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Three individual sized pavlova topped with berries and garnish sit on a green plate.

Opinion Vegan Christmas dessert recipes to satisfy every sweet tooth

Kitchen Tips

Author: Jacqueline Published: November 29, 2023

Decadent plant-based recipes for gingerbread, Christmas puddings, cookies, mince pies, fruit cakes, cheesecake, chocolate truffles, peppermints, meringues & more!

Looking for an indulgent vegan dessert recipe that’s guaranteed to impress your friends and family this festive season? 

We’ve rounded up all of our absolute favourite, tried-and-true recipes – including some plant-based versions of traditional Christmas recipes, as well as some deliciously creative twists on the classics.

Set the table for sweetness and cheer with these festive vegan desserts:

Gingerbread, Shortbread & Christmas Cookies

Dutch Spiced Gingerbread Log 

A rectangular tray with slices of Dutch spiced gingerbread log, revealing a creamy hazelnut filling in the centre. It is decorated with whole hazelnuts and a bowl or whole hazelnuts also sits to the side.

This delightfully spiced gingerbread log is inspired by a classic Dutch treat called gevulde speculaas. A delicious mouthful in more ways than one!

Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies 

A close up image of dusted cookies piled up in a tower.

Rich, fudgy, and infused with Christmassy notes of peppermint, these snow-dusted crinkle cookies are ideal treats for the festive season. 

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies 

An overhead image of smiling gingerbread men stacked in the shape of a Christmas tree.

These festive gingerbread cookies are perfectly crisp on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. If you plan on adding some decorative details, try this vegan-friendly cookie icing.

Vegan Shortbread

An image from above of a stack of dusted shortbread cookies.

It’s super easy to make melt-in-your mouth plant-based shortbread. Just swap out the dairy for readily available plant-based butter instead!

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

A shot from above of chop chip shortbread cookies on a plate next to a pot of coffee.

We didn’t think it was possible to improve on a classic shortbread … until we tried choc chip shortbread and our eyes were opened. It’s a match made in heaven! 

Traditional Puddings

The Ultimate Vegan Christmas Pudding 

A side image of a Christmas pudding topped with fruit with holly in the background.

Making a fruity, boozy Christmas pudding from scratch might sound a bit daunting, but the hands-on time is actually pretty minimal… and the payoff in bragging rights is huge 😉

Sticky Toffee Pudding

An individual sticky toffee pudding with a side of vanilla ice cream.

Another take on a beloved English classic – this one adds an extra festive layer of richness by soaking the dates in coffee as opposed to water. Game-changer!

Sticky Date Pudding 

A slab of sticky date pudding on a serving board with two slices on plates in the foreground, topped with caramel sauce and ice cream.

A classic for a reason! This delectable sticky date pudding is best enjoyed fresh out of the oven, so toasty warm that it melts your scoop of dairy-free ice cream within minutes. 

Decadent Tarts & Pies

Vegan Mince Pies 

A close up image of fruit mince pies with pastry star decorations on top. A Christmas lantern is in the background with a lit tealight.

There’s nothing quite like the warmly spiced, fruity scent of mince pies to fill your house with Christmas cheer, and this vegan-friendly take hits all the right notes. 

Dark Chocolate Tart with Spiced Figs 

A close up from above of a full chocolate tart topped with spiced figs and dried rose petals.

 

This dark chocolate tart is so rich and decadent, no one would ever suspect it’s dairy-free! If you’re not a fan of figs, you can swap them out for raspberries instead.

Vegan Banoffee Cream Pie

An overhead image of a cream-topped pie decorated with chocolate shavings and banana rounds with a slice on a plate to the right.

Picture a crunchy almond, pecan, and cacao crust, topped with gooey salted caramel, sliced banana, and a mountain of billowy, whipped coconut cream.

Fruit Cakes & Cheesecake

Vegan Christmas Cake

An image from overhead of a fruit cake with some slices cut. One slice is lying on the side to show a fruit-packed cake.

This fruitcake is delicious fresh, but it can also be made up to 6 weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container. You just need to ‘feed’ it with a drizzle of rum or brandy every week or two!

Vegan Biscoff Cheesecake 

An overhead image of an iced Biscoff cheesecake. A slice is being pulled out on cake server with a hand in shot.

As if cheesecake needed to get any better – try pairing it with a biscoff-infused filling, biscoff spread on top, and of course crumbled cookies to decorate!

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Rich Ganache 

An overhead image of a rich chocolate cake covered in ganache on a cooling rack. A slice has been cut.

