I love mince pies at Christmas but it can be hard to find vegan ones in the shops. Vegan Mincemeat Slices are a quick and easy bake giving you all the taste of mince pies without the work of making individual pies. It’s a very simple recipe with only a few shop bought ingredients.
A couple of rolls of puff pastry and a jar of mincemeat, could it be any simpler?
Of course you can make your own mincemeat and puff pastry but honestly I find you can buy a jar of ready made mincemeat cheaper then you can buy the ingredients to make it. A lot of shop bought ones are vegan friendly as they use vegetable suet. Do make sure that you check the label though, as mincemeat is traditionally made with beef suet and some varieties use butter.
If you do want to make the mincemeat, place some currants, raisins, sultanas, dried cranberries, candied mixed peel, margarine, brown sugar, almonds, grated bramley apple, spices and orange zest and juice into a large pan.
Heat gently, stirring, until the margarine 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 some alcohol of your choice (rum, brandy or port is best).
Put it into sterilised jars, seal and store for up to six months.
I have never made my own puff pastry as it is a lot of work for something I can buy. Again check that it is vegan friendly and not a butter pastry. I have noticed top chefs on television using ready made instead of making their own, it’s just so convenient! Jamie Oliver once said if you have time to make your own puff pastry then you need to get a hobby!
There is so much to be done at this time of year that it’s great to have a quick easy recipe which you can have ready in thirty minutes. Vegan Mincemeat Slices look beautiful and very festive with it’s pretty topping of stars.
Prepare the puff pastry sheet according to packet instructions – usually leaving at room temperature for 10 mins before using. Place the puff pastry sheet onto a lined baking sheet and score a 2cm border without cutting through. Brush the border with vegan milk. Spread the mincemeat over the pastry up to the border. Using star cookie cutters cut out stars from the other sheet of pastry. Place them over the mincemeat and brush with the vegan milk. Sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake until golden brown and let cool. As a finishing touch sprinkle with icing sugar for a final flourish of snow dusted gorgeousness.
Cut into slices and serve on their own or with vegan cream flavoured with a dash of festive booze. Don’t forget to serve a glass for yourself. After all the festive baking, you deserve a treat!
Did you make this recipe? Take a pic and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #aveggiecooks__ and tag @aveggiecooks__. I would love to see it!
Vegan Mincemeat Slices
Ingredients
- 1 411g/14 oz Jar Mincemeat
- 2 375g/13oz packs Rolled Sheets of Puff Pastry
- 2 Tablespoons Vegan Milk
- 1 Tablespoon White Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Icing Sugar
Instructions
- Turn on oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6
- Line a large baking tray with baking parchment
- Unroll one of the rolls of puff pastry and place on the tray
- Spread the jar of mincemeat over the pastry leaving a 2cm gap around the edges.
- Unroll the other pastry roll and using different size cutters cut out snowflakes
- Place the snowflakes randomly over the mincemeat
- Brush the stars and the border you left around the bottom sheet with the milk
- Sprinkle with the sugar and bake until golden brown
- Let cool and dust with icing sugar. Cut into slices
Other Christmas Vegan Recipes to try:
