Waitrose unveils its vegan Christmas range for 2023 with meat-free mains and party food

Christmas in August? It is thanks to Waitrose as the supermarket unveils its irresistible vegan Christmas range for 2023!

According to the retailer, searches for ‘plant based’ are on Waitrose.com up 115% compared to the same time last year. So, in celebration, the supermarket has pledged to “make this our biggest vegan Christmas ever with options for every dish. Meaning you can create a whole plant-based menu bursting with flavour, with no compromises.”

If you’re dreaming of a meat-free Christmas, then it’s about to come true as the meat-free mains are so yummy, they might even tempt someone else at your dinner table to give meat a miss!

“We know our customers spread their festive celebrations across a number of weeks – it’s no longer just about the big Christmas Day lunch,” says Waitrose executive chef Martyn Lee. “Our team has worked hard to develop showstopper mains that tick all the boxes for every occasion.”

Highlights in Waitrose’s vegan christmas range for 2023 include a richly savoury Ultimate Triple Nut Roast made with sweet potato, lentils and chickpeas, and hand-finished with whole almonds, Brazil nuts and a glistening spiced clementine and apricot chutney glaze.

Additionally, the Fruity Stuffing Christmas Trees will add a touch of whimsy to your festive spread this Christmas.

Waitrose vegan Christmas range 2022 round-up:

• No Chorizo Pigs in Duvets
• No Pigs in Blankets
• Festive Cocktail sausage selection
• Ultimate Triple Nut Roast
• Ultimate Plant-Based Festive Wellington
• Fruity Stuffing Christmas Trees
• Vegan Bubble & Squeak Sandwich

Vegan Party Food

No Chorizo Pigs in Duvets

Price: £4 | Serves: 3 | 500g

Turn up the heat with this spicy little number – No Chorizo Pigs in Duvets!

These smoky vegan sausage swirls are made with mushrooms, and flavoured with roasted red peppers, garlic and chilli for a fiery kick before being lovingly wrapped in a swirl of puff pastry. 

No Pigs in Blankets

Price: £3.50  | Serves: 3 | 235g

This Christmas, Waitrose is offering everyone’s favourite festive party in vegan form with its No Pigs in Blankets.

Wrapped in vegan bacon, they’re a deliciously meaty vegan twist on the traditional trimming.

Festive Cocktail sausage selection

Price: £3.50 | Serves: 3 | 240g

Another meaty nibble on offer at the supermarket this winter is the festive cocktail selection which features different flavours of mini meat-free sausages such as juicy cranberries and Bramley apple sauce.

Vegan Christmas Mains

Waitrose’s festive mains will be available in stores from 20th December.

Ultimate Triple Nut Roast 

Price: £7  | Serves: 3 | 500g

For the ultimate vegan festive centrepiece, look no further than the spectacular No.1 Ultimate Triple Nut Roast which combines flavour, texture, contrast and crunch to create a feast for the eyes and the senses.

This nutty main is bursting with wholesome vegetables, pulses, chopped walnuts, citrus zest and just a touch of miso for that deep umami flavour. It’s then hand-finished with almonds and Brazil nuts, and glazed with a spiced clementine and apricot chutney.

According to Waitrose’s Vegan Product Developer, Simona Cohen-Vida-Welsh, the new Ultimate Triple Nut Roast is the perfect example of the “wonderful flavours and textures” in plant-based foods.

Speaking about the roast, she said: “You discover something new in every mouthful – sweetness from the sweet potato, wholesome lentils and chickpeas, the chutney inside which delivers a fruity flavour bomb, and then there’s an earthy crunch from the whole almond and Brazil nuts. It’s truly a feast for the eyes and stomach that everybody will love.”

Ultimate Plant-Based Festive Wellington

Price: £7  | Serves: 2 | 400g

For those looking for a meat-free version of the classic Wellington, Waitrose’s new Ultimate Plant-Based Festive Wellington is a satisfying main that everyone at the table will enjoy.

Hand-finished with a pastry holly decoration, the plant-based Wellington is packed full of flavour – balancing moreish mushroom duxelle with ‘no beef’ plant-based beef braised in a fragrant shallot, garlic and thyme vegetable stock.

Vegan Sides

Fruity Stuffing Christmas Trees

Price: £3.50 | Serves: 3 | 233g

Bring some festive cheer to your dinner table this Christmas with these delightful tree-shaped stuffing bites.

Packed with plump apricot and crowned with a cranberry, these stuffing bites can be served with your traditional roast, or offer up as part of a festive buffet.

Vegan Christmas sandwiches

Available from 25th October.

Vegan Bubble & Squeak Sandwich

£3.50

Craving a Christmas dinner on the go? Waitrose has got your sorted with its new Vegan Bubble & Squeak Sandwich.

Packed with the best flavours of a vegan roast, they’re filled with crumbled bubble and squeak, roasted butternut squash, Christmas-spiced pickled red cabbage, chilli jam, vegan mayonnaise, crispy fried onions and spinach, all in malted bread.

So far, the retailer has not revealed whether any of the vegan options such as the No Pigs in Blankets from last year’s range will be joining the festive lineup this year.

However, in previous years Waitrose has offered up a wide range of options for vegans from party food nibbles to decadent desserts for the holiday season.

We’re hoping the Iced Fruit Cake with sweet vegan royal icing will be making a return in 2023 alongside the mince pies.

Can’t wait until Christmas? Countdown to the big day with our pick of the best vegan advent calendars.