Feel zero guilt about your junk food habit with these healthier vegan junk food recipes!
By Lora O’Brien
Ask anyone what their favourite food is, and chances are they’ll answer with a junk food: ice cream, chocolate, burgers, cookies…you get the idea. And no wonder: those foods have all the stuff our brain adores (and can even get addicted to), like sugar and salt, and the combinations of textures in junk food – think creamy, crunchy or sticky – are downright irresistible.
But there are consequences to eating junk food. Today, more than half of American adults are considered overweight, with around 25% of the adult population defined as clinically obese. Among children, obesity rates are off the charts, making experts in countries from America to Argentina claim obesity is becoming a “national epidemic.”
The main culprits are junk food manufacturers, who hook us in mainly with sugar, but also with flavour enhancers like MSG, artificial flavours and cheap prices. But the other guilty parties in the obesity epidemic? US.
That’s right. Ultimately, it’s up to us to eat better. And that’s why I’ve found some of the most popular vegan junk food recipes that are way healthier than the corporate stuff. These are all animal-free, are never deep fried, and use minimal sugar.
Enjoy!
25 Healthier Vegan Junk Food Recipes
1. Vegan Mocha Frappe
A mocha frappe is normally just type 2 diabetes in a cup. Cream, sugar, coffee, sugar, chocolate, sugar…you get the idea. But this recipe uses unsweetened cocoa powder, almond milk and natural sweetness from the banana. If you do use a sweetener, we’d go with pure Stevia or Xylitol – never, ever Nutrasweet or Sweet’n’Low to make a much healthier drink.
Get the recipe here.
2. Vegan Strawberry & Rhubarb Pop Tarts
Pop Tarts are about as junky as breakfast can get – except for this vegan friendly recipe. Only 7 ingredients are needed to make these, and they’re stuffed with a delicious strawberry-rhubarb compote. The best part? You can use different fruits for whatever is on season when making them.
Get the recipe here.
3. Homemade Baked Sweet Potato Chips
When it comes to junk food, who can resist a bag of chips? They’re crunchy, salty, delicious – and hella bad for us! But they needn’t be so sinful. They’re actually super easy to make from scratch at home using sweet potatoes, a little oil and herbal seasoning.
Get the recipe here.
4. Vegan Animal Style Fries
These fries are a healthy, baked, vegan take on the popular Animal Style Fries from fast food chain In-N-Out. Unlike the original recipe that tops fries with excessive amounts of cheese and sauce, these are made without oil and the base of the sauce is… tofu! Delicious!
Get the recipe here.
5. Dairy-less Dunkers
To all you non-Brits: Dairylea Dunkers are a childhood lunchbox favourite. They’re basically breadsticks dipped into (ugh) processed ‘cheese’. This recipe has given the dunkers a healthy overhaul with a ‘cheese’ sauce that uses potatoes as its base. Perfect for children and adults both.
Get the recipe here.
6. Vegan McChicken Sandwich
I’d like to say thanks to Candice at The Edgy Veg, because she’s on a mission to recreate many junk food recipes for us vegans. This McChicken sandwich takes bit of time to make, but if you’re really missing those McChickens (or, if you wanna convince a carnivore to go vegan), it’s well worth it!
Get the recipe here.
7. Healthy Vegan Onion Rings
Just because onions are a vegetable doesn’t mean onion rings are at all healthy…until now, that is! There are only 6 ingredients in these onion rings, and the end result is crispy, golden onion rings that are so yummy! The best part? Zero oil is needed to cook them. Yes, really.
Get the recipe here.
8. Vegan Cauliflower Tacos
Whether you’re a fan of tacos on a Tuesday or any other day of the week, they can be pretty heavy going. So why not give them a healthy makeover using cauliflower as the ‘meaty’ part? They’re crispy, tangy, and the garlic yogurt sauce is impossible to resist.
Get the recipe here.
