Ultimate Vegan Christmas Guide
Ah, Christmas! A chance to gather with loved ones, force down a few mince pies, and pretend you actually enjoy your uncle’s stories. But hey, it’s also a chance to eat well, celebrate traditions (the tolerable ones at least), and, if you’re feeling adventurous, consider trying a vegan Christmas.
This guide will help you navigate the special day with easy recipes, fancy recipes, stockists, socialising tips and recommendations for alcohol, starters, mains, desserts – the whole shebang!
A Very Vegan Christmas Mini Cookbook
Forget dry turkey and limp Brussels sprouts – Viva!’s A Very Vegan Christmas mini cookbook is here to save your holiday dinner from a tragic fate. This is Christmas dinner leveled up, minus the meat, but with enough decadence to make a Victorian monarch blush.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference No Turkey Stuffed Crown with Sage and Onion Stuffing
Waitrose No 1 Ultimate Plant-Based Festive Sharing Wellington
Aldi Specially Selected Vegan Festive Wreath
Centrepieces
All of the supermarkets, online shops and health food shops now have absolutely incredible centrepieces. Check out our supermarket Christmas guide for 2024 for a comprehensive list of mouth-watering mains!
Nut and seed roasts
For a selection of ready-made nut roasts or packet mixes, look for Artisan Grains, Suma, Clive’s, Fry’s and supermarket own-brands – buy from health food shops, Holland & Barrett, online and most supermarkets.
Vegan meat-style roasts
Most supermarkets now offer a good range of their own-brand meat-style roasts for Christmas including whole vegan Turkey breasts, made from wheat gluten and soya, and plant-based beef wellingtons. Additionally you can find several offerings year-round including Juicy Marbles Thick-Cut Fillets, This Isn’t Roast Chicken & Stuffing, OMV No Turkey Joint and Linda McCartney Chicken Roast amongst many others.
Sides
Most of the supermarkets now offer a varied range of vegan side dishes, appetisers and light bites. Again, these offerings change each year and the lists are usually released in autumn. Make sure to keep an eye out as we release a comprehensive overview each year on our Vegan Recipe Club webpage!
Roast potatoes
Aunt Bessie’s frozen (avoid the goose-fat variety!) and most of the supermarkets have their own-brand versions but if you have the time, they’re quite easy to make yourself. Check out our fool-proof ultimate roast potatoes recipe.
Other veg
Most prepped versions are great for vegans – look in the free-from chilled and frozen sections for more original/exciting veg dishes or have a look at the dedicated Christmas food section at our Vegan Recipe Club site.
Gravy
Bisto, Free & Easy ready-made, Marigold, Naturally Good and supermarket own-brands all produce vegan gravy. Find them in health food shops, online and in the supermarket. Some brands will be gluten-free or will have a gluten-free offering.
Gravy top tip!
Make it the day before if possible. Let those flavours party, especially if you add tamari or shoyu, yeast extract, miso and a splash of red wine, sherry or port for depth!
For an extra-indulgent sauce try our red wine & porcini mushroom gravy!
Panther Oat Milk Liqueur
Besos de Oro
Dirty Cow Loaded Chocolate Plant Based Cream Liqueur
Bubbles
Many brands of champagne are vegan, including Lanson Rose, Moët & Chandon and Aldi’s Veuve Monsigny. Vegan prosecco and cava is also widely available. Most of the supermarkets are now labelling all of their vegan products, which makes life much easier!
Other highlights
- Panther Oat Milk Liqueur
- Dirty Cow Loaded Chocolate Plant-Based Cream Liqueur
- Amarula Vegan Liqueur
- Aluna Coconut Coffee Liqueur
- Besos De Oro
- Licor 43 Horchata
- Hotel Chocolat Salted Caramel Cacao Vodka Liqueur
Many wines, beers and ciders are also suitable – there are so many it’s impossible to list them all. Increasingly, wine shops and departments have a vegan list.
Check out Viva!’s Vegan Wine Club – all items are vegan and lovingly sourced from independent vineyards around the world.
Other helpful websites
Barnivore — the go-to vegan alcohol directory!
Vegan Womble — contains lots of useful and very up-to-date info about ‘accidentally vegan’ products, including supermarket own-brand vegan lists.
Desserts
Sainsbury’s Chocolate Cookie Torte
Asda OMV! Strawberry Trifle
Check out our year-round favourite vegan desserts here!
