Protein-packed pasta!

Can you believe it’s the first time we’ve featured Chloe Coscarelli’s recipes? We can’t either. The chef with the sweet smile and the treats to match has gone from strength to plant-based strength since becoming the first vegan chef to win a nationally televised culinary competition (Cupcake Wars in 2010). Trailblazer alert!

That was just the beginning of some pretty fantastic firsts over the last few years. She prepared the first 100 percent vegan dinner at South Beach Wine & Food Festival (along with fellow plant-based chef Matthew Kenney, whose food we’ve also featured in the pages of alive). She co-cooked the first ethical vegan dinner at the James Beard House. Did we mention both were sold-out affairs?

So yeah, we’re pretty confident that if there’s one person who can turn a plate of pasta into something more than a mound of carbs, it’s Coscarelli. These recipes from her fourth cookbook, Chloe Flavor: Saucy, Crispy, Spicy, Vegan, will make a believer out of you too.

In Coscarelli’s words: “Holy shiitake, let’s do this!”