What to Cook for a Vegan Christmas – over 35 Amazing Recipes!

For a soup option, I chose this roasted butternut squash soup by WillCookForFriends. Butternut squash are at their peak in the winter months so why not take advantage and make this delicious soup as a starter for your Christmas Dinner. This recipe can be made in the days leading up to Christmas to save time on the day. This soup is flavoured with fresh sage, ginger and nutmeg for an extra festive vibe.

This recipe for Spinach Pinwheels by VeganRicha is a beautiful starter with a rich creamy spinach filling. It can be prepared the night before to save time on the day and tastes as impressive as it looks! Serve these with a mini-salad made with Rocket (Arugala) and pine nuts with a little olive oil viniagrette for a tasty vegan starter!

BBC GoodFood have this stunning recipe for a beetroot and walnut terrine that I think is so beautiful! This terrine could be served with some home made crostini’s or freshly baked bread rolls for an eye-catching Christmas starter. There are no crazy ingredients and it doesn’t need much cooking, in fact if you buy pre-cooked beetroot this recipe wouldn’t need any cooking at all – saving precious space for more roast potatoes!

I simply had to include a recipe from one of my all time favourite recipe blogs – DomesticGothess (seriously, check her out, especially if you’re into sweet treats and vegan baking!) This mushroom pate recipe is divine, and I’ll be making it this year to have throughout the festive season. Serve this with some fancy crackers or homemade crostini.

For a healthy-but-still-decadent option, this beetroot dip by LovelyJubley is a wholesome way to enjoy some festive flavours. Made with beetroot and white beans, carefully seasoned this dip would made a great starter served with breadsticks or raw veggies.

HappyKitchen brought out this recipe for a mushroom crostini, which has just a few simple ingredients and yet still packs a flavoursome punch. Mushrooms are always a great ingredient when it comes to vegan options as they have an almost “meaty” texture and are full of delicious umami flavour.

This simple recipe from WallFlowerKitchen is another great option because it’s so easy, making it an ideal starter for when you are only serving the vegan option to one or two guests. It has only 6 ingredients, 4 of which you probably already have in your kitchen. The caramalised onion can be made in advance, so this starter can be put together quickly and easily on the day, yet still feel as though you’ve put in a lot of effort.

This Wellington by Gaz Oakley is an impressive vegan Christmas centre piece for your festive table. it has a really meaty texture thanks to the gluten, and has other Christmassy ingredients like cranberries and chestnuts. The meaty filling could be made the night before for easier cooking on the day.

For a vegan Christmas classic, look no further than this nut and veggie roast by TheHappyFoodie. Filled with amazing ingredients like lentils, mushrooms, mixed nuts and lots of veggies, this roast has amazing flavour and would make great leftovers too.

For Christmas mains, I had to include a turke recipe, and this one happens to be my own! I’ve made many vegan turkeys over the years and I think this is the perfect one – it isn’t overly fussy, yet it’s still extremely delicious and quite realistic. It serves 6-8 people too and leftovers can be stored in the freezer.

Ham may be slightly less traditional, but I know lots of families do a ham roast at some point over Christmas so I wanted to include a vegan option. TheCheekyChickpea has this amazing recipe. A roast Gammon joint was my husbands favourite before we went vegan and this recipe is a great substitute for that. Once again it’s a seitan recipe, this is really the best way to create a realistic meaty texture without harming any animals! This is another recipe that is on my list for this season.

A festive favourite by CookingWithParita, this mushroom wellington has walnuts for an extra satisfying bite and texture. If I were making this, I’d get everything prepared the day before so it just has to go in the oven on Christmas day. You could also easily halve this recipe if needed. I just love how they’ve decorated the top of this wellington, it’s a great show-stopper!

Another great vegan Christmas centre-piece is this stuffed butternut squash by VeganFoodandLiving. Stuffed with nuts, seeds, mushrooms and more this stuffed squash would make a great addition to your festive plate. For those who prefer a healthier, more wholesome option this would be a great choice. It also looks so beautiful and vibrant thanks to the fresh vegetables that make up this dish.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without pigs in blankets, and this recipe from SchoolNightVegan does the trick. This one includes instructions for making your own bacon, but you could make this much easier by buying vegan bacon pre-made from a supermarket. My favourite are the Richmond ones!

