Plants-Only Kitchen: Over 70 Delicious, Super-Simple, P… (2024)

I was excited to get my hands on the new cookbook from my favourite vegan YouTube chef. It takes a lot to distinguish oneself in that crowded space.

The book is not a vegan primer. It skips the whole “why you should be vegan” intro, nutrition information, and pantry-stocking advice. If you need the basics, check out Oakley’s earlier book, Vegan 100.

The recipe selection leaves Buddha bowls, lentil soup and bean burritos in the dust. Instead, strongly-flavoured international cuisines are featured. If you ever wanted a sampler of Indian, Thai, Jamaican and Italian-styled vegan meals, this is it. Add in a smattering of veganized traditional UK fare such as toad-in-the-hole, a wellington and a toffee pudding! There is a nice mix of everyday foods, and meals sure to impress.

Categories included are breakfasts, soups, “light bites”, pasta, curries, “big plates,” “big bakes,” burgers, “vegetables, sides and salads,” and desserts. I liked how the recipes have tags like 15 Minute, One-Pot, and Batch Cooking.

Many of the recipes have long-ish lists of ingredients because they focus on “flavour pop” with complex blends of seasonings.

You are expected to have on hand chia, hemp and sesame seeds; nuts; non-dairy milks and creams; tofu; veggie margarine and mayo; garlic and ginger; lemons and limes; soy sauce and tomato puree - as expected for a vegan cookbook.

There were a few uncommon ingredients, but that varies depending on your experience and where you live. For example, I can’t get samphire or cavolo nero. I am sure there are readers who don’t know what gherkins or parsnips are! And there are a few pricey ingredients that are not essential to the recipes, like truffle oil and pine nuts. Two recipes have fake meat and for another two it is optional – out of 85 recipes.

Most of the items have sauces, glazes, coatings and/or garnishes. You will learn to make bechamel, salsa verde and sambal! For me, this is a real plus.

I was pleased to see that all measurements are given in cups, grams and ounces. Temperatures are provided in Celsius and Fahrenheit. And food names are "translated", like courgette/zucchini and aubergine/eggplant.

The printed book is a compact 8x10” (19x25 cm), on heavy matte paper, with thick boards and a sewn binding. Every recipe has been photographed in full colour, except the Slammin’ Slaw and the Coconut Cream – unless I missed them!

Although the recipes aren’t difficult, a beginner might want to develop a repertoire of basics before attempting most of these. It will take time to build up your arsenal of spices and seasonings so you can tackle them. I am going to start growing herbs pronto! Any recipe you try will have a wow factor. Perfect for the intermediate cook with a little more cash and confidence.

This was a too much time in Costco purchase. There’s some interesting recipes here. And I do intend to work my way through them all. Or at least most of them.

I spend a lot of time cooking. That said these recipes are not as quick as I would have thought from the title.

Quick-ish & very tasty recipes.

I don't watch Oakley on YouTube often as his videos are long and I prefer shorter cooking vids but when it comes to his cookbooks Gaz's definitely a favourite.

Lots of variety in the recipes for different plant proteins. Like that there's not an emphasis on processed food and long lists of required ingredients. Can't wait to try the Vietnamese Tofu Burgers, the Bhaji Burgers, and the Portuguese Tarts.

Confession: I'm not a vegetarian, but after watching a number of Gaz's videos on YouTube recently, I became intrigued to see how his cookbooks would translate to print. Clearly, I was not disappointed. Full page color photos of his recipes are enticing, and his writing style is more akin to a friendly conversation than textbook-like instructions. It is very easy to imagine substitutions for someone who has not taken the total commitment to vegan, and he instills a sense of confidence for readers to try new foods.

3.5

Much anticipated book by Gaz, some recipes do take a bit longer (make them on the weekend) but they sure are tasty and good for meal prep. Some ingredients are a bit odd and can't be bought in NZ (like plantin) but you can easily omit them or sub them out.

I like Gaz, and I enjoy watching him on YouTube. I was excited for this book, but I'm feeling a little disappointed with it. While I think he dialed down the "fuss" factor from his previous books (which I opted not to buy because their recipes are just too involved), I still feel like this one is still too fussy for me.

This is a great book if you like experimenting and spending lots of time in the kitchen, however.

I'm also a little on the fence as to whether or not I like the flavors in his recipes. Some were pretty good, but others were kind of bland for my taste.

I'm happy he keeps putting out cookbooks, though. The more vegan cookbooks out there the better, in my opinion. It helps covers all levels of cooking interests and expertise.

