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Vegetarian mincemeat recipe - an easy recipe for delicious home-made Christmas mincemeat made using butter so it is suitable for vegetarians (with vegan option).
It never feels like Christmas is close for me until I've had my first mince pie; they are an absolute essential in making me feel festive and I love them.
While I enjoy most mince pies, shop bought or otherwise, as with most things you just can't beat homemade ones, and if you do make your own then you get the bonus of festive baking, which always helps to put me in a Christmassy mood.
If you are going to go through the effort of making your own (and they really aren't that much effort at all), then you might as well make your own mincemeat too - again, homemade is so much better than shop bought.
Mincemeat is incredibly quick and easy to make yourself, and you get to choose what fruits and alcohol you include - don't like mixed peel? Substitute with chopped dried apricots. Not a fan of brandy? Use rum, port or sherry instead.
Feel free to chop and change the recipe below to suit you, just keep the same basic quantities of everything (ie. swap an ingredient out for the same weight of another) and it will work out just fine.
Mincemeat traditionally contains suet (a throwback to the disturbing days when it contained actual meat...), which means that it isn't exactly vegetarian friendly. Vegetable suet is available but it doesn't taste very nice, the good news is that mincemeat can be made with butter, which tastes far superior.
Suet based mincemeat is made by simply stirring all of the ingredients together then ladling into sterilised jars, to use butter you need to go through the extra step of heating the ingredients together in a pan, but it's not like that is difficult or time-consuming so this version is still really quick and easy to make.
Once jarred, the mincemeat will keep for six months, possibly even a year; and it does taste best if given a month or so to mature before using. That said, it does taste great freshly made as well, which is good seeing as there is only less than two weeks, TWO WEEKS!! until Christmas (I wasn't organised enough to make it any earlier...).
Make It Vegan:
This vegetarian mincemeat can easily be made vegan by swapping the butter for dairy free margarine or coconut oil. If you use coconut oil do bear in mind that the mixture may set a little firmer in cold conditions.
Ways To Use Vegetarian Mincemeat:
Put your vegetarian mincemeat to good use with these recipes:
Mincemeat, marzipan and apple bread wreath
Mincemeat bundt cake
Mincemeat and marzipan cinnamon buns
Apple and mincemeat filo wreath
Print
Vegetarian Mincemeat
Servings 4 jars
Author Domestic Gothess
Ingredients
- 175 g currants
- 175 g raisins
- 175 g sultanas
- 175 g dried cranberries
- 100 g mixed peel
- 120 g butter cubed
- 220 g light brown soft sugar
- 50 g almonds chopped
- 1 large bramley apple peeled, cored and grated
- 1 ½ tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- 1 orange finely grated zest and juice
- 200 ml ruby port
Instructions
Sterilise 4 370g jars and lids (or 5 slightly smaller ones) by washing in hot soapy water, rinsing well then placing them in a low oven until dry.
Place all of the ingredients apart from the port into a large pan, heat gently, stirring, until the butter has melted then simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool until just warm then stir in the port. Divide the mincemeat between the sterilised jars, seal, and store in a cool place for up to six months.
Notes
Adapted from a recipe by Mary Berry.
I was sent some free products but I was not paid to write this post and all opinions are my own.
More Recipes
- Vegan Cherry Loaf Cake
- Carrot, Pineapple And Pistachio Cake (vegan)
- Vegan Carrot Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
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Comments
Thank you very excited about trying your recipe looks delicious.
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[…] have been making variations of this mincemeat recipe for many years; all I had to do to veganise it was to swap the usual butter for coconut […]
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FAQs
Still, there are some decent substitutes that will get you close. Some recipes recommend using frozen butter as a substitute for suet, but this is risky as the butter melts much faster than suet and your dish will become greasy and heavy. If you can't find suet or you just don't want to use it, try shortening instead.
What is veggie mince made of? ›
It's made from a mix of tofu, walnuts, vegetables and spices but the end result is just so good you will want to eat it with everything! It's wonderful as a sauce for pasta or rice or mashed potatoes but it's also fabulous on toast!