The supermarkets and health food shops bring out new and exciting dessert options every Christmas so look out for the special ones.
Cream
Alpro Single Cream
Elmlea Double and Single Cream
Oatly Creamy Oat
Check out our full guide to vegan cream.
Ice Cream
Alpro
Ben & Jerry’s (Non-dairy)
Cornetto (Vegan)
Check out our guide to vegan ice cream.
Custard
Alpro
Birds
Oatly
Check out our guide to vegan custard.
ASDA The BAKERY Scrummy Christmas Pudding
Greggs Sweet Mince Pies
Aldi Holly Lane Marzipan Stollen
Mince pies
All of the supermarkets and health food shops offer at least one vegan mince pie option and often quite a few more, including iced. Check out the free-from aisle but recipes and brands vary from year to year – read the labels to avoid butter, eggs, milk etc. Online supermarkets, such as Ocado and the vegan-friendly online shops mentioned above will also have a good supply.
You can also try making your own with our delicious mince pie recipe from our very own Vegan Recipe Club!
Christmas pudding
Many supermarket brands are vegan – check the free-from aisle. Health food shops and the online shops mentioned above also have plenty to choose from.
Alternatively, Aldi Stollen is often vegan-friendly (always check the ingredients).
For a full list of where to find vegan mince pies and Christmas pudding, check out our big supermarket guide to a vegan Christmas 2023 over on our Vegan Recipe Club site!
There’s so much amazing vegan chocolate out there now and the choice is increasing all the time!
The best selection is, of course, available from the Viva! Shop, so check out our extensive range of vegan chocolate!
Nomo Chocolate Reindeer
Terry’s Chocolate Plant Based Orange Bar
H!P n’ mix buttons, pretzels & cranberries
All of the supermarkets have a range of vegan chocolate, stocking fillers and advent calendars – some are accidentally vegan and lots are intentionally vegan. Have a look in the free-from aisles and also in the main chocolate aisles for a wide range of options.
Health food shops and online shops will have the widest range of vegan chocolate, specialist products and also diabetic and sugar-free treats.
Check out our guide to vegan chocolate.
Vego Bars
Marks and Spencer Gianduja Bars
iChoc White Nougat Crisp Bars
Again, you’ll find the best selection in the Viva! Shop, so have a look at our delicious range of sweets and treats!
Candy Kitten Gourmet Sweets
Mallow Vegan Marshmallows
Nudders Dairy Free Fudgee Bites
Online shops, health food shops and supermarkets all have an excellent range of confectionery – check out the free-from aisles and regular confectionery aisle.
Here are some of our favourites from the shops.
Sour Skittles (most are vegan but always check ingredients)
Fizzy strawberry laces (check out supermarket own-brands and discount shops)
Chewits Rainbow Wands
Starburst
Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles
Waitrose Fruity Stuffing Christmas Trees
Aldi Vegetable Gyoza with Soy & Ginger Dip
M&S Plant Kitchen Mushroom Parfait with a Port Glaze
Every Christmas the supermarkets bring out new and exciting vegan starters, party food and snacks. Check out our supermarket guide for a vegan Christmas for the latest offerings!
You can also go to each supermarket website and type ‘vegan’ into the search bar – this will pull up a list of all their vegan items. Some party foods and snacks are available year-round; Indian snacks are often vegan (eg veg samosas, onion bhajis, veg pakoras), some Chinese snacks (eg veg spring rolls and various filo parcels), vegan sushi and sausage rolls (eg Linda McCartney, Fry’s, VBites, supermarket own-brands).
Vegan cheese is at an all-time high in terms of flavour, texture and variety! There are just so many to choose from.
Supermarkets
Nearly all of them have a range of own-brand vegan cheeses and some of the other brands too e.g Violife, Sheese, Cathedral City Plant Based etc. Many even do whole vegan-friendly cheeseboards for the Christmas season! Check out the plant-based/vegan and free-from section in the chilled aisle.
Health food shops and online
Here you’ll find the best vegan cheeses around, including the major brands and also specialist and artisan nut cheeses.
Here are a few of our favourite vegan cheeses for Christmas:
Honestly Tasty Bree
Cathedral City Plant Based
Applewood Vegan Smoky Cheese
Violife Le Rond Camembert Style
Bute Island Sheese Wensleydale Style with Cranberries
Bute Island Sheese Blue French Style
Have a look at our full list of the best vegan cheeses!
