According to recent polls, vegans account for 3% of the US population and 1% of the world population.

This means that around 80 million people around the world avoid using animal products in their diet. On top of that, sales of plant-based food products are increasing at a much higher rate than those of food products in general.

As the number of people who embrace this lifestyle increases, so does the interest in vegan recipes and cooking skills. If you’re looking for a free vegan cooking course, look no further and check our review of these 5 helpful learning resources.

Veecoco 7-Day Free Trial

Veecoco is a website that offers online courses aimed specifically at vegan learners. It was created by two brothers who fully embraced the vegan lifestyle without sacrificing the enjoyment that a tasty meal provides.

It offers a 7-day free trial that gives you access to more than 20 courses (comprising more than 700 lessons) covering different recipes, cuisines, and techniques.

To start the free trial you don’t need to enter your credit card or other payment details. This makes sure that there is no automatic billing once the 7-day trial expires.

This gives you enough time to try the lessons, learn how to prepare some new dishes, and decide later whether you want to get full long-term access to either individual courses or full membership.

Veecoco courses are aimed at learners of all levels (from beginner to advanced) and backgrounds (from amateurs to chefs).

Some of the most useful and interesting courses include:

• Raw Food Fundamentals – This course provides the basics of preparing raw food in a creative, enjoyable, and delicious way.
• Healthy and Easy Plant-Based Cooking – Here you will learn how to obtain the maximum health benefits from your vegan diet by growing your own sprouts, combining different food groups, and living on an entirely plant-based diet.
• The Perfect Vegan Brunch – This course will teach you several recipes to make your vegan brunch menu more interesting and appealing, as well as inspire you to create your own recipes.
• Vegan Classic Italian – In this course, an Italian chef with 35 years of experience will teach you how to prepare exclusively vegan Italian recipes, ranging from Pesto to vegan Panna Cotta.
• Vegan German Classics – German cuisine usually makes heavy use of meat but in this course, you will learn how to prepare traditional dishes like Schnitzel and sausages in a completely vegan way.
• Vegan Pastry Essentials – This course will provide you with the fundamentals of vegan baking and will teach you how to deal with different types of doughs to prepare delicious pastries like cinnamon rolls and sponge cake.
• Mouthwatering Vegan Desserts – Learn how to prepare entirely vegan-based desserts, including snickers bars, and pineapple cheesecake.

Veecoco has developed partnerships with experienced chefs from different countries who specialize in different techniques and cuisines, making sure you only receive professional, quality teachings.

The website is pretty easy and intuitive to use. After signing up for the 7-day trial program, you will receive a password and a link to access the free trial log-in page. You can then select the course you are more interested in and start following the various lessons.

Each course is divided into different sections and each section is divided into different lessons. The instructors aren’t just very competent chefs but are also very talented at explaining concepts to less experienced learners.

One downside of the 7-day-free trials is that certain resources (like shopping lists and certificates of attendance) are locked and can only be accessed after buying either individual courses (one-time $127 fee) or signing up for full membership ($297/year or $35/month for 12-month access).

Veecoco also offers an entirely free YouTube channel that regularly uploads videos with new recipes and tips for vegan cooking enthusiasts.

Rainbow Plant Life (YouTube Channel)

Rainbow plant life is a resourceful vegan cooking YouTube video channel hosted by Nisha Vora, a former lawyer and vegan cooking expert who shares her knowledge and recipes with fellow vegan enthusiasts.

She was featured, among others, on Cosmopolitan, Elle, and CNN.

The channel has been active since 2017, includes more than 120 videos, and currently uploads new videos with a weekly or monthly frequency.

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If you are new to this YouTube Channel, it’s probably best to start by visiting the playlist sections which organize the tutorials under different categories, including:

• New to This Channel? Start Here (13 lessons) – This playlist will introduce you to the world of vegan cooking, by answering some common questions usually asked by vegan beginners, teaching you how to avoid the mistakes new vegans usually make and introducing you to some essential vegan recipes you can start using right away.
• The Most Delicious Easy Vegan Recipes (23 lessons)– Here you will find a collection of simple vegan recipes that you can start using today, including hummus, buffalo chickpea pesadillas, white bean & kale soup, and vegan mac and cheese.
• Master Vegan Cooking at Home (18 lessons)– Bring your vegan cooking skills to the next level with tips, tricks, and recipes that will bring your vegan meals from acceptable to good to outstanding.
• Delicious Vegan Indian Food (8 lessons) – The channel’s host has a very good knowledge of Indian cuisine due to her roots and will teach you how to prepare entirely vegan Indian dishes, including Naan, Vegan Malai Kofta, Instant Pot Chana, and Vegan Palak Paneer.
• Pumpkin Everything – Vegan Pumpkin Recipes (9 lessons) – Pumpkin makes for great vegan recipes and in this playlist, you will learn how to use it to prepare specialties like pumpkin pie, instant pot pumpkin curry and various vegan soup recipes.

