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Instant Pot Marinara Sauce

December 15, 2020 by Melissa Leave a Comment

a pot of instant pot marinara sauce with fresh basil and red pepper flake on the side on a white background.

This post contains links that pay me a small commission at no extra cost to you.

This Instant Pot Marinara Sauce cooks in about 30 minutes but has the flavor of a sauce that has been simmered for hours.

Marinara sauce tastes best when it’s been simmered for hours thanks to the maillard reaction, which is a chemical reaction that your food undergoes when it’s browned – it gives food a much more complex flavor. By putting this marinara sauce in the instant pot, we speed up this process and get a much more flavorful sauce. To deepen the sauce, I also added shredded carrots for a pop of sweetness and nutrition as well as red wine, which also makes the flavor more complex.  

bowl of instant pot marinara sauce with fresh basil and red pepper flake on the side on a white background.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Marinara Sauce

Olive oil: We need just a bit of oil to saute the veggies in the sauce. I have also used butter, which tastes great too.

Onion: If you plan on keeping your sauce chunky, I would chop the onion fairly finely. If you like a smooth, pureed sauce as I do, you can keep the chunks fairly big and rough since it’ll all get blended up in the end.

Carrots: You can shred your own if you want, but I prefer just to buy pre-shredded carrots. Plus, I always have some on hand to throw in stir-fries and salads.

Garlic: I’m crazy about some garlic, so I like at least four cloves of garlic but feel free to adjust it as needed.

Herbs: I used dried oregano and red pepper flake but used fresh basil because I love the fresh basil’s flavor so much more than the dried. You can sub in some dried basil if that’s what you have – I think 2 tsp. would be enough.

Red wine: I used a merlot that I got from Winc, and it was perfect. Wine Folly also has a great article about pairing wine with pasta sauces.

Crushed tomatoes: There are lots of crushed canned tomatoes out there, but I recommend San Marzano canned tomatoes – they have the best flavor.

a bowl of pasta and bread with a ladle of instant pot marinara sauce going on top.

How to Make Marinara Sauce in the Instant Pot

To make this marinara sauce, you’ll need first to saute the onion and shredded carrots with olive oil in the Instant Pot using the sauté function. You’ll then add the garlic, herbs, red pepper flake (if using), and basil, followed by the red wine. Let the red wine reduce for a few minutes to let some of the alcohol burn off. After, you’ll add the crushed tomatoes and season generously with salt and pepper. Put the lid on and make sure that the steam valve is in the closed position. You can then switch the function from saute to manual high pressure and set the timer for 25 minutes. You can use a manual steam release. If you want a smooth sauce, puree the sauce with a blender. Otherwise, you can leave it chunky.

How Long Does Marinara Sauce Last? Can Marinara Sauce Be Frozen?

You can keep the marinara sauce in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Print

Instant Pot Marinara Sauce

a pot of instant pot marinara sauce with fresh basil and red pepper flake on the side on a white background.
  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
  • Category: Italian, pasta
  • Method: Instant Pot

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped roughly
  • 1 cup of shredded carrots
  • 3–4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/8 tsp. of red pepper flake (optional)
  • 3–4 large fresh basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
  • ½ cup of red wine
  • 28 oz. of crushed canned San Marzano tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Put Instant Pot on the saute feature and add olive oil to the pot. Add onion and shredded carrots and saute for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper flake (if using), and fresh basil leaves and saute for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until fragrant.
  2. Add red wine and simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and stir to incorporate ingredients fully.
  3. Put on the Instant Pot lid and make sure that the steam valve is in the closed position. Switch the function to manual high pressure and cook for 25 minutes. Manually release steam. If you prefer a smooth sauce, blend using a blender or you can leave it chunky.

Notes

You can keep the marinara sauce in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.  

Keywords: instant pot marinara sauce, Italian, pasta sauce

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Filed Under: Dinner, Instant Pot, Vegetarian

Understanding the Different Types and Signs of Hunger

December 9, 2020 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Picture of a table of food that is being shared by many people to represent signs of hunger with the words "understanding the different types of hunger"

Did you know that there are more types of hunger than just physical hunger? Specifically, there are four different types of hunger that can help you understand your own signs of hunger and individual needs through intuitive eating. These types of hunger include physical, emotional, taste, and practical hunger. Some of these can occur at the same time or completely independent of one another.

