Long gone are the Chritmasses of the past where vegan and vegetarian guests would be stuck with a pile of carrots and a questionable nut roast alongside snide comments from random meat-loving uncles! Vegan food has exploded over the past few years and now you can get everything you’ve been craving in a form that contains absolutely zero animal products. Vegans of the land rejoice! And even, if you’re not vegan, these nine meals, sides and desserts are so delicious, you’ll want to dive straight in too.

The main event

Say hello to the Shiitake-stuffed seitan plait - a.k.a a vegan take on the classic Christmas dish that is a beef or salmon Wellington. Vegan pastry, delicious exotic mushrooms and seitan - a vegan’s secret weapon to create everything that resembles meat. This is the basis of vegan bacon and lots of vegan burgers and takes on flavour so well. Plus mushrooms are awesome flavour-keepers so this dish will be packed with taste!

Now we have two dishes from King Vegan himself, Gaz Oakley. The Welsh YouTube sensation is releasing a Christmas cookbook and these are two of the delights that it includes.

Vegan ribs will be a crowd-splitter. Either you’re a vegan that did once eat meat and could potentially miss this kind of meal. Or, you’re a vegan that has never eaten meat or you’re really not keen on the idea of it, for obvious reasons. If you’re into the vegan alternatives for meat, this is the perfect recipe for you because it gives you all those smoky rib-shack vibes with an incredible sticky sauce. A proper indulgent treat night for the festive season! Get everyone round, whip up some vegan coleslaw, corn on the cob and fries and dig right in.

Now, I’m not vegan but I do enjoy vegetarian choices over meat a lot of the time and this stuffed squash looks absolutely incredible. To be fair, if anything has cranberry sauce on it, I don’t know about you but I’m down! Squash and pumpkin have such awesome autumn and winter flavours too and work perfectly with sage and onion stuffing.

The sides and starters

I’m just about to introduce you to possibly the cutest side you’ve ever laid eyes on. The mini hasselback potato is just so sweet and downright delicious too. They’re tossed in salt and pepper before drizzled in olive oil and herbs and roasted before being served with coriander and avocado sauce and vegan parmesan. Hello, perfection!

Another perfect potato-based side is this show stopper tempeh potato roulade. Pair with stuffed mushrooms and some delicious greens and you’ve got a bangin’ festive meal. This could even be your main event if you’re the potato’s biggest fan!

The desserts

Sweet treats and indulgent snacks are something that vegans already do so well. They’re famed for their doughnuts and even Oreos are vegan so we’re not short of a sugar hit for this section. Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without the mince pie and these ones are actually also gluten free which widens the dietary requirements net even further! They don’t look a jot away from your standard mince pie - quote me if I’m wrong but I believe that ‘mince meat’ that’s usually used in mince pies is actually vegan anyway as it’s just dried fruit and spices so it would just be adjusting the butter in pastry to create your very own vegan mince pies. Easy!

Next up, the alternative Christmas pudding. No brandy butter here, my friends. To me, this looks even more delicious than your standard Christmas pudding! Anything with chocolate on though to be fair...

You know that time on Christmas Day when you’re full right up to the top but someone declares they’re getting a snack? Yes! The perfect time when your stomach produces a little extra space for something delicious. What you need are these incredible caramel pretzel cups. Sticky medjool dates and peanut butter are the basis of these awesome bitesize snacks - two things that are naturally vegan and are as sweet as you can get!

Wash everything down with a delicious salted caramel vegan hot chocolate, this rich, creamy caramel hot chocolate drink, topped with vegan cream, salted caramel sauce, brownie crumbles, brownie star and a dash of salt is the ultimate drink to finish the night!

There we have it, 9 awesome dishes and treats to create the most decadent Christmas feast - enjoy! Let me know your favourite one on Twitter!