Nora Cooks, LLC (2025), 256pp

Hot off the presses is this big hardcover compendium from Nora Taylor, creator of the Nora Cooks website. Everyday Vegan Comfort arrived just as I was considering whether to include reviews of vegan blogs and website in this little project of mine. After all, the interwebs are how many of us find our recipes nowadays – and Nora Cooks has been a frequent stop for me. Now she has saved me the trouble by self-publishing this collection of her most popular recipes, which you can purchase directly from her on her site or on her Facebook page.

The book arrived contained in a lovely cardboard box. It is a sturdy hardcover, with easy-to-read print, nice, clear photos, and no recipes that require flipping the page… we LOVE that, right?? The book is broken down into Breakfast, Sandwiches & Salads, Snacks & Sides, Soups, Stews, & Chilies, Pasta, Main Courses, Desserts, and Vegan Basics.

Now, when you dip into the Breakfast section, you will find that one thing that Nora does really well is baked goods. And they are on full display for breakfast here. I make her My Favorite Blueberry Scones any time company comes over, and receive many oohs and ahhs upon presenting them. They are extremely easy to make and damn near perfect. From this book, I also made the Best Pumpkin Bread.

This also came together very easily and disappeared quickly. That said, I do not regularly eat this much sugar and white flour for breakfast. So, if you are looking for overnight oats and tofu scrambles, you will have to look elsewhere (although there is a vegan quiche and a tempeh bacon recipe in here).

As the title suggests, this is comfort food, and are not a ton of vegetable-forward dishes. Because I (and my colon – TMI?) like our veggies, I made the one there is – Best Broccoli Salad from the Sandwiches and Salad section. I didn’t make the cashew-based dressing the first time, as I was a little tired of blending cashews as is required in many of these recipes, but used the quick vegan mayo substitute. The salad was crunchy and satisfying. When I made it a second time, I did make the cashew dressing and did not enjoy it nearly as much.

As we know I love a snack, I went a little nuts on the Snacks & Sides section. (See what I did there?) I made the Easy Vegan Naan, which was indeed easy, and the perfect accompaniment to the many Indian-flavored main courses offered.

Not only is it easy, it is idiot-proof. I screwed up the recipe twice, and it still came out great. The Cheddar Bay Biscuits were biscuity-crispy on the outside and floury-clumpy in the best way on the inside, extremely tasty, and, like everything else in this book, super-easy.

The Honey Sriracha Roasted Brussels Sprouts reminded me I used to make brussels sprouts all the time for a reason. You can toss these flavor-nuggets together any time you want. (You don’t have to get a whole stalk of brussels sprouts, but because they are so cool, I did.

There’s no honey in here (cuz it’s not vegan, obv., so I’m not quite sure why she included it in the title); agave is the stand-in, as usual, and does just fine.

The only miss here for me was the Vegan Queso Dip. I’m not sure what happened, but the flavor and texture just didn’t do it for me – I am super picky about queso though, so you might like it.

From the Soups and Stews section, I made the Zuppa Toscana which was warm and hearty, choc full of kale, potatoes, and sausage, with a nice creaminess supplied by cashews. (A note here – these are, as I keep repeating, very simple, approachable recipes, occasionally, as here, calling for pre-made vegan meats and cheeses. If you are looking to spend a few extra hours making your own, or if you have some kind of issue with such products, you’ll want to check out a different kind of book.)

Many vegan cookbooks repeat recipes with basic Asian and Mexican flavor profiles – and with good reason – these cuisines are tasty and either originally vegan or easily adapted. Indian food fits the same bill, but for some reason is often overlooked. Not so here – the Main Courses section features Red Lentil Dal, Butter Tofu, Vegetable Korma, and Marry Me Tofu, as well as Marry Me Chickpeas. I made the latter, and man, was it good. So much flavor from a dish thrown together on a weeknight with ingredients I already had on hand.

The standards are here too, so I made the Orange Tofu Bowl. (Not sure what qualifies this as a “bowl,” — it’s just tofu and rice, but no matter.) This was take-out tasty, but more sugar than I’m generally looking for at dinner, so I’ll likely table it until I have to feed some hungry kids, who, as Nora indicates hers do, would love this.

Which brings us to dessert. As I said, this is where Nora really shines. (Tangent alert: I’m a little teary here, because a neighbor who was dealing with a terrible illness asked me to make her Oatmeal Raisin cookies, which I had never made (I am a chocolate-in-cookies person). I went straight to Nora’s site for a recipe. My friend loved them. She then requested Snickerdoodles, which I had also never made, and which appear in the book. They also came out great. I subsequently made her a batch of Lemon Crinkle Cookies from the website. I will forever be in Nora’s debt for helping me achieve this very small act of kindness in a very special person’s final days.)

I had never made a Chocolate Mug Cake and boy is this handy for when you have that craving but don’t have the time (or need) to make an entire cake. This takes just minutes and totally scratches the itch. It is more like a dense warm brownie than cake, but is that a bad thing?

Most obviously not. I also made a Pumpkin Pie. Another example of how no animals need be harmed to make your nostalgic and seasonal favorites. Indistinguishable from the milk and eggs version. The Vegan Basics section includes the crust, as well as very basic cashew-based dupes for ricotta, sour cream, and the like.

I didn’t make as many things from this book as I sometimes do, but that’s because I’ve been vegan for a while and I’ve had a lot of these things before and can make them without a reference. But I will most reach for it when I can’t think of what to make, in a short period of time, with ingredients I already have. That describes just everything in this book.

That said, this is rated Vegan Beginner and would be PERFECT for the busy family with kids or anyone who is just dipping their toe into vegan cooking. The recipes are straightforward, there is no special equipment required except for a donut pan and maybe a Vitamix. And no specialty ingredients except nutritional yeast https://booksmartvegan.com/?s=yeast and lots and lots of cashews to make vegan cream and cheese. Get these at Costco for sure. You can also stock up on canned beans there, which you will need for many of these recipes. One additional note: these recipes make a LOT, like enough for 6-10 people, so be prepared to do some math if you are just cooking for one or two.

Veganuary is soon upon us. For sure get this for a busy or novice vegan in your life!! Or at the very least, cruise on over to Nora’s website at noracooks.com.

I did not receive any form of compensation in exchange for this review.