The Herbivorous Butcher Cookbook

75+ Recipes for Plant-Based Meats and All the Dishes You Can Make with Them

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Pub Date 16 Aug 2022 | Archive Date 16 Aug 2022

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Description

75 vegan recipes for meat alternatives and tasty dishes from cult favorite vegan butcher shop The Herbivorous Butcher.

Think of any go-to American meat-focused cookbook. Now, imagine it vegan. From the Guamanian brother-sister duo behind the acclaimed and beloved vegan "butcher" shop, The Herbivorous Butcher, here are 75 innovative recipes for plant-based meats and standout vegan dishes. These are butcher shop classics (but so much healthier) such as Pork Chops, Ground Beef, and Chicken Cutlets that taste and chew as good as the real thing—perfect for vegans as well as anyone who wants to eat less meat.

Use these base recipes (or store-bought substitutes) to prepare super-tasty, hearty dishes that are—yep—totally vegan: Cherry-Glazed Rib Rack, Nashville Hot Popcorn Chicken, Kale's Very Fine Lasagna, BLT Couscous Crust Quiche, and more. With a chapter on bases, "butters," and sauces that will elevate your vegan dishes, plus beautiful photography and entertaining stories, this book is a glimpse of the future—and the future tastes delicious.

75 vegan recipes for meat alternatives and tasty dishes from cult favorite vegan butcher shop The Herbivorous Butcher.

Think of any go-to American meat-focused cookbook. Now, imagine it vegan. From...


Marketing Plan

- National media targets including Today Show; Drew Barrymore Show; Naturally magazine (first serial); Food Network magazine; Epicurious; Eater; MidWest Living

- Consumer advertising in key vegan publications and podcasts

- Partnership with alternative dairy, seafood, and produce for futuristic, eco-conscious, plant-based content and giveaway campaign

- Authors are siblings and based in St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN

- National media targets including Today Show; Drew Barrymore Show; Naturally magazine (first serial); Food Network magazine; Epicurious; Eater; MidWest Living

- Consumer advertising in key vegan...


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781797211954
PRICE $29.95 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)

Average rating from 40 members


Featured Reviews

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting recipe book!

There's a lot of interesting plant-based meals you can make with this book. There's a variety of recipes to make fake meat, cheese, etc. to put together meals. The recipes are in both grams and cups. The book also refers to meat throughout the book, but gives recipes for the "meat" in the book. While some of the recipes are time intensive, it is an interesting find.

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The Herbivourous Butcher Cookbook drew me in with its title and that delicious looking sandwich on the cover. It hooked me with the authors' down-to-earth commentary and creative, different recipes. The pictures featured alongside each recipe literally make my mouth water.

The intros to each section of the cookbook and each recipe left a smile on my face. The authors, Aubry and Kale, are witty and made me feel like a friend. I LOVE that they've included their own Spotify playlist, and some of their favorite podcasts too.

Some of the recipes are labor-intinsive, but the results seem to be well worth the effort in the end. I cannot wait to try out every single one of them!

I hope to one day visit Herbivourous Butcher in person to see it in all its glory. It sounds like it is beautiful inside, but until then this wonderful cookbook will have to tide me over.

I highly recommend this cookbook, and will most definitely be purchasing a physical copy when it is available!

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A truly unique vegan cookbook! I've never seen anything quite like this. I loved the ingenuity of all the sumptuous plant-based "meats." The accompanying photography is stunning. I think the recipes will appeal to herbivores and omnivores a like. A great addition for the home chef!

Thank you Chronicle Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

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Aubrey and Kale Walch are doing something very special with their butcher shop The Herbivorous Butcher in Minnesota, and everyone should be paying attention. This book is a deep dive into the recipes that they crafted as they changed their lifestyle but wanted to continue to have access to meat and dairy like products. Growing up, food and connecting over food has always been a staple of their culture. It was important to them to keep these traditions and connections alive over food - these recipes are their versions of beloved family meals that were traditionally meat and dairy based but now feature plant based ingredients.

The book opens with a wonderful intro to Aubrey and Kale - right off the bat you can see that this book is very human. They make themselves and their recipes approachable through their writing - it felt like hanging out with a friend. I wanted to review this book because I saw them on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives back in the day and assumed that it would be impossible for me to make any of these meats at home. I was so wrong! They are using accessible ingredients that can be found anywhere and the processes require no special machinery. In fact, the meats and recipes that can be found in this book are much simpler and healthier than a lot of the factory made meat alternatives you can find on the grocery store shelves these days.