Physical Signs of Hunger

Physical hunger is the one that most people are most familiar with – but that’s not always the case. It is possible not to know what physical hunger feels like, which can stem from continually suppressing the signal. And many aren’t familiar with the subtle signs of physical hunger, such as merely beginning to think about food. Understanding the subtle signs of hunger can help you eat with attunement to your body’s needs. These are a few ways (obvious and maybe not so obvious) that physical hunger manifests:

  • Stomach: growling, rumbling, gurgling
  • Throat or esophagus: dull ache or gnawing feeling
  • Head: light-headed, dizzy, faint, difficulty focusing
  • Mood: thinking about food, cranky, irritable, “hangry”
  • Energy: waning, lethargic, tired

If you want to understand physical hunger and its nuances better, I recommend using a hunger fullness scale like this one to explore your feelings of physical hunger.

hunger fullness scale that shows a scale of 1-10 to show the signs of hunger at each level

Emotional Hunger

Emotional hunger is something that many people fear by thinking that emotional eating is always problematic. In actuality, emotional eating can be helpful. We’re wired as humans to soothe and fix uncomfortable feelings. Physical hunger is an uncomfortable feeling, so we eat to soothe it – problem solved. Boredom, loneliness, stress, and grief are all uncomfortable feelings, so it’s natural for us to try something like eating (that is generally enjoyable or can be enjoyable) to soothe those feelings too. Food won’t fix many of those problems, so it’s important to seek other coping mechanisms that help the root issue. And other times, coming home from work after a really crappy day and eating something that evokes pleasant memories or experiences can genuinely feel good. And that’s okay too. Emotional eating is entirely valid.

Taste Hunger

Taste hunger happens when it’s just that food tastes good or a special occasion where it is part of the ritual to eat (like a wedding cake, for example) even if you’re not physically hungry. These are both acceptable. From a taste perspective, we are wired to enjoy highly palatable foods. If you’re not physically hungry and wanting to enjoy food for the sake of taste, pause after a few bites and ask if the taste is just as good as when you took your first bite. Taste satisfaction will dissipate. Another question to ask if you’re not sure is, “when will I be able to enjoy this particular food truly? Is it now, or will it be better later?” Either way, you get to enjoy any food you want, whenever you want, and the bottom line is to enjoy the taste and move on. Don’t get hung up on feeling guilty – that’s the part that typically disrupts our ability to do what’s best for ourselves.

Practical Hunger

Practical hunger isn’t hunger, per se. It’s more about the practicality of keeping yourself from getting too hungry. Here’s a situation – you try not to schedule meetings during lunchtime, but one comes up anyway, and it’s not appropriate for you to eat during the meeting. You know, after the meeting, you’ll be hungry, and this meeting sometimes runs over. So, you opt to eat lunch before you go to the meeting to ensure you have a sustained amount of energy and don’t find yourself hangry after the meeting.

More on Signs of Hunger and Cues

As a VERY general rule of thumb, you can assume that physical hunger will likely hit at least every 3-5 hours, which can help you plan ahead for windows of time that you will likely be hungry. Keep in mind we are not machines or robots. Your activity level, hormone fluctuations, what you ate the day before or even the meal before, etc., are all just a few factors that impact our hunger cues, so it’s completely normal and natural to have hunger outside of those windows. When you experience hunger in any of its forms, the important thing is that you honor it.

Are you interested in understanding more about your body’s cues through intuitive eating? Book a free session to work with me to cultivate a better relationship with food and your body through intuitive eating.

Filed Under: Nutrition

Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl

December 5, 2020 by Melissa 2 Comments

overview of two buffalo chicken rice bowl with an avocado, cilantro, forks, and a napkin on the side on a white background.

This Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl is one of the easiest meals you can put together. It’s a great option for meal prep for the week and makes an easy lunch or dinner.

I am so excited to share this Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl. You can make everything just for this meal, or it’s a great way to use up leftover shredded chicken or rice. It’s got the classic buffalo spice, and it’s paired with a cabbage slaw that is coated in a tangy, dill dressing that is very similar to ranch dressing.

Close up of a buffalo chicken rice bowl.

