Eating More Plant-Based? Here Are the Top 14 Vegan Chefs You Need to Follow

If you're trying to eat more plant-based in 2022 you are in the majority. More consumers than ever are trying to eat plant-based at least some of the time, as a way of staying healthy, benefiting the environment, and being kinder to animals. It's also a great way to lose weight, if that's a goal.

But before you jump to the conclusion that eating vegan food means the death of all things tasty and delicious, consider that some of the best chefs in the country are adding plant-based dishes to their menus. And there is a cast of thousands of amazing chefs who make their names based on serving up delicious, satisfying, and affordable vegan food offerings, dishes that would win any cooking show.

Globally, 60 percent of consumers believe that plant-based diets are going to be a fundamental shift in how we eat, according to the Good Food Institute, and recipe developers have popped all over social media to create exciting, delicious homemade meals to meet the demand.

The Beet compiled a list of the top vegan chefs and plant-based recipe developers you should follow. Each one showcases a different type of cuisine or specialty, and each has shown how creative and inventive you can be when cooking plant-based. Start sending your likes their way.

Lauren Toyota brings a new and irreverent attitude to plant-based cooking. Creator of the popular blog, Hot for Food, she has authored two plant-based cookbooks, Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face in 2018, compiling everything from the Best Vegan Ramen to Raspberry Funfetti Pop-Tarts. Now she just came out Hot for Food All Day: Easy Recipes to Level Up Your Vegan Meals, leaving any hungry reader drooling over the pages of recipes like Tokyo Street Fries.

Check out her blog, Youtube channel, or Instagram feed for inspiration and entertainment.

Jessica Seinfeld pulls no punches when it comes to her approach to vegan food. Not a vegan herself she takes the stigma out of labels and her cookbook, Vegan, at Times, serves up delicious plant-based classics that will make any family love dinner and not even notice it's plant-based. No matter whether you want to eat plant-based or just try vegan food, Seinfeld is here to help.

Seinfeld feeds her family this way, she says, including her famous husband, Jerry Seinfeld, and their three kids but other than that she doesn’t attempt to persuade people to eat vegan. Instead, she highlights how easy it is including her Mac and Cheese. Follow her on Pinterest or Instagram.

Working alongside her father, Sir Paul McCartney, and sister Stella, Mary McCartney has been a long-time advocate for Meat Free Mondays which they started in 2009 in honor of the late Linda McCartney, a vegetarian. It has since taken off as Meatless Mondays worldwide. The trio released The Meat Free Monday Cookbook in 2011, filled with tons of vegetarian options for any home cook and another recipe book last year of Linda's all-time favorites called Linda McCartney's Family Kitchen.

Mary also published two of her own vegetarian cookbooks: Vegetarian Home Cooking and At My Table: Vegetarian Feasts for Family and Friends. She has a popular cooking show on The Food Network called Mary McCartney Serves it Up!. She is an outspoken environmental activist and has joined campaigns against the meat and dairy industries to reduce climate change and promote animal rights. Check out her Instagram or website for recipes and sustainable activism.

Chef Chloe Coscarelli stepped into the culinary limelight when she became the first vegan chef to win Food Network's Cupcake Wars. The chef showcased the outstanding potential for plant-based desserts. Soon after she opened a series of vegan restaurants called byChloe that had lines forming down the block for her treats, salads, and more.

Coscarelli has published four best-selling cookbooks, including Chloe Flavor, Chloe’s Kitchen, Chloe’s Vegan Desserts, and Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen. Her fanbase assures that every new cake goes viral. She is a regular on talk and food shows but her true happy place is in the kitchen. Whether it's on Youtube, Instagram, or her website, Coscarelli shows you that it's easy to be vegan and still enjoy the highest level of baked goods, treats, and desserts.

Ellen Charlotte Marie – whose real last name is De Meulemeester – started food blogging nearly eight years ago, focused on healthy eating. However, as she started incorporating more plant-based foods into her diet, Demeulemeester decided that she wanted to adopt a fully plant-based diet. Her Instagram encouraged her followers to try going vegan as well, and she showed them that it could include eating exciting, cutting-edge vegan dishes.

De Meulemeester launched the Effortlessly Healthy app to bring plant-based recipes directly to people's phones. The app features more than 100 plant-based recipes with new additions every month. The vegan platform aims to make it easy to help people eat healthy and vegan.  She has since authored Everyday Vegan: Healthy Plant-Based Cooking for the Entire Family. Follow her on Instagram or her Effortlessly Healthy app.

Youtuber, recipe creator, and vegan phenomenon Rachel Ama should be a household name on both sides of the Atlantic since her Caribbean-style cooking and her sunny personality are mesmerizing. Her two cookbooks, Rachel Ama's Vegan Eats, and One Pot: Three Ways make it look easy to create amazing dishes like Peanut Rice and Plaintain Burgers that are spiced and flavored to taste better than the traditional versions.

