Top 3 Vegan Christmas Main Meals in UK Supermarkets in 2020

I have tried and tested the fantastic range of vegan Christmas main meals on offer in the top British supermarkets in 2020.  In this blog I’m presenting you with my reviews and the top 3 – revealing the best vegan Christmas main meals available in the UK in 2020!

Does cooking at Christmas turns you into Stressy Mc-Stress Pants (that’s me!)?  Or have you had enough of 2020 (have’t we all?) and just want to spend the day drinking copious amounts of mulled wine and cooking the easiest possible lunch?  Or perhaps you’ve got a vegan coming for Christmas and you just don’t know where to start?

Don’t you worry, I’ve got you!  There are so many good options out there this year from pretty lattice wellingtons to creamy cheesy pies and tasty nut roasts.  All of the options I tried are super easy to cook, meaning minimal stress and minimal mess on the big day – doesn’t that sound good?

So, without further ado, here are the reviews:

Lidl – Lentil, Red Pepper & Almond Vegan Nut Roasts with Gravy (Serves 2)

2 individual nut roasts made with brown lentils, carrots, mushrooms, peanuts, chickpeas, almonds and dried cranberries.  Served with a vegetable gravy. 

Price: £2.49 (£1.25 per portion)

Cook time:  40 minutes

Would I eat it again?  Yes

Would I serve it for Christmas?  No

The best bits:

• They taste much nicer than they look – they’re pretty flavoursome. The roasts resemble a mixed mash of vegetables with cranberries and nuts thrown in occasionally. They’ve got the tiniest hint of smokiness and spice.

What could be better?

• They’re pretty small and underwhelming. Size wise they are probably ok for Christmas day when you take into consideration all of the sides but they’re just just not very fancy or special!
• The aroma when cooking is rather odd. It’s not awful, just a little bit strange and off-putting.
• Slightly too salty for my liking.
• The roast stuck when baking which made it hard to dish up neatly.

Rating:  4.5/10 – Not bad, pretty tasty in fact, just not special enough for Christmas.

Asda – Cauliflower ‘Sheese’ Wellington (Serves 3)

Cauliflower, sweet potato and cranberries in a dairy free cheese sauce, wrapped in flaky puff pastry.

Price: £3 (£1 per portion)

Cook time:  35 minutes

Would I eat it again?  Yes

Would I serve it for Christmas?  Probably not

The best bits:

• This was the one I was the most excited to try. Asda are thinking outside of the box and it is something different.
• It was like a cheap and cheerful cheese pasty – comforting, creamy, cheesy. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination but enjoyable in the right circumstances.

What could be better?

• The flavour is just not very festive. The predominate flavour is the creamy cheese sauce, which is enjoyable but is it Christmasssy?
• The sauce had a sweetness to it that I wasn’t too keen on.
• There was very little texture to it, everything was soft. It’s marketed as a cauliflower cheese wellington but I didn’t notice any cauliflower and there was only a very small amount of sweet potato and cranberries.
• The packaging was festive and appealing.

Rating:  5/10 – Enjoyable but it didn’t blow me away.

Iceland – No Bull Plant Based Wellington (Serves 4)

Seasoned beef-style soya protein topped with caramelised onion and wrapped in puff pastry.

Price: £3 (75p per portion)

Cook time:  35 minutes

Would I eat it again?  Yes

Would I serve it for Christmas?  Probably not

The best bits:

• It was well filled.
• It had a very meaty texture which I didn’t expect because it looked more like a mushroom-style wellington. Once I got into it I could see it was effectively a layer of burger with a sweet onion relish on top!

What could be better?

• It didn’t look like the picture on the packaging which showed a pastry lattice. It was an all-over puff pastry which split open on cooking.
• The caramelised onions were a bit too sweet and the ‘meat’ did not have masses of flavour.

Rating:  4.5/10 – There was nothing bad about this dish but it was basically a burger wrapped in pastry; is that festive?

Morrisons – Creamy Mushroom Wellingtons (Serves 2)

Mushroom stuffing, made with porcini mushrooms, and a creamy coconut, cauliflower and cashew nut sauce, wrapped in crisp puff pastry.

Price: £4 (£2 per portion)

Cook time:  40 minutes 

Would I eat it again?  Yes

Would I serve it for Christmas?  Yes

The best bits:

• Neat pies that are easy to dish up on Christmas day and won’t take up much space in the oven.
• Pleasant, balanced flavours – creamy and a little bit peppery with a good mushroom flavour coming through.
• Portion size is good.

What could be better?

• The texture inside was rather mushy.

Rating:  6/10 – A solid choice for Christmas Day, easy to dish up and a flavoursome pie.

Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneer – Meat Free Wellington (Serves 3)

Lattice puff pastry filled with a blend of a rich mushroom duxelles and red wine, topped with thyme.

Price: £2.50 (83p per portion)

Cook time:  35 minutes

Would I eat it again?  No

Would I serve it for Christmas?  No

The best bits:

• This one surprised me when I cut it open – it looked very meaty!  It had such a pretty lattice design and was very neatly put together.  Overall it looked appetising and would look good on the Christmas dinner table.

What could be better?

• I really didn’t enjoy the flavour of this one – it had an artificial flavour that I couldn’t get past.
• The texture was meaty but quite soft – softer than the similar No Bull wellington.

Rating:  2/10 – It looked pretty, but I personally didn’t enjoy the flavour.