One thing I hate is a vegan Christmas dinner that slacks on the greens – they’re one of my favourite parts of the meal and in my opinion, should have as much attention put into them as anything else on the plate! This recipe from CupfulofKale takes it to the next level with the addition of pecans and maple syrup. Even the most staunch sprout-hater will probably have to admit that these are delicious.

Another amazing Christmas vegetable side are roasted parsnips and carrots. Traditionally roasted with Honey, this vegan alternative offers the same delicious sweetness by using Maple Syrup instead. I wouldn’t serve a Christmas dinner without these and this recipe by VeganPunks is just perfect!

Roast potatoes are hands down the best part of a Christmas dinner and I won’t hear otherwise. This comprehensive guide by SeriousEats explains, using science, how to make the very best roast potatoes. They’ve tested out every possibility to come up with this perfect recipe that just happens to be vegan, if you use olive oil for cooking. If you’re serious about your roasties, definitely read through this guide before Christmas this year!

You can of course use ready-made gravy granules (the bisto beef granules are accidentally vegan!) but if you’re feeling fancy then making your own from scratch is a nice way to push the (gravy) boat out! Tesco have this recipe for a traditional British-style brown gravy that would go perfectly on a vegan Christmas roast dinner. It can be made ahead of time and frozen, so you could make this well in advance.

Yorkshire puddings are an essential Christmas dinner addition at my house, and through the years I’ve tested many, MANY recipes that have just not quite hit the mark. That’s until I tried this recipe by WowItsVeggie, which is not only very realistic, but doesn’t have tons of crazy ingredients. This is the recipe I’ll be using this year!

It doesn’t get more Christmassy than a Yule log, and this recipe by BakedbyClo is one that anyone should be able to follow. Yule logs are famously difficult to make, but this blog post explains precisely how to nail it, so you don’t end up with a pile of chocolatey crumbs. Yule logs look beautiful, too and they can be decorated creatively to make it your own.

Even though it’s already almost Christmas, it’s still not too late to make a Christmas cake! This is another recipe by DomesticGothess for the perfect vegan Christmas cake for a traditional festive dessert.

This one has got me pretty excited (and hungry) – my favourite 2 festive desserts combined to make this beautiful layered black forest trifle. I mean, what else can I say? Chocolate, cherries, cream – it’s literally the perfect dessert. I’m going to make this 400 times this Christmas, at least.

For the traditionalists, you can’t beat a vanilla and berry trifle. This one from theVegSpace is relatively simple, and only requires that the vanilla sponge be made from scratch. You can find the remaining ingredients in the supermarket for an easy dessert that will satisfy all your guests!

Chocolate orange is one of my favourite festive flavours and I also just had to find an excuse to share another DomesticGothess recipe. These choc-chip shortbread biscuits are surprisingly easy to make and great for stocking up the biscuit tin with!

Unfortunately I don’t know of any vegan biscuit tins that you can buy from the supermarket, but here are a few of my favourite vegan biscuits you can buy separately and make your own with!

McVities chocolate chip hob nobs, Morrisons/Asda Free-from Jammy Wheels, most brands of bourbons are vegan, as are most ginger-nuts. Most supermarkets also have a selection of free-from biscuits but be sure to read the ingredients as they sometimes contain egg.

Ikea sell this adorable festive-looking tin you could use!

Before I went vegan, I’d always look forward to enjoying some boursin cream cheese on crackers – to my 13-year-old self, boursin was the height of luxury and decadance! Boursin did actually bring out a vegan version of their famous cream cheese a few years ago, but it’s actually super easy to make your own version. This recipe from MinimalistBaker uses cashews for a much healthier option (compared with the shop-bought version which is primarily made from sunflower oil)

Another DomesticGothess recipe, this time it’s a modern take on a classic with these mincemeat crumble bars. These vegan Christmas bars make a great morning snack to go with a tea or coffee and feel perfectly festive.

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but pickled onions feel Christmassy to me. Of course all brands of pickled onions are naturally vegan but yet again, it’s hard to beat home made! These are ridiculously easy to make and will keep in the fridge for a few weeks or longer if you sterilise your jars first. They make a great addition to a left-over turkey sandwich with mayo or used on top of a salad for a slightly sweet, yet sour crunch.

Another great option for a vegan Christmas buffet is this Focaccia. Focaccia is often vegan anyway and this recipe uses fresh rosemary for a festive herby flavour. This recipe from LanasCooking also doesn’t require any kneading so is pretty low-effort for such an impressive looking loaf! Feel free to get creative and decorate this Focaccia in whatever direction the mood takes you!