How to Cook a Vegan Christmas Dinner

Whether you're having vegan guests for dinner or going vegan yourself, preparing a Christmas meal can be challenging. You have to scrutinize every dish for animal products like meat, poultry, eggs and dairy. That means you have to get creative with vegetables, nuts, fruit and grains. Follow these steps to create a vegan-friendly Christmas dinner.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Start Christmas dinner with a vegan appetizer that everyone will enjoy. Top rounds of French bread with sautéed mushrooms and onions or a bean spread.

2. Make a vegan soup to warm up your guests. Soups are great ways to get creative with vegetables; try pumpkin, bean and vegetable or miso.

3. Consider using Tofurky for the main vegan dish, especially if you've got vegetable sides that go well with meat. The Vegetarian Resource Group has ideas about using Tofurky creatively at Christmas.

4. Experiment with a new vegan main dish by making a nut roast. Use chestnuts, walnuts or cashews as the base and add celery, onions and mushrooms. Bread crumbs help it keep its shape.

5. Add flavor to the Tofurky or nut roast with vegan gravy. Use Brewer's yeast for bulk and nutrition. Make cranberry sauce by cooking 1 cup of orange juice with 1 cup of sugar until the sugar dissolves, then add 1-1/2 cups of cranberries, cover and simmer until it thickens.

6. Dress up Christmas potatoes with herbs such as sage, rosemary and oregano. Use vegan margarine and soy milk in mashed potatoes.

7. Make a vegan fruit pie for after Christmas dinner by substituting vegetable shortening or vegan margarine for the butter. Use apple sauce, flax seeds or a commercial egg substitute instead of eggs.

Tips & Warnings

• Make an egg substitute by cooking 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds in 2 to 3 tablespoons of water for 5 minutes. You should get a thick, egg-like consistency.

Resources

• Find Tofurky recipes here.
• The Vegan Family can help you with your Christmas dinner.