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.

I'm mostly a carnivore but one who has eaten a lot of paneer curries, tofu, Quorn, Linda McCartney etc in my time so I usually have a good idea of which meat substitutes are nice and which to avoid. I was genuinely tricked by a relative a while back, the lamb curry they made was actually tofu! It was delicious. I've never had tofu like that.

I'm a pescatarian and love my veggies but oh my gosh I can't stand nut roast!! It's horrible!! Luckily I still eat fish so I have ray wings/salmon/monkfish with my Christmas dinner and a load of cauliflower cheese and the cheese sauce ends up on everything that is delicious and better than turkey imo! There are probably better alternatives to nut roast, you might need to do a bit of exploring to find something that is as good as turkey (or better). Quorn substitutes are better than nut roast, especially when you add gravy. At least you have a whole year to work it out until next Christmas!

Re: veggie gravy - onion gravy is vegetarian/vegan, and much more umami than vegetable gravy (which I agree is bland).

I’ve been veggie for about six years. I love Xmas dinner for all the veg and trimmings. Plus good old beef Bisto. I don’t miss the turkey, but do miss pugs in blankets! I hate meat substitutes. I’ve had a few good nut roasts. This year I had a cranberry,Brie and mushroom parcel from Aldi, which wAs nice. But the roasties, roasted parsnips, sprouts, carrots, cabbage, carrot and suede mash and cranberry + mandaein stuffing with gravy and cranberry/apple sauce was quite enough for me anyway.

A good nut roast is basically nutty stuffing! Obviously a little bit goes a long way, it is pretty dense so I wouldn’t try to get through a massive slab of it, but a small piece is yummy.

I'm not fond of nut roast. I'd rather do some sort of Quorn or rich mushroom dish to go with the spuds and veg, or just have cauliflower cheese with it. I haven't eaten meat for 30 odd years though so I can't really see the attraction anymore. Not for things like turkey or chicken anyway.

My veggie daughter when we have a roast dinner has what we call nut roast, which is actually just normal sage and onion stuffing mix with chopped nuts mixed in and roasted. I sometimes have it too, it's very delicious and easy. She loves all the veg, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings and gravy. If we were all veggie I might do something completely different rather than trying to replace the turkey.

I had the quorn roast this year for the first time and thought it was lovely. I have been vegetarian for over 12 years now though so I don't really remember what it was like beforehand.

Most years (30 odd) I've had carrot and cashew nut roast that my mum made for my first vegetarian Christmas and now makes a completely dairy free one as my sister is vegan. Has marmite and tahini in and is so good even meat eaters have a bit

I was never that bothered by the meat part of the Christmas dinner. Mine was just as nice without.

I eat meat now but when I didn't as a teen I'd have cauliflower cheese and Yorkshire pudding for Christmas dinner with all the other vegetables. I did used to have turkey gravy though as it was that or readymade which was gross. Of course now I'd know how to make a decent onion gravy.

I had some kind of odd mushroom and nut wellington thing. Very nice. With all the roast dinner bits and loads of gravy. Love Christmas dinner - and best bit - as DH and kids are meat eaters and I won't cook anything that looks too animally, I don't cook any of it. Its makes the food so much better!

Shop bought meat alternatives are never going to be that nice. I made a really delicious loaf with chickpeas, nuts, etc.

@Hardbackwriter

I sort of agree, even though I've been veggie for 20 years now I still miss meat when having any sort of roast dinner. I do think that as pp have said the trick is to do something different enough that it doesn't feel like a meat substitute - I made butternut squash, cranberry and goats cheese wellington yesterday and that didn't feel like an inferior replacement for the meat, whereas nut loaf - even the nicest homemade nut loaf - always does to me

Omg that sounds gorgeous! I need the recipe!

We have a veggie Christmas meal (for 3/4 of the family) and its lovely but I wouldnt serve a processed or bought main as they often are disappointing or inedible. I usually make a layered wellington or choux pastry filled thing.

I grew up vegetarian but now eat meat. However I always eat vegetarian on Christmas Day as I prefer it. I eat mushroom roast with potato dauphinoise and various other vegetables and a rich gravy.

YAAAAAWWWNNN

You should have bought the M&S Plant Kitchen Vegan Butternut, Almond & Pecan Nut Roast. Definitely non-mushy. This is fab and even non-vegetarians love this. My DH who is vegan had a whole one to himself on Christmas Day.

This was my first vegetarian Christmas, I have had the nut roast from Sainsbury's and the are much nice ones out there. We had the Cranberry and Nut Roast from Morrisons which is really good. We also had a Quorn roast to cook but ended up not bothering (only 2 adults eating, our DD had Richmond's meat-free sausages) and didn't miss meat at all.

Would you buy a processed frozen meat dish for Xmas dinner and expect it to taste as good as a roast meat?

Processed crap is exactly that - crap.

Replaced with freshly made veggie dish with good ingredients.

We've been veggie for 10 years. We usually have a veggie Wellington or some sort of Linda McCartney festive roast for Christmas with the same trimmings we had as meat eaters - roast potatoes, roast carrots, roast sweet potatoes and roast parsnips, plus broccoli or peas.

This year we just did a quorn fillet each with vegan pigs in blankets and the veg above. It was really nice and easy to do, it's basically our usual sunday roast plus the pigs and parsnip.

Tbh I could happily just have the trimmings on christmas day - for me the roast potatoes are the best part.

I imagine it's quite rank.

I’ve been veggie for 34 years (apart from a 2year stint with a very manipulative/emotionally abusive boyfriend). I totally disagree. But I think the taste/texture/smell of meat is rank and gives me severe digestive issues.

If something is seasoned right, with sauces veggie food can be amazing. Agree with PP that shop brought is rarely amazing. But like home cooked v ready meal with anything else.

I’m a meat eater but my DH is vegetarian. For Xmas I cooked him a mushroom spinach and blue cheese Wellington for his main which went down a treat, including with all the other meat eating guests! You just have to be a bit more creative with the food. I agree nut roasts are horrid.

Another vote for the Rose Elliot chestnut and red wine en croute. So easy it feels like cheating, and it has red wine in it. I have her Christmas vegetarian cook book and there are loads of great recipes in it. I made curried lentil layered with spinach and feta en croute. Sounds weird but tastes amazing. Much easier to cook than turkey as well, with that and the roasties, red cabbage and apple, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire’s and various other veg I don’t think anyone felt hard done by.