I enjoyed the Caribbean vegan version recipes included in this book. Gaz Oakley is certainly a creative chef.

You will see lots of dishes, ingredients and flavours in this book from all parts of the world. Every picture is real —there are no fancy food photography tricks—and I can guarantee that every dish tastes fantastic.

I like watching Gaz's YouTube videos from time to time: I like the atmosphere, the recipes, the photography (chef's kiss), the humour... but I'm a bit disappointed in Plants-Only Kitchen and it's solely due to my taste in food (I probably should have checked the index before ordering the book, ha).

To be honest, I like much simpler/lighter (some would say less fancier?) recipes, with less ingredients and less steps. Some of these recipes were just "too much", you know?

And I definitely wouldn't say that this cookbook is full of "super simple recipes for busy people".

Delicious, yes, powerful and protein-packed, okay. But neither easy nor quick: I can't spend 90 minutes cooking every day when I come home from work, that's just not possible.

I mean, I sell (organic, zero waste) food for a living and I didn't know where to buy some of the spices or vegetables he used?

These recipes look delicious and fun! I try to eat mostly plant-based and encourage others to do the same - so looking forward to giving these a try with my non-veg friends to get them to see how good plant power can be :)

I'm not Objective.

I'm not objective.. I love Gaz. I love his books, I love his YouTube channel, I love his quest for flavor! Cook one recipe and decide for yourself!

Sehr lecker!

„Ich diskutiere nicht mit Nicht-Veganern, ich koche für sie. Wenn du jemandem einen Teller hinstellst, egal ob das Gericht vegan ist oder nicht, und es gut schmeckt, dann werden sie es genießen.“ - Gaz Oakley

Gaz Oakley ist ein veganer Koch und Kochbuchautor aus Wales. Dies ist sein drittes Kochbuch und das erste Buch, das ich von ihm ausprobiert habe. Das gebundene Buch ist ein Hingucker: ein robuster Einband, hochwertige Seiten mit einer ansprechenden Schriftart und vielen besonders gestalteten Bildern machen Lust, gleich loszukochen. Das Buch enthält verschiedene Kategorien, u.a. Frühstück, Suppen, Snacks und Häppchen, Pasta, Currys, Hauptgerichte, Ofengerichte, Burger, Gemüse, Beilagen und Salate sowie Nachspeisen. Kleine Symbole zeigen an, ob das Rezept glutenfrei ist, proteinreich, geeignet für Meal Prep, oder die Zubereitung nur bis zu 15 Minuten dauert. Schon beim Durchblättern kriegt man richtig Hunger. Ich habe bisher einige Gerichte im Buch probiert. Alle waren einfach zu verstehen und schmeckten gut, keines der Rezepte bisher schmeckte langweilig. Die Zutaten waren mehr oder weniger leicht erhältlich. Mein bisheriger Favorit ist das „aromatische Erdnusscurry“, welches wir seit dem Erhalt des Buches schon mehrmals gekocht haben und immer einfach super ankommt. Was man allerdings sagen muss: die Rezepte sind bei weitem nicht alle schnell, wie der Untertitel des Buches suggeriert. Der Geschmack wertet dies aber locker auf. Insgesamt ein besonderes und gut gelungenes veganes Kochbuch, auf das ich immer wieder zurückgreifen werde!

This is his third cookbook (I skipped the Christmas one), with 70+ recipes, many with photos. Recipes use often certain keys that the maker might find useful: high on protein, one-pot, batch-making possible, meal prep possible, gluten-free/possible gluten-free. Occasionally they have a short introduction. Cooking time is also mentioned, and the difficulty-level, which tends to be either 3, 5, or 7/10. At the end is a guide to a plate method, and one of the last recipes also gives good information on cooking vegetables-timings.

The Maris Piper potato used here is an ‘all-rounder’ potato (useful in many ways), so even if you’re not British, no doubt you can think of some equal-level potato in your country. Of course, certain recipes show the Britishness (or Welshness). The recipes photos are quite colorful in this book also, but what makes this book more favorite for me than the first is the number of appealing recipes, which seems to bigger. I also learned through elsewhere-checking what the ‘samphire’ in some of the recipes was: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samphire

There were so many favorites I won’t list them here, but there were amazing pastas, tofu-dishes, burgers, rice dishes, etc. that got me so hungry to try them – I think that’s a sign of a good book, finding so many good recipes (though I haven’t found one where I want to make everything, yet). Still, I really look forward to further books that might appear… and meanwhile enjoying this. :)

The under-25 set raised on Lunchables might find this cookbook appealing and become curious about vegetables that aren't ketchup... if Gaz in his narcissism pulls even one social media addict away from the drive-thru lane and into my local famers' market I'll read and positively review every one of his cookbooks.

