A vegan version of the traditional mince pie, made with homemade mincemeat packed full of fruit, spice and the essence of Christmas!
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You know Christmas is round the corner when the mince pies come out! It seems strange that we love them so much but wouldn’t dream of eating this popular Christmas treat at any other time of the year!
The credit for this recipe belongs to my mother in law, like the egg & dairy free cupcakes she spent ages developing and testing, she has kindly done the same with these vegan mince pies and even made her own homemade mincemeat, jam packed with spiced fruit. (Vegan too of course!).
Being vegan they are dairy & egg free and as the mincemeat doesn’t contain suet, they can easily be adapted to be gluten free too simply by swapping to gluten free pastry.
Making your own pastry & mincemeat from scratch is easier than you may think and nothing tastes as good as homemade! These mince pies are so delicious you will want to make more so I suggest doubling up on the recipe amount.
Why not place them in a beautiful box with a bow and gift some to a vegan friend as a thoughtful Xmas present?
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What is Mincemeat?
According to Wikipedia, their definition is that it’s a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices and often beef suet. Long ago, mincemeat actually included meat too, normally beef or venison and mince pies were known as mutton or Xmas pies.
By the mid 20th century most mincemeat recipes didn’t contain meat anymore and the beef suet was usually replaced with vegetable shortening, although this recipe doesn’t use suet at all!
🥘 Ingredients & Substitutions
For the Pastry
- Self Raising Flour - Swap this for gluten free flour if you need the recipe to be gluten free.
- Dairy Free Butter - Be sure to use a butter block and not a spreadable butter. I have used Flora Plant Butter for this recipe. (the unsalted version).
- Icing Sugar - Also known as powdered sugar.
For the Mincemeat
- Dried Fruit - You can mix this up and use what you like! I have used dried apricots, raisins, dates and glacé cherries, but you can also use currants, candied citrus peel, cranberries or figs.
- Spices - I have used cinnamon and ground ginger which scream Christmas to me. All spice and nutmeg can also be used.
- Apple - This is grated and adds moisture and flavour to the mincemeat.
- Alcohol - This is optional but I feel this really intensifies and lifts the taste of the mincemeat. I have used whiskey but brandy or rum will also work.
- Caster Sugar - Used to sprinkle on top of the mince pies before cooking.
Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for quantities.
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
✏️ How to Make Vegan Mince Pies With Homemade Mincemeat
If you are not making your own pastry you can skip the pastry step, but this sweet shortcrust pastry is so quick and easy to do and it tastes so much nicer!
To Make The Pastry
Start by sieving the flour and icing sugar together into a large mixing bowl.
Then chop the butter into small squares or “cubes” and rub the fat into the flour mixture with your hands until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Next you need to bring the mixture together. You will need to add some water to do this, probably about 3 tbsps but start off by adding one and then more if necessary.
Using your hands, bring the mixture together into a ball shape.
Wrap in clingfilm and let it chill in the fridge for half an hour.
To Make the Mincemeat
Chop all the dried fruit into small chunks, but big enough that there will still be some texture to the mincemeat. Grate the apple including the skin.
Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan with the water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the mixture is all combined and softened.
Leave to cool completely before adding to the mince pies.
To Assemble
Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface to around 3 mm thick.
You will need two sizes of cutters for the pies. Use the largest cutter (around 10 cm) for the bottom of the pie and the smaller one (around 7 cm) for the lid of the pie. Scroll to the equipment section further down to see which cutters I used.
Cut out 6 circles with the larger cutter and 6 circles with the smaller one. You may need to re-roll the pastry half way through.
Put the larger circles into a shallow muffin or mince pie tin and spoon in the cold mincemeat mixture.
Brush around the edge of each pie with some water and stick the smaller pastry circle on top as a lid.
Use a fork to make 4 holes in the lid of each pie to allow the steam to escape.
Sprinkle the tops of the pies with caster sugar and bake until golden.
💡 Tips & Tricks
- If you can, make the mincemeat a couple of days before making the pies to really allow the flavours time to infuse. The mixture will keep in a sterilised jar for a few months.