Ingredients

Rice: You can use any rice you like. White or whole grain, go with whatever makes you happy or you have on hand.

Cabbage slaw mix: Any bag of cabbage slaw mix will do. If you want to change it up, you can opt for other types of slaw such as the kale or broccoli slaw mixes – those would taste good as well.

Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt makes an excellent base for a slaw dressing. Just make sure you get the plain and not flavored. It adds a lovely buttermilk like taste to the slaw dressing – making it like buttermilk ranch.

Mayo: Use any kind you like to mix with the Greek yogurt. When I don’t have homemade mayo on hand,  I’m team Duke’s Mayo all the way.

Apple cider vinegar: This adds an extra tang to the dressing.

Honey: Obviously, this adds the sweetness, but you can sub agave nectar if you prefer.

Seasonings: Garlic powder, dried dill, salt, and pepper are the key seasonings to the slaw dressing. They’re the basics for that ranch flavor.

Buffalo wing sauce: I personally like Frank’s Wing Sauce (not the original Frank’s Hot).

Melted butter: The wing sauce has some butter flavor to it, but I like to add a little extra melted butter to add to the sauce for the chicken.

Toppings: A little avocado and cilantro add extra creaminess and a kick of freshness to the rice bowl.

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls

This recipe is fairly straight forward. You make the rice and have the chicken already cooked and shredded. The biggest part is making the slaw. You’ll make the slaw dressing by mixing the Greek yogurt, mayo, vinegar, and seasonings together and toss the shredded cabbage with the dressing. Then you’ll toss the cooked chicken with the buffalo sauce and melted butter. The only part left is to layer the bowl with the rice, chicken, slaw, and toppings of avocado and cilantro.

Overhead view of the buffalo chicken rice bowl on a white background.

Tips for Prepping Ahead and Adapting

I really like having an easy prepped or pre-made protein and carb source to have around to use in recipes like this throughout the week. I like to make this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, or sometimes, I’ll buy the pre-shredded chicken from Costco or get a rotisserie chicken and shred it myself. The same goes with the carb source, I’ll make a batch of rice in my instant pot (like this one), but mostly, I’ll get instant rice or the 90-second microwave rice. All of these options work great for recipes like this.

To make this extra easy, I buy the pre-shredded coleslaw mix rather than shredding up cabbage myself. You can do that if you want, but that will add some time. That’s how life is though – sometimes, I have a lot of time to make things myself, and others I need some pre-made items to help me along. No shame in either, and you can still bang out a completely nutrient-dense meal with minimal effort. I love recipes like this for that exact reason. If you opt for mostly the pre-prepped/convenient items, then you’ll only have to mix up the sauces. If you want to it be extra easy, you can also opt not to make the slaw dressing and go with your favorite store-bought ranch. It’s all adaptable to your individual needs and desires.

Close up of two buffalo chicken rice bowl with an avocado and a napkin on the side on a white background.
Print

Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl

Close up of two buffalo chicken rice bowl with an avocado and a napkin on the side on a white background.
  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
  • Category: meal prep, dinner

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ½ cups of uncooked rice
  • 1 bag of cabbage slaw mix (12–16 oz.)
  • 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/3 cup mayo
  • 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • ½ tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. dried dill
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 ½ lb. cooked and shredded boneless, skinless chicken (like this recipe here)
  • Buffalo wing sauce, to taste
  • 1 tbsp. butter, melted                                                          
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 2–3 tbsp. of fresh cilantro (optional)

Instructions

  1. Cook rice to package’s instructions.
  2. Prepare the slaw: Mix Greek yogurt, mayo, apple cider vinegar, honey, garlic powder, and dried dill together in a bowl. Toss dressing with cabbage slaw—season with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. In a separate bowl, toss the cooked shredded chicken with melted butter and enough buffalo wing sauce to coat or to taste.
  4. Layer each bowl with a layer of cooked rice and top with slaw, buffalo chicken, avocado, and cilantro

Keywords: buffalo chicken, meal prep, rice bowl

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Filed Under: Chicken, Dinner, Meal Prep

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

December 2, 2020 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Overview of instant pot shredded chicken in the instant pot bowl.

This post contains links that pay me a small commission at no extra cost to you.

