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The holiday season is officially here, and many of us are firmly in planning mode trying to put together the perfect vegan Christmas dinner. This year, it’s likely that more people than ever will be opting for meat-free menus on the big day, and supermarkets across the country have released a wide range of vegan starters, party foods, mains, and desserts to facilitate this. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas or another seasonal holiday, here’s all the festive food you can buy in UK supermarkets for 2023.
Traditional Christmas dinners generally consist of a number of animal products. A popular centerpiece is turkey, while pigs in blankets, goose fat, various dairy products, and non-vegan stuffing make up the rest. There is growing understanding of the huge ethical implications of eating these products, however, and veganism is skyrocketing in popularity throughout the UK. Around 1.2 billion land animals are slaughtered for food in the country each year. Most of these (around 85 percent) are raised on factory farms, and those who aren’t have still generally suffer brutal lives and painful deaths.
A few years ago, Christmas as a vegan may have been a stressful experience. Aside from the constant “where do you get your protein?” questions from relatives, plant-based Christmas food was generally limited to a nut roast and a few sprouts. In 2023, however, you can enjoy pretty much any traditional food items you want as a vegan – and you can buy these at mainstream supermarkets. From M&S to Aldi, here’s what you can buy this year.
Marks and Spencer vegan Christmas food
At M&S, you can find a wide range of plant-based Christmas food. If you’re a fan of turkey, Marks and Spencer is offering a No Turkey Joint as part of its Plant Kitchen range. The product is made from pea protein, which is a popular ingredient in meat alternatives, and its filled with a cranberry, onion, and chestnut stuffing.
If fake meats aren’t your thing, you can choose from a variety of vegetable-based centerpieces instead. The Plant Kitchen Roast Butternut Squash & Spinach Pie consists of butternut squash, carrot and spinach in a shortcrust pastry. The Plant Kitchen Butternut, Almond & Pecan Nut Roast is a new take on the classic nut roast, featuring an array of mixed nuts alongside roasted butternut squash, as well as bulgur wheat, cannellini beans, and cranberries, all finished off with a red wine and thyme gravy.
M&S is one of the many UK supermarkets offering vegan pigs in blankets. The Plant Kitchen 12 Vegan Pigs in Blankets feature meat-free cocktail sausages wrapped in ‘bacon’. You can also buy vegan Pigs In Duvets, which are sausages and chorizo sausages wrapped in pastry. If you’re looking for convenience on the big day, you can buy the Plant Kitchen Vegan Vegetable Selection. This is a selection of sides that features red cabbage, roast potatoes, a cauliflower and leek bake, and a garnish selection. If you fancy something a little bit more luxurious, you can try the Plant Kitchen Mushroom Parfait with a Port Glaze. This blend of mushrooms comes with a sweet apple and port glaze. Plant Kitchen also offers its own gravy.
For dessert, there’s a vegan chocolate torte. You can also buy Plant Kitchen Mince Pies, an M&S Made Without Christmas Pudding 6 Month Matured, and even a Plant Kitchen No Cheeseboard Selection.
Find the full range of vegan Christmas food at M&S in 2023 here.
Asda vegan Christmas food
Asda has an extensive vegan range named OMV!, which is offering a wide array of festive food this year.
Perhaps Asda’s most notable Christmas launch this year is its OMV! Vegan No Turkey, which has been developed to resemble an entire turkey. The turkey is made from a blend of soya, wheat, and pea proteins. It is bright white in color inside of the ‘crown’. The ‘legs’ have a darker colour, more juicy texture, and more intense flavor.
If this is too realistic for your tastes but you still fancy a turkey alternative, you can opt for the OMV! Deliciously Vegan No Turkey & Trimmings For One or OMV! No Turkey Crown. For the veggie fans, there is a OMV! Oyster & Porcini Mushroom Wellington, which features oyster and porcini mushrooms bound with pea protein, which are topped with minced mushrooms, onion, herbs, and black pepper. Alternatively, you can go for the OMV! Festive Butternut & Chestnut Roast, a blend of butternut squash, chestnuts, kale, bulgur wheat, and onion. This roast is topped off with a clementine and maple glaze.
Asda offers OMV! Mushroom Pigs in Smoky Aubergine Bacon, a more vegetable-based take on vegan pigs in blankets. You can also buy the OMV! Deliciously Vegan Christmas Trimmings Selection, which consists of popular sides like stuffing balls, pigs in blankets, and cocktail sausages.
For dessert, the OMV! Strawberry Trifle, OMV! Chocolate Salted Caramel Tarts, and OMV! 4 Crumble Top Mince Pies are all available to buy.
Find the full range of vegan Christmas food at Asda in 2023 here.
Sainsbury’s vegan Christmas food
Sainsbury’s also has a number of vegan Christmas mains, whether you’re a fan of meat alternatives or vegetables.
Its Taste the Difference Three Nut Roast features pistachios, cashews, and almonds as its base, which are mixed together with mushroom, dried cranberries, spinach, and butternut squash. This main is served with a spiced orange and cranberry glaze. For the meat fans, you can buy a Taste The Difference No Turkey Stuffed Crown, which comes with a vegan bacon lattice. Other options include a Taste the Difference No Beef Wellington, which consists of a mushroom and pea protein-based vegan alternative to beef.
If you fancy something a bit different, you can opt for the Taste the Difference Maple Parsnip, Chestnut & Sage Wreath, which includes a maple roasted parsnips, chestnuts, and vegan cheese.
Sainsbury’s shoppers can also get vegan pigs in blankets – the Plant Pioneers Shroompups In Blankets is a pack of 10 mushroom sausages wrapped in vegan bacon. The Plant Pioneers Sage & Onion Stuffing Balls is another side available.
