Rachael Ray is all about quick, delicious, comforting meals. The iconic Food Network personality and best-selling cookbook author is known for creating simple dishes that just make people feel good. For Ray, this often means relying on animal ingredients. Some of her most-loved recipes include pasta carbonara, chicken Francese, and roasted pork chops, for example. But she’s no stranger to plant-based recipes either. Below, we’ve compiled just a few of her best vegan dishes, from vegan buffalo chicken wraps to meatless fast food-inspired burgers.
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Rachael Ray is a flexitarian
As highlighted above, Ray is far from vegan. That said, she does enjoy cooking and eating plant-based foods. In fact, in 2023, she told Tasting Table that she follows a flexitarian diet and “eats more plant-based than people would imagine.”
Flexitarians still eat meat and other animal products, but it tends to be in smaller amounts, with a larger focus on plant-based foods. The lifestyle is becoming more popular; In the US, research suggests that more than half of young people would describe themselves as flexitarian.
Flexitarianism is also popular with other celebrities, too. Harry Styles, Kevin Hart, and Serena Williams are just a few examples of A-listers who appear to follow a flexitarian approach to diet.
7 vegan recipes from Rachael Ray
Considering she’s a fan of plant-based foods, it’s no surprise that Ray has several plant-based recipes in her repertoire. Last year, she created a delicious spicy vegan potato salad for Food Network (which you can find here!), for example. Find more of her tasty plant-based dishes below.
1 Vegan Burritos
When it comes to comfort food, it’s hard to beat a burrito. This vegan version of the classic Mexican dish from the Rachael Ray Show is filled with nourishing smoky black beans, corn, spicy green rice, pico de gallo, and classic guacamole, of course.
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Rachael Ray Show
2 Vegan Asian-Style Veggie and Quinoa Bowls
Featuring one pound of mixed mushrooms, quinoa, broccolini, and plenty of other greens, this Asian-style bowl recipe is as nutritious as it is delicious. According to Ray, she created the dish for fellow flexitarians. “This is a dish that I thought would be popular with grownups, who like to eat plant-based some days or every day,” she said, before adding: “I thought it would be cool for kids because it’s basically just a stir-fry that we’re making with quinoa.”
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Rachael Ray
3 Vegan Buffalo Chicken Wraps, Reinvented
If you’ve not tried cooking with soy curls yet, this is the recipe to start. When cooked in a skillet, the plant-based ingredient gets a deliciously crispy texture on the outside, and a nice tender inside, just like chicken. It’s the dressing that makes this recipe a scene-stealer, though. “The avo-ranch dressing is made from vegan mayo and avocado,” says Ray. “Yum!”
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Rachael Ray
4 Campanelle With Creamy Tahini Sauce, Charred Asparagus, and Za’atar
Ray might be known for her signature carbonara, but she’s also skilled at creating delicious plant-based pasta recipes, too. While you can enjoy it all year round, this creamy campanelle recipe is particularly suited for enjoying outside with a cool lemonade.
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Rachael Ray
5 Meatless Big S’Mac Burgers
If you’re in the mood for fast food, consider whipping up one of Ray’s Meatless Big S’Mac Burgers instead. Loaded up with vegan mayo, ketchup, relish, smoky paprika, and plenty of pickles, these plant-based burgers are better than a trip to McDonald’s. While you can choose any vegan patty you like, the recipe recommends opting for a Beyond Burger or an Impossible Burger.
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Rachael Ray
6 Japanese-Style Plant-Based Chili
A hearty bowl of chili is always a comforting, nourishing dinner choice. This one from Ray combines the classic Tex-Mex dish with Japanese ingredients, like shoyu, shichimi togarashi, and even Sapporo beer, with truly mouthwatering results. The chef recommends serving with plenty of pickled shallots and blistered shishito peppers.
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Rachael Ray
7 Lemony Spinach-Artichoke Soup
Soup is always a good idea, especially when you just want something nourishing and comforting for lunch. This one from Ray is loaded with goodness, thanks to ingredients like onions, garlic, Russet potatoes, lemon, artichokes, and spinach. While the recipe says to omit cheese if you’re making a vegan version, you could opt for a vegan parmesan option, too.
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England’s southern coast.
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