This instant pot shredded chicken is an easy way to meal prep a source of protein for the week and can be used in countless recipes.

I got my Instant Pot about five years ago. I didn’t even know what it was – my brother-in-law got me one for Christmas. I definitely thought I wouldn’t use it. Boy, I was wrong – I use it all the time and will never give it up. This recipe is the one that I probably make the most. Before I got my Instant Pot, I was terrible at remembering to pull out chicken from the freezer a day or two ahead of time then cooking it. With this recipe, you don’t even have to thaw the chicken. It makes a last-minute meal come together in no time.

View of two raw chicken breasts in chicken broth with seasonings in an instant pot to make instant pot shredded chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken: I like skinless, boneless chicken breast the best. You can use bone-in chicken, but I would advise against skin-on as it will probably not be so good. You could sub in skinless chicken thighs if you like dark meat. Sometimes, I’ll use a combination of breasts and thighs. You can use fresh or frozen chicken breast; it just takes a little longer for the instant pot to pressurize with the frozen chicken.

Chicken broth or stock: My favorite is Kitchen Basics Unsalted – it has such a deep flavor for store-bought. I choose the unsalted so I can better control the salt in my food.

Seasonings: If you’re planning on using the shredded chicken in other recipes, you can opt for basic seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic or onion powder, paprika, etc.

You can add other seasonings to the instant pot if you’d like to jazz it up a bit.

For an Italian spin: Add 1 tbsp. of Italian seasoning before cooking. After cooking, squeeze the juice of half of a lemon on top.

For a Cajun spin: Add 1 tbsp. of Cajun seasoning.

For a Latin/Mexican spin: Add 1 tbsp. taco seasoning before cooking. After cooking, squeeze the juice of half of a lime on top.

For an Indian spin: Add 1 tbsp. of garam masala and 1 tsp. of ground ginger.

A glass dish filled with instant pot shredded chicken on a white background with two forks on the side.

How to Make Shredded Chicken in the Instant Pot

First, you add the chicken to the instant pot, followed by the broth and your desired seasonings. You’ll put the lid on and make sure the steam valve is sealed. You’ll cook on high pressure for 15 minutes and allow a natural release for about 5-10 minutes. After you pull the chicken out, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces using two forks. You can season the chicken with additional seasonings or citrus juice, as detailed above.

The chicken will keep in the fridge for about 3-4 days or up to 6 months in the freezer.

How to Use Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Many recipes, especially soups, casseroles, and meal prep bowls, call for simple shredded chicken breast. Having some of this instant pot shredded chicken on hand makes all of these recipes that much easier. A couple of recipes of mine that work well include:

  • Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup
  • Smoked Chicken Enchiladas (No smoking required – there’s a couple of secret ingredients to create the smokey flavor.)
A glass dish filled with instant pot shredded chicken on a white background.
Print

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Overview of instant pot shredded chicken in the instant pot bowl.
  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25-35 minutes
  • Total Time: 30-40 minutes
  • Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
  • Category: meal prep
  • Method: instant pot

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2–3 lbs. of skinless, boneless chicken (breast and/or thighs)
  • 1 cup of chicken broth or stock
  • Salt and pepper, to taste and/or other seasonings as desired (see notes)

Instructions

  1. Add the chicken to the instant pot, followed by the broth/stock and your desired seasonings.
  2. Put on the lid and make sure the steam valve is sealed. Cook on manual high pressure for 15 minutes and allow a natural release for about 5-10 minutes.
  3. Remove chicken and shred into bite-size pieces using two forks. Season chicken with additional seasonings and/or citrus juice if desired.

 

Notes

The chicken will keep in the fridge for about 3-4 days or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Seasoning suggestions:

  • For an Italian spin: Add 1 tbsp. of Italian seasoning before cooking. After cooking, squeeze the juice of half of a lemon on top.
  • For a Cajun spin: Add 1 tbsp. of Cajun seasoning.
  • For a Latin/Mexican spin: Add 1 tbsp. taco seasoning before cooking. After cooking, squeeze the juice of half of a lime on top.

  • For an Indian spin: Add 1 tbsp. of garam masala and 1 tsp. of ground ginger.