The Taste the Difference Baos of Holly are bao buns filled with wood ear mushrooms, carrots, water chestnuts, and spring onion. The Taste the Difference Korean Style Cauliflower Popcorn consist of cauliflower popcorn nuggets alongside a Korean-inspired seasoning.
Sweet treats include the Taste the Difference Chocolate Cookie Torte, Taste the Difference Free From Ginger & Chocolate Tiffin, Taste the Difference Free From Salted Caramel Chocs, and Taste the Difference Free From Mini Mince Pies.
Find the full range of vegan Christmas food at Asda in 2023 here.
Waitrose vegan Christmas food
Upmarket supermarket Waitrose is also offering a unique take on a traditional nut roast. The Ultimate Triple Nut Roast features roasted nuts, sweet potato, chickpeas, lentils, and miso. It comes complete with a spiced clementine and apricot chutney glaze.
There are also a number of turkey products on offer. The Chestnut and Thyme Plant-Based Turkey Roast and Gravy is a soya-based turkey crown alternative that you can carve like the real thing. You can also buy the Plantliving Chestnut & Thyme Plant Based Turkey Roast, Gravy, And Festive Sides. As well as the roast, this bundle includes pigs in blankets and stuffed ‘Christmas trees’.
If you’re a fan of beef wellington, this No 1 Ultimate Vegan Sharing Wellington contains a plant-based beef alternative braised in garlic, shallot, and thyme vegetable stock.
In terms of party food and sides, Waitrose has an extensive vegan selection. You can buy the 22-Piece Plantliving Festive Cocktail Sausage Selection, which features maple, date, and chestnut cocktail sausages, vegan turkey cocktail sausages, and spiced mushroom ‘chorizo’ sausages in a puff pastry. Another option is the Plant Pigs In Blankets, an alternative to the traditional dish. There is also the Festive Cocktail Sausage Selection, which features different flavored cocktail sausages, and Plant Chorizo Pigs In Puffers, chorizo-alternatives wrapped in pastry.
For dessert, you can buy the No 1 Millionaire’s Torte.
Find the full range of vegan Christmas food at Waitrose in 2023 here.
Aldi vegan Christmas food
Budget retailer Aldi is offering its biggest ever vegan range this year. Unusually, its line-up features a plant-based “gammon,” a vegan take on the pork-based ham. The Specially Selected No Gammon Joint with Orange Marmalade Glaze can either be served up as a main or as cold cuts over the Christmas period.
The Plant Menu No Turkey Roast with Vegan Bacon Crumb is a soya-based turkey joint, which comes filled with a cranberry and chestnut stuffing. It also comes topped with a vegan bacon crumb. The Specially Selected Festive Vegetable Wellington is a pea protein log mixed with mushroom, onion, and other vegetables. The Specially Selected No Beef Wellington features soya-based beef alongside roatsed mushroom duxelles.
Aldi’s Specially Selected Vegan Festive Wreath won an award last year, and it’s back for the 2023 festive season. It features stuffing made from butternut squash, cranberries, chestnuts, and pumpkin seeds, and it’s topped with candied orange slices alongside a mulled festive glaze.
The Aldi party food range is extensive. The Plant Menu Southern Fried No Chicken Stars consists of 10 soya protein vegan chicken star-shaped nuggets. The Plant Menu No Tempura Prawns are vegan ‘prawns’ made from potato starch and rice protein. You can also buy the Plant Menu No Chilli Cheese Bites (vegan cheese blended pickled chilies) and Plant Menu No Duck Spring Rolls (pulled jackfruit in a hoisin-style sauce).
Aldi also offers Plant Menu Ultimate Vegan Pigs in Blankets, as well as Specially Selected Vegetable and Potato Rostis, which are available in two veggie combinations. The Specially Selected Celeriac and Broccoli Vegetable Bake features Celeriac and broccoli in a creamy sauce, which is topped with roasted sliced potato and vegan cheese.
For dessert, you can buy the Vegan Cookie Pot or Specially Selected Vegan Truffles.
Find the full range of vegan Christmas food at Aldi in 2023 here.
Tesco vegan Christmas food
Tesco is offering two vegan turkey alternatives this year – the Tesco Plant Chef No-Turkey Crown with Herb Stuffing and Wicked Kitchen No-Turkey Roast Crown. The former is made from broad bean and pea protein, while the latter consists of pea and wheat protein.
If you prefer something vegetable-based, you can buy the Tesco Finest Stuffed Half Butternut Squash, which is filled with apple, beetroot, and green lentils and topped with a seed and herb crumb mix. Tesco’s new take on the nut roast is the Plant Chef Seasonal Seeded Roasts with Port Gravy, which features pumpkin and sunflower seeds alongside lentils, kale, chestnuts, and mushroom. Alternatively, you can try the Plant Chef Roasted Vegetable Parcels, which feature parsnip, carrot, and kale in puff pastry, or the Plant Chef Butternut Wellington, which features butternut squash and pea protein.
Tesco also offers a festive wreath, which is made from mushrooms, chestnuts, butternut squash, lentils, and caramelised red onion, and topped with cranberries.
In terms of sides and party food, you can buy Plant Chef 6 Mini Katsu Inspired Bao Buns, Plant Chef 10 Paella Inspired Arancini Bites, Plant Chef 10 Mini Mediterranean Inspired Vegetable Lattices, and more.
Tesco also has a wide range of desserts, including Tesco Finest Stem Ginger Tiffin Cracker, Tesco Finest Free From Honeycomb Bauble, Tesco Free From Christmas Pudding, and Wicked Kitchen Spiced Rum Christmas Pudding.
Find the full range of Tesco Christmas food at Aldi in 2023 here.
