Seasoning Vegetarian & Vegan Recipes with Herbs & Spices

October 22nd, 2010 by Savvy Veg

Message for Savvy Vegetarian:

Question regarding the use of the veggie bouillon cube in vegetarian recipes: Is there some other seasoning option? Bouillon cubes are so full of salt and even the low sodium option isn’t that great for you. Thanks, Ann S.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Hi Ann, I’m so glad you asked! Seasoning vegetarian and vegan recipes with herbs and spices is one of my favorite topics.

Veggie bouillon cubes are used instead of soup stock for convenience in seasoning vegetarian or vegan recipes. You can buy aseptic packs of soup stock but you’ll run into the same problems. By the way, celery has a fair amount of natural sodium, so it’s a good salt substitute.

Mrs. Dash is a spice mix, sodium free, which is available at most groceries, and comes in half a dozen flavors. It’s useful for quickly flavoring any vegetarian recipe, or sprinkling on food at  the table. Spike is another one which comes in an unsalted version, plus Frontier Herbs makes a lot of organic unsalted herb and spice mixes.

You can also get other convenient seasoning mixes, like curries and masalas, Mediterranean herb mixes, poultry seasoning - which can be used in vegetarian recipes such as lentil loaf or vegan stuffing, pumpkin pie spice mix, chili powder, etc. You can also buy dried onion powder and garlic powder. Look for unsalted seasoning mixes and avoid any with “natural flavors” -  which could be MSG, or any other mystery ingredient. If an ingredient isn’t specified, or you can’t pronounce it, it probably isn’t something  you want to eat.

Using your favorite herbs and spices, you can make up and store your own seasoning mixes, for convenient every day use. And it’s very easy to make your own soup stock. Here’s a vegan soup stock recipe you can make in a crockpot. Freeze or fridge what you don’t use.

You can also add flavor to your vegetarian or vegan recipes with fresh or dried herbs (parsley, basil, dill, mint, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, oregano), scallions, ginger slices, minced garlic (heat in oil to mellow the flavor), curry spices like cumin, coriander, gr. fennel, paprika, gr ginger, pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, green cardamom pods, lemon grass.

Other seasoning options are dried kombu (kelp), balsamic vinegar, lemon or lime juice, wine, soy sauce or Braggs liquid aminos, miso. Spices (not herbs) can be heated first, dry roasted or fried in a bit of oil, to bring out the full flavor, and remove any sharp, bitter or raw taste. Many Indian recipes call for frying or roasting herbs and spices, as in this recipe for Carrots & Peas with Cumin

The seasonings that you use in vegetarian or vegan recipes depends on what you’re cooking. For instance, tomato sauce needs seasonings that go well with tomatoes, e.g. basil, oregano, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, a bit of sugar. Some of my favorites for soups are thyme, rosemary, basil, bay leaf, kombu, Braggs liquid aminos, slices of fresh ginger. Without a variety of seasonings,  The Cabbage Soup Diet Recipe, for instance, would be very very boring!

All the best, Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

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