Stockists
Supermarkets
The supermarkets are now falling over themselves to offer the best vegan centrepieces, appetisers, sides, desserts, sweets, treats, cakes, cheeses, mince pies, chocolates and alcohol. As expected you’ll find the cheapest offerings in Aldi and Iceland and all of the supermarkets have got really inventive and created some delicious and original dishes.
Health food shops
You’ll generally find better quality and original dishes in the independent health food shops. There will also be a range of sweets, treats, cakes, desserts, mince pies, gifts, mock meats, cheeses and centrepieces. Additional dietary requirements are also catered for, including gluten-free, diabetic and sugar-free. Most health food shops offer an ordering service so if you can’t find the item you need, they might be able to get it in for you.
Holland & Barrett
You’ll find these shops in most towns and cities which is really useful for finding a range of vegan gifts, centrepieces, mock meats, cheeses, sweets, treats, desserts, mince pies and chocolate. Additional dietary requirements are also catered for and you can order online.
Pound shops and other saver shops
Many cheaper lines of chocolate, biscuits and other items are sometimes vegan (check the packaging).
Ocado
Ocado has the widest range of vegan products out of all of the supermarkets. It’s only available online so make sure you book a delivery slot!
Online shops
These online shops have some really good vegan options:
Christmas provides the perfect opportunity to get creative in the kitchen and to cook up a storm for friends, family or to enjoy alone. We have so many delicious recipes for all abilities so there really is something for everyone.
Have a look at the Christmas section on our Vegan Recipe Club website for starters, mains, sides, desserts and drinks! Here are a few of our favourites below:
Our top Christmas mains
Easy Vegan Turkey-less Roast
Chestnut, Mushroom & Red Wine Pithivier
Individual Nut Roasts
Our top Christmas tipples
Our top Christmas starters
Cashew Cream & Beetroot Crostini
Aubergine Towers
Puff Pastry Swirl with Baked ‘Camembert’, Rosemary & Thyme
Our top Christmas desserts
Vegan White Chocolate & Raspberry Baked Cheesecake
Chocolate & Raspberry Torte
Tiramisu
Our top Christmas puddings, cakes and truffles
Hillside’s Christmas Cake
Martin Shaw’s Christmas Pudding
Christmas Brandy Truffles
Our top Christmas cheeses
White Cheddar Cashew Cheese, Artisan-style
Pink Peppercorn Cashew Cheese
Walnut & Miso Cheese
You can also have a go at making six different types of cheese with The Big Vegan Cheese Making Kit. The kit contains the recipes and equipment to make Mozzarella, Ricotta, Mascarpone, Halloumi, Feta and Parmesan. Simply combine cashews or macadamias with the ingredients in the kit – along with a little almond milk – and you’ll be eating your own homemade vegan cheese in no time – some recipes take less than half an hour!
- Take a delicious vegan dish (either bought or home-cooked) to share at a non-vegan event. Most people really like trying new food and often end up being envious of the vegan options!
- Don’t be afraid to discuss the eating arrangements with the host in advance. If they’re nervous about catering for a vegan then you could either cook a dish yourself to bring along, buy one of the many excellent shop-bought options, send over some delicious recipe suggestions from Vegan Recipe Club or send them a copy of our Deliciously Vegan Christmas Guide for inspiration.
- We can’t say if it’s a good idea that you discuss veganism around the Christmas dinner table – because it depends so much on who is doing the communicating and the mood of the situ! But if the mood is negative it can be a good idea to suggest a time later in the day and to approach the subject in a calm, open-minded way.
- When discussing veganism with non-vegans it’s great to aim for connection with the other person. Listen to their story and try to give them your full attention and then you can inspire them with any answers to queries they have.
- Over-informing doesn’t usually go down well as people only have certain capacity to take on board new information or ideas – try just a few simple ideas – positive ones are good at the Christmas table! Food can be a wonderful way to inspire and start a non-threatening conversation.
- Most people think it’s normal, natural, necessary and nice to eat meat and we’re asking for a shift in consciousness which people can’t do until they feel safe enough to do so.
Recommended reading: ‘Beyond Beliefs: A Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication for Vegans, Vegetarians and Meat Eaters.’
Recommended workshop: CEVA (Centre for Effective Vegan Advocacy – increasing the impact of vegan advocacy worldwide to build a more powerful vegan movement) – have a look at dates and locations!
We wish you a very merry vegan Christmas! Love, The Viva! Team xxx