Treat yourself to some festive decadence with this rich chocolate fudge cake – thickly frosted with the most delectable chocolate ganache.

German Fruit Cake with Custard

An overhead image of a tart topped with brightly coloured fruit.

Fruit cake, not fruitcake! This refreshing German classic features soft vegan sponge cake, dairy-free custard, and fruit toppings as bright and sunny as a springtime meadow.

Lemon & Apple Olive Oil Cake 

A close-up image of a slice of teacake on a plate drizzled with cream.

If you’re looking for a light, fluffy fruit teacake, you can’t go past this delightful recipe – lemon and apple pair so beautifully together. 

Raw Blueberry Macadamia Cheesecake

An image of a bright purple cheesecake topped with colourful fruit.

From the nutty coconut base to the creamy layers of blended macadamia and berry filling, every inch of this blueberry cheesecake is divine – a perfect summer-Christmas treat. 

Lamington Loaf 

A shot of a table with a serving board of squares of jam-filled lamingtons, with two mugs of tea and a teapot in the background.

Easy to make and super nostalgic. It should be illegal to celebrate any occasion in Australia without at least one lamington-themed dessert! 

Toffee, Truffles & Peppermint Chocolate

Coconut Cherry Truffles 

A close up image of a chocolate covered truffle on a plate with a teaspoon covered in melted chocolate sitting beside it.

The ideal balance of fresh, fruity, and indulgent, these chocolate-dipped cherry truffles are just what the festive season ordered.

Christmas Peppermint Slice 

An overhead shot of a slab of peppermint fudge slice with four squares cut with a knife lying to the side.

Just a warning – this Christmas peppermint slice recipe is utterly addictive. We highly recommend making a double batch, or it’ll disappear as quickly as a snowflake in the sun!

Vegan Toffee 

A close up of creamy toffee topped with chocolate and crushed nuts.

Packed with roasted nuts and topped with vegan chocolate, every bit of this multi-layered vegan toffee brittle tastes like the cosiness of Christmas.

Spiced Chocolate Christmas Truffles

Image of chocolate truffles on a plate. Half are dusted with cocoa, the other half with coconut.

A more traditional, deep-flavoured truffle recipe – it doesn’t get more chocolatey than this! The warming spices add a slight hint of gingerbread flavour.

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark

A full slab of peppermint bark, with some pieces broken off. The white chocolate side faces up with crushed candy cane topping.

This dreamy dark chocolate peppermint bark – with a layer of white chocolate, and a crunchy topping of crushed candy canes – is 100% vegan, gluten-free, and delicious. 

Assorted Sweet Treats

Mini Pavlova Cups

Three individual sized pavlova topped with berries and garnish sit on a green plate.

You can make these cute little egg-free pavlova cups with a magical ingredient called aquafaba. It’s the liquid hiding in your cans of beans, and it whips up just like egg white!

Mango Passion Fruit Eton Mess

A clear glass filled with eton mess sits on a plate. It's topped with passionfruit, mango, and almonds.

Another nifty recipe that uses aquafaba – but this time we’re crumbling those meringues up and sprinkling them between layers of yoghurt, mango, and passionfruit. 

Kombucha Berry Trifle 

An individual serving of trifle in a clear glass on an outdoor table.

These pretty trifle cups are ridiculously quick to make. Just 5 minutes of prep, 15 mins to let the flavours infuse, and you’re ready to assemble your lovely, layered dessert.

Spicy Chilli Maple Nuts 

An overhead shot of roasted nuts on a baking tray lined with paper. A spoon of chilli powder sits to the side.

If you like your sweets with a bit of a kick, these nuts are a spectacular blend of the two. Plus, many of the spices are the same you’d find in gingerbread, which really adds that festive flair! 

Need more recipe ideas for your Christmas menu? 

VegKit’s here to help with all the holiday meal inspiration you could ever need – from ‘meaty’ vegan main courses to side dishes, platter ideas, plant-based cheeses, pasta dishes, ‘seafood’ alternatives, and even festive drinks.

You can buy festive vegan food in stores, too!

There are heaps of plant-based products available in major supermarkets and online these days (including pre-made desserts!) that are perfect if you’ve already got a lot of dishes on the go and are keen to cut down on some food prep. 

Check out our full list of vegan Christmas products for recommendations and stockists.

Happy cooking, friends, and here’s to a food-filled festive season!

Meet Jacqueline!

Jacqui likes to spend her spare time with her two cats, eating sweet treats and listening to 90s British pop. She enjoys making plant-based goodies inspired by her love of all things David Lynch, and if she’s cooking dinner, you better believe there is gonna be spice!

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