21 Vegan Soul Food Recipes You Need Try (2024)

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Our favorite vegan soul food recipes feature everything from hearty bowls of Hoppin' John to slices of gooey pecan pie.

Quick Fried Green Tomatoes

These crispy fried green tomatoes are perfect slathered in tangy homemade remoulade (just be sure to make it with vegan mayo!) or served alongside vegan mac and cheese and a bean stew. If you’re all out of cornmeal, panko bread crumbs can work just as well.

Hoppin’ John

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Courtesy Shaunda Necole/The Soul Food Pot

Comfort in a bowl is one way to describe this wholesome recipe by blogger Shaunda Necole of The Soul Food Pot. This version uses an Instant Pot, taking the hassle out of prep. Keep things vegan with vegetable stock and some homemade Creole seasoning.

Can’t find collards? Shaunda recommends substituting with either spinach, kale or turnip greens for equally mouthwatering results.

Smoky Black-Eyed Pea Cakes

Whip out your cast-iron skillet for this addition to our roundup of vegan soul food recipes! From Jenné Claiborne of Sweet Potato Soul, these savory cakes would be a tasty addition to your next family get-together. Not only is this recipe rich in flavor, it’s also high in fiber and protein—three cakes offer 12 grams of protein—thanks to its star ingredient: black-eyed peas. Planning to eat? Don’t forget to check out our collection of soul food restaurants.

Smoky Tempeh Bacon

Packed with protein, fiber and iron, tempeh is a plant-based substitute that can transform any soul food recipe into a vegan masterpiece. Add some liquid smoke and smoked paprika, and your tempeh bacon becomes the ultimate umami flavor bomb. Add it to collard greens or sprinkle on top of mac and cheese before serving, and you’re sure to go back for seconds.

First time using tempeh as an ingredient? Here are five easy ways to cook tempeh.

Vegan Grits and Greens

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Courtesy Jhanelle Golding/From The Comfort Of My Bowl

Best for breakfast and weekend brunch, this vegan soul food recipe makes use of dairy-free butter and nutritional yeast to achieve the creamy, cheesy consistency of classic grits. Recipe developer Jhanelle Golding of From the Comfort of My Bowl recommends adding vegan cheese and topping it with cajun-spiced crispy tofu for extra protein and crunch.

Whether you’re a vegan or simply trying to eat more plant-based foods, we have these vegan main dishes for you!

Air-Fryer Okra with Smoked Paprika

Seven ingredients and 20 minutes are all you need to take this vegan soul food recipe from prep to plate. The best thing about this okra is that it’s made in the air fryer.

Rice with Collard Greens Relish

Curry powder adds a depth of flavor and highlights a key ingredient in this recipe: collard greens. Rich in heart-healthy nutrients like vitamins A, C and K, this one-pot rice and greens dish is ready in just 20 minutes, making it the ideal mess-free recipe for hectic nights. It makes a lot, so you’re guaranteed ample leftovers to last you through the remainder of the work week.

Easy Vegan Candied Yams

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Courtesy Desirée Daniels/I Can You Can Vegan

These vegan candied yams by blogger Desirée Daniels of I Can You Can Vegan are easy enough to get in the oven during your next holiday potluck or weekend family cookout. Made with sweet potatoes, vegan butter, brown sugar, vanilla and a fragrant mix of seasonings, this is a tasty vegan take on a soul food classic. Topping the dish with vegan marshmallows really takes it to the next level.

Vegan Peach Cobbler

Jennifer Schwarzkopf for Taste of Home

Satisfy your dessert cravings with this delicious plant-based peach cobbler that can be made year-round—use fresh peaches during the summer months and frozen ones for the remainder of the year. The freshly squeezed lemon juice and grated lemon zest add a much-needed tartness and help complement the sweetness of the juicy peaches.

Southern Okra Bean Stew

This substantial one-pot stew comes together in just 30 minutes and yields plenty of leftovers. Akin to a flavorful tomato soup, this vegan soul food recipe gets its heartiness from okra, brown riceand kidney beans. This dish can sufficiently feed 11, but if you’re serving a smaller bunch, you can freeze the leftovers for up to three months.

Air-Fryer Pickles

Panko bread crumbs add a delectable crunch to this quick recipe for savory air-fryer pickles. The key to getting them extra crispy? Drain out as much liquid as possible before coating the pickle in the flour and panko mixture.

