A Very Vegan Christmas: Vegan Christmas Dinner Recipe Ideas
Helping customers celebrate the festive period with a vegan Christmas dinner is certainly a growing market. For some inspirational vegan recipe ideas that your company could become part of, don’t go anywhere...
In the modern world, veganism has become all the rage, and family dinner ideas for Christmas don’t just stop at turkey and potatoes. In fact, Meatless Farm Co. research shows that 30 percent of Americans were willing to try a meat-free Thanksgiving! Perhaps Christmas could be the same...
The Leisure F&B Expo is all about introducing food and drink lovers and companies to inspirational new ideas for keeping up with consumer trends. With veganism being a huge trend, we thought we’d discuss the growing rate of veganism, and how we can cater for it, even at Christmas!
For more information about the vegan trend, check out our blog post, here. Otherwise, for some of the best dinner recipes of all time for vegans, which will be perfect for Christmas, stay tuned…
Meat-Free “Turkey”
A vegan christmas nut roast is the most common way to enjoy a roast dinner all year round. Most supermarkets will have an option for this, or they’ll stock a fake “meat” option, like Tof-urkey or Quorn. Either way, there are hundreds of quick and easy vegetarian or vegan options for those going meat-free this Christmas.
However, it’s also really simple to make your very own nut roast or “meat” loaf, made using lentils, at home. Naturally, if you’re home-making your roasties, then you’ll have time to whip up a nut roast too! A really great lentil loaf recipe, which creates a tasty, salty, satisfying and filling alternative to meat can be made easily:
- Pop a pan of boiling water on the stove, add a stock cube, and pour around 300g of red split lentils in to boil.
- Meanwhile, finely chop one large onion, two celery sticks, and two garlic cloves, and grate two carrots.
- Gently fry the onions and carrot in a pan until softened and starting to get golden, and then add the celery and garlic.
- Once the vegetables have softened and the lentils are cooked, mix them together in a mixing bowl with dried herbs, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. The consistency should be thick, and not too wet. If it’s too wet, add more breadcrumbs.
- Pour the mixture into a loaf tin, and pop in a preheated 200 degree oven for 45 minutes.
This amazing vegan option, with beautiful sides of roasted potatoes and parsnips, makes for a delicious Sunday dinner on its own! For Christmas, with the additional sides, this’ll work an absolute treat.
Homemade Veggie Gravy
Christmas dinner would be nothing without being completely drowned in delicious, salty gravy. What really makes a vegetable “meat” alternative pop is actually making your very own homemade vegetable gravy! It provides a truly satisfying and meaty taste, and can be made pretty simply whilst all your other tasty treats are in the oven:
- Chop up two carrots, two celery sticks, one onion, and two garlic cloves into chunks.
- Pop it all in a pan with oil and/or butter (depending on your dietary preferences), and cook until soft.
- Mix in a couple of tablespoons of flour for thickening.
- Pour in 500ml of vegetable stock, with marmite, soy sauce, and red wine vinegar mixed in to taste, which gives it a lovely umami flavour.
- Once all the vegetables have softened, and the mixture has thickened, push it all through a sieve. Don’t stop until you’ve push as many of the vegetables through as possible.
With the salty, meaty flavours of the marmite and soy sauce, the tang of vinegar, and the sweetness of the vegetables, the gravy will be a sheer delight. Forget instant gravy - this is the perfect vegan solution.
Vegan Christmas Pudding
A traditional Christmas pudding would usually contain eggs and butter, which is not ideal for any vegan. That said, there are some amazing vegan Christmas pudding recipes which avoid these products altogether.
These recipes include all the good stuff, including dried fruits, brown sugar, flour, breadcrumbs, and Christmas spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, using dairy-free margarine instead. There are loads of great recipes online, so don’t hesitate to check them out. That said, most people like to buy their Christmas desserts, and the supermarkets also have an array of vegan Christmas puddings, perfect for the season.
Vegan Advent Calendars
Advent calendars are one of the treats of Christmas, but most of them, which contain chocolate or cheese, are not suitable for vegans. Not a problem, though, as there are plenty of solutions for sweet and savoury lovers.
For some different ideas for advent calendars, some which would work for vegans, check out our blog post, here. The ideal ones for vegans are mainly alcohol based, but who’s complaining here?
Alternatively, supermarkets have numerous vegan advent calendar options, which stick to the traditional chocolate. Most of these include dark chocolate, as this doesn’t include milk, but for those who don’t enjoy this bitter flavour, there are other choices. In fact, some companies create chocolate, which includes vanilla flavouring and rice syrup in the recipe to replicate the flavour of milk chocolate.
Are You Feeling Ready For Your Vegan Christmas Dinner?
As you can see, the rise of veganism has meant an increase in tasty Christmas choices for the growing number of vegans out there. As part of the food and beverage industry, it’s important to stay ahead of this influx!
Think you have a fantastic vegan product that would be an amazing addition to everybody’s Christmas dinners, or just their daily life? Then don’t hesitate to get in contact to exhibit at next year’s show, at the NEC, Birmingham on 11th & 12th November. Simply email or call our Event Director, Oliver Hayes, using the details below:
- Email: oliver.hayes@prysmgroup.co.uk
- Phone: +44 (0)117 929 6087
Alternatively, if you want to visit the show to get an idea of what vegan options are out there, stay tuned for our FREE tickets! These will be available to apply for very soon, so we look forward to seeing you there!