Gaz Oakley appears to be Jamie Oliver's citified, hip younger cousin. This outrageously 80's-neon bright cookbook definitely shows it UK roots with many recipes from former British colonies (Carribean, Indian, etc.) that have infused British eating habits-- albeit without the animal products. The recipes rely heavily upon vegan substitutions for animal-product foods (soy milk, vegan mayo.)

Read on the same day as Bryan Terry's Vegetable Kingdom, it's clear that while Terry's book is meant to educate his readers as much as possible about the bounty and benefits of a vegan diet, Oakely's objective seems to be getting as much facetime as possible. His tattoos, his gangster-style jewelry, his little shaved eyebrow are everywhere, distracting you from otherwise really pretty food photography. The recipes I tried solidly reminded me of their non-vegan counterparts, and the roasted pineapple was deemed a keeper for life from my family.

Once again, Gaz Okaley is TOO FANCY for me! I do very much admire his presentation, and especially appreciate that he does all his own food styling and that it's all actually food (I have run across a number of cookbooks recently with blinding white yogurt and sour cream and all I can think is WHY WOULD THEY RUIN ALL THIS DELCIOUS FOOD BY POURING GLUE ALL OVER IT???).

But these recipes are definitely not for busy people. Busy people need things that take like, 30 minutes tops, not an hour-and-a-half.

That said, there are some things I would maybe try, for special occasions. Very, very few would I attempt on a week night in the half hour I have between getting home from work and dinner time, while wrangling a tired baby.

Keep being fancy, though, Gaz! You do that really well.

I have made quite a bit of recipes from this book and I would say I like 3/4 of them. I especially loved the sticky umami eggplant recipe, his dad’s chilli recipe and black bean stew. Some of them I found were not my cup of tea such as the bulk-wheat pancakes sweet or savoury. I also found the kofta didnt taste much which Im not sure if I missed a step or what. The book is full of neat recipes and I still have a bunch to try.

Out of the six recipes I made from this book they were all so complicated. I wouldn’t call these easy or simple. There were also a few ingredients I didn’t know or had look up bc they are called something different in America. Overall, I did think the flavors were good and the recipes were unique but overly complicated.

Some great recipes in here. POK is probably my favorite cookbook. The photographs are beautiful and the recipes are easy to follow. My only small criticism is that some of the ingredients used are difficult for the average person to locate (not for every recipe though). Otherwise, highly recommend (check out Gaz Oakley's youtube channel as well).

Full of mouthwatering easy recipes.
So happy that I got this book as well.
Gaz Oakley’s recipes are always packed with flavour, which is a MUST for all food. This is unfortunately not always given an importance in vegan food.
Thank you for another amazing recipe book!

This is the second cookbook by Gaz that I have looked through and not that it is a particular issue really, but I find most of his recipes to be too much work. They look awesome, probably taste awesome. But definitely not my speed.

I don’t often review cookbooks but this one is so awesome - his YouTube channel and website equally so. I’ve been following his meal preps and they are AMAZING, he really has a way with making color full, nutritious plates that you get excited about eating. I feel like a pro chef 😂
10/10!

Not a vegan but looking for more healthy, plant based meal ideas. Lots of buzz about this one but the recipes were not exactly simple. I am excited to make quite a few of his desserts though (dairy free Portuguese tarts are coming up first!).

I absolutely love this book! I’ve tried many recipes from this book - my favorite being the ramen. The taste of the dishes are spot on and totally authentic! Vegan or not - try some recipes from this book!

Delicious, easy to follow and best of all Gaz’s characteristic warmth and genuine loving kindness come through on the page.

Après avoir visionné la majorité de ses vidéos, je suis très heureuse d’avoir son livre entre mes mains. Son travail est remarquable, j’ai hâte de tester !

Nice vegetarian recipes but too many photos of the author. I just want to see the food not your face.

I chose this book because I want to be plant-based but my son still expects a lot of protein in his meals. The recipes are very guy-friendly and taste fabulous! Highly recommend!!

I don’t know how he comes up with these recepis but whatever it is it is amaaaaazing!! I was shocked by some of the unexpected combinations. I can absolutely recommend this book

Cooking is a science, and this book is a textbook to vegan cuisine. Excited to try all the new recipes and get more creative with vegan cooking!