italy. It’s slightly thinner than typical American pizza sauce, and it has a sweeter, fresher flavor. Unsurprisingly, I love to make this sauce with San Marzano tomatoes. This variety of plum tomatoes is grown in a specific part of southern Italy near Naples, and it’s known worldwide for its sweetness, intensity, and mild acidity. It gives this easy, no-cook…

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Honey Butter

This honey butter recipe is delicious on cornbread, dinner rolls, muffins, and more! With just 3 ingredients, it's creamy, flavorful, and easy to make.

Where has honey butter been all my life?! It’s light and fluffy, smooth and creamy, and filled with sweet, rich flavor. And it’s not just delicious – it’s easy to make, too! You only need 3 ingredients, 5 minutes, and some basic kitchen equipment to whip up this recipe. What are you waiting for? How to Make Honey Butter This recipe is SO darn simple to make. It starts with 3 basic ingredients: unsalted butter, honey, and sea salt. Let the butter come to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe. Many honey butter recipes ask you to use a…

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12 Vegan Sandwiches to Pack for Lunch

These easy vegan sandwiches are just as good as any made with meat or cheese. Perfect for lunch, they're all fresh, healthy, and delicious.

If you eat a mostly plant-based diet, there’s a good chance you’ve had some sad vegan sandwiches. I know I have! Soggy lettuce. Soggy bread. Zero flavor. Yeah…no thanks. But luckily for us, vegan sandwiches don’t have to be like that. Sure, they aren’t made with meat or cheese, but that doesn’t mean they have to skimp on flavor. Try making vegan sandwiches with different sauces and spreads, roasted or pickled veggies, and/or fresh herbs, and you’ll find that they’re just as tasty as their traditional counterparts. To get you started, I’m sharing 12 of my favorite vegan sandwich ideas…

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60 Healthy Meal Prep Ideas

Busy week? These meal prep ideas are here to help! With tips and recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they make eating healthy, delicious meals easy.

Is anyone else trying to get in a new meal prep routine this fall? Jack and I took some time off last week for an end-of-summer trip to Michigan. It was so fun and relaxing, but when we got back, I realized just how busy the next few months are going to be. Thankfully, I have a full arsenal of healthy meal prep ideas to help us get through it. 🙂 In case you’re also having a busy fall, I’m sharing over 60 of my healthy meal prep ideas today. They include meal prep recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,…

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Healthy Lunch Wraps

These healthy wraps are a perfect packed lunch! Flavorful and satisfying, they're stuffed with greens, avocado, and a honey-Dijon chickpea salad.

When it comes to lunch, I usually gravitate towards salads or bowls, but when I have the ingredients to these healthy lunch wraps on hand, I’m 100% on team sandwich. They’re fresh and satisfying, filled with a crisp kale salad, creamy avocado, and hearty chickpeas. But the secret ingredient that makes them so flavorful is the dressing. It’s a sharp, savory honey-Dijon vinaigrette that I whizz together in the blender so that it’s creamy and emulsified. When I assemble these sandwich wraps, I mash some of the dressing with the chickpeas, toss some with the veggies, and serve the rest…

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Herb Compound Butter

These herb compound butter recipes will add bold flavor to the simplest dishes. They're delicious on corn on the cob, toast, potatoes, and more!

I have a new favorite cooking project: making compound butter! In the summer, I’m always hunting for different ways to use the herbs we grow on our back deck. When I’ve blended up a million batches of pesto and tossed together fifteen pasta salads, I start to wonder, “What next?” I thought to make these compound butter recipes when I was dreaming up ways to serve corn on the cob. I imagined slathering it with butter and sprinkling it with herbs, but then I thought, “Why not put the herbs in the butter?” First, I experimented with chives and dill. The…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.