The main strengths of this YouTube channel are its down-to-earth style and the fact that you can start preparing vegan recipes right away. The basics are not explained before you start trying the recipes but while cooking. 

If you start watching videos today, you will have already prepared your first vegan meal within a few hours.

This makes it ideal for people who want to learn vegan cooking skills for leisure while it may not be the best pick if you aim for a more professional future in vegan cooking.

The channel also hosts live videos and Q&A sessions, during which you can ask questions directly to the host.

Linked to the Channel, there is also a website, where you can find the same recipes in text format. You can also buy the host’s cookbook on Amazon. The Kindle version will cost you only $5.99.

The Complete Guide to Vegan Grilling

As we mentioned in the review of the previous YouTube channel, Rainbow Plant Life also offers a website with recipes in text format.

One free written tutorial offered by the website is entirely dedicated to vegan grilling and it’s therefore of specific interest to those who love having barbecues with their favorite plant-based ingredients.

The first part of the tutorial is divided into 4 parts, each one containing instructions on how to grill specific ingredients and general advice:

• How to Grill Vegan Proteins 
• How to Grill Vegetables 
• How to Grill Fruits 
• General Tips for Vegan Grillin

It then offers more sophisticated grill-based recipes including Citrus-Chiplote Grilled Tofu, Cinnamon-Sugar Grilled Pineapple, and Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers.

The whole guide can be read in around 40 minutes if you want to give it an in-depth look.

You can also read each section separately and focus on trying out that specific recipe. After all, each recipe requires a certain preparation that involves not only learning the various steps but also making sure that you have all the right ingredients.

The explanatory style is very clear, straightforward, and down-to-earth, in line with the YouTube Channel Rainbow Plant Life that we have already reviewed.

It’s by far the best starting point for amateurs who don’t know anything about vegan grilling and what to start trying it out right away.

Vegan Cooking with Love (YouTube Channel)

If you are looking for quick and concise recipes for several vegan dishes, this YouTube channel is one of the best resources available.

Each video is only between one and five minutes long and yet all the crucial steps necessary for preparing each recipe are explained in very good detail.

The videos are also very effective in visually displaying all the necessary steps, as it zooms very clear on each part of the recipe’s execution, showing you how things should look as you move forward.

This can be extremely helpful for beginners, who sometimes have trouble executing exclusively written or oral recipes.

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Here are some of the more than 120 recipes you will find on this channel:

• Vegan Cornbrean Muffins
• Simple Pasta Salad
• Carrot Butter Pate
• Vegan Sweet Potato Pie
• Homemade Marinara Sauce
• Massages Raw Kale Salad
• Vegan Ground Sausage
• Fried Eggplant 
• Savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes

One of the few drawbacks of this channel is that it hasn’t been updated for many years, except for some videos posted more recently.

Still, it provides a very valid collection of fast vegan recipes for any learner who doesn’t have the time to follow longer video lessons.

When watching videos you can also activate subtitles if you prefer reading the recipes while listening.

The channel also has an associated website from which you can download a PDF cookbook containing 25 easy vegan meal ideas.

Galas Organic Kitchen (YouTube Channel)

Yet another helpful YouTube channel for vegan enthusiasts who want to learn how to prepare different types of plant-based recipes.

The channel contains recipes focusing on different types of specialties and cuisines, ranging from Middle Eastern to Japanese to Indian to Mexican.

It also contains a section dedicated to Australian recipes, which is usually not very common on other cooking YouTube channels.

You can use the playlists section to browse through these various types of recipes.

Galas Organic Kitchen currently has fewer videos than the other two YouTube channels we have reviewed but includes some unique recipes like Miso soup, Babaganoush, Onion Spinach Pakoras with Betroot Chutney and Pear Cake.

The videos are very well designed and include both the text of the various ingredients you need and the visual steps needed to prepare a certain dish.

Linked to the channel is also a website where you can find numerous recipes and cooking advice in text format.

How to Approach Learning Vegan Cooking?

Depending on your current skill levels and your goals, you may want to use a different course and approach.

Out of the courses that we have reviewed, Veecoco probably offers the most structured approach to learning, as it is a platform where students can select the type of skills they want to acquire and then follow the various lessons in sequence.

In contrast, if you want to learn by focusing on specific recipes and adding new ones to your repertoire as you, we suggest using one of the 3 YouTube channels that we have reviewed, with Rainbow Plant Life being the most regularly updated and the other two containing additional recipes that will broaden your knowledge and skills. 

Feel free to let us know about your previous experience with vegan cooking and don’t hesitate to ask you any questions in the comment section below. Also, check our Culinary Skills section for more reviews of cooking courses in general.

First published on July 3, 2022 – Last updated on November 5, 2022