I am obsessed with this book and this concept - shoutout to Aubrey and Kale who were doing the alternative meats before they were everywhere. This book is a testament to their passion for this work.

The Herbivorous Butcher Cookbook comes out on August 16, 2022 - I am pre-ordering my copy today. Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest reviews.

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This is a great recipe book if you are interested in using wheat gluten or if you want to make your own fake meats. There are a few basic “meat” recipes that are then built upon throughout the rest of the book, along with a few sides. If you are not really interested in making your own vegan “bologna” or “ribs”, this book probably isn’t for you.

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5 I've-been-searching-for-this, beautifully-vegan, plant-based stars for this one of a kind vegan meats cookbook~!

I've been in and out of veganism, vegetarianism, and pescatarianism for many years now - for the animals, the planet, and my health. Throughout my journey of cutting out more meats and dairy from my diet, I have always wished I had a cookbook of VEGAN MEATS!~ Perhaps one of the hardest alternative parts of changing diet and lifestyle, vegan meats can be hard to really get right. I've had some solid ones at various vegan restaurants, but I've never been able to create my own from scratch.

These recipes range from pepperoni to foie gras [faux gras?] in terms of meats and cuts. If there's something you are craving and/or trying to find an alternative recipe to... it's in here. Very excited about the wide range of "meats" there are recipes for!

There is a whole entire section devoted to sauces, which I am also particularly stoked about. I struggled in the past [with much culinary enthusiasm though!] to craft a "mac and cheese" that didn't taste like vegetables and paste... lol. Very excited to try the "cheese" sauce on some pasta noodles and compare to what I've tried thus far. OH! And did someone say.. elotes? :)

As far as all main sections, we've got main meals, soups, sides, meats, large plates, snacks, sammiches, and sauces covered in this cookbook. 10/10 for variety and content. I love that there are a wide variety of cultural foods as well, and it's not simply what you would look for in traditional American cuisine.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this digital ARC! Also, if you're reading this and feeling extra generous, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a hard copy of this to have in my kitchen. This is truly an incredible and one of a kind cookbook.

I'll have to venture and visit The Herbivorous Butcher shop one day!

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If ever there was a book that made my mouth water from cover to cover it would be 'The Herbivorous Butcher Cookbook.' What Aubry and Kale Walch have done for the Vegan community by making these tried and true recipes available after going through all the work of testing them is invaluable! The recipes are diverse, well organized, easy to follow, and thorough enough that even a beginner home cook can follow along to find success. With this book I can easily find options that will make their way into my menu rotation, and satisfy both the vegans and the meat eaters in my household.

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There are some really mouthwatering photos to accompany the recipes. This book covers a lot of different types of food areas and to make vegan meals for those missing the meat but want to make a better veggie choices.

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Much needed cookbook. Many are turning to plant-based for health and environmental reasons and this cookbook is LOADED. Loaded with ideas, great recipes, a lot of recipes at that, and well done. Well photographed and it covers it all.

There is every alternative to everyone's favorite classics in this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Chronicle Book for the opportunity to read and review The Herbivorous Butcher Cookbook

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A wonderful book about a cuisine I have not thought much about: vegan meats! A bountiful barbecue cookbook, complete with sides, all made from the plants that grow from the ground instead of the animals that walk on it. Wonderfully done.

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<b> The Herbivorous Butcher </b> is a cookbook that showcases plant based meats and recipes where the authors are dedicating this book to positive environmental changes that may occur from the impact of their book and lifestyle changes.

The cover looks tasty, first off! It's a clean way to describe about the inside content.

Broken up into 8 chapters, there's content that covers soups, sides, meat made without meat and more.

I enjoyed reading about the authors', Aubry and Kale, stories in the beginning before diving in. It set a pace and understanding for their background and while they felt passionate to write this cookbook.

The photography and clean black/white color palette for the text/background throughout the book was refreshing and easy on the eyes. Recipes like Cherry-Glazed Rib Rack, Chinese Ramen, and even Kale's Pizza Dough were all highlights when we marked which ones we'd like to try first.

5 Stars. Would recommend. We haven't gone fully meat-free within our home, but I'm excited to try new recipe and have a better understanding of how we could incorporate this more within our diet, while being safe and understanding of vitamins, etc.

