Want to add more plant-based foods into your holidays but not sure where to start? Or maybe you want some new recipes to add to your yearly traditions? The staff of the Vancouver Humane Society share our favourite plant-based winter and holiday recipes for those chilly days and festive feasts. We hope you enjoy, and from our team to yours, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Classic tomato soup:

Chantelle: After scouring the internet for the best tomato soup recipes, I finally made my own version that is bursting with flavour and totally vegan-friendly! I love putting this recipe together on a weeknight and then using the leftovers to have with plant-based grilled cheeses for a couple days. For the grilled cheese, I prefer either Daiya cheddar flavour slices or Chao tomato cayenne. It’s the perfect recipe to warm me up on those cold winter nights.

Sugar cookies:

Emily: Sugar cookies are a staple of the holiday season for me. This sweet little treat is a real crowd pleaser!

Anamalai hot chocolate:

Ishtmeet: The holidays look different for my family every year, with us sometimes being on opposite sides of the world. One thing that has remained constant throughout the years is our Home Alone movie marathon (only the first two because we all know those are the best ones) accompanied by hot chocolate. What began as a simple premade mix when I was younger has evolved into a pursuit for making the most delicious, leveled up version of a childhood classic. Good quality cacao powder makes all the difference in this hot chocolate recipe, with some spices for added warmth and a flavour boost. We love to use oat milk and top it off with coco whip (from the can, of course) or vegan mini marshmallows.

Pro-tip: to keep the coco whip from melting right away, add a layer of vegan mini marshmallows first! 

Trifle:

Katrina: Growing up my mom would make a trifle on Christmas Eve that we would eat for breakfast on Christmas morning to kick off a sugar-fueled day of fun! This vegan version from School Night Vegan is a very similar to what my mom would make – festive and delicious!

Tourtière with Mushroom Gravy:

Brooklyn: I’ve made this tourtière for the past several years on Réveillon (December 24th) and serve with a generous portion of my spouse’s gravy recipe. The gravy works beautifully and tastes incredible.

Homemade vegan Baileys:

Sareeta: One of my favourite recipes is this homemade vegan Baileys, made with Jameson Irish whiskey. It’s delicious in coffee and hot chocolate. I drank it a lot during the height of the pandemic!

Chocolate peanut butter balls:

Amy: These chocolate peanut butter are a good replacement for peanut butter cups. They’re yummy and easy to make!

Finnish Pulla:

Heather: I love this vegan Pulla recipe from Philosophy and Cake. My background is partly Finnish so it was a tradition in my family to eat Pulla, which is a Finnish cardamom braided bread, around the holiday season each year. It was something I greatly missed after I went vegan, so I was extremely excited to find a recipe to make it myself. This recipe doesn’t disappoint and tastes just like the non-plant-based version. It uses mashed banana to bind and I loved trying to braid bread since I’d never done that before.  I’ve only made it once since it does take some time to make, but if you want a fun baking challenge (or maybe you’re already a baking pro and this is a walk in a park for you!) and want to try a traditional bread that’s soft and sweet, try it out.

Looking for more delicious plant-based recipes?