Vegan recipes from whatever's in your fridge

Not "a vegan recipe". A recipe, which is vegan.

Vegan recipe sites are good at vegan recipes. What they can't do is take the specific half-used things in your fridge and write a new dinner around them that is also vegan, also uses the kit you own, and also avoids the mushrooms you hate. That's the gap Grublin fills.

You don't browse a vegan category. You tell Grub what's in, or what you fancy, and the answer is vegan because you are. Ask for "something rich and comforting" and you get a recipe for something rich and comforting, with no cheese and no cream, built without you steering it.

What the check catches

Vegan is one of four diets Grublin re-checks in the finished recipe rather than only asking the model for. The check combines several lists.

Meat, in every form. Beef, pork, chicken, lamb, mutton, veal, venison, duck, turkey, goose, rabbit, game, and the processed and cured forms people miss: bacon, ham, gammon, sausage, meatballs, mince, steak, prosciutto, pancetta, guanciale, chorizo, salami, pepperoni, pastrami, bresaola, lardons.

The animal fats and set agents. Lard, suet, dripping, tallow, gelatine, aspic, liver, kidney, offal, foie gras. A jelly set with gelatine fails. A pastry made with lard fails.

Fish and shellfish. The full fish list, including the hidden ones: anchovies, Worcestershire sauce (anchovy-based) and dashi (made from bonito). All shellfish and cephalopods.

Dairy. Milk, butter, cream, cheese by name (cheddar, halloumi, brie, feta, parmesan, paneer), yoghurt, ghee, custard, whey, casein, lactose, kefir.

Egg and its emulsions. Egg, mayonnaise, meringue, aioli, hollandaise, béarnaise, omelette, frittata, quiche.

Honey.

Plant-based versions pass. Vegan sausage, veggie mince, mock duck, soya mince, vegan bacon, vegan fish sauce, vegan Worcestershire, coconut milk and cream, oat, almond, soy, rice and cashew milk, nut butters, cocoa butter, vegan butter and cheese, oat cream, coconut yoghurt, vegan mayo and aioli, egg replacer. Also beef tomatoes and chicken of the woods, which are neither beef nor chicken.

What the check does not catch

• Additives and E-numbers. Carmine, shellac, isinglass in wine and beer, vitamin D3 from lanolin. The check works on ingredient names, not on what's inside a product.
• "May contain" and shared lines. Grublin cannot see packaging.
• Wine. Not every wine is vegan, and the check does not flag wine. Choose a vegan one if it matters to you.

The check reduces the chance of an animal product reaching your plate. Read the label on anything that comes in a packet.

Vegan and something else

• Vegan and gluten-free. The combination testers mention most. Set both and the soy sauce, seitan, wheat noodles and honey all go.
• Vegan with a nut allergy. A lot of vegan cooking leans on cashews and almonds. Set tree nuts and it stops leaning.
• Vegan and soy-free. Set soy and tofu, tempeh, edamame, miso and soy milk are excluded; the recipe reaches for pulses and oat milk instead.
• Vegan and low-FODMAP. Low-FODMAP is steered rather than re-checked, so expect Grub to avoid onion and garlic and verify that he did.

What you'll actually cook

There is no fixed list; Grub writes from your fridge or your craving. But vegan plus your kit and spice tolerance tends to produce dhal and curries, chilli and bean stews, stir-fries, grain bowls, tray-roasted vegetables with tahini (unless you've set sesame), pasta with tomato and olive sauces, soups, loaded jacket potatoes, tacos, and the occasional cashew-cream indulgence if nuts are allowed. Say "I fancy something like a carbonara" and the version that comes back is built on a plant-based cream with smoked tofu or mushrooms, within every other rule you've set.

Tell Grub your kit as well: a vegan slow cooker chilli is written for the slow cooker.