Easy Vegan Christmas: simple recipes for the festive season
Easy Vegan Christmas is packed with simple recipes. From traditional mains to filling puddings and lots of simple snacks and leftover meals.
Recipes include:
- Celeriac soup with toasted hazelnuts
- Sage, onion and chestnut rolls
- Roasted pears with red onions
- Christmas cobbler
- Ultimate roast potatoes
- Mulled wine
Katy Beskow is one of England’s most popular vegan cookbook authors. A former physiotherapist, she learned to cook on a budget whilst studying in London. Based in her native Yorkshire, her no-nonsense simple recipes now have millions of fans.
- Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. Also read about keeping pets safe at Christmas (toxic plants etc).
- Before recycling cans, rinse then remove lids (pop ring-pulls over holes). Then step on upper cans to ‘pinch’ inner rims together, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
- Unless you have a food waste bin, bin pepper and allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) and citrus/tomato/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures.
Tips for making vegan Christmas recipes
A Christmas dinner needs something special at its heart, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an elaborate recipe. A roasted vegetable and nut loaf, stuffed squash or hearty mushroom Wellington can make a beautiful centrepiece.
The best options can often be prepared ahead of time, leaving you free to enjoy Christmas Day rather than spending it rushing between the oven and the dining table. Serve your centrepiece with plenty of colourful vegetables, crispy roast potatoes and rich vegan gravy for a meal that feels properly festive.
Don’t forget the sides
For many people, the side dishes are the best part of Christmas dinner. Crispy roast potatoes, maple-roasted carrots, Brussels sprouts, stuffing and cranberry sauce can all be made vegan with simple substitutions.
Plant-based cooking doesn’t have to mean complicated cooking. Olive oil or vegan butter can replace dairy butter, while vegetable stock can add plenty of flavour to stuffing, gravy and other savoury dishes.
Make dessert easy
Christmas dessert is another opportunity to keep things uncomplicated. A rich vegan chocolate pudding, fruit crumble, mince pies or a festive cake can provide a delicious ending without requiring specialist techniques.
Plan ahead
One of the easiest ways to make a vegan Christmas less stressful is to prepare as much as possible in advance. Write a simple menu, check your ingredients and work out which dishes can be prepared the day before.
Don’t be afraid to ask guests to contribute, either. A shared meal can be much more enjoyable than one person taking responsibility for everything.
Most importantly, don’t feel that a vegan Christmas needs to be perfect. The best festive meals are often the ones where everyone sits down together, shares food and enjoys the occasion.
