Vegan Easter

Spring is here! It’s time for longer warmer days and of course, Easter. There’s likely to be lots of new people celebrating a vegan Easter this year, which means lots more people looking for plant-based recipes, advice and tips. Celebrating as a vegan isn’t as difficult as you might think. Supermarkets, online stores and your catering suppliers are now havens for plant-based foods and ingredients and the cooking possibilities are endless.

When we think of Easter we often think of the chocolate! Milk chocolate obviously contains milk and won’t be suitable for vegans. Most dark chocolate will be vegan, but it’s always worth checking the labels as some have added milk powder or whey. This being said there is now lots of vegan milk chocolate available including Easter eggs, its usually made with rice milk or coconut milk to create the creamy texture and taste. Good brands to check out are Moo Free and NOMO both of which are available in high street stores and supermarkets. There are also mainstream brands such as Galaxy and Cadbury offering great vegan chocolate choices.

If you are making things from scratch have a look at the recipes on our website and take a look at our Easter Treats publication which can be downloaded. I’ve been making the Hazelnut Truffles from our website recently and they are excellent; indulgent, rich and easy to make.

Your catering supplier will have vegan ranges available. Bidfood does a huge range of vegan cakes, chocolates, treats and bakes like their chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies or their premium selection of Belgian Chocolate and Raspberry Torte, that