The London-based Ama launched her Youtube channel in 2017 to showcase what she calls her "naturally vegan dishes as well as cuisine that reflects her Caribbean and West African roots." It has since expanded across several social media platforms including Instagram and personal recipe blog.

Matthew Kenney is reinventing what fine dining means within the plant-based boundaries, and his restaurants span from casual pizza or Mexican food to upscale international cuisines housed at Four Seasons hotels. Kenney's recipe development exceeds expectations and sets new standards for plant-based and every type of dining experience. Between his 40 restaurants, his culinary school, his new frozen meals, and his work to grow plant-based dining in the Middle East, Kenney is the top innovator in the plant-based world.

Follow Kenney's Instagram or Plant Journal to keep up with the most innovative, stunning vegan dishes that you can make at home or go to one of his restaurants to experience.

Britt Berlin started dabbling with recipe development when she was 15 years old. After she graduated from college, Britt launched her food blog The Banana Diaries as a creative outlet, to help her overcome a serious eating disorder (which she shared with her readers). In recent years, she developed it into a successful vegan blog with 114,000 followers on Instagram. Berlin shares her beautifully designed and shot plant-based recipes that bring baking to new heights. Her cookbook, Baked with Love, contains 110 allergy-friendly and vegan desserts. Just watching her artistry on her website or Instagram will keep you entertained for hours.

Mark Bittman wrote the best-selling book, Vegan Before 6 and it changed how people thought about vegan food – suddenly it was something anyone could enjoy, not just vegans, His next books all featured vegetarian and vegan options for recipes and though not all of Bittman's recipes are vegan, his work provides an accessible starting point for people who want to try it. In 2007, he published How to Cook Everything Vegan, and his techniques allowed people to transform their favorite recipes into plant-forward alternatives without abandoning their food traditions.

Today, Bittman still sits at the forefront of the food scene with his new company, The Bittman Project, where you can learn and join the dialogue about what's exciting to him. Visit the website, follow Bittman on Instagram, or Twitter or see what he's cooking up on The Beet.

Chef Charity Morgan first appeared in the public eye as the chef on The Game Changers who was cooking up plant-based dinners for NFL stars including her husband, Derrek Morgan of the Tennessee Titans. Her food became so popular that she was feeding dozens of meals a day and finally realized this could be an actual business. But rather than try to scale the in-person meals she has instead poured her creativity into a new cookbook, Unbelievably Vegan, featuring more than 100 plant-based recipes. Even before it was published, Morgan has grown a massive online presence with 148,000 followers.

Morgan is passionate about making sure people never equate vegan food with boring. She created a vegan wedding menu for Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, and all the celebrity guests loved it. Follow her on Instagram or check out her website to see just how exciting eating vegan can and should be.

Chef Derek Sarno and his brother Chad co-founded the food blog Wicked Healthy with the mission to prove that plant-based cooking is as manly as it gets. The food blog is the launchpad for the two brothers' plant-based empire and they have since launched Wicked Kitchen line of foods, as well as the vegan seafood company Good Catch. Based in England, Derek works as the Executive Chef & Director of Plant-Based Innovation for Tesco.

The Sarnos have made mushrooms their number one source of vegan protein, and shown ways to create BBQ steaks out of Lions Mane that sizzle up on the grill and taste better than the real thing. The Sarnos are firing on all burners. The food company continues to innovate, the Wicked Healthy recipes excite and the only question their fans have is what will they conquer next?

Priyanka Naik's plant-based cooking is unique to her background and experience, and in her first cookbook, The Modern Tiffin, she draws on the Indian tradition of the "tiffin" which is a small tea-time or in-between meal that you eat mid-morning or afternoon on the go. Her plant-based recipes provide the perfect introduction to cooking for one or as a perfect snack for anyone who wants to dabble in vegan food but not commit to a major change.

Naik is a self-taught cook who started her blog 11 years ago as a vegetarian and has since gone fully vegan. Her following has grown and now she has over 104,000 followers on Instagram. Check out her Facebook, and Youtube channels for new recipes and tiffins.

Sophia Roe not only walked the red carpet at this past year's MET Gala, but also was one of the chefs who helped create a fully plant-based menu for the celebrity crowd. Her true passion is helping others start their own plant-based journey and every one of her videos makes it look easy, accessible, and also chic.

While Roe doesn't call herself vegan, she does exclude animal products from her recipes.  Whether you check out her Instagram, Youtube, or VICE TV show Counter Space, the authentic and likable chef will make you want to try what she's cooking. Roe hopes to help combat food insecurity and discrimination in our food supply, by throwing her support behind more sustainable and equitable food systems. She is working on her first cookbook, so keep an eye out in 2022 for more from Sophia Roe.

Sir James Paul McCartney is no stranger to a meat-free life as he's been vegetarian for 45 years. He initially went vegetarian in 1975 with his first wife Linda McCartney and began his advocacy for animal rights.

