These vegan mince pies are delicious and are made with gluten free homemade pastry. They're a decadent plant-based version of the British Christmas classic. Refined sugar-free too!
Oh how I love mince pies. They might be my favourite thing about Christmas time (along with chocolate orange tarts and vegan cheese boards!).
The ones my mum makes in England are a resounding memory of Christmas from an early age, and even now the smell of them baking can take me right back to my childhood.
For those of you that don't know, mince pies are small, sweet pies made of dried fruit and spices that we eat on their own as a snack or dessert - sweet, not savoury, as many people mistakenly think.
Traditionally, gluten free vegan mince pies don't really exist. So I decided to come up with my own recipe!
These healthy vegan mince pies are decadent but nourishing with a delicious oat and almond flour pastry, and easy homemade vegan mincemeat.
Why you'll love these vegan mince pies
The most traditional British Christmas treat. There's nothing like mince pies during the festive season - they're the ultimate treat.
A vegan take on a classic. Made with homemade mincemeat that's completely vegan and butter-free pastry, these mince pies contain no animal products.
Gluten-free pastry. Made with ground almonds and oat flour instead of a traditional wheat shortcrust pastry.
Refined sugar free. This mince pie filling contains dried fruit so there's no need for added sugar - it's sweet enough!
Check out all my vegan Christmas recipes.
Notes on some ingredients
Arrowroot powder - Arrowroot helps the dough stick together. Without it your pastry will be crumbly. Please don't skip! It can be found in health food stores. You can also use tapioca starch.
Oat flour - I recommend using oats blended into a flour as I really enjoy their hearty texture in the recipe. Please note, I haven't tested this recipe with other types of flour. Feel free to, but I can't guarantee the results.
Dried fruit - You can use a mix of whatever dried fruit you have for this recipe. I've found raisins, currents and dried apricots work best but you could also try using prunes, figs or sultanas.
Dates - You don't need fancy dates for this recipe, I would just use soft ones that will break down easily in a blender. They add a little sweetness to the pastry and help it hold together.
How to make vegan mince pies
Preheat oven to 175°C/350°F. Lightly grease two 6-cup muffin tins with coconut oil and set aside.
Place all 'mincemeat' filling ingredients into a saucepan on medium heat.
Stirring frequently, let mixture bubble gently for 25-30 minutes - turning temperature down as needed - until apple is broken down. Set aside.
To make pastry, add almonds to a blender and blend to a fine flour. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Do the same with oats and add to bowl.
Add arrowroot powder to oat/almond mix and rub coconut oil into mixture with hands until a breadcrumb-like consistency is achieved.
Blend dates in blender and add to mixing bowl. Add water and mix everything together until a dough forms. If it's crumbly add a little more water.
Spreading flour of choice on worktop, roll out pastry until it’s about ½cm thick.
Use 9cm circular cookie cutters to create 12 pastry circles. Use a small star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out an equal number of pastry stars (these will be pie tops).
Gently push circular bases into greased muffin tins.
Fill each pastry base with 2 tablespoon of filling and top with a pastry star.
Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until pastry tops are golden and cooked.
Remove and allow mince pies to rest in their tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
See how to make vegan mince pies step-by-step.
Tips
Be gentle! This pastry is gluten free so it is more fragile than regular. Treat it gently, and expect that it will be less malleable than wheat flour pastry.
Don't be tempted to add more sweetener! The filling is already very sweet, and you don't really need any extra in the pastry either.
Storage
Store uneaten mince pies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing them, as they may not stay intact.
FAQs
Traditional mince pies are a delicious sweet pie made with a dried fruit filling eaten at Christmas in the UK. It's a common misconception outside of the UK that they're savoury.
Because mince pies used to be made with meat, most often mutton. In fact, mince pies are traceable back to the 13th century. In the Victorian era the meat was ditched and the pies became smaller, and the mince pies we recognize today were born. Find out more about the history of mince pies.
Fruit mincemeat is traditionally made with beef suet, a form of fat that comes from animal sources. Many mince pies these days are made with vegetable suet, but I've avoided it entirely in this recipe and used coconut oil instead, which is much more accessible.
In North America, mince pies are commonly referred to as mince tarts.
More vegan Christmas desserts & appetizers
Vegan Mince Pies (Gluten Free)
Special Equipment
- High speed blender
Ingredients
'Mincemeat' filling
- 1 cup orange juice
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup currents or sultanas
- 3 small apples, cored and cut into 1cm wide cubes
- ½ cup dried apricots (chopped into rough 1cm pieces)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
Pastry
- 1 cup almonds
- 2 cup oats (gluten free if needed)
- 2 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- ¼ cup coconut oil or vegan butter at room temperature
- 13 small dates
- 4 tablespoon cold water
- Flour of choice (for rolling out pastry)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175°C/350°F. Lightly grease two 6-cup muffin tins with coconut oil and set aside.
- Place all 'mincemeat' filling ingredients into a saucepan on medium heat.
- Stirring frequently, let mixture bubble gently for 25-30 minutes - turning temperature down as needed - until apple is broken down. Set aside.
- To make pastry, add almonds to a blender and blend to a fine flour. Pour into a large bowl.
- Do the same with oats and add to bowl.
- Add arrowroot powder to oat/almond mix and rub coconut oil into mixture with hands until a breadcrumb-like consistency is achieved.
- Blend dates in blender and add to mixing bowl. Add cold water and mix everything together until a dough forms. If it's crumbly add a little more water.
- Spreading flour of choice on rolling surface, roll out pastry with a rolling pin until it’s about ½cm thick.
- Use a 9cm round cookie cutter to create 12 pastry circles. Use a small star cutter to cut out an equal number of pastry stars from remaining pastry (these will be pie tops).
- Gently push circular bases into greased muffin tin.
- Fill each pastry base with 2 tablespoon of filling and add a pastry star to the top of each pie.
- Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until pastry tops are golden and cooked.
- Remove and allow mince pies to rest in their tins for 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire cooling rack and leave to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutritional information per serving
If you’ve tried these vegan Christmas mince pies, please leave a comment or tip for others below. I'd love to know how you’ve made them your own!
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