Looking for the perfect plant-based festive feast? We've put together a couple of our all-time favourite Christmas recipes that just so happen to be vegan so that everyone can enjoy them! Whether you're looking for an impressive dessert or a delicious main - we've got you covered!
Image via Quite Good Food
Mini Lentil Loafs
These little loafs are packed full of sage and mushrooms and will make the perfect main for your Christmas table! Whether you're entertaining the whole family or settling in for a cosy Christmas with your partner, this recipe is the perfect low-fuss main course that can be tailored perfectly to your tastes. These mini loaves are cooked in muffin tins, meaning you can make as many as you want and freeze any that you don't plan to eat on the big day itself. This also makes them perfect for cooking ahead of time - simply reheat them as needed. This fabulous recipe is from Amber at Quite Good Food - and we can confirm it is indeed very good!
Ingredients
To make 6 mini loaves
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (soaked in 3 tbsp water)
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
- 2 tbsp fresh sage finely chopped (you can substitute for dried)
- 100g mushrooms sliced (we used chestnut mushrooms)
- 1 tin of brown lentils
- 40g rolled oats
- 30g sunflower seeds
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (use tamari if you are making these gluten free!)
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- Cranberry sauce (optional, used to glaze)
- 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary (optional, used to decorate)
Method
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Preheat oven to 200C
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Let the chia seeds soak in the water for 10-15 minutes, until thick.
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Heat some oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add onion and garlic and saute until golden. Add fresh sage and mushrooms, and cook for another 5 minutes, or until soft. Turn off the heat.
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Add the onion and mushroom mixture to a food processor or blender along with the soaked chia seeds and all remaining ingredients (except for the optional extras). Make sure to combine, but don't over process - you want to keep some texture in the mix.
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Press the mixture evenly into a greased muffin tray. Glaze the tops with a little of your favourite cranberry sauce, which you can loosen with some water if it's too thick (optional).
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Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until set to the touch and golden brown.
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Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan before removing them.
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Decorate with a sprig of rosemary, if desired.
Mulled Wine Poached Pears
These delicious poached pears are packed full of delicious Christmassy flavours and are the perfect conclusion to your plant-based festive feast! Not only do they taste amazing, they're also beautiful to look at and will fill your home with all of those fabulous fragrant spices. They're deceptively simple to make too, only requiring a couple of ingredients. Here's our favourite tried-and-trusted recipe, but it can easily be tweaked to suit your personal tastes!
Ingredients
- 4 firm pears
- 2 cups red wine (make sure it's vegan!)
- 70g granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla pod (cut in half lengthwise)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 4 tbsp coconut yogurt (to serve)
Method
- Pour your wine into a large pot, add the sugar, vanilla pod, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and star anise. Cook on a medium heat, stirring regularly, until the sugar dissolves. This should take around 2 minutes.
- Peel your pears, being careful to leave the stems intact. Top tip: if your pear does not stand upright, just cut a bit off the bottom to level it!
- Place your peeled pears into the wine mixture and cook on a low heat until soft. This should take about 30 minutes. Whilst cooking, turn the pears around regularly, so they coat with the wine reduction evenly.
- Once cooked, removed the pears from the pot and set them aside.
- Strain the spices from the wine, return the wine to the pot and continue cooking so that it reduces to a syrup. This should take 10 to 15 minutes.
- Serve the pears with a dollop of coconut yogurt and a drizzle of the spiced red wine syrup.