More and more people are choosing to eat less meat, both for their health and to help save the planet. This Christmas, whether you are catering for vegan or vegetarian guests or just wanting to cut back on the amount of meat on your table, there are lots of alternative dishes that are easy to prepare, full of flavour and nutrition, and delicious. At the very least you can make all the side dishes vegetarian or vegan, but we have plenty of ideas for amazing vegetarian and vegan main courses too.
Normally, you might not think of Christmas as a holiday full of vegetarian ideas, but Christmas isn’t really just about the turkey or ham! Just in case you're not sure, vegetarians do eat eggs, cheese, and other dairy products, while vegans don't eat any kind of animal-derived product, so they don’t eat eggs, dairy (butter, milk etc), fish, or any type of meat whatsoever.
Despite what you might think, this doesn't have to make preparing a meal any harder as you can easily adapt many of your usual dishes for your vegan guests. Just use vegan margarine or alternative milks made from oats or almonds to keep everyone happy. No need to make a fuss, just label your foods as vegan at a buffet, or let your lunch or dinner guests know which dishes are OK for them to eat too.
Main Dishes
There are a lot of fake meats out there for vegans, but these are not always healthy alternatives, so your guests would probably prefer you to make them a dish from real ingredients instead. Most vegans prefer whole-food, plant-based food over highly processed fake meat products. Here are some ideas for vegan and vegetarian main dishes:
Side Dishes
Just think laterally if some of the ingredients you would normally use are off-limits for your vegan or vegetarian guests. For example, if you normally use bacon grease in your green bean casserole or greens, just use butter or olive oil instead. You can also add a little liquid smoke if you miss that smoky meat flavour. It’s not very hard to make these sides, and your meal will be delicious and loved by all.
Side dishes don’t have to be the same old stuffing or green bean casserole. Squash that’s baked with cinnamon sprinkled apples or with juicy chunks of pineapple will disappear as fast you serve it. If you don’t believe you’d like a side dish that’s slightly sweet to the taste, you can op for cranberry stuffed squash instead.
You can also make mashed garlic cauliflower. Prepare it just like you would mashed potatoes - cook until you can run a fork through it. You can also mix cauliflower with cheese such as Parmesan, but make sure it is vegetarian Parmesan or an alternative.
Here are some more ideas for vegan and vegetarian side dishes:
Desserts
Some people say the best part of any Christmas menu is the desserts. Guaranteed to delight guests of all ages, most desserts will naturally be vegetarian anyway. Just be wary of anything that contains gelatine, and carefully check the label of any pre-prepared desserts you buy.
If you are going to make your own desserts, there are many vegetarian and vegan dessert and cake ideas to choose from, such as:
You may also like:
Pin it:
Normally, you might not think of Christmas as a holiday full of vegetarian ideas, but Christmas isn’t really just about the turkey or ham! Just in case you're not sure, vegetarians do eat eggs, cheese, and other dairy products, while vegans don't eat any kind of animal-derived product, so they don’t eat eggs, dairy (butter, milk etc), fish, or any type of meat whatsoever.
Despite what you might think, this doesn't have to make preparing a meal any harder as you can easily adapt many of your usual dishes for your vegan guests. Just use vegan margarine or alternative milks made from oats or almonds to keep everyone happy. No need to make a fuss, just label your foods as vegan at a buffet, or let your lunch or dinner guests know which dishes are OK for them to eat too.
Main Dishes
There are a lot of fake meats out there for vegans, but these are not always healthy alternatives, so your guests would probably prefer you to make them a dish from real ingredients instead. Most vegans prefer whole-food, plant-based food over highly processed fake meat products. Here are some ideas for vegan and vegetarian main dishes:
Side Dishes
Just think laterally if some of the ingredients you would normally use are off-limits for your vegan or vegetarian guests. For example, if you normally use bacon grease in your green bean casserole or greens, just use butter or olive oil instead. You can also add a little liquid smoke if you miss that smoky meat flavour. It’s not very hard to make these sides, and your meal will be delicious and loved by all.
Side dishes don’t have to be the same old stuffing or green bean casserole. Squash that’s baked with cinnamon sprinkled apples or with juicy chunks of pineapple will disappear as fast you serve it. If you don’t believe you’d like a side dish that’s slightly sweet to the taste, you can op for cranberry stuffed squash instead.
You can also make mashed garlic cauliflower. Prepare it just like you would mashed potatoes - cook until you can run a fork through it. You can also mix cauliflower with cheese such as Parmesan, but make sure it is vegetarian Parmesan or an alternative.
Here are some more ideas for vegan and vegetarian side dishes:
Warm potato salad (vegan)
Desserts
Some people say the best part of any Christmas menu is the desserts. Guaranteed to delight guests of all ages, most desserts will naturally be vegetarian anyway. Just be wary of anything that contains gelatine, and carefully check the label of any pre-prepared desserts you buy.
If you are going to make your own desserts, there are many vegetarian and vegan dessert and cake ideas to choose from, such as:
Cranberry cheesecake (vegan)
You may also like:
Pin it:
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one of my affiliate links and make a purchase, I may receive a commission for referring you. This in no way affects the price you pay. Please know that I only suggest resources and items I believe in and highly recommend. You can read my full disclosure statement on our Work with Me page.