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Entertaining 11 December 2021

5 Easy Dishes to Eat a Plant-Based Chrissy Lunch

Hosting this year? Here are 5 vegan recipes to keep everyone (including the flexitarians) happy and full this Christmas.

Cooking for the masses can be stressful, especially when dealing with dietary requirements. Here are 5 vegan meals packed with deliciousness that are sure to tick all the boxes this Chrissy lunch! Living in the age of food intolerances and dietary requirements can make hosting a bit of a nightmare for someone who isn’t a keen problem solver in the kitchen. To lend a helping hand this festive season, we’ve put together an easy and delicious draft Christmas lunch completely free of meat and dairy products. If you’re still stuck on dish ideas leading into the holidays, we recently published an article on how to make easy switches to plant-based alternatives, get it here.


Words By Brittany Lyons

Nibbles: Well and Full’s Vegan Holiday Hummus

Nibbles and a non-negotiable to have already set up when guests filter in throughout the day. Whether they’re to be served upon arrival or as a late afternoon top-up post-lunch, you can never have enough nibbles to satisfy the masses.

A dish universally loved and universally celebrated within the vegan world is Hummus. This middle-eastern origin staple is a celebration of chickpeas, tahini and zingy lemon that works beautifully with crispbread, crudites and bread.

Whilst this savoury dip is typically served in its traditional form, due to its simplicity, it can be altered with different flavours and ingredients to suit any time of celebration.

As a base, you’ll need a tin or two of canned chickpeas (which most homes usually have ready to go on their pantries), some garlic, oil of your choice (we prefer EVOO) and some herbs, spices and veggies to make it your own.

To festive up your chickpea dip this year, Well and Full suggest Christmas/Thanksgiving staples of carrots, rosemary and a sprinkling of pomegranates to serve. Presented as a bejewelled offering of vibrant orange paste, we cannot wait to dig in!

Well and Full Vegan Holiday Hummus

Entrée: Sophie Goodwin’s Celeriac, Hazelnut & Truffle Soup

No matter whether your Christmases are white or red hot like they are down here in Australia, a comforting soup is always a welcome addition to the start of any meal.

For a hearty and heart-warming vegan option to serve as soon as you sit, we cannot go past Sophie Goodwin’s Celeriac, Hazelnut and Truffle soup as a starter.

Celeriac is a sometimes-overlooked root vegetable that carries not only a lot of hearty flavour but nutritional value too. Somewhere between a potato and celery heart, this versatile vegetable is filling, velvety and something a little different for the palette.

Served with a sprinkling of toasted hazelnuts and a drizzling of luxurious truffle oil, the meat-eaters in the family won’t even notice the lack of animal products within this dish.

Velvety smooth and topped off with a crunch to tick the sensory boxes, we love this soup all year round but especially at Christmas time!

Sophie Goodwin Celeriac, Hazelnut & Truffle Soup

Main: Occasionally Eggs’ Savoury Mushroom & Caramelised Onion Wreath

While the main dish is typically where the stuffed turkey, Christmas Ham or lamb roast would be missed, we’re happy to report that a plethora of meat-free mains are delicious and just as filling.

For us, Occasionally Egg’s version of vegan meat encased in a pastry wreath is the perfect balance of tradition and modernity.

In the place of animal mince, this recipe instead relies upon vegetables like butternut squash, mushroom and onions to mimic the heartiness and flavour of red meat.

We’ve made this one ourselves and can wholeheartedly confirm that even the biggest carnivore would appreciate the flavour and texture profile of this dish!

If you’re not 100% plant-based and would prefer to use a butter puff pastry, the vegan option can easily be swapped out for store-bought, buttery alternatives!

Of course, the presentation in the shape of a wreath ensures that the traditional Christmas spirit is of core importance. The sharing element is also very festive, and reigns true to the family cheer!

Occasionally Eggs Savoury Mushroom & Caramelised Onion Wreath

Side: Occasionally Eggs’ Spicy Roast Potatoes & Brussel Sprouts

It wouldn’t be Christmas without crunchy, pillowy and salty roast potatoes, would it?! Thankfully this festive staple is usually created without any dairy product needed. A simple combination of spuds, olive oil, garlic and salt will typically do the trick.

For something a little different to the usual, this year we’re excited to recreate Alexandra Daum’s version using spicy flavours and incorporating Brussel sprouts into the mix.

Her spicy side is a clever way of jazzing up the humble sprout that typically gets a bad rap from people due to its bitter flavour usually due to mistreatment from the cook.

These healthy little things can be super delicious when treated right and cooked to perfection, an amazing addition to any Christmas spread.

Her spin is to pack the spuds and sprouts full of flavours, spice and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds to serve up a middle eastern-inspired side dish to accompany all the flavours of the festive season.

Occasionally Eggs Spicy Roast Potatoes & Brussel Sprouts

Dessert: Jamie Oliver’s Vegan Chocolate Pots

One of our favourite parts about Christmas lunch is the sweet spread that typically comes an hour or two after mains due to the food coma that ensues.

Whilst desserts usually reply upon animal products such as butter, cream and eggs, we’re happy to report that lots of plant-based alternatives are available and at the ready to ensure that Chrissy treats can be enjoyed by all.

In the place of the traditional egg white and thickened cream that usually goes into a chocolate mousse, our favourite naked chef Jamie Oliver instead relies upon silken tofu to mimic the light consistency we all love.

Modernised with flavours of chilli, sea salt and some dark rum, this not-so-naughty sweet treat is sure to scratch the itch of all chocoholics at the dessert table.

Served in individual pots to add a touch of festivity to the day, each guest can even add some brightness with the addition of berries and fruit to lighten the richness of chocolate flavour.

A little pot of gold at the end of the Christmas rainbow to finish off a delicious plant-based proceeding.

Jamie Oliver Vegan Chocolate Pots