<b>Thanks to the publisher, Chronicle Books, the authors, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy to read and review. Review will also be posted to my blog (www.kagoodsell.com/book-reviews), GoodReads, TikTok (@unearthingeco), as well as NetGalley reviews.</b>

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This book looks amazing. Chock-full of beautiful photos and delicious sounding recipes. It starts out with recipes to make the “meats” and then moves on to recipes using those”meats”. All the recipes sound so yummy it makes me want to go out and source some Vital Wheat Gluten. Honestly speaking, buying it would probably be as far as this unadventurous cook would get but this book sure makes me want to give it a shot. There are non meat recipes in here as well and it’s for sure I’m gonna be attempting Nana’s Chamorro Sweet Bread. This book is a treat just to peruse.

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This is a great vegan "meat" cookbook that's packed with gorgeous photos of just about every recipe. I was vegan in my past and still lean towards a plant based diet even though I'm keto now, with a focus on whole foods. I'm very familiar with making seitan and that's what almost all of these recipes are, just variations. For those who don't know, seitan is a very meat-like substance that you make by making a sort of dough out of vital wheat gluten and then generally marinating, boiling and/or steaming it. It has a good chew to it and the marinades can impart wonderful flavors so you can make a beefy tasting one or a chicken flavored one or whatever based on the quality of broths you boil or marinate it in. It slices well and you can shape it into shapes like sausages, steaks, chops, etc. or chop it. These recipes are basically all seitan variations, and then there are sides and dishes that use the "meats" in all kinds of tasty ways.

Some of my kids are vegetarian and all of my kids used to love seitan, but most of our whole family has realized they're allergic to gluten so dishes made of nothing but gluten are just not an option. Even for people who aren't sensitive or allergic, if you eat that much gluten for long you're likely to develop a sensitivity. It's a lot! The recipes call for several cups of vital wheat gluten each, which is the concentrated (processed) wheat protein. There's also a sad lack of plants in this plant based cookbook. One of the authors admits to hating most veggies and it kind of shows. These are wonderful recipes to make if you miss meat and/or want some really fancy meals as treats, but for day to day I'd suggest adding a lot more salads, stir fries and maybe just some (gasp) plain old well seasoned organic tofu for better health.

That's not to say that it's not a fabulous cookbook! It's got creative, tasty recipes for those who can do gluten and want to learn to make vegan "meat" dishes.

No nutrition information is provided for the recipes.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

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Meatless Mondays will never be the same! Gorgeous book and some really unique recipes. I’m not a vegan but this book shows you how easy it would be to leave meat behind.

Thanks to the publisher for a quick peek and I voluntarily left this opinion.

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There are so many recipes in this book, from basic "meats" to dishes that feature them to sides to sauces. There are gorgeous photos of everything, which is helpful when you're trying to create something you likely haven't made before (unless you commonly make homemade vegan Spam).

Most of the "meat" recipes are pretty basic, so you can use them in all kinds of dishes, beyond just those included here.

I'll preface this part by saying I own a lot of vegan cookbooks and have made all manner of vegan foods over the last 20 years. My pantry is well-stocked, and I'd say I'm well-versed in niche vegan ingredients. I'm familiar with the commonly used ingredients in this book, but I think it would be helpful for an ingredients section for people that are not. There are some tips and sourcing info below recipes throughout, but a standalone guide would be helpful to some. Even I, for example, didn't know about red beet powder - is it just for color? Taste? Who knows.

All that said, I can't wait to try all of them becuase they make everything look and sound delicious.

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This is cookbook is OUTSTANDING. Delicious and unique recipeis for all levels of cooks. Eating meatless has never tasted so good! Thank you so much for a copy of this book! I'll definitely be purchasing a printed copy.

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I really enjoyed reading this cookbook! This book is a great addition for vegans, vegetarians, and people looking for non-meat alternatives. It's unique in the way that it offers recipes that replace meat favorites like fried chicken. Yes, there's a recipe for meatless fried chicken. There are also lots of recipes for side dishes that compliment the plant-based mains. I especially liked the section with recipes for "beef stock" and vegan mayo. A must read for vegans who want to add plant-based meats to their cooking rotation.

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So many types of non meat meats out there! Excited to try making some of the base recipes and venture into the world of vegan and vegetarian meals. Punny names for the recipes. The song lists and podcasts seemed unnecessary to me, but might be fun for others.

