{"id":3138,"date":"2020-11-30T13:23:33","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T13:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/?post_type=food&p=3138"},"modified":"2020-12-02T19:03:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T19:03:32","slug":"vegan-mince-pies","status":"publish","type":"food","link":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/food-drink\/vegan-mince-pies\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Mince Pies"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mince pies are an essential part of Christmas for many people in the UK and further afield. These sweet pastry treats can differ in flavour and style, but almost all of them go well with a nice mug of mulled wine. When you\u2019re planning your vegan Christmas<\/a>, mince pies might not be at the top of your list. But they will certainly be on your list somewhere, perhaps between a good vegan alternative to Baileys<\/a> and ensuring you have a fine stock of vegan crisps<\/a>.<\/p>\n The problem with mince pies, from a vegan perspective, is that not all of them are suitable for those following a plant-based diet. It is slightly surprising how many children made it to adulthood thinking that they contained mincemeat (or was that just us?!) and whilst you don\u2019t need to worry about that, there are several reasons why these festive treats might not be vegan.<\/p>\n That said, thankfully, there are lots of 100% vegan mince pies to choose from. In this article, we\u2019ll first explain what might stop mince pies being vegan before giving details of the main vegan-friendly options available to buy this Christmas. We\u2019ll also explain how to make your own vegan mince pies, in case the fancy takes you.<\/p>\n Despite the name, mince pies don\u2019t actually contain minced meat, as in animal flesh (though they did originally back in the Middle Ages, so perhaps we don\u2019t need to feel so silly about only discovering this when we were 22!). The mincemeat contained within mince pies these days is a blend of fruits and spices, often with a bit of brandy or some other alcoholic beverage drizzled in to give it all a bit of a kick.<\/p>\n The mincemeat itself it encased within pastry (usually shortcrust, though puff pastry can be used). And it is often the pastry<\/a> that causes the problems from a vegan perspective. You may have seen \u201call butter mince pies\u201d in supermarkets, and it should come as no surprise that these will contain butter, which is invariably made from dairy milk (unless vegan butter<\/a> has been used of course). Other milk-derived products \u2013 including milk or powdered milk itself \u2013 find their way into various off-the-shelf mince pies. In addition, eggs are sometimes used as a glaze for the pies.<\/p>\n The good thing about the inclusion of eggs, milk or milk-derived ingredients is that they have to be listed in bold type in ingredients on packages in the UK (for allergy reasons) so they are easy to spot. But to save you trawling through the ingredients of every packet of mince pies in every supermarket around, we\u2019ve done the hard work for you.<\/p>\n It is possible that other things could be added to mince pies, such as non-vegan E numbers<\/a>, including preservatives, emulsifiers, colourings or flavourings. But these often become a moot point given that such mince pies often contain milk-based ingredients anyway and those that are marked as vegan will only contain vegan-friendly ingredients. Suet \u2013 a type of animal fat \u2013 was once a common ingredient in mince pies, but this is increasingly rare these days. If suet is amongst the list of ingredients, though, the pies will not be suitable for vegans.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The good news for vegans is that almost all supermarkets now offer at least some vegan mince pies. And there are plenty of more specialist and independent food shops and companies who make and\/or sell vegan-friendly options. It is also quite easy to make you own vegan mince pies (more of which later).<\/p>\n Here we\u2019ll run through the various vegan-friendly mince pie options available in the UK. Note that some \u2013 indeed almost all \u2013 mince pies that are marked or sold as vegan contain that ever-contentious ingredient of palm oil<\/a>. It is technically vegan (as it comes from a plant) but some vegans choose to avoid it for environmental reasons. The choice is yours on that front, but we\u2019ll note if palm oil is present in any of the mince pies we list, and whether that palm oil is listed as coming from a sustainable source.<\/p>\n First, we\u2019ll outline the various vegan mince pie options that are available at the main supermarkets and some other food retailers. Then we\u2019ll go into a bit more detail about each of the options.<\/p>\nWhat Stops Mince Pies Being Vegan?<\/h2>\n
Where to Buy Vegan Mince Pies<\/h2>\n