Vegans at Christmas

[Slebs]

Not to be all bah humbug, but what the bloody hell do I feed vegans at Christmas? It's not the actual Christmas day meal, it's a buffet for a post Xmas party. I feel like my nan in the 90s when me and my sister went veggie and she kept asking if we could have a pork pie/beef lasagne/sausage roll. Every time I think, "Ooh, that'll be good for the vegans!" I realise what I'm thinking of has dairy or egg in it. I know I shouldn't care as it's not for me, but I can't bear the pretend meat stuff. Or that my vegetarian mother, who thinks it's an abomination, will go on about it at length while gurning in disgust.

There are plenty of non-vegans presents, pescitarians & vegetarians as well as them types who think you haven't served food if there isn't a load of meat available. I'm doing a ham, will have green salad with serve yourself extras like sun dried tomatoes, coleslaw, pickled onions, avacado, tomatoes, mozzarella, boiled eggs etc. There will be smoked salmon, a cheese board, sausage rolls, crisps and dips, baguette & crackers.

I'm trying to cover all bases without it taking all the oven, hob and airfryer and my sanity to prep (been there, keen to avoid). Any ideas? Keep thinking pizza!...shit it's covered in cheese. Even desserts...cake, f#%k that's got eggs, butter and cream, ditto trifle, mince pies...CHOCOLATE! And then I think how annoying vegansim is and leave it for a bit. Then they cycle starts again.

I'm not a massive meat eater myself and love veggie dishes but don't want to cook a chilli or similar as it's too messy for a milling-around-with-a-paper-plate-party and too much prep. Aside from tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa and some nuts, what is there that's no cook/low prep for vegans?

Hummus is an obvious one. Also spiced roasted chickpeas, maybe a mixed bean salad. You could get the Merchant Gourmet packs of lentils etc to make life easier.

Mincemeat is vegan, so you could make mince pies with vegan pastry, just make shortcrust with a vegan margarine or use bought vegan pastry.

God I hope the vegans at your gathering feel more welcome irl than they would reading this post! It’s easy to get accidentally vegan stuff for example Greggs mince pies/most supermarkets have a plant based version. Cake easily made with soured soy milk instead of eggs, vegan butter and cream readily available. But ice cream is a dead easy alternative. With the mince pies.

Pizza you could do eg a tomato base with for example olives and artichokes as a topping? Falafels? Sourdough tostadas? Hummus? Onion bhajis? Coleslaw is easily made vegan with plant based mayo so then everyone can eat it.

does that help at all?

Apart from the stuff people have mentioned with the addition of falafel and other salads, you could make something with puff pastry as a lot of the shop bought stuff is vegan. Say a nut roast wellington or a mushroom tart? A bit of prep, but you could make a wellington in advance and freeze to bring it out and cook when you need it?

Find out if the vegan likes fake meats or not. That'll lead you to your answer.

Sainsbury's sells vegan coleslaw that I really like, it's basically indistinguishable from regular coleslaw. Also you can buy nice vegan sausages rolls now too, maybe, higgidy brand or similar?Olives.

85% chocolate is vegan.

My DD is vegan. Curried cauliflower bites, hummus as above, felafel, veg samosas, lots of fruit, baked crunchy chickpeas.

Before you go to too much trouble check with them that they are staying vegan. My SIL is normally vegan but relaxes the rules at Christmas and foreign holidays.

How about falafels, with houmous and/or a garlicky, herby tahini dip?

This cannellini bean, almond, parsley and bulgur salad is delicious and very easy to make

Nice slaw with red cabbage, red onions, carrots etc and seeds, but with a vinaigrette type dressing rather than mayonnaise

I would go with:

Nice bread/crackers/crisps with various dips - hummus, babaganoush, olive tapenade (make sure it's anchovy free).

Falafels

You can get vegan pizza easily in most supermarkets e.g Crosta Mollica sourdough vegan in frozen section, others in fresh

Linda McCartney frozen sausage rolls are vegan - just cook in oven, no prep

Most supermarkets sell vegan yule logs, mince piec etc now

This courgette and tomato pasta salad can be prepared in advance (I've done it for picnics)

Also:

Cous cous or bean salads from the salad aisles

Veg samosas, onion bhaji, spring rolls. Meat eaters would probably like those too!

Falafel, hummus, guacamole, Higgedy or Clive's vegan quiche, onion bhajis, samosas, spring rolls, Itsu vegan gyoza (frozen section of the supermarket), M&S (frozen section) curry puffs and veg tempura, Higgedy mushroom rolls and tomato mini muffins.

Raid the deli counter for accidentally vegan stuff. Aubergine, artichokes, falafel, bean salad, stuffed vine leaves, and dip them in hummus and smashed avocado.

Granovita pate (Holland & Barret).

Check crisps and cracker ingredients for milk.

A vegan version of ‘Russian salad’ aka salat Olivier made out of Heinz vegan mayo (which is really good), cooked diced potatoes, seasoning, chopped gherkins, cooked diced carrots, peas, black olives and anything else you fancy like herbs, mustard, lemon juice, sliced pickled jalapeños.

It is a great accompaniment.

Mediterranean tart, vegan puff pastry, bake blind 10 mins, add a sauce made from tomato paste and vegan sun dried tomato pesto, add mixed vegetables you have already roasted, bake until pastry is cooked.

homemade hummus

falafels or spicy chickpea patties

mushroom rolls (like sausage rolls but use chopped up mushrooms, shallots, and vegan pesto to bind)

Vegan pizza is great with mushroom ketchup and Engevita yeast flakes instead of cheese.

Traditional mincemeat is made with suet, so neither vegan nor vegetarian. I think most supermarket jars are probably vegetable suet now but definitely check.

@JustAMiddleAgedDirtBagBaby yes, traditionally it was made with beef suet but nearly all standard brands/own brands use vegetable fat. I’m sure the Op would check as well.

Are you having hot food? If so then a rice with veg and coconut milk as a 'base' would work.
Onion bhajis
Mini kebabs ie cocktail sticks with olives, onion, cherry tomatoes, sliced pepper or maby pineapple for a 70s vibe.
Stuffed onions/peppers
Onion rings

Free From ranges for vegan mince pies. And some of the budget ranges. All the Finest/Taste the Difference fancier ranges have butter pastry.

Sainsbury's hot chocolate tarts as a change from mince pies https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/fruit-pies-tarts/sainsburys-free-from-hot-chocolate-cups-x4-184g

Lidl dark chocolate lebkuchen.

I've never tried to make it myself but have had a vegan version of this onion tart without the cheese and it was delicious. A less work option is one of those prepped trays of Mediterranean veg that you roast, I would add olives, chopped garlic and basil to give it a bit more flavour and stir it through couscous or orzo with plenty of olive oil. Or carrots roasted with cumin and dressed with tahini and parsley. Even less work option get some nice veggie sushi. As pp have said above Heinz vegan mayo is fine so if you were planning any pasta/potato salad or coleslaw anyway you could use this for everyone. Other guests may be feeling a bit jaded post-Christmas so might appreciate salads/nice crudités and dips etc. Vegan baking can be a bit tricky and a lot of supermarket options not that great. If you have a local baker they may have some nice traybakes etc.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/redoniontartetatin_67091