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I couldn’t wait to get this book. I’ve watched this business grow online through, reviews and social media. The recipes look beautiful photos and sound amazing. I was surprised at the extra recipes, the sauces, and combinations. It shows you how to make the basic protein then gives you all the flavors with different amazing combo recipes. I can’t really review a book without trying the recipes, right ? Oh the hardship, LOL.
I make plant protein meats as a hobby, focusing on perfecting salami, pepperoni and sausages to my tastes. I really had to try all their recipes but the Milano salami and pepperoni were first. The pepperoni was just right, it had a nice level of fat, medium spice level it cooked perfectly on my pizza and was quickly gobbled up by my family. The Milano Salami, was so close my carnivore guest couldn’t tell I served him a vegan sandwich. My daughter loved this “meat” putting it on almost everything for days. I didn’t love the texture after the first 24 hours of rest, after 2 days it was fantastic. I made butcher strength Worcestershire sauce ! It was easy, and so much better than the shelved products I used to enjoy. Sunday I made brunch for a group and made the Eggs Benedict Burrito with the Brunchy Brunch Hollandaise sauce. Everyone wanted the recipe, it was that good. Oh you have to try the Lunch Plate Kahlua Pork made with jackfruit, I could eat that every week. I’ve tried many more but not all the recipes yet. I haven’t been disappointed and enjoyed making them. The recipes are clearly written, with mostly easy to find ingredients at you local store. I bought some online, I buy in bulk.
I will add this book to my library and gift it to friends. It is on my top 10 vegan cookbooks to own. It’s not a huge book, but is filled with huge flavors, buy it, try the recipes, adjust them to your taste.

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This book is super unique. I loved the ability to make meat dishes without actual meat. For me the process might be a little lengthy but I really do want to try them!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Pretty interesting read! Recipes seem easy enough to follow if you have the right tools/materials.

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As a food writer and vegetarian based in the Twin Cities, I am very familiar with Kale and Aubry! I think this cookbook is super enlightening to the thought process behind the want/need for vegan meats, on occasion. Some of the recipes are incredibly labor intensive, but that can also be a positive rather than a negative. (Everyone was so into messing around with sourdough during quarantine, why not mess around with some vital wheat gluten and make some ribs sans bone?)

I was also super pleased to see recipes that utilized mushrooms, tofu, and other vegetables included. This book is friendly ,approachable, and inspiring!

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For those who don’t know, I’m a vegetarian. I tend to eat quite a bit of vegan food because if it’s vegan, then I know I can eat it. I’m always looking for good substitutes for some of my old favorite dishes – like roast beef and pepperoni pizza. Finding The Herbivorous Butcher Cookbook gives me a chance to find those dishes and make them myself without paying an arm and a leg for a premade version.

This cookbook has some amazing, mouthwatering recipes in it. Some of the options include pepperoni, porterhouse steaks, a beef roast, spam, chicken cutlets, and more – all vegan. This cookbook doesn’t just show you how to make the meat substitutes though. Oh no, this cookbook also tells you what things you can do with them as well! Recipes like fried chicken sandwiches and philly cheesesteak sandwiches – again, all vegan.

My favorites out of the meat substitutes were the pepperoni and the beef roast. I also really enjoyed the chicken cutlets. We like to make chicken sandwiches around our house, but I’m often left out if I haven’t purchased a bag of chick’n filets lately. Not anymore. I can grab some ingredients from the pantry and make chicken cutlets for myself.

The recipes in this cookbook are well written and easy to follow. You may find that you’ll be making some purchases from online retailers for items that may not be available in your area such as red beet powder, mushroom powder, or a dedicated steamer appliance for the kitchen, but most of the items are easily found in local stores.

The photography in this cookbook is stunning, giving a clear picture of what you can expect when you make these recipes. Of course, yours will never look as good as the professional’s did, but hey, that’s half the fun, isn’t it?

I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone who is vegetarian, vegan, or looking to reduce their animal consumption, but doesn’t want to buy premade meat substitutes.