9. Vegan Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizza Bites
If food is the language of love, then I think many of us are fluent in pizza. Whatever your toppings preference, there is a pizza out there to appeal to every one of us. Want to keep this healthier? Add lots of veggies!
Get the recipe here.
10. The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese
If mac and cheese is your comfort food, you’ll be aware that it can be horrifyingly unhealthy! Mass amounts butter, milk and cheese…I shudder at the thought of chowing down on that. Or even worse: Kraft Dinner! My god, did I actually eat that as a kid? How am I still alive? Anyway, this recipe is not only vegan, it’s super healthy, too, and even had some added greens!
Get the recipe here.
11. Healthy Loaded Vegan Nachos
Perfect for serving to guests, these vegan nachos are just as tasty as the super-nasty commercial junk food, but these manage to conceal kale and other goodness that no one would ever guess was in this recipe (cos it just tastes that good!) Top them off with diced avocado and a few generous squeezes of lime and you’ll be in taco heaven!
Get the recipe here.
12. Crispy Tofu with Sweet Chili Sauce
If Chinese food is your junk weakness, these crispy tofu strips make the perfect snack. Paired with a sweet chili sauce, you could serve these as an appetizer, chop them up in a salad or throw them into a wrap. The possibilities are endless, but one fact still stands: they’re delicious!
Get the recipe here.
13. Carrot Hot Dogs
How could I do a list of vegan junk food recipes without including hot dogs? I know what you may be thinking. Hot dogs made from…carrots? But trust me, they really do work so well, and the texture is so similar, you won’t even realise that you’re eating carrots. In fact, given that we slather hotdogs with condiments like ketchup and mustard, that’s pretty much what constitutes the flavour for most people, right? So bring on the parsley mustard dressing!
Get the recipe here.
14. Green Goddess Pizza
Whilst I LOVE pizza, sometimes it can be heavy going. More often than not, I end up nursing a food baby for a good hour or two after eating it. But pizza can be healthy AND delicious, as proven by this green goddess pizza recipe. The pesto and cashew cheese add lots of flavour, whilst the greens topping it as light and healthy. It’s also a great way to get rid of any greens in your kitchen. Yay! Zero waste cooking!
Get the recipe here.
15. Vegan Chili Fries with Avocado Cream
Spiced fries topped with a chipotle chili? Yes, please! The crispy, oven baked fries are a combination of regular and sweet potatoes that are tossed with lots of flavourful spices. They’re finished off with smoky chili and drizzled with an indulgent avocado cream. Yum!
Get the recipe here.
16. Low Fat Vegan Kebab
Forget the greasy dish that many of us end up eating after a night of heavy boozing – a kebab can be both healthy and vegan. The seitan is marinated and then stuffed into a pita with lots of veggies and a vegan yogurt sauce. Refreshingly light and packed with goodness. One of the best vegan junk food recipes to have on hand after a big night out!
Get the recipe here.
17. Sticky Sesame Vegan Cauliflower Buffalo Wings
If buffalo wings were once upon a time your vibe, you’ll love these sticky sesame vegan cauliflower wings. They taste eerily similar to regular wings, and are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They take next to no time to whip up!
Get the recipe here.
18. Garlicky Kale Burger
I think most of us love a burger, but they’re not always healthy. But these kale burgers tick all the healthy boxes! They’re made from a mixture of white beans, crunchy sunflower seeds and lots of garlic, and are practically bursting with flavour. This will be one of your go-to vegan junk food recipes for dinners!
Get the recipe here.
19. Grilled Tofu Gyros
I first had a gyro when I was in Greece and it was SO good. Since going vegan, I’ve failed to find a recipe that hit the spot, until finding this gem. Warm pita bread is stuffed with tender, spiced tofu, lettuce, tomatoes and a vegan tzatziki sauce that finishes it off perfectly.
Get the recipe here.
