I was so excited when I found this vegan hot dog relish. We had to add it to all our cookout and holiday meals.
For the last few weeks at my house, we’ve been exploring the world of vegan meats and cheeses. People always ask why vegans like meat substitutions and why we can’t live without fake meats. The short answer is: it isn’t the meat we miss, it’s the spices, sauces, veggies and bread around the meat that we don’t want to give up forever. If you could eat a healthier version of some of your favorite harmful foods, wouldn’t you? So it isn’t “fake meat” to us, it’s veggies or beans combined with herbs and spices mimicking meat seasonings. So we can eat burgers, hot dogs, pizzas, and many other foods everyone else is eating.
So far, I’ve cooked homemade chickpea sausages, mushroom meatballs, and lentil chickpea meatloaf from scratch. We liked them all and ate every bite, but I wasn’t a fan of the chickpea sausages, which took hours to make and had a mushy texture. The mushroom meatballs and lentil chickpea meatloaf were pretty amazing, though. Once I experienced the long process for making chickpea sausages, I started to look into trusted vegan brands for plant-based meats. Sometimes it’s just too much time in the kitchen for a half satisfying product, when you could open a package and eat something really tasty instead.
Up until recently, we really hadn’t eaten plant-based meats. We were happy to just live on fruits, veggies, beans and nuts. But, this summer we wanted hot dogs, burgers, and the usual grill fair. We found some good brands for hot dogs, burgers and sausages. A few classic toppings worked miracles in creating the type of summer meals we wanted. I found this especially important
 for the summer holidays this year.
The last week of June and at a family gathering on the 4th, we tried vegan hot dogs. I think they’re delicious! We ate them on wheat buns along with vegan cheese, vegan chili, mustard and sauerkraut to jazz them up. They were every bit as satisfying as a beef hot dog. I was so thrilled that I was eating a hot dog on July 4th!
During this plant-based meat phase, I came across this recipe for Florida Hot Dog Relish – a totally “accidentally vegan” recipe that looked like a great addition to a cookout or picnic. We had it last night and were impressed by the blend of flavors. Make up a batch for your next summer get together and let me know how everyone likes it. We love it.
Serve your vegan hot dogs with this yummy Mustard Dill Potato Salad or this Old Bay Pasta Salad at your next get together.
| Prep Time | 10-15 minutes |
| Passive Time | 20 minutes chilling time |
| Servings |
hot dogs
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- 2 fresh tomatoes diced
- 1 medium cucumber seeded & chopped
- 1 cup carrots sliced & chopped
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 6 radishes thinly sliced & chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil sliced like a shred
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped (I omitted the parsley)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Ingredients
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- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and blend well. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
- The relish will be cold and crunchy - enjoy!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Leave any feedback in comments below. Also, share your comments on Instagram: @key_lime_coconut or on Twitter: @keylime_coconut. We love seeing hashtags #keylimecoconut #keylimecoconutblog and #beachbumvegan when you try our recipes.