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I’ve been a fan of the Herbivorous Butcher ever since our vegan son introduced us when we visited Minneapolis. We’ve since introduced many plant based foods to our diet, but the products from Herbivorous Butcher were, and still are, a cut above anything we could get in the grocery store (a cut above - see what I did there?). So when this book arrived for review, I devoured it in one sitting (more food humor). I’m very happy to report that this is an outstanding cookbook. I expected it to be a compendium of recipes that could be made with their products, but they have shared the actual meat recipes with us, along with chapters full of sides, sauces, soups, and much more. All of the recipes are accompanied by mouth-watering photos and cheerful, enthusiastic commentary. (It’s important to note that they don’t use the word “substitute” to describe their meats. These are fantastic on their own, they are not lesser versions of “real” food).

The brother/sister team of Kale and Aubrey Walch grew up in Guam and now live in Minneapolis, and there are nods to the cuisines of both of these places throughout the book. Both of them have a humorous style that makes the commentary as readable as the recipes themselves. Most of the recipes are not particularly complicated, and can be made with item readily found in the grocery store. I heartily recommend this book!

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Thank-you NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the chance to review this ARC.

I'm not Vegan. I'll start off by saying that. But I often find myself gravitating to mock meats.
I have lots of vegan cookbooks because I like incorporating vegan meals in my daily life.
So I can say that this is by far the best one I've seen.
I loved the detailed ingredients and the lovely photos. It took a do it yourself approach and I loved that.
My favorite parts had to be the meats it was cool to see all you could create with the right ingredients it was amazing! I can't wait to add this to my shelf!

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I LOVE this cookbook. I first heard about the Herbivorous Butcher through the Food Network years ago, and have followed their journey ever since. However, since I don't live in MN, my only chance to try their products would have been to have it shipped to my home. This cookbook took the things I has been wanting to try for ages and broke down the receipes in a simple, easy to follow fashion. For people unfamiliar with vegan/vegetarian cooking, some of the ingredients and techniques may seem unfamiliar, and the cookbook offers them a safe jumping off point to try with plenty of information. I would reccomend this book to people who are interested in vegan cooking, or even my meat eating friends who want to try something new.

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Definitely an interesting cookbook. I didn’t even know you could make even half the things they did with these recipes! (Like vegan ribs?!?) Now I will say some of the pictures aren’t the prettiest to look at but they do seem very flavorful.

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I'm not a vegan—not even close—but I don't eat beef or pork and I love trying plant based recipes that mimic those proteins. I don't not eat them because I don't like them, but because of health and humane purposes. Now, I understand why a vegan might not want to mimic those proteins, but for me, this book was right up my alley. One of the things I especially appreciate about these recipes was how simple the ingredients are. I've bought some vegan recipe books that have so many obscure ingredients, you'd need an entire pantry to house them. Living in a big city with a tiny kitchen and no pantry, that's simply not possible for me. VWG, nutritional yeast, liquid smoke, and tapioca powder are a few of the most common vegan ingredients required here and I tend to have those in my house. I also always appreciate pictures to accompany recipes. Especially in this case where I don't know what these should ultimately look like or what the right texture should be. Definitely much appreciated here. I can't wait to make my way through more of the recipes!

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I absolutely loved this one and cannot recommend it enough - not only for people who are focused on plant based options, but even for those who are not and just love food! Will be sharing and gifting this one for years to come!

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I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

For years I’ve wanted to try food from The Herbivorous Butcher but haven’t lived closed enough. I was very excited to try some recipes from their new book.

There are some people who seek out vegan cookbooks who don’t want to see any faux meats used. If that’s you, this cookbook is not for you. It’s full of from-scratch recipes for mock meats from pepperoni to chicken.

This book is well laid out and filled with gorgeous full-page photos of each of the prepared recipes.

The recipes we tried:

Pepperoni. The flavor was great on this, the texture is closer to sausage. I had this with crackers, on pizza, and in pasta and it added nice flavor to everything.

The Rib. Good texture and flavor.

The porterhouse steaks were good but not great. To me, it tasted like slightly more flavorful seitan but was more effort than making a seitan recipe with a marinade.

Smoked Cheezy Grits. Even without the jalapenos and green onions (because I was between grocery shopping trips), it was very tasty. A little thinner than I usually make my grits but that’s easy to adjust. The liquid smoke added a nice depth of flavor without being overpowering.

We made the beef broth concentrate, which is key to a lot of the recipes. Be sure to pay attention to quantities.

I have never used such a large amount of soy sauce or garlic powder in one go before.

The garlic egg fried rice was bland but I wouldn’t buy a vegan butcher cookbook for a fried rice recipe anyway.

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