Keywords: shredded chicken, chicken, instant pot, meal prep

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @gratefulnutritionist on Instagram and hashtag it #gratefulmeals

Filed Under: Chicken, Instant Pot, Meal Prep

Apple Cider Hot Toddy

November 16, 2020 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Apple cider hot toddy with a slice of apple and cinnamon stick with a towel and little jar of honey on the side with a yellow spoon on the side. In the background is another cocktail and sliced apples with a knife on the side.

This apple cider hot toddy will warm you up during the cold fall and winter months. Made with honey, apple cider, cinnamon, and bourbon, it tastes just as good as it feels to cozy up with a hot toddy.

‘Tis the season for warm beverages. Hot tea, coffee, cocoa, I just can’t get enough. I also like to make a nice hot toddy when I need something extra cozy and boozy.

My fall allergies were flaring up last week, so I thought an apple cider hot toddy sounded really good. Obviously, it didn’t clear up my allergies (I’ll leave that to my Allegra), but it tasted and felt so good. I love a good hot toddy, not only when I’m feeling poorly, but it makes a great festive cocktail. The first time I had a hot toddy was a few years ago at Thanksgiving. My brother made a round of hot toddies that evening to sip on while watching rest of the Thanksgiving football games.

Overview of two apple cider hot toddy with a pot of honey with a spoon and towel on the side on a white countertop.

What is a Hot Toddy?

Hot toddies have been around for centuries. They’re usually drunk as nightcaps on cold evenings or when someone is feeling under the weather. They’re typically made from whiskey, hot water, and honey as a basic recipe, but I’ve seen variations using apple cider (like mine) or even tea as well.

Overview of a apple cider hot toddy with an apple slice and cinnamon stick on a white countertop.

Does a Hot Toddy Help with Cold-like Symptoms?

There’s no clinical evidence that hot toddies will cure or shorten the common cold or other ailments. There is potential harm in mixing alcohol with certain medications, including those used for cold and flu symptoms. So always check with your doctor or pharmacist before drinking alcohol while on medication. Antidotally, they soothe my symptoms (which could be a placebo), but so do most warm beverages when I’m feeling under the weather. If you have a healthy relationship with alcohol and you’re not taking medications that could interfere, then you do you.

Ingredients for the Apple Cider Hot Toddy

Apple cider: Apple cider screams fall and winter, so it’s natural to use to sweeten this hot toddy.   

Honey: While you could use other sweeteners, there is a tiny amount of evidence that honey may suppress a cough. It is also traditional for a hot toddy recipe to use honey.    

Bourbon: There are other whiskey types you could use, but I’m a little partial to bourbon. My favorite bourbon is from my favorite local Charleston distilleries – Cannon and High Wire.  

Cinnamon stick: I like using a cinnamon stick because the bourbon and hot liquid will extract the flavor without overpowering the drink. I wouldn’t use ground cinnamon because it would be too much, and it won’t dissolve very well. You can find cinnamon sticks just about everywhere, but you can also get them on Amazon.

Two apple cider hot toddies with a pot of honey and spoon on the side with a tea towel on a white countertop.

How to Make Hot Toddy with Apple Cider

It’s a simple recipe. You’ll need to heat your apple cider on the stovetop or in the microwave. It needs to be hot enough to dissolve honey. After the cider is hot, you can add the honey and pour it into a mug or heatproof cup (one that you won’t burn your fingers when you try to hold it). Then you’ll add the bourbon, cinnamon stick and fill the remainder of the cup with hot water. After stirring, I added a slice of apple, but that’s optional for aesthetics mostly.

Obviously, you’ll need to cozy up under a blanket and maybe even by the fireside for the complete aesthetic. 😊

Print

Apple Cider Hot Toddy

Apple cider hot toddy with a slice of apple and cinnamon stick with a towel and little jar of honey on the side with a yellow spoon on the side. In the background is another cocktail and sliced apples with a knife on the side.
  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 serving 1x
  • Category: cocktail

Ingredients

Scale
  • ½ cup apple cider
  • 2 tsp. honey
  • 1 – 1 ½ ounce of bourbon
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ¼ – ½ c hot water
  • Apple slices, optional

Instructions

1. Heat apple cider on the stovetop or in the microwave to the desired temperature (should be hot enough to dissolve honey). Add honey to apple cider and stir until honey is dissolved.

