The ultimate plant-based holiday feast

The holiday season can be a hard time for those who are vegan. Seeing everyone eat delicious holiday foods that aren’t vegan-friendly may be a challenge for some. Thankfully, there are thousands of delicious vegan alternatives and recipes to take your holiday feasts to the next level. Read on to find some of Wellbeing Collective’s favourite plant-based festive season recipes that will please plant-eaters and meat-eaters alike!  

Vegan Roast – Women’s Weekly Food

This genius butternut pumpkin-based roast is a play on the traditional holiday turducken. Stuffed (literally) full of vegetables like leek and zucchini, and fragrant add-ins such as thyme, garlic and linseed, this crowd-pleaser is sure to impress even the most adamant of meat-eaters! Be sure to shop for all the vegetables at the same time, so you can assess whether they will fit inside of each other or not. Pair this dish with some delicious vegan gravy and potatoes.

The Best Vegan Crispy Roast Potatoes and Vegan Onion and Red Wine Gravy – The Vegan Larder

This absolute holiday time staple can so easily be made vegan. Pairing these deliciously crunchy-yet-fluffy roasted potatoes with a rich red wine gravy is a truly decadent treat. Everyone knows that all potatoes need so gravy to soak up, so be sure to make a batch to serve alongside them. These easy potatoes only require 4 ingredients (with one of them being optional) so it is a worthwhile recipe to cook up any time you’re in the mood for crispy roast potatoes!

Salt & cinnamon kale crisps – Jamie Oliver

In Danish tradition, kale is eaten as part of a New Year’s Eve meal to bring good luck into the upcoming year. This deliciously crispy dish fits in perfectly with the hot Australian December, so enjoy this deliciously salty side dish alongside your pumpkin roast and potatoes. It also only requires 4 ingredients and minimal prep/cooking time, making it just such an incredibly simple, yet tasty, festive dish.

Vegan Hummus And Falafel Salad – The Devil Wears Salad

A refreshing summer salad for all kinds of occasions, this hummus and falafel salad is full of flavour. This recipe pays homage to a traditional delicacy that has become a popular street food around the world. Don’t let the list of ingredients for the falafels throw you off! It is as simple as chucking all the ingredients into a blender and whizzing them until combined. Trust me, once you make your own falafels, you’ll never purchase store-bought again. The salad component is made up of a mix of crunchy and fresh veggies, like radish, cucumber and green tomatoes, although regular red tomatoes work just as well in this recipe.

Vegan Pavlova – delicious

Australians know that a pavlova is a must-have during summer entertaining, but with one of the primary ingredients being egg, it’s uncommon to come across a delicious vegan alternative. What if we told you that you can make an egg-free, vegan pavlova that tastes even better that the original? By using aquafaba, the residual liquid found in any can of chickpeas, you can create a fluffy, velvety foam that emulates egg whites! Add in some chilled, whipped coconut cream to pop on top, along with the toppings of your choice, and you have yourself an absolutely incredible dessert centrepiece that will become everyone’s favourite.

Being vegan doesn’t mean you miss out on any yummy holiday treats! Make any of these delicious recipes this festive season and wow your friends and family with these plant-based dishes.

By Sarah Panther