You don't have to miss out on a traditional mince pie just because you eat a plant based diet thanks to my Vegan Mince Pie Recipe! Find out more below.
This year I've put a tonne of effort into perfecting vegan versions of my favourite cakes, pies, biscuits and other baked treats! I've even produced a huge vegan baking guide to explain how to take a regular recipe and make it plant based. For Christmas I perfected the humble mince pie making it suitable for a plant based diet.
These mince pies are almost entirely made from scratch. The pastry is handmade but they do rely on a store bought mincemeat. If you want to make your own then you can find my mincemeat recipe here.
Everyone will be so impressed that you made these yourselves. They look impressive but are actually incredibly easy to make. I always bake a batch on Christmas Eve. Why not add that to your list of Christmas traditions?
Jump to:
Ingredients
There are very few ingredients you need for this recipe, just flour, fat, mincemeat and plant milk. Caster sugar and icing sugar are optional if you don't have a sweet tooth!
Vegan shortcrust pastry
If you've been vegan for a while you'll probably know that lots of ready made pastry is "accidentally" vegan. The ingredients are usually just flour and vegetable fats derived from palm and rapeseed. But, the good news is that you can easily replicate your own vegan shortcrust pastry at home without having to resort to store bought options!
Vegan mincemeat
To make vegan shortcrust pastry you'll need one of the many non-dairy butter alternatives on the market. For a real "buttery" flavour I love to use Flora which is readily available in British Supermarkets. If you shop at a specialist health food or vegan supermarket, Naturli is another fantastic alternative.
The easiest way to make sure your mince pie filling is vegan is to make your own mincemeat. If you use vegetarian suet it will be suitable for anyone following a vegan or plant based diet. You can check out my mincemeat recipe here.
If you're buying store-bought mincemeat do not worry! Most versions are vegetarian (and suitable for vegans). Just make sure you check the ingredients list first.
Pastry glaze
Pastry usually gets a glaze before baking: this might be milk or egg. The good news is soy milk works as a good egg wash substitute when making these mince pies.
Top tip
When using non-dairy butter for pastry, it's important to try and use a block or stick of butter. This is because you need to be able to rub it into the flour to create a breadcrumb like texture. Trex is a great substitute for “shortening” or lard in a recipe. My traditional mince pie pastry uses both butter and lard so I try to replicate this with a mixture of non-dairy butter and Trex.
Step-by-step instructions
The method of making shortcrust pastry is not all that different when you are making it with plant based ingredients.
- Step 1: begin by rubbing together the fat and flour (and caster sugar if using) until it resembles breadcrumbs
- Step 2: add the water and bring together gently into a ball of dough
- Step 3: wrap the ball of dough tightly in clingfilm and then leave to chill so the pastry firms up
- Step 4: roll out the dough and cut out bases and lids for 12 mince pies
- Step 5: gently press the bases into greased muffin tins
- Step 6: fill each base with a teaspoon of mincemeat
- Step 7: add a lid to each mince pie and brush with a little plant milk
- Step 8: bake until the pastry is golden and the mincemeat is bubbling
Hint: It's important to use chilled non-dairy butter and vegetable shortening. If you've only been able to get soft, spreadable non-dairy butter I recommend freezing it first.
Substitutions
With such a simple ingredients list there aren't that many substitutions you can make for this recipe. The main one is the fat used in the pastry - if you can't get hold of vegan butter and Trex, then margarine will work just fine.
Variations
If you want to tweak this recipe, why not try:
- Add frangipane instead of a lid like I do in these Frangipane Mince Pies
- Use marzipan instead of the lid like I do in these Marzipan Mince Pies
- Swap shortcrust pastry for filo in these Filo Mince Pie Rolls
Equipment
You'll need some key pieces of equipment for this mince pie recipe:
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Cling film
- Rolling pin
- Pastry cutter
- Muffin tins
- Pastry brush
Storage
These mince pies don't last very long in my house but they'll keep in an air tight container for up to a week.
Frequently asked questions
Once you come to bring the dough together be mindful not to overwork it as this is what makes tough, inedible pastry! You want to just bring it into a ball and then wrap it in cling film, place it in the fridge, and let it chill. This will make sure that the non-dairy butter and vegetable shortening firms up again.
Make sure to grease your muffin tins well to make this an easy task. A small, flexible spatula can be run round the outside of the pastry cases to help them come lose if you need to.
The recipe
Put your own twist on this simple mince pie recipe by using a star or snowflake cookie cutter to make the mince pie lids! (It will allow the steam to escape the filling too so no soggy pastry!)
Vegan Mince Pies
Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl
- measuring spoons
- 1 clingfilm
- 1 Rolling Pin
- pastry cutters
- 2 muffin tins 12 holes in total
- 1 Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 200 grams plain flour
- 50 grams caster sugar optional
- 50 grams non-dairy butter e.g. Flora or Naturli
- 50 grams vegetable shortening e.g. Trex
- 45 millilitres cold water (3 tablespoons)
- 1 jar mincemeat
- 50 millilitres soy milk
- icing sugar to dust, optional
Instructions
- Sieve your flour and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl.
- Cut the non-dairy butter and vegetable shortening into cubes.
- Rub the fat into the flour by pushing the fat and flour through your finger tips.
- Once the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs (and there are no large lumps of fat) add the water and stir until the mix begins to bind.
- To bring it all together, use your hands to form it into a ball. You may need a little more water to get it to bind together properly but don’t worry just go with your instincts!
- Next place the ball of pastry in a bowl cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- While the pastry is resting, pre-heat your oven to 180C / 350F/ gas mark 4.
- After 15 minutes, dust a work surface with flour and cut the ball into two pieces - one representing one third of the pastry the other two thirds.
- Roll out the larger pastry ball until a quarter of a centimetre thick and using a large round cutter, cut out 12 bases.
- Gather the scraps together and roll out again as and when you need to.
- Do the same with the small ball of pastry using a cutter one size smaller than before. Cut out another 12 pieces, these will be your lids! (Alternatively use a star cutter for more decorative pies.)
- Grease cupcake tins and place the larger circles into the pans.
- Fill with a tablespoon of mincemeat and brush the edges with a little soy milk before placing the lids on top.
- Prick the lids with a fork and brush again with more soy milk.
- Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden, turning round halfway through.
- Once they are done pop on a cooling rack and dust with icing sugar.
Leave a Reply