Butter Beans

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Courtesy Jocelyn Delk Adams/Grandbaby Cakes

Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby Cakes offers a recipe for southern butter beans that become vegan-friendly with a few simple substitutions: veggie broth cubes, vegan butter, and liquid smoke for the smoky punch. The key here is to let the lima beans simmer in a bold broth infused with liquid smoke.

Also, check if there is a difference between butter beans vs lima beans and make grocery shopping a little less confusing.

Roasted Fresh Okra

While you’re more likely to find okra used to thicken hearty bean stews, it’s also commonly deep-fried throughout the South—a method of preparation that dates back to the transport of enslaved people from Africa. This simple, four-ingredient version, however, swaps the deep fryer for the oven and saves on time; you’ll end up with four servings of crispy whole okra in under 30 minutes.

Easy Vegan Collard Greens

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Courtesy Desirée Daniels/I Can You Can Vegan

Liquid smoke is I Can You Can Vegan blogger Desirée Daniels’ secret ingredient to getting this vegan soul food recipe smoky and delicious—minus the meat! If you’re short on prep time, Desirée recommends buying pre-washed and cut greens to make this recipe as easy as possible.

Instant Pot Vegan Grits

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Courtesy Cassidy Reeser/Cozy Peach Kitchen

This vegan version of grits, a popular southern soul food staple by blogger Cassidy Reeser of Cozy Peach Kitchen, needs just five minutes of prep time—your pressure cooker does the rest! The key to deepening the grits’ flavor is to toast them in hot oil or vegan butter for a couple of minutes until they turn light brown.

Vegan Fried Chicken

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Courtesy Nora Taylor/Nora Cooks

This recipe for fried chicken created by Nora Taylor of Nora Cooks is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. It’s also surprisingly meaty thanks to seitan, a healthy plant-based meat substitute. One half-cup serving offers 46 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber. Need a gluten-free option? Nora recommends using oyster mushrooms or extra-firm tofu instead.

Black Folks Southern Soul Food Baked Beans

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Courtesy Shaunda Necole/The Soul Food Pot

Talk about the perfect side—these baked beans by blogger Shaunda Necole of The Soul Food Pot are the epitome of a sweet and savory dish. While traditional baked beans get their flavor by slowly cooking over the stovetop, this version achieves the same effect in under an hour, all thanks to the Instant Pot.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

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Courtesy Jenné Claiborne/Sweet Potato Soul

Synonymous with vegan comfort food, this mac and cheese recipe by blogger Jenné Claiborne of Sweet Potato Soul transforms the quintessential classic into a plant-based version that’s sure to become a weeknight favorite. Made with butternut squash, plenty of garlic, and nutritional yeast, this is a healthy take on an ultimate classic.

Air-Fryer Hush Puppies

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Courtesy Rebecca Pytell/Strength and Sunshine

Blogger Rebecca Pytell of Strength and Sunshine uses gluten-free flour and non-dairy buttermilk to make these southern savory deep-fried balls vegan-friendly. Pop them in an air fryer, and you’ll have a plate of almost two dozen hush puppies ready in just 15 minutes.

Vegan Southern Bourbon Pecan Pie

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Courtesy Shanika Graham-White/Orchids + Sweet Tea

Regardless of your pronunciation (“PEE-kan” or “puh-KAHN”) it’s an undisputed fact that pecans hold a central place in southern soul food cuisine. This boozy version by blogger Shanika Graham-White of Orchids + Sweet Tea is decadent, gooey and, best of all, vegan!

Easy Vegan Cornbread

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Courtesy Desirée Daniels/I Can You Can Vegan

Seven simple ingredients are all you need to make blogger Desirée Daniels of I Can You Can Vegan‘s recipe for this essential soul food side. If you prefer to turn these into muffins, Desirée suggests transferring the batter to a muffin pan and baking at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Christabel is a freelance writer and illustrator who specializes in all things food and travel. As a restaurant expert, she always knows the best place to grab a bite wherever she is in the world. Growing up in Dubai as a third-culture kid and then moving to the United States has given her the ability to effortlessly and empathetically write about many cultures and cuisines. She brings that firsthand experience to her food writing at Taste of Home, specializing in sharing recipes, techniques and great dishes from around the world. Her writing has also been published in Allrecipes, EatingWell, Lonely Planet and many more.