Online Vegan Cooking Classes At All Price Points

Learning to cook is a different process for everyone. For some, cooking is totally intuitive, and measuring spoons and cups are rarely needed; for others, following a recipe to a T often results in a kitchen disaster. So no matter where you are in your cooking journey, we have a few recommendations of plant-based cooking classes that you can take online.

These courses vary widely in terms of cuisine, format, and price, and one of them is sure to work for your needs, whether you’re a new vegan, an experienced chef, or anyone in between.

Famous vegan chef and restaurateur Matthew Kenney launched the Food Future Institute (FFI) back in May 2020, to help bring thorough plant-based cooking classes to home chefs all around the world. You can sign up for two different online courses through FFI.

A Plant-Based Home Cooking Course ($300) includes 12 online modules, which you can complete at your own pace, no matter your skill level. There’s also Foundations ($350), which is designed to elevate your cooking skills to the next level, and includes the same training chefs receive in Matthew Kenney’s kitchens.

“Because of technology these days, it’s just a superior model,” Kenney told Green Matters about online cooking classes when FFI launched. “Our best chef can be teaching the lessons, I can be teaching the lessons — whereas we would never be able to have all of them in a classroom.”

Afro-Vegan Society, the nonprofit behind the Veguary vegan pledge, regularly offers a number of livestreamed cooking courses, as well as other events and panels, all of which are free to all. You can sign up for Afro-Vegan Society’s newsletter or follow its social media accounts to stay up to date on upcoming live cooking tutorials.

The organization’s website also features a cooking demo library, where you can find a wealth of in-depth cooking tutorial videos for recipes like Mac & Chease, Country Fried Cauliflower Steak, and even Climate Friendly Breakfast Recipes.

Consisting of five modules, food blogger Nicole Vranjican (aka Nikki Vegan) teaches the Quick and Easy Vegan Cooking course via the International Open Academy’s online platform. You can take the course at your own pace, and not only will you learn cooking tips and recipes, but Vranjican will also teach you about topics like the benefits of veganism, tips for zero-waste living, and meal planning.

The course is designed for new vegans, those new to cooking, and even seasoned chefs who are looking to learn more about plant-based foods. Accessing the course typically costs $99, but as of publication, you can access it for just $12.

Irish twin brothers David and Stephen Flynn co-founded The Happy Pear, a blog filled with vegan recipes, and The Happy Pear Courses, where they offer a number of online vegan classes. Most notably, there’s the 16-section Ultimate Vegan Cooking Course, where you’ll “learn to vegan cook like a professional,” become more confident in the kitchen, and learn tips for cooking without recipes.

The course typically costs €150 (about $159 USD), and is on sale for €75 (about $79 USD) with the code HAPPYSUMMER as of publication. Other Happy Pear Courses include The Happy Heart Course, The Gut Health Revolution, and The Happy Mind Course.

Cookbook author and podcast host Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, better known as the Joyful Vegan, offers a variety of live cooking classes, all of which are livestreamed and interactive, for $49.99. As of publication, upcoming classes include Air Fryer Snacks & Starters on July 2, and Yule Log / Bûche De Noël on November 13.

Patrick-Goudreau’s website also offers a number of on-demand cooking classes for $9.99, which you can download and access at any time. Offerings include Homemade Pizza, Homemade and Zero-Waste, and Homemade Seitan.

Shojin Now teaches a modern, vegan version of the traditional Japanese art of Shojin. The company offers an eight-part 14-day Vegan Ramen Course, taught by Master Jiro Yatogi, for $197. Shojin Now also offers a few one-day courses, including the Miso Soup Course, Veggie-Jang Ramen Course, and Pressed Sushi Course.

Everything about these courses sounds truly incredible, which is why we included Shojin Now on this list — but unfortunately, the website is currently having issues. Green Matters reached out to Shojin Now, and will update this article if the team gets back to us on the company’s current status.