When you have guests coming around during the festive period, it can be difficult to try to accommodate everyone’s dietary requirements. What to serve Aunty Irene, who doesn’t eat fish? How to feed Grandpa Bill, who is vegetarian? And don’t forget the kids from two doors down who don’t eat anything! Whether you need to cater for vegans or simply want to offer a few plant-based tasty alternatives, we have you covered.
What is a vegan snack?
We hope to give you some ideas for small portions that can be served as finger food or nibbles, as part of a buffet, or as sides to a main.
Vegan snacks do not contain any animal products, such as meat, fish, cheese, eggs, or honey. All ingredients in a vegan snack are derived from plants. Some individuals choose a vegan diet because they don’t want to see animals suffering for our lifestyle, while others feel that veganism is less destructive to the environment. There are some people who eat a plant-based diet because it is thought to be healthier, and there are some who simply enjoy eating vegan options.
We hope to show you that there are many tasty snacks that you can offer up to all your guests, whether they are vegan or not.
Guacamole dip
This vegan dip contains only four ingredients and provides a great source of fibre, monounsaturated fats, and potassium for good heart health. This recipe provides about 16 servings.
Peel and pit 2 avocados and mash them in a bowl with a fork. Add the juice of 1 lime and 1 minced garlic clove. Mix together and season with salt and pepper to taste. (https://morrisvillecathospital.com/)
If you want, you can add 1 diced tomato or 1 finely diced onion, and a pinch of dried chillies will give your dip a kick! Serve with whole grain crackers or veggie crisps.
Veggie crisps
Baked veggie crisps are packed with nutrients such as Vitamin A, folate, and potassium. They take a while to prepare, but you can work on other snacks while these are in the oven. This recipe makes enough for about 6 people.
Preheat your oven to 100℃ and lay the greaseproof paper on two baking trays. Use a mandolin to thinly slice 3 large carrots, 3 medium parsnips, and 2 medium sweet potatoes. Place these slices in a large bowl, drizzle with vegetable oil and toss to coat. Lay the slices on one of the trays and sprinkle with sea salt.
Next, use a mandolin to slice 2 medium courgettes and 2 medium beetroots thinly. Lay these slices on paper towels, sprinkle with sea salt, and leave them to sweat for 15 minutes, as this will remove the excess water. Remove the moisture with paper towels, lay the slices on the other tray and brush them with vegetable oil.
Then, place both trays in the oven and bake for 60 minutes, rotating the trays every 15 minutes so that the top tray moves to the bottom and the bottom tray moves to the top. Some veggies may crisp quicker than others, so remove them as they do, and don’t worry if some still seem soft at the end of baking, as they will crisp up as they cool.
Samosas
These little pastry pockets are bursting with flavour and can be made using any spare vegetables and spices that you have in your fridge. This recipe makes about 24 samosas.
In a bowl, mix 225g of plain flour with 2 teaspoons of sea salt, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and 100ml of water. Bring the ingredients together to form a dough and knead it on a floured surface for 5-10 minutes until smooth. Then, roll the dough into a ball, cover with cling film and leave it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
For the filling, finely dice 1 potato and 1 carrot. Add them to a pan of boiling water with 100g of peas and boil for 10 minutes, then drain, keeping 100ml of the water and add 1 vegetable stock cube. Next, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan at low heat and add 1 finely chopped onion, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, and 2 teaspoons of medium curry powder. Fry until soft, add the vegetables and stock, and season with pepper and salt to taste. Cover the mix and leave it to simmer for 10 minutes, then leave it to cool.
Divide the pastry into 12 balls, roll them into circles and cut them in half so that you end up with 24 semi-circles. Brush the edges of a semi-circle with water or vegetable oil, and make a cone shape. Fill the cone with 1 tablespoon of the cooled filling and seal the top of the cone, repeating until all the semi-circles are used. Fry batches of the samosas in deep oil for 8-10 minutes until golden, then drain them on kitchen paper.
Instead of medium curry powder, you could try ½ a teaspoon each of coriander, cumin, garam masala, and turmeric, or use your own mixture according to your preferences.
Pick n’ mix
Create a colourful pick-n’ mix of vegan-friendly sweets to satisfy any sweet tooth at your party. Many boiled sweets, mints, fizzy laces or rainbows, flying saucers, pastilles, or CBD gummies, are available for vegans. Look out for the V-Label on the packaging or check that the ingredients do not contain gelatin, which is a thickening agent that is usually obtained from pigs or cows
Fruit & nut butter balls
Fruit & nut butter balls are high in protein and are super simple to make. Furthermore, you can prepare them in advance and keep them in the fridge until it’s time to serve them. This recipe makes about 12-14 balls.
Place 150g of oats, 60g of nut butter, 60g of dried fruit, and 4 tablespoons of maple syrup in a bowl. Mix well and then chill in the fridge for 5 minutes. Scoop out 1½ tablespoons of mix and roll into balls. Roll the balls in desiccated coconut.
You can use any nut butter, such as peanut, cashew, almond, or if anyone has a nut allergy, use tahini. Any dried fruit works well, and you use one type or a mixture. If your mix isn’t sticking together well, add some extra nut butter or maple syrup and if it’s too sticky, add more oats or dried fruit.
Final thoughts
Coming up with healthy snack ideas that fulfil everyone’s dietary requirements can be challenging; however, there is now a large variety of vegan snacks available in the supermarket. Furthermore, by substituting animal-based ingredients for plant-based ingredients, it is easy to make your own vegan snacks without sacrificing your palate or your conscience.
