Vegan Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Well, well, well... It took me about all of 5 seconds to realize that I needed to make some variation of the stuffed squash blossom and about 30 minutes to find a recipe that I could substitute for vegan and that wasn't deep friend. I stumbled upon this recipe that gave me hope that my experiment would turn out, if anything, mildly successful. Luckily - I had a bunch of solves already in my pantry and only needed to find the cheese filling replacement. But more on that later.

The gorgeous squash blossoms from The Hidden Market

Alright - onto the preparation!

1.  These are all of my vegan ingredients - plus preheating my oven to 400° F

• Unsweetened coconut milk
• Bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh garlic
• Tofutti cream cheese

L-R/T-B: Sea salt, unsweetened coconut milk, black pepper, bread crumbs
fresh garlic, and Tofutti cream cheese

This was my first time purchasing a vegan cheese substitute. I gave it a quick try to figure out it's flavor profile (and really, to see if it even would work!) and I was quite surprised by the nuttiness of the spread. It also has a consistency of baking cream cheese, very firm. Probably needs to be at room temperature before prep - just a tip.

2.  Mix about 1/4 cup of the Tofutti cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of the coconut milk, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together thoroughly until silky smooth. Can take a couple minutes to really incorporate.

Before the mixing began

3. I tasted the mixture, and it was lacking something - and I think it was the herbs that are in the original recipe. Remembering I have leftover cilantro from the tofu bahn mi, I plucked a few leaves and mixed them right in. #gamechanger!

Hello cilantro!

4.  Once the filling is mixed together, you're ready to stuff the squash blossoms and bread them. I'm not sure if you need to remove the pollen from the inside of the blossom, but I did. Just reached my hand right in there and yanked it out. I then took a healthy spoonful, maybe 1 tablespoon and carefully filled the blossom. Using my finger to push it down to the steam. I twisted the tops to stick together, dipped in the coconut milk and rolled in the breading. Placed it on a greased cooking sheet. My filling was enough for six large squash blossoms.

Coconut milk bath, the filling, squash blossoms, and bread crumbs

5. Once all six were filled, they were ready to go into the oven for 10 minutes.

I'm ready for my oven, Mr DeMille

6. 10 minutes later, the squash blossoms came out of the oven, sizzling and lightly toasted brown on top. The filling was warmed all the way through and did not spill out onto the baking sheet. If they tasted as good as they looked - I would have gold stars!

Vegan Stuffed Squash Blossoms

My first mistake was not putting the whole thing in my mouth, which I quickly realized because they are so delicate. But after the first one crumbling onto my plate, I just popped them right into my mouth, popping them off at the stem.

Boy oh boy - there is no way you can tell this was completely vegan. The cheese is creamy, salty, with the cilantro just brighting up the whole thing. The best part is that, surprise, you can actually taste the squash blossom because it's not fried to death!

Definitely recommending this to all my vegetarian friends, vegan friends, or just overall friends that are adventurous with food. Muy, muy bueno!

Cheers,

Kate