M&S Plant Kitchen – Butternut, Almond and Pecan Nut Roast (Serves 2)

Bulgur wheat, cannellini beans, roasted butternut squash, dried apricots, almonds, dried cranberries and pecan nuts with a sachet of red wine and thyme gravy.

Price: £6 (£3 per portion)

Cook time:  25 minutes

Would I eat it again?  Yes

Would I serve it for Christmas?  Maybe – perhaps not special enough?

The best bits:

• It cooked well and came out of the dish in one piece thanks to the piece of greaseproof paper M&S had helpfully put underneath to stop it sticking.
• It felt like a lighter, healthier option and the ingredients backed that up – lots of lovely veggies, herbs and healthful ingredients.
• The roast had a beautiful aroma when it came out of the oven – herby, thyme, saltiness and sweetness from the butternut.
• It came with a red wine and thyme gravy which really added flavour.

What could be better?

• Without the gravy I think it might be a bit bland.
• It was on the edge of being too sweet for me.
• The most expensive per portion of all of the mains I tried (£3 vs most of the others being around £1)

Rating. 5.5/10 – A good choice if you’re looking for something a bit lighter.

Plant Chef – Mushroom and Soya Stuffing Lattice (Serves 4)

Savoury soya protein, topped with mushrooms in a puff pastry lattice sprinkled with thyme.

Price: £3 (75p per portion)

Cook time:  35 minutes

Would I eat it again?  Yes

Would I serve it for Christmas?  Yes

The best bits:

• It had a pretty lattice design which would look good on a Christmas dinner table.
• It was really tasty. It was flavoured like a herby veggie sausage and whilst the flavours were subtle it was actually rather pleasant. Add some gravy and the Christmas sides and I can see this being a really good option for Christmas.
• Whilst the texture inside is soft, the pastry is lovely and crisp around the outside and everything is well seasoned.

What could be better?

• It looked a bit pale and mushy inside!

Rating:  7/10 – A pretty design and a tasty meal that I’d be pleased to have on my plate at Christmas!

Waitrose – Mushroom & Nut Wellington (Serves 2)

Mushroom duxelles topped with cooked brown rice and a blend of hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds and walnuts, wrapped in a puff pastry and topped with oats and thyme.

Price: £4.80 (£2.40 per portion)

Cook time:  55 minutes

Would I eat it again?  Yes

Would I serve it for Christmas?  Yes

The best bits:

• It has got an appealing mushroom aroma (assuming you like mushrooms!)
• It is easy to cut and is very well filled.
• The flavour is very good – mainly of mushrooms with a punchy herby flavour and occasional nuttiness. It is well seasoned.

What could be better?

• Expensive per portion at £2.40 compared to most of the other options which are mainly around the £1 mark.
• It is not as ‘pretty’ as some of the lattice wellingtons.
• It felt quite dry – adding gravy is a must!

Rating:  6/10 – Tasty and easy to dish up, but make sure to add gravy.

Sainsbury’s – Taste the Difference Three Nut and Mushroom Roast with a Port and Redcurrant Gravy (Serves 3)

Mushroom and butternut squash nut roast with cashews, almonds, pistachios and a port and redcurrant gravy.

Price: £5.50 (£1.83 per portion)

Cook time:  40 minutes

Would I eat it again?  Yes

Would I serve it for Christmas?  Yes

The best bits:

• The aroma of the gravy packs a punch and it tastes absolutely delicious – tangy, sweet and savoury all at the same time. It’s also nice and thick.
• The roast is full of goodness – mushrooms, nuts, cranberries, butternut squash. It’s a similar texture to stuffing but with a bit of bite from the nuts.
• As a long standing veggie if anyone suggests nut roast to me I groan. It’s just not something I typically enjoy but honestly… this was absolutely lovely!

What could be better?

• The roast is a bit of a sod to get out of the dish.

Rating:  6.5/10 – A tasty nut roast that is full of lovely ingredients and served with a delicious gravy. 

The top 3:

1st Place – Goes to the Plant Chef Mushroom and Soya Lattice.  It looks pretty, tastes good and would go well with a splash of gravy and all the Christmas sides.  It’s also a bargain at 75p per portion.

2nd Place – Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Three Nut and Mushroom Roast takes 2nd place.  A solid choice especially if you’re looking for something a bit lighter with lots of lovely ingredients and its served with an absolutely delicious gravy.

3rd Place – Is jointly the Asda Creamy Mushroom Wellingtons and the Waitrose Mushroom and Nut Wellington.  I think the Waitrose Mushroom and Nut Wellington would appeal to more people but it was a bit dry so be sure to serve it with gravy.

I am of course biased but I genuinely think my Wild Mushroom, Cranberry and Chestnut Pies are more delicious than anything I’ve tried here!  They are full to the brim with thyme-fried wild mushrooms, port soaked cranberries and sweet chestnuts encased in a cranberry-sauce lined puff pastry.  If you enjoy cooking and fancy making your own Christmas vegan main, I’d highly recommend making these as they are really rather easy to make and are packed full of flavour.  

If you need to you can make them in advance, pre cook them and then freeze them.  Just defrost them over night on Christmas Eve and then pop them in the oven for 20 minutes on Christmas Day.

I’d love to hear your recommendations!  Send me a message on Instagram or Facebook @aveganvisit.

Prices correct as at 14/12/20.

This is an honest review and not a sponsored post – all opinions are a result of me personally taste testing each dish, which I purchased myself.  If there are any other vegan Christmas mains that you’d like me to taste test for you, just send me an email (I don’t need much persuading!).