Making your own mince pies can be much easier than you might think - the pastry takes just a few minutes to make and this mincemeat recipe requires no pre-cooking. Plus, they taste infinitely better than the shop bought ones: the pastry is biscuity and crisp, not like the soft manufactured mince pies. And this mincemeat recipe doesn't use alcohol but includes cranberries and lemon, so they taste sweet and tangy without the boozy aftertaste, which I find can get a bit sickly by the time you get to January!
These are much healthier too - there’s no suet or palm oil in the mincemeat and ground flaxseed (available at most supermarkets) is used instead, which is high in omega-3, fibre, magnesium, calcium, and iron! Plus a little vegan spread is used in place of butter to make the pastry, so it’s much lower in saturated fat than shop bought mince pies.
Easy Vegan Mince Pie Recipe
Ingredients (makes 12 mince pies):
175g plain flour, plus 1 Tbsp for dusting
90g vegan butter spread
2 Tbsp caster sugar
Cold water
For the Mincemeat:
1 lemon
2 small clementines or 1 medium-sized orange
75g dried apricots
50g dried cranberries
100g raisins
100g light muscovado sugar
1 apple
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
Method:
Start by making the mincemeat (this recipe makes enough for 24 pies, as leftover mincemeat can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three weeks). Zest the lemon and roughly chop all of the dried fruit (depending how chunky you like your mincemeat) and chuck into a large mixing bowl. Wash, core, and grate the apple, then add to the bowl along with the juice of the lemon and clementines. Then stir through the sugar, spices, and ground flaxseed.
For the pies, preheat the oven to 180C (360F). Place the flour and vegan butter in a bowl and rub gently with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs, then mix through the sugar. Add just 2 tsp of cold water and start to bring the pastry together with your hands to form a ball. Lightly flour a clean surface and roll the pastry out, then cut discs using an upturned glass that is a little bigger than the muffin tray hollows. Carefully lift the discs into the muffin tray and push down with your fingers. Bake the pastry cases in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Then dollop 1 small Tbsp of mincemeat into each pastry case. You can now pop a pastry lid onto your mince pies, or cut shapes, or even leave them open - then return to the oven for about 12 minutes until the mincemeat is bubbling and the pastry lid is golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving (best enjoyed when still warm).
Nutrition:
Protein: 2.0g (Women: 4.0% / Men: 3.6%)
Iron: 1.0mg (Women: 6.8% / Men: 8.8%)
Calories: 150 (Women: 7.5% / Men: 6.0%)
Sugar: 12.6g (Women: 14.0% / Men: 10.5%)
Total Fats: 4.9g (Women: 7.0% / Men: 5.2%)
Saturated Fat: 0.9g (Women: 4.5% / Men: 3.0%)
Salt: 0.1g (Women: 1.7% / Men: 1.7%)
Fibre: 1.4g (Women: 4.7% / Men: 4.7%)
See the Nutrition Info page for more details on % of Dietary Reference Values for men and women.