If you find yourself constantly singing along to the song The Greatest, then you're already a Sia fan. Sia tweeted that she is "fully vegan now" back in 2014 and stays true to her word

Way back at the start of Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh took the cast out for a plant-based lunch at Truly Vegan in Hollywood. In her effort to inspire contemporaries to eat vegan, the TV star is known to invite her friends for vegan meals that are delicious. She adopted the vegan lifestyle years ago and continues to quietly live a cruelty-free life.

Giselle revealed that when she was at the peak of her modeling career, her diet consisted of "cigarettes, wine, and mocha Frappuccinos," according to an interview in People Magazine. Now 39 and the mother of two children, Gisele eats a "mostly" plant-based diet to nourish her body and stay fueled.

Alec Baldwin has made a bigger commitment to plant-based eating since he was first told by doctors that he was pre-diabetic and needed to change his diet. That was decades ago. But, over the last few years, he's been vocal about the benefits not only to his health but also the impact plant-based eating has on the environment.

We all remember Pamela Anderson as the curvaceous blonde in the hit series Baywatch as she played Casey Jean in the red one-piece swimsuit that brought her world-class fame. She is a life-long active animal rights advocate and teamed up with PETA to join the Animal Protection Organization.

"We shouldn't eat as much meat guys," Kristen Stewart told GQ in an interview in January. The Twilight star has made a full 180 from vampire to vegan. When she appeared on the game show "Hot Ones" she chose to skip the wings and instead compete by eating increasing spicier sauce on vegan cauliflower wings.

This award-winning actor eats a high-protein diet consisting of only plants. Leto, who has been plant-based for 20 years, says it keeps him "shredded" in an interview. Now, 48, Leto looks half his age.

Jaden Smith switched up his diet from vegan to vegetarian, meaning that he doesn't eat meat but does eat dairy from time to time. In a recent article by Plant Based News, Smith admits he skipped meals and was not getting the proper nutrition when he was vegan, but this hasn't stopped him from espousing the plant-based life.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex has never admitted to being fully vegan, but sources say, she eats a plant-based diet most days during the week. She is teaching Prince Harry vegan cooking and in a Plant-Based News article, Markle explained how she hopes to raise baby Archie on a mostly vegan diet.

As a professional athlete, fueling the body is a key factor to Willaim's successes. In a Bon Appetite article, she explained that she adopted a plant-based diet back in 2012, she was eating a lot "healthier" for her sister, Venus, who eats a strict vegan diet for health reasons.

The popular grocery store, Whole Foods Market sells vegan products and nonvegan products which arises black lash from ethical vegans as CEO John Mackey follows a strict vegan diet. The successful businessman grew up in Houston Texas and told Business Insider that he would traditionally eat processed foods for dinner while watching TV with his family. Now, Mackey steers clear from the processed isle and eats a clean vegan diet and feels amazing at the age of 65.

Jason Mraz, singer of the popular song, I'm Yours, committed to a vegan diet to support his friend diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Mraz says he eats mostly raw food and told magazine sources his favorite vegan dish is "Chocomole, a mixture of avocados, dates, cacao, agave nectar, and coconut oil."

Long time vegan, Leona Lewis grew up in a vegan household and continues to eat a plant-based diet. Lewis first adopted the diet at 12 when she learned about the health risks of eating animal products but told Women's Health Magazine she occasionally eats an omelet. She also mentioned her 2:30 lunch is normally a kale salad topped with dried cranberries and she loves a veggie stir-fry for dinner.

Hannah Teter changed her diet after watching the documentary, Earthlings when she discovered how "horrible" factory farming is. After a strict vegetarian diet, Teter liked the way she performed as an athlete and believes that her diet helped her win gold at the 2006 games.

You may recognize Maggie Q as the star of the Nikita series, but in the plant-based world, she's well-known for her heroic activism. Maggie Q has followed a strict vegan diet for 19 years, making her a true veteran of the lifestyle. She made the plant-based diet transition because she felt sluggish and had low energy, she has said. The famous actress keeps in shape by eating veggies and plant-based protein and working out with a passion.

Winner of the first Masterchef vegan cook-off with Gordon Ramsay, Madelaine Petsch was raised vegetarian and went completely vegan at age 14. She claims that she started this diet before it was "trendy" and shot a campaign for PETA last year wearing a dress made of bok choy. Petsch says her vegan diet allows her to feel "healthier" and not "lethargic."

After doing a little sleuthing on her social media platforms we think Millie Bobbi Brown qualifies as plant-based. Whether or not she is actually skipping all meat and dairy, one thing is for sure: She eats mostly salads, vegetables and grains and lives a predominantly plant-based lifestyle full of healthy foods.

The grammy-nominated sisters went vegan for a week with their mom but liked it so much they decided to stick with it. For one thing, it helps keep their "voices in shape" by eating a vegan diet and they emphasize the fact that dairy helps to limit extra mucus build-up, according to a PETA interview.

Best known for her role as Lizzie Mcguire in the long-running series, Hilary Duff is a recent vegan advocate and entrepreneur. She recently launched the vegan and cruelty-free eyeshadow palette, "Day Dreamer" and changed her diet to plant-based last fall.