Everything you need for a festive vegan dinner party

‍The festive season - a season of decadent and indulgent food. A time when eating mince pies for breakfast is justifiable ‘because it’s Christmas’ and cheese boards become standard lunches. If you’re hosting, you want to make sure everyone is catered for, without spending the lead up stuck cooking separate dishes or rushing around hunting for ingredients. With November being World Vegan Month we’ve rounded up some of our top tips for hosting vegan dinner parties to make sure your vegan friends and family don’t miss out on your festive feast!

Use Vegan Alternatives

Save time by using vegan alternatives such as vegan butter and plant-based milk for your sides.  This way you don’t have to cook separate sides for everyone. With such great alternatives, it can be hard to even tell the difference when plant-milk is used in mashed potato. If you’re a vegan guest then vegan influencer Nzinga talks more about this on her Instagram and the best way to approach  your hosts. 

Book a Private Chef From HOMETAINMENT

Book a HOMETAINMENT experience for your festive party at home. Forget being stuck in the kitchen and leave the cooking up to our professional HOMEtainers! From vegan grazing tables and luxury festive feasts, to raw food dinners and haute couture menus, our talented private chefs will serve up the most delicious vegan cuisine. All our vegan experiences can be found in our 'Private Chefs’ category.

Don't Forget Snacks

Hosting a drinks party? Don’t forget the snacks.  For some quick and easy ideas try: guacamole with homemade pita chips, homemade vegetable crisps, hummus or tzatziki  and crudités, nuts, olives and fresh bread. 

Give Christmas Classics a Vegan Twist

With plenty of alternatives available, you can give the Christmas classics a vegan twist. We love this recipe by BOSH! For Bangers in Blankets. Their take on Pigs in Blankets uses marinated aubergine and vegan sausages instead. Using vegan mince meat and swapping butter for dairy free spread and milk for plant-based milk, you can easily make mince pies - after all they’re a staple during the festive season. 

Go Big With Vegetables

The festive season might seem like it’s all about the turkey and the cheese but actually vegetables come into their own too so go big with them. Try braised red cabbage with apples, Brussel sprouts with toasted walnuts, sweet potato mash, roasted carrots and parsnips and of course roast potatoes. Looking for some inspiration? Check out Jamie Oliver’s recipe for Sicilian Roasted Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts. 

Have a Vegan Centrepiece

That said, you still want to have a centrepiece for your vegan dinner parties and if a nut roast doesn’t cut it, then check out this recipe from Olive Magazine for a Vegan Wellington. It has layers of roasted red peppers, beetroot, kale and vegan stuffing!

Make Sure Your Drinks are Vegan

Raising a toast? Many wines and beers aren’t vegan because they use fining agents which include animal products such as gelatin and milk protein. Luckily you’ll find lots of vegan beers and wines stocked in wine shops and supermarkets  including vegan Champagne. As for cocktails, whilst most unflavoured spirits like vodka and gin are vegan, ingredients in cocktails often are not. So, if you need some inspiration, check out these recipes.

Buy Vegan Gifts

Candles, skincare and chocolates all make for easy Christmas presents. Especially for Secret Santa or stocking fillers, or when you just don’t know what to get someone. This year swap your usual go-tos for vegan alternatives.