Why is mincemeat called mincemeat when there's no meat in it? ›
Mincemeat is a combination of chopped dried fruits, spices, sugar, nuts, distilled spirits, a fat of some type and sometimes meat. The name is a carryover from 15th century England when mincemeat did indeed have meat in the mix; in fact, the whole point of mincemeat was to preserve meat with sugar and alcohol.
How do you pimp up mincemeat? ›
Heat a pile of mincemeat in a pan with sugar, orange and lemon juice, orange peel, half a cinnamon stick and brandy, wait for it to thicken and then stir in some whipping cream.
What is the vegetarian version of suet? ›
About Vegan Suet
The suet is made of vegetable oils such as sunflower and palm oils, which are then incorporated with wheat flour or rice flour. This wonderful cooking aid will allow you to make delicious vegan and vegetarian dumplings, puddings, pastries and pies.
Can I use Trex instead of suet? ›
If you can't find suet then we have found that grated vegetable shortening (such as Trex, Crisco or Copha) is a good substitute. To grate the shortening firstly freeze a stick or block of it until firm but not solid (this usually takes about 30 minutes).
What is vegetarian mince called? ›
Quorn Mince, like the full Quorn range is powered by Quorn mycoprotein, a super-protein that makes great-tasting meat-free meals. How many calories in Quorn Mince? Quorn Mince contains 69 calories per serving (75g). It's also high in protein, high in fibre and low in saturated fat.
Which is the best vegetarian mince? ›
My top picks
- Best flavour: THIS Isn't Beef Mince.
- Best for making meatballs & burgers: Beyond Meat Mince.
- Best organic: Clearspring Soya Mince.
- Best high-protein: Meatless Farm Mince.
- Best eco packaging: Moving Mountains Mince.
- Best for nutrition: Profusion Pea & Fava Mince.
Monosodium glutamate is the quickest way to get that pure hit of meaty savoriness. It doesn't add much depth, so it's especially useful in dishes where you've developed a ton of veggie-based flavor but are still missing that little meaty something.
Why is mincemeat so expensive? ›
Mincemeat isn't difficult to make, but it has a lot of ingredients, which can make it expensive to produce in small batches, and it requires at least a day's advance planning to let the ingredients sit.
Dried fruit.
The staple of Christmas vegan mincemeat! You can use any type of dried fruit you like but I would recommend at least using some raisins or currants for a traditional flavour. I used a mix of dried cranberries, raisins and sultanas.
What do Americans call mincemeat? ›
In American English, "mincemeat" is a sweet pie filling (I think it's mince pie in BrE) which originally contained some meat but in modern times it is generally made mostly of apples and raisins. It's not very popular anymore, but you sometimes see it around Christmas time.
Why does my mincemeat taste bitter? ›
Mincemeat over time does deepen in colour but the bitter taste may be that you pressed too hard when the citrus zests were grated!
What is in a jar of ready to use mincemeat? ›
Ingredients: Water, Corn Syrup, Raisins, Dried Apples, Molasses, Corn Starch Modified, Distilled Vinegar, Dried Orange And Lemon Peel, Salt, Spices, Beef, Fruit Pectin, Natural Flavor.
How to improve a jar of mincemeat? ›
& if you're anything like my hubby, an extra splash of booze! Tip the mincemeat out into a bowl, & add all the extra ingredients you want. Stir well, allow to steep for about 15-20 minutes. You will need either another jar or a bigger jar than the original to fit it all back into!
How much butter can I substitute for suet? ›
Suet and butter are both solid-when-cold fats that add moisture and flavour to dessert items. So if you didn't want to use suet in your Christmas pudding, an equal weight of butter, initially, seemed to me like a potential substitute.
What is a substitute for suet in Christmas pudding? ›
What are the best substitutes for suet? Beef fat (from the butchers) or lard (available in supermarkets) make acceptable substitutes.
Why is suet used in mincemeat? ›
The purpose of the suet is not only to preserve the mincemeat for long-term storage. Not all of the suet rises to the top, much of it remains mixed in with the mincemeat and adds flavor, acts as a binder, and contributes an important texture element to the pies you'll be making with the mincemeat.
Can I use coconut oil instead of suet? ›
Coconut oil is a tropical oil made from the fruit of coconuts and is high in saturated fat. This “good” fat remains in a semisolid state, making it a good choice for a suet cake.
