If you are vegetarian, Christmas dinner might be a disappointment, if you cannot eat anything, or a mental torture if you make yourself eat to please your grandma. Believe us or not, it happens in some families.
Maybe it is actually time to impose your style and to either invite your family in your home or to ask your host if you can take part to the cooking step. You can find in this article a few vegetarian Christmas recipes that are as tasty as they are pretty.
So keep reading 🙂
Vegetarian Christmas recipes for starters
Veggie pasties are a great starter. They are light, relatively healthy and they look nice when served in a plate.
Ingredients: 1 leek – 50g of butter – Thyme – 400g of left over vegetables (potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts…) – 1 tablespoon of English Mustard – Sea salt & black pepper – 60g of grated emmental – 2 egg – 300g of flour
First make the pastry: Mix the flour, 1 tablespoon of salt in a bowl. Melt the butter and 130ml of water in a pan until it boils and leave it aside. Beat the eggs and add them to the flour. Gradually add the water until it makes a dough. Let it rest.
Preheat the oven (180ºC/350ºF/gas 4)
Chop the leek, put in a pan with thyme leaves and butter and cook for 10 – 12 minutes (until it is soft). Mix the leeks with the leftover of veggies, mustard, cheese and salt and pepper.
Prepare the pastries: Divide the dough in 12 equal parts, roll them out and cut them in circles. Spread a spoonful of the preparation on half of the pastry, beat the egg and brush it around the edges. Then fold the pastry., press the edges to seal and put on the baking tray. Brush with a bit more egg and place in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes (until it is golden and crispy). Serve hot!
Vegetarian Christmas recipes for mains
If you want to have the best vegetarian Christmas main, we advise you to serve the 3 below in one plate. They go very well together and we promise it worth the effort
Vegetarian nut roast
Ingredients: 50 g of shelled pistachios – 50 g of linseed – 50 g of sunflower seeds – 100 g of chestnut purée – 50 g gluten-free vegetarian suet – Maple syrup – 400 g of sweet potato – Olive oil – 20 g of butter – 250 g of chestnut mushrooms – 100 g of crème fraîche – 1 pinch of ground nutmeg – 75 g of blue cheese
Preheat the oven (180C/350ºF/gas 4)
Prepare the nut roast: chop the pistachios and spread them on the tray with all the seeds. Roast for 5 – 6 minutes. When they are roasted, blend them together with the chestnut purée, suet and maple syrup until it looks like ball.
Prepare the dough: Roll out the dough as thin as possible. Cut it the good size (individual tartelettes or baking tin). Prick the dough with a fork and cover it with baking beans before baking 12 – 15 minutes. Let it cool down.
Prepare the toppings: Chop the sweet potatoes into cubes, place on a baking tray with a hint of olive oil. Bake until it soft (25 minutes average). Melt the better in a pan, add the mushrooms and sauté for 6 – 8 minutes with salt and pepper. Blend the sweet potatoes with the crème fraîche, nutmeg and black pepper until it is smooth.
Prepare the pie: crumble the cheese over the base, add the mushrooms and then the sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle with linseed, the leftover of the pistachios and the sunflower seeds. Bake until it is brown (6 – 7 minutes) and serve hot!
Perfect baked potatoes
Ingredients: 1.5 kg of potatoes – Garlic – Olive oil – Fresh Rosemary
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
Wash and peel the potatoes. Place then on a baking tray (on the top of cooking paper). Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. Make sure that the oil covers the potatoes and roast for 30 minutes (until slightly golden).
Get the tray out of the oven, take a potato masher and gently squash each potato. The more of the potato touches the pan, the crispier it will be. Add the bulb of garlic (chopped of course) and a bit more of olive oil if the potatoes are already dry.
Bake for another 30 – 45 minutes until crispy. Once done, put the potatoes in a plate and serve hot.
Roasted baby pumpkins with chestnut & cherry
Ingredients: 6 small winter squash or pumpkins – Olive oil – 6 fresh bay leaves – 200 g of wild rice – 2 red onions – 180 g vac-packed chestnuts – Fresh rosemary – 90 g of dried sour cherries
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
Empty the pumpkins or squashes and rub the inside with olive oil, add salt and pepper. Put bay leaf in each of them and roast for 30 min – 1 hour (until they are soft).
Boil the rice for 30 minutes (until it is tender) and put aside. Slice the onions and cook them 15 – 20 minutes until they are soft. Chop the chestnuts and the rosemary leaves, add to the onions and cook for 10 minutes slowly. Finally add the rice and the dried cherries. Once it is done, remove the leaves.
Divide the mixture in the roasted pumpkins and warm up everything for 5 more minutes. Serve hot with the rest of your Vegetarian christmas recipes.
Vegetarian Christmas recipes for desserts
Chocolate pots
Ingredients: 300 g of dark chocolate – 200 g of butter – 300 g of golden caster sugar – 5 eggs – 8 clementines – 12 teaspoons of cre?me frai?che
Preheat the oven (160ºC/325ºF/gas 3.)
Prepare the ramekins: In a bowl place the chocolate, the butter and a pinch of sea salt. Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Let it melt (stir occasionally) and cool down for 15 minutes. In an bowl, beat the sugar and the eggs until they are thick and fluffy. Pour the chocolate in the eggs mixture while keeping beating. Divide in 12 small ramekins and place them in a baking tray. Add some boiling water (from the kettle) into the tray. Until it comes halfway up the side of the ramekins. Bake for 25 minutes and let it cool 15 minutes before serving.
Prepare the syrup: squeeze all the clementine juice and put it in a pan, add the sugar and bring to boil. Reduce and cook for 15 minutes (until it thickens). Remove from the heat, let it cool down a bit, place on the ramekins and serve to room temperature.
We hope you will find those vegetarian Christmas recipes as delicious as we do. They could even convert your non vegetarian friend and family 🙂 If you look for healthy food for regular days, we got your back here!
