Whether you are a following a dairy-free diet yourself or catering for someone who is milk-free these meal inspos will help you feel festive and enjoy every bite!
The holiday season is a time for joy, celebration, and of course, delicious food. But if you're avoiding dairy, you might be wondering how to enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner without missing out on the creamy, cheesy, and buttery goodness. Fear not! With a few clever substitutions and some creative recipes, you can have a festive and flavorful dairy-free Christmas dinner that everyone will love.
Starters/nibbles
 Stuffed Mushrooms These savory bites are always a hit. Use dairy-free cream cheese or a cashew-based filling mixed with garlic, herbs, and breadcrumbs. Bake until golden and serve warm.
Pigs in blankets (steal a few from your main dish or keep as a starter!)
Olives
Nuts
Tortilla chips and guacamole
Scotch quail eggs
Prawns skewers - option to make a prawn cocktail using vegan mayo
Main course
Roast Turkey or Ham The centerpiece of your Christmas dinner can still be a succulent roast turkey or ham. Just be sure to check that any glazes or marinades are dairy-free. For a juicy turkey, brine it overnight with herbs, salt, and a bit of sugar.
Vegan Nut Roast For a plant-based main course, a nut roast is a hearty and flavorful option. Combine nuts, vegetables, and grains with herbs and spices, then bake until firm. Serve with a rich mushroom gravy.
Sides
Roasted Vegetables A medley of roasted vegetables adds color and nutrition to your table. Toss carrots, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then roast until caramelized.
Braised red cabbage - naturally dairy-free and can be a one-pot dish that cooks itself! Braised red cabbage recipe - BBC Food
Dairy-Free Stuffing Traditional stuffing can be made dairy-free by using vegetable broth and dairy-free butter. Add sautéed onions, celery, mushrooms and fresh herbs for a classic taste. Paxo is dairy free for a quick and easy to make alternative.
Classic roast potatoes - roast in rapeseed or olive oil, chop in some fresh rosemary and a sprinkle of seasalt for extra pizaz (i like to par-boil my tatties first, drain, shake up in the pain then add to a tray of hot oil for the best results!)
Gravy - for the ultimate gravy why not make your own from the cooking juices? Cook the turkey/meat with some carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Remove the meat and mash the cooked veggies into the cooking juices. Strain through a sieve and return the liquid to the roasting tin. Add some red wine along the way, simmer on the hob and then add cornflour mixed with a little water to make a paste to thicken. YUM.
Desserts (the best bit!)
Chocolate Avocado Mousse For a decadent dessert, try a chocolate avocado mousse. Blend ripe avocados with cocoa powder, a sweetener of your choice (e.g. maple syrup), and a splash of vanilla extract. Chill and serve with fresh berries. For children you can use lower cocoa content chocolate such as milk chocolate to reduce the caffeine slightly. This also works really well with silken tofu instead of avocado!
Pavlova - make the meringue base as usual (egg white and sugar) then fill with the contents of your choice (e.g. dairy-free yoghurt and berries/ dairy-free whipped cream e.g. Elmlea plant or soya custard (e.g Alpro vanilla custard) OR make your meringue into an Eton mess in special glasses.
Have you found the perfect milk-free recipe you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Please comment below or on socials to share the love.
Have a lovely Christmas! Love the OPD family....
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