2. Pour honey cider mixture into a mug or heatproof cup. Add bourbon, cinnamon stick, and fill the remainder of the cup with hot water (about ¼ -½ cup). Top with an apple slice if using. Stir and serve immediately. 

Keywords: cocktail, hot toddy, bourbon, honey, drink

Did you make this recipe?

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Filed Under: Christmas, Cocktail, Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter

Vanilla Mug Cake

November 16, 2020 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Overview of the vanilla mug cake with whipped cream and mixed berries on top.

This vanilla mug cake is perfect when you just need one serving or don’t want to fuss with making a big dessert. This recipe can easily be doubled if you need extra!

I really love to bake – at least sometimes I do. Other times, I just want a piece of cake. And part of intuitive eating, I’ve learned to honor my hunger and satisfy my cravings. Unfortunately, I can’t always have everything I want when I want it. Sometimes, I forget to put certain things on my grocery list. Other times, it’s just not reasonable to satisfy a craving at that moment, or I don’t want to go through the work (like baking or going back to the store) to satisfy.

I love this mug cake recipe for that reason – I can truly satisfy my craving with minimal effort. It’s a mug cake made with ingredients that generally go into larger cakes (and none of that cardboard tasting diet-y stuff), and it’s easy. (Side note: it’s not diet-y to use some substitutes for ingredients that I mentioned below if you’re opting for a more plant-based eating pattern or adapting for an allergy like celiac disease. I’m referring to the substitutes just for the sake of low calorie.) While this “serves 1,” it’s okay if you need more – intuitive eating teaches us that no one else knows our own hunger or desires, so it can be easily adjusted to give you the right amount for you and what you want.

Close up of the vanilla mug cake with whipped cream and mixed berries on top.

Ingredients for the Vanilla Mug Cake Recipe

Butter: I love the taste of real butter in cake, but if you’re plant-based or vegan, you can use your favorite buttery spread.  

Sugar: Plain old white sugar is best to use. You can sub in brown sugar, honey, or agave nectar, but it might change the texture.   

Milk: I used 2% milk because it’s what I had, but again feel free to use a plant-based milk if you want. Vanilla-flavored plant-based milks might give a little extra vanilla kick for more flavor.  

Vanilla extract: Do yourself a favor and always buy the 100% vanilla extract, not the imitation – the flavor is so much better.  

Baking powder: No swaps here – baking powder is needed to make it rise.   

Salt: Just a tiny pinch is all you need. Salt makes the flavors more pronounced.

Flour: I used all-purpose flour. You could go with cake flour also, but if you’re gluten-free, I would try a gluten-free baking mix of flours or this one here.

Toppings: My favorites are whipped cream, mixed berries, and/or sprinkles, but you do you – top with whatever you like!

Close up of a bite of the vanilla mug cake with the cake in the background on a white surface.

How to Make a Vanilla Mug Cake

Mug cakes are the easiest thing to make on the planet. Just like making a regular cake, you’ll mix your wet ingredients separate from your dry ingredients and then mix them together until smooth. I used a large ramekin for mine, but all you need to “bake” the cake is a large coffee mug. You’ll microwave the mug cake about 60 seconds, then top with your favorite toppings.

Overview of the vanilla mug cake with a white spoon on a white surface with whipped cream and mixed berries.
Print

Vanilla Mug Cake

Overview of the vanilla mug cake with a white spoon on a white surface with whipped cream and mixed berries.
  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 4 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 minute
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 serving 1x
  • Category: dessert
  • Method: microwave

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tbsp. butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tbsp. milk
  • ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp. baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup + 1 tbsp. flour
  • Toppings (optional): whipped cream, mixed berries, sprinkles, etc. 

Instructions

  1. Whisk butter and sugar into a small bowl with a fork. Add milk and vanilla extract and whisk again. In a separate small bowl, whisk together baking powder, salt, and flour.
  2. Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until no lumps remain. Add batter to a large mug or large ramekin.
  3. Microwave for 60 seconds. Allow to cool (or serve warm if preferred). Top with favorite toppings like whipped cream, berries, or sprinkles.

Keywords: dessert, mug cake, cake, snack

Did you make this recipe?

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Filed Under: Dessert, Snack

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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT