Walking into a restaurant that serves raw food recipes may not initially sound appealing to some. Omnivores could picture Sylvester Stallone slurping down all of those raw eggs in the Rocky series. Novice vegetarians and vegans conjure up images of Bugs Bunny snacking on raw carrots. Neither is true. (Sorta. You could eat both if you wanted to.)

But there is a much broader menu when it comes to raw vegan recipes. It’s more than just chopping vegetables and eating fruit. However, to have a filling vegan diet, everything does not have to be baked, boiled, air-fried or barbecued. Some raw vegan recipes may be so surprisingly delicious that you’ll want to circle back and try them again. Here are seven suggested raw vegan recipes to try first.

Fruit and Nut Energy Balls

This snack is made by blending dates, almonds, coconut and cacao powder, then rolling them into balls. While cocoa powder is often seen in grocery stores to make hot chocolate, cacao powder has a slightly different taste. Cacao, which is made from fermented and roasted raw cacao beans and nibs, has more sugar than cocoa but is on the bitter side.

Depending on the brand, dark chocolate bars sometimes contain cacao and are dairy-free, but this is not always true. Check the nutrition label. If you already enjoy cacao candy bars, then these energy bars should be appealing. The rest of the ingredients are commonly used in multiple recipes. The health perks of energy balls with added cacao is that this specific ingredient improves blood flow, is a potential mood booster, can lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes, improves asthma and enhances brain functionality.

Zucchini Noodle Salad With Tofu

First, add cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, cubed tofu and a sliced avocado onto a plate. (Avocado dressing is another option, but check the nutrition label to make sure there’s no milk.) Finally, in order to spiralize zucchini, you’ll need one of four cooking accessories: hand-held or countertop spiralize, Julienne Peeler, mandoline with a Julienne blade, or a knife.

After thoroughly washing the zucchini, cut both rounded ends off. Then, firmly hold the fruit while using the hand-held or countertop cutters so the other end can form the zucchini into noodle shapes. Once the zucchini noodles have been formed, shake a little lite salt onto them and let them sit on a paper towel to get rid of excess water. After 10 minutes, lightly pat the zucchini noodles dry. Then, add all of the ingredients together.

Raw Vegan Tacos

Walnut “meat” can either be made with bagged ground walnuts or by chopping full walnuts in a food processor. Walnut meat can be eaten crunchy or soaked. In salads, the crunchier version is often appealing. In cold (or hot) vegan pasta, the softer version is arguably better. If you choose the latter, soak them for four to eight hours so they will soften up. Soaked walnuts usually start to resemble the look of vegan ground beef. Once the walnut meat is ready for the raw vegan tacos, slice an avocado. Add both to a bed of lettuce with salsa on top.

Cucumber Sushi Rolls

This may be one of the most familiar raw vegan recipe choices and commonly found at Japanese and Thai restaurants. The primary difference in restaurants is that the rice is warm and cooked. The vegan version skips the rice altogether and carves out sliced cucumbers (similar to carving out the inside of a pumpkin). Then, the ingredients are stuffed inside. Before the stuffing starts, use a Julienne peeler to slice a carrot and bell pepper. Then, slice an avocado the long way. Collect all of the vegetables together to slice into smaller 1-inch sections. Insert the avocado, carrot and bell pepper into each piece of carved-out cucumber. Finally, add tahini sauce.

This is much easier to eat with a fork than it would be with chopsticks, considering the sticky rice version would normally hold the inside ingredients together with seaweed. If you have trouble keeping this together or would prefer a “tighter” sushi roll, try edible seaweed such as nori. Then, just add all of the ingredients and roll them inside. A bamboo sushi roller can help with forming them into a tighter roll.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

If pizza is high on your list for missed-meat meals, stuffed bell peppers can act as a substitute since stuffed mushrooms and other types of pizza crusts are always cooked. However, all of the usual ingredients that go on top of a pizza can still be eaten raw. Carve out the seeds in a bell pepper, and pile a bell pepper with vegetables (ex. spinach leaves, zucchini, carrots, snow peas), grape tomatoes, herbs and cauliflower rice. (Cauliflower rice can be made in a food processor by cutting the vegetable into florets and allowing it to shred into rice-sized pieces.)

Raw Vegan Pizza

If you really want to try the traditional flat version of pizza but vegan-style, consider a flaxseed crust. To make flaxseed crust, you’ll need 1-1/4 cup of fine almond flour, 1/3 cup of tapioca flour (or arrowroot powder), two tablespoons of ground flax, five tablespoons of water and 3/4 teaspoon of lite salt. After mixing it all together, flatten it out with a roller. Or, put the flaxseed “dough” onto a plate between two pieces of parchment paper, and use the bottom of a circular cake pan to flatten it.

Once it’s shaped to the desired size and about 1/4-inch thick, use a dehydrator to remove excess moisture for approximately 1-1/2 hours. Flip the raw flaxseed crust over, and switch to 105 degrees for an additional seven to 10 hours. Flip again within that 10-hour timeframe, so it’s dry on both sides. While waiting on the crust to dehydrate, allow a cup of raw cashews to soak for at least eight hours. Once the cashews are softened, mix them in a blender with nutritional yeast and pepper to make cashew cheese. Add the cashew cheese to the flaxseed crust with tomatoes, basil and (optional) spinach leaves.

Cauliflower Rice

Pretty much anything that would normally be cooked hot on Thai, Japanese or Chinese fried rice can often be added to a raw version with cauliflower rice. This includes corn, snap peas, green beans, onions, carrots, pineapple and tofu. There are some ingredients that should be avoided (ex. mushrooms, edamame) which are largely meant to be consumed after cooking first. Add an optional sweet and sour sauce by using 3/4 cup of white sugar (or raw sugar), 2/3 cup of water, 1/3 cup of white vinegar, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, two tablespoons of cornstarch and one tablespoon of ketchup. Mix it together and add onto this raw vegan recipe.

Seasoning Raw Vegan Recipes Helps With the Transition

Any time a new diet is tested, there’s going to be a learning curve on preparing the food and a physical curve on allowing your body to get used to this new type of food. While some of these recipes may seem more recognizable than others, don’t be afraid to try something new. You may want to test the main ingredients out with new toppings or try out toppings you like on another recipe, such as adding walnut “meat” to vegan tacos. Get creative with your raw vegan recipes. And make sure to use all of your favorite spices (ex. black pepper, red pepper) and seasonings (ex. sage, thyme, rosemary) on the spice rack. All of them are OK in raw food recipes, and add flavors that may stand out even more on a raw diet.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can you eat on a raw vegan diet? 

Fresh fruits and vegetables are at the top of the list. It’s important to make sure the vegetables are safe to eat without being cooked though. For example, some raw mushrooms should not be consumed without cooking while others (ex. button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms) are generally safe.

What is a raw vegan meal?

A raw vegan diet does not include any meat nor seafood, and the food is eaten raw or under a certain temperature. Dehydrating food is OK to eat on a raw vegan diet.

Do raw vegan recipes need heat? 

No, they do not require any cooking. Ideally, they can be eaten in their natural state.