AIBU to think veggie Christmas dinner just isn't as good

[CrazyToast]

This was my first Christmas as a vegetarian. We got this nut roast thing from Sainsbury's and it was like tasteless mush stuffing with almonds on it. Did the usual roast spuds and veg but the whole thing was just not as tasty. To be fair we had this rubbish apple stuffing instead of the classic sage and onion. But aibu to think Xmas dinner will just never taste as good as it does with meat?

I'm actually really liking being vegetarian and feeling all healthy etc, but this was a real let down.

Cauliflower steaks are a brilliant meat alternative - veggie gravy never quite as good though.

Not veggie, but had a delicious fish pie yesterday. With Cranberry sauce.

I also had a ready made veggie dish from Sainsbury's this year (mushroom and chestnut) and also found it to be a bit of a mush . I would suggest investigating recipes for a home made nut roast or other savoury dish. Personally I wouldn't go with one with cheese in.

At least in my experience ready made veggie meals or dishes are rubbish but it is possible to make nice ones just harder. Pigs in blankets and Turkey is pretty much always going to be tasty, making a good veggie stuffing is possible but harder to get right.

This vegetarian roast is lovely: realfood.tesco.com/recipes/nut-roast.html

Or sometimes I just have more of everything else!

Vegetarian for 30 years and I honestly can’t remember what meat tastes like. But the smell of meat makes me feel ill. You need to find a great alternative and there are loads out there. Personally I can’t stand nut roasts but the quorn roast is amazing!!

YABU! I made nut roast Wellington with all the trimmings and it was yum. Bread sauce, gravy, cranberry jelly, mustard, roast potatoes - all great.

I eat meat but to be honest with roasties, veg, stuffing, bread sauce and gravy the turkey is the least important bit for me. If it comes to meat I'd miss the pigs in blankets more than the turkey.

Omg we made an Abel&Cole recipe yesterday - potato, cheddar and chestnut galette with cranberry gravy. It was bloody delicious.

I don't like shop bought nut roast. Try making you own?

Chop and fry an onion, blend a pack of mixed nuts and a slice of bread. mix it all together with a large squirt of tomato puree and a smaller squirt of garlic puree. You have to squash it together with a large spoon which takes a while and the oils from the nuts come out and makes it all stick together. 35 mins in the oven at 180.

Got to have gravy too, I think its delicious.

You are cooking the wrong stuff.

We had homemade nut roast, roast potatoes, roast carrots and parsnips, sprouts, braised red cabbage, mashed swede, and cauliflower cheese. The nut roast was a very small part of the delicious veggie whole (though it was actually really nice - Jamie Oliver recipe).

You will never convince me that a dry slice of turkey compares with all that.

@CodenameVillanelle But how was I to know it was crap and tasteless until I ate it! Will definitely avoid in future.

@DeeCeeCherry My husband cooked everything. The nut roast and stuffing were packaged though, that was where the disappointment lay. If it is ok with you I won't tell him what you said, he is such a star for doing it all and would be quite hurt.

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay We were talking about trying cauliflower instead!

So many good ideas here! I think we are going to try a 'first veggie dinner #2' and give it another go.

I agree.

I haven't missed meat at all (this is my first year) until this week.

The veggie canapés were nowhere near as good as meat ones.

I missed turkey and pigs in blankets.

I got a ricotta soufflé which was fine apart from the base which was largely mushroom (yuck) but of course I choked it down even though by the last mouthful I wanted to retch because obviously I'm British so you basically have to...

I feel like being veggie 51 weeks a year and having a week off over Xmas!

Good luck with dinner 2 OP. My OH is veggie and got a mushroom Wellington for him, which was really good and did veggie sausages as an accompaniment and veggie bacon with chestnuts for the sprouts. Other things he’ll have when we have a roast include sweet potato and goats cheese pie, butternut squash quiche, cauliflower & broccoli cheese and lentil stew made into a cottage pie.

@DeeCeeCherry

You need to learn to cook.

Yes. Dismissing vegetarian Christmas dinners because you bought a crap ready meal is like deciding food isn’t all that nice because you had one of those soggy tinned pies. Or deciding cinema is nonsense on the basis of Transformers II.

I usually spend Christmas with friends. MrFriend always cooks the Christmas Dinner. The first couple of years he bought me some kind of vegetarian 'main'. They effort was always appreciated, but the 'bought main' was invariably disappointing, plus it's a faff when cooking Christmas dinner to have to get the timing right for another component for one person. So I suggested he really didn't need to as I was more than happy with the meal, as it was, without the meat.

More room for Brussels sprouts & roasties!

This year, spending it alone, I thought I'd try one of the more luxurious ready made options, but unfortunately couldn't get one delivered.

I hate cooking these days, so there was no way I was going to make something 'fussy' just for me!!

I've been veggie for 7 years and wouldn't have a nut roast. Never had one I like. I had quorn roast, so much better! Even DP likes it and he is meat mad

@CrazyToast - lots of garlic and smoked paprika, cut it thick so that it retains some texture.
and black olives (or olive tapenade) baked with it are brilliant

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay Sounds so good, might try this tomorrow.

Mushroom Wellingtons are easy and delicious. Most of the meat subs are pretty grim and I hate nut roasts. My lentil roast though is amazing

YABU. The best bit of Christmas dinner anyway is the trimmings, I could have that alone without any meat substitute. You need to experiment a bit more with you cooking, as with most things homemade is way better than a ready made dish from a supermarket.

I’m not vegetarian but tonight I made bubble and squeak from the left over veg. Enjoyed it more than the whole Christmas dinner yesterday

I'd say vegetarian mains are less predictable. It's a lot more about how good is the recipe and how good is the cooking, it's going to make a big difference. With meat you pretty much know what it's going to taste like, yes there'll be some difference in flavour but not as much.

I've no doubt that with the right main, whether shop-bought or homemade, a veggie Christmas dinner can be just as tasty as any meat one.