- Don’t use a spreadable dairy free butter, use the butter in a block. The spreadable versions normally have oil added to them to help them spread more easily and this can alter the texture of the pastry and it may not work as well.
⚡ Variations
- Pastry Shapes - I have gone for the traditional look but why not use these cute star cookie cutters for the lids for an extra festive version.
- Pastry Flavour - Add some grated orange zest and add to the pastry for a surprising zing!
🔪 Equipment
This Mince Pie Tray is perfect or you can use a shallow muffin tray.
Use a Pastry Brush to wet the pastry cases with water so the lid sticks to it.
You will need two sizes of cookie cutters so this pack is great.
Use this to sieve the flour and icing sugar.
This Rolling Pin is fab as it has adjustable thickness rings.
🥡 How To Store
If you are not eating the mince pies warm from the oven, pop them in an airtight container and leave on the kitchen side. They will keep like this for around a week.
To Re-heat
From fresh, either microwave for 15-20 seconds until hot or put in a pre-heated oven at 180˚C for 5-10 minutes until warmed through.
From frozen, cook for 15-20 minutes at 180˚C.
Freezing
You can either freeze the pies before baking or after. To freeze before baking, freeze them in the baking tray and then bake from frozen in the tray, just add 5 minutes to the cooking time.
To freeze after baking, first of all freeze the pies flat on a baking tray for an hour. This stops them sticking together, then pop in a freezer safe bag or container. You can freeze them for up to 3 months like this.
💬 Recipe FAQ
These pies are gorgeous on their own, fresh from the oven and served with a mulled wine! You can also pair them with custard or ice cream for a festive dessert.
Traditionally the pastry would contain egg and dairy and the mincemeat may even contain beef suet, so most mince pies including the standard ones you buy in the shops aren’t vegan. This recipe contains no animal products or derivatives so is fully vegan.
Love this recipe? It would be great if you could leave a 5 ⭐ rating and comment below! Thanks x
Vegan Mince Pies With Homemade Mincemeat
Ingredients
Mincemeat
- 100 g Dried apricots chopped
- 100 g Raisins
- 100 g Dates chopped
- 40 g Glacé cherries chopped
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 medium Apple grated
- 250 ml Water
- 1 tablespoon whiskey can be substituted for rum or brandy
Pastry
- 285 g Self raising flour can be substituted for gluten free flour
- 145 g Flora plant butter or any dairy free butter block
- 30 g Icing sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 230˚C / 210˚ Fan.
To Make The Pastry
- Sieve the flour and icing sugar together into a large mixing bowl.
- Chop the butter into small squares or “cubes” and rub the fat into the flour mixture with your hands until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Using your hands, bring the mixture together into a ball shape. You will need to add some water to do this, probably about 3 tbsps but start off by adding one and then more if necessary.
- Wrap in clingfilm and let it chill in the fridge for half an hour.
To Make the Mincemeat
- Chop all the dried fruit into small chunks, but big enough that there will still be some texture to the mincemeat. Grate the apple including the skin.
- Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan with the water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the mixture is all combined and softened.
- Leave to cool completely before adding to the mince pies.
To Assemble
- Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface to around 3 mm thick.
- You will need two sizes of cutters for the pies.
- Cut out 6 circles with the larger cutter and 6 circles with the smaller one. You may need to re-roll the pastry half way through.
- Put the larger circles into a shallow muffin or mince pie tin and spoon in the cold mincemeat mixture.
- Brush around the edge of each pie with some water and stick the smaller pastry circle on top as a lid.
- Use a fork to make holes in the lid of each pie to allow the steam to escape.
- Sprinkle the tops of the pies with caster sugar and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden.
Notes
- If you can, make the mincemeat a couple of days before making the pies to really allow the flavours time to infuse. The mixture will keep in a sterilised jar for a few months.
- Don’t use a spreadable dairy free butter, use the butter in a block. The spreadable versions normally have oil added to them to help them spread more easily and this can alter the texture of the pastry and it may not work as well.
Nutrition
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