Are you excited to hear those sleigh bells jingling, or are you more concerned about how much of a pain it’s going to be to shovel the driveway? Whether you love Christmas or aren’t as excited, you probably have some sort of gathering to cook for. These vegan Christmas recipes consist of vegan versions of some traditional holiday favorites, as well as some unique vegan dishes that will surely leave even your non-vegan guests satisfied!
If you like this list, check out our list of Thanksgiving recipes. The two holidays have a lot of crossover when it comes to traditional meals, so look to both for inspiration!
Appetizers
It’s important to start your holiday meal off right with some scrumptious appetizers. Each of these is cozy and delicious, packed with lots of traditional seasonal flavors.
Roasted Sweet Potato Bites w/ Guacamole
Avocados (and specifically guacamole) is a favourite amongst the vegan community. This combination of sweet and umami is surely going to excite our guests appetites!
Carrots in a Blanket
by Vegan Sandra
Now while this may be one of the more…unique dishes, do not fear it. Using carrots as a substitute for hotdogs/sausages is actually much more successful then you’d think. Add a little bit of dill in the filling, paired with your favourite dip, and you won’t realize you’re eating a vegetable!
Roasted Squash Salad
This roasted squash salad is topped with crispy shallots and a mouth-watering balsamic reduction to get your tastebuds ready for the meal ahead of you. It will be tempting to fill up on just this, but keep your eye on the rest of the meal!
Mini Lentil Loafs w/ Mushroom & Sage
These easy-to-make lentil loafs will be the centre of attention with their adorable size and rich flavour. Lentils are often used as a meat replacement, as they tend to be very nourishing. (This recipe requires a muffin tin)
Stuffed Mushrooms
These incredible stuffed mushrooms only use seven ingredients if you can believe it! They’re also gluten free by nature, and a crowd pleaser among vegans and carnivores alike.
Mains
Here we have the main event, the big plates and roasts that take center stage. While a lot of these traditionally have strong meat bases, there are loads of vegan substitutes for your plant-based Christmas dinner.
Maple Glazed Holiday Ham
The main component of this Vegan Holiday Ham is seitan. Seitan is a protein-rich dough that is commonly used as a meat substitute. Forming the seitan into a ham shame using cling wrap, with the addition of the delicious maple glaze and pineapple toppings, will surely impress even your most skeptical guests.
Christmas Nut Roast
by BBC
This vegan nut roast can be served both hot and cold, perfect for any holiday leftover-lovers. The combination of almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, and walnuts will surely make for a very filling and fulfilling meal.
Vegan Greek-Style Roast “Lamb”
Another style of roast is the Greek-style roast “lamb,” a savory, delectably seasoned masterpiece that will have your guests raving.
Butternut Squash and Kale Lasagna
While not a traditional holiday dish, this vegan lasagna made with cashew ricotta will not disappoint as a main course. The fixings may not fit ones traditional taste of lasagna, but it’s hard to go wrong with pasta and tomato sauce!
Mushroom Wellington
This recipe features tender, savory mushrooms wrapped in a delightfully flaky vegan puff pastry. Fans of Wellington and newcomers alike with enjoy this fabulous meal.
Side Dishes
We love our side dishes! These underrated heroes fill up our plates and our stomachs every year, so of course they need to be included on our list of vegan Christmas recipes.
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes w/ Mushroom Gravy
While we all may enjoy gravy with our mashed potatoes, it doesn’t fit our vegan friends diets. A great substitute for the traditional meat-based gravy is a mushroom-based one! The inclusion of cauliflower to your mashed potatoes will leave your guests satisfied with the taste, while saving room for the rest of our delicious feast.
Butternut Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole
Using two classic fall root vegetables, sweet potato and butternut squash, this casserole brings together some mouth-watering sweet notes from cinnamon, cloves, and brown sugar to create a winning dish that everyone will be talking about.
Spiced-Brandied Cranberry Sauce
To pair with our mashed potatoes, this brandy infused cranberry sauce will leave you wondering how you ever made cranberry sauce any other way. The addition of cinnamon and cloves will ensure your sauce is licked off everyone’s plates (as opposed to the usual excess that ends up in our fridges).
Wild Rice Stuffing
by Well Plated
Seeing as how we won’t be having a turkey for this dinner, we can still give the people what they want: stuffing. This cranberry, mushroom, almond filled stuffing is a delicious pairing with any of our meat-substitute dishes. Serve with our seitan roast and mushroom gravy! (Crockpot may be required for this recipe)
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup
Creamy tomato soup is already a winner in my book, and this vegan Christmas recipe takes the concept a step further by roasting red peppers and blending them into the already delicious soup.
Desserts
Let’s be honest–these are the stars of the show! Sometimes literally star-shaped, Christmas desserts are probably the best part of the day.
Coconut and Rum Snowballs
Dessert is always the sweetest part of a meal, and these rum-infused coconut balls are no exception. They’re made gluten free with oat flour and are very light, so don’t be afraid to have a few!
Baked Eggnog Cheesecake
The creaminess of this vegan eggnog cheesecake, baked in a gingersnap crust, will be a star Vegan Christmas Recipe for all our holidays to come. Booze-filled and topped with coconut whipped cream – perfectly sweet!
Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread cookies are a classic Christmas cookie, and these promise a mouthful of delicious nostalgia in soft, warm gingerbread.
Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
This completely dairy-free tart is rich with hazelnuts and a decadent chocolate crust. Think of a Nutella-based tart; need I say more?
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Another very classic flavor combo for the winter holidays, chocolate and peppermint fill these crinkle cookies with a world of flavor. Your shirt will be covered in powdered sugar, but it will be so worth it!
Cranberry Orange Bread
by Nora Cooks
This cranberry orange loaf is full of citrusy goodness with a delectable sweet orange glaze. It’s the perfect fruity dessert to round off your Christmas dessert offerings.
While not all our guests may be vegan, they can still enjoy what you cook. These dishes are a spin on some of our favourite classics, but with very obvious changes. No matter which of these vegan Christmas recipes you choose to recreate, all your guests will surely leave satisfied (unless they end up sleeping the night away due to the heavy level of satisfaction; turkey isn’t the only thing that’ll do that to a person!)
Happy Holidays!