20. Vegan Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Normally, this would be a heart attack on a plate! But when cheesesteak sarnies are made with crispy pan-fried seitan, Italian long hot peppers, sweet onions and smothered in a sweet potato vegan cheese sauce… is anyone else drooling? – they’re much, much healthier. One of the most innovative vegan junk food recipes for sure!
Get the recipe here.
21. Baked Falafels
Ok, granted – falafel is defo a vegan food. But it’s not always healthy, simply because the little balls are deep fried, in goodness-knows-what kind of fat. So swap over to this tasty recipe that bakes the falafels instead of frying. Perfect for eating as a traditional falafel, or popped into a salad.
Get the recipe here.
22. Vegan Eggplant Parmesan with Cashew Ricotta
If you love cheesy dishes, you’ll love this eggplant parmesan. Nuts, tofu, lemon juice and fresh herbs are blended together to make a vegan ricotta cheese. Once baked, it’s warm and gooey. In fact, it’s so healthy, does this even qualify as one of our vegan junk food recipes?
Get the recipe here.
23. Vegan Popcorn Tofu
Whether you miss popcorn chicken or have never tried it – no worries! This vegan popcorn tofu is the perfect healthy vegan junk food snack. Chunks of tofu cooked with a delicious coating and dunked in ketchup is basically the idea here.
Get the recipe here.
24. Vegan Corn Dogs
Ok, I admit the cornmeal breading on these ‘hot dogs’ means it’s not one of the healthiest vegan junk food recipes. But removing that offal-filled hotdog and replacing it with plant based goodness increases the healthy factor of this American favourite by at least 50%, right?
Get the recipe here.
25. Healthy Banana Donuts
If you have a weakness for donuts, then this is one of those vegan junk food recipes you’ll love! It combines chocolate chips with bananas. They’re full of flavour, contain less saturated fat, fewer calories and are both vegan and gluten-free. I’m pretty sure even Homer Simpson would be all like: ‘Mmmm….donuts’! over these.
Get the recipe here.
26. Healthy Snickers Bars
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, then you’ll know that pretty much all chocolate bars are far from healthy. Unless you make your own! This Snickers bar replica uses creamy almond butter nougat, a date-based caramel sauce and a dark chocolate coating to reinvent a childhood classic.
Get the recipe here.
27. Vegan Twinkies with Whipped Cream Filling
Ah, Twinkies – those American sponge cakes stuffed with cream that you see at so many petrol stations in the USA. They were invented in the 1930s and they’re filled with SO much artificial crap, it’s very likely that many that are on the shelves today are still from that era! But if you want vegan junk food recipes that replicate the flavours of the Twinkie, this one is perfect. It uses coconut whipped cream inside the sponge, and the result is magical.
Get the recipe here.
28. Salted Caramel Ice Cream
This may well be everyone’s favourite of all the vegan junk food recipes! From China to Canada, Italy to Iceland, everyone loves a bit of ice cream, and it comes in so many flavours. I’ve chosen salted caramel coconut here, but hey – make whatever flavour tickles your fancy!
Get the recipe here.
29. Strawberry Cheesecake
Dense, rich and creamy, cheesecake is a junk food that’s hard to resist! This creamy vegan cheesecake requires zero baking and is nut-free. And that gorgeous pink hue? It comes from a wee bit of beetroot!
Get the recipe here.
30. The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hot, gooey and above all, chocolately, the chocolate chip cookie is one of those go-to vegan junk food recipes for many. Me included! Thanks to the magic of coconut oil and apple sauce, you can replicate the texture you’d get with butter.
Get the recipe here.
Main image: banana pancakes. Get the recipe here.
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Lora O'Brien
Food Editor at Eluxe Magazine
After graduating in Journalism from the University of Greenwich, Lora worked for Sugar and Healing Lifestyles magazines in London before being hired to write about food for Eluxe. She’s recently become a new mom to baby Lulla, and is writing a blog about the experience of being a new mom. See more about Lora here.
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