The Ultimate Vegan Christmas Dinner
This is my compilation post for a whole host of recipes to complete the ultimate roast dinner!! The perfect Vegan Christmas Dinner in my opinion consists of a slice of mushroom loaf (or nut roast / veggie pie), roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, vegetables (especially SWEDE - which wasn't featured here because I ran out BUT I will definitely be having those on Christmas Day!) and lashings of veg gravy!! All of the recipes for these components will be below, so check them out, cook them up and enjoy your Christmas Dinner (whilst attempting to convince potential meat-eaters in your family that vegan doesn't just mean potatoes and veg!!)
THE MAIN
My favourite thing to have for Christmas Dinner is my mum's homemade mushroom loaf - as it is the perfect adaption of a traditional nut roast (that I'm never too keen on) that tastes great with gravy! You can of course buy a pre-made nut roast or vegan meat substitute to have, but for Christmas Dinner we love to make our own! I'm also going to include a recipe for a vegetable pie if nut / mushroom loaves aren't your thing!
MUSHROOM LOAF
What You Need ;
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Red Pepper
1 Carrot
1 1/2 a Medium Onion
1 Celery Stick
300g Chestnut Mushrooms
200g Vegan Cheese (e.g. Vegusto)
1 Large Spoon of Nut Butter (or Marmite)
110g Breadcrumbs
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat whilst you very finely chop the pepper, carrot, onion and celery. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius (160 fan)
Add the chopped vegetables to the oil and cook for 8-10 minutes whilst stirring continuously, then finely chop the mushroom (ideally in a food processor) and add to the pan to cook for 5 minutes
If they produce a lot of juices, cook these out before transferring all the vegetables to a large bowl
Fold in the nut butter, 150g of the cheese and 100g of the breadcrumbs
Mix well and season before transferring to a greased, base lined 28.5cm x 13cm x 6cm deep loaf tin
Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs before baking for 50 minutes to 1 hour
Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out, slice and serve with gravy
ROAST VEGETABLE PIE
What You Need ;
1 Packet Jus-Rol Shortcrust Pastry (check its the vegan one)
4 Cups Butternut Squash (diced)
1/4 Cup Minced Shallot
4 Cups Diced Veggies (Carrots, Potato, Onion, Peppers)
2 Cups Cooked White Butterbeans / Kidney Beans
2 Cloves Garlic (chopped)
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Vegan Margarine
1 Tbsp Sage
1/4 Cup White Wine
2 Tbsp Mixed Herbs
4 Tbsp Plain Flour
50g Dairy Free Butter
500ml Almond Milk
100g Vegan Cheese
OR
Dairy Free Cheese Sauce Powder
Salt and Pepper
Cumin
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius
Toss the butternut squash and shallots in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper before roasting in the oven on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and margarine in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and ad veggies, beans, garlic and 1 tbsp sage
Turn all ingredients to coat with oil before seasoning with salt and pepper. Then reduce the heat to medium and cover
Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly, until veggies are cookies and golden
Remove the lid and add wine, cool until reduced
Add the braised veggies to the pan of roasted squash and sprinkle with herbs before tossing together, set this aside to cool whilst reducing your oven to 180 degrees
Add the almond milk, flour and butter to a saucepan over a medium heat and whisk together last as the butter melts and the mixture comes to a boil - the flour will disappear and the sauce will begin to thicken
Whisk for 2 minutes whilst the sauce bubbles and becomes nice and thick. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese and cumin to taste (alternatively - use a dairy free cheese sauce mix)
Pour this cheese sauce onto the vegetables and combine
Take your pastry sheet and cut off 2/3rds, roll out the dough on a well floured surface to between 1/8" to 1/4" thickness
Cut the dough into circles big enough to fit your individual tins with some hangover to allow the lids to attach
Mould the pastry into the tins and fill with cooled veggie filling (as much as you can)
Roll out the remaining dough, cut out lids for the pies and press the lids onto the edges of the bottom crust
Cut venting slits in the lids and brush with almond milk
Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden
These are my favourite potato recipes for roast dinners; roast potatoes are obviously a staple - and these are crisp and golden on the outside and fluffy in the middle. I've also included my dauphinois potatoes recipe as my family always have these with our christmas eve meal (usually a chestnut wellington or a pie), but you can also have these alongside your roast dinner - the more potatoes the better right?
ROAST POTATOES
What You Need ;
Roasting Potatoes
(how ever many you think you need)
Rapeseed Oil
Once peeled and cut into the desired size, put the potatoes into a pan of cold, salted water, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
Drain well, return to the pan and shake gently to rough up the edges of the potatoes
Melt the oil in a roasting tin in the oven until hot before adding the potatoes and tossing to coat
Cook in the oven for 40-50 minutes until golden brown and crispy
DAUPHINOIS POTATOES
What You Need ;
8 Large Moris Piper Potatoes
500ml soy cream
500ml soy milk
3 garlic cloves
Place cream, milk and whole garlic cloves into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer whilst peeling and thinly slicing the potatoes.
Add sliced potatoes and mix gently to separate and coat with the cream. Simmer until only just cooked. Empty pan into a shallow dish and discard the garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Bake in the oven at 190 celcius for 30 minutes.
These next two recipes are my favourite additions to a roast dinner as they soak up the gravy perfectly! And who ever says no to more carbs at christmas? Pudding is a traditional family recipe that is basically a savoury stodgy loaf that resembles both yorkshire pudding batter and bread all in one? its amazing and you HAVE to try it! Also yorkshire puddings are always a staple, and although it's taken me TIME to create the perfect recipe - and even though they don't look exactly like traditional yorkshire puddings... they do taste great! We usually have either pudding or yorkshire puddings with a roast, but for christmas you have to go all out right? Thats my excuse anways.
PUDDING
Ingredients
280g Self Raising Flour
115g Vegan Butter
Water
Mix together sieved flour, margarine and enough water to form a stiff dough
Grease a loaf tin and spoon in batter, cook for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.
YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS
What You Need ;
225g Self Raising Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
280ml Non-Dairy Milk
120ml Warm Water
Salt
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth (or alternatively use a food processor) and leave in the fridge for 30 mins
Preheat the oven to 220C and fill a muffin tray with around 1 tsp of oil in each hole and put in the oven to warm 5 minutes before pouring the batter.
Bake for 25-30 mins or until golden brown
CAULIFLOWER CHEESE
What You Need ;
1 Large Head of Cauliflower
500ml Non-Dairy Milk
4 Tbsp Plain Flour
50g Dairy Free Butter
100g Vegan Cheese
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add the cauliflower (once cut into florets) and cook for 5 minutes
Drain the cauliflower, then tip into an ovenproof dish, and heat the oven to 220 degrees
Put the saucepan back on the heat and add the almond milk, flour and butter, whisk together last as the butter melts and the mixture comes to a boil - the flour will disappear and the sauce will begin to thicken
Whisk for 2 minutes whilst the sauce bubbles and becomes nice and thick. Turn off the heat and stir in most of the cheese before pouring over the cauliflower
Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbling
All you need now is to boil / steam your veggies - my go-to is carrots, broccoli, and mashed swede with LOADS of butter! Also cook up some veggie stuffing, and of course jugs on jugs of gravy!! I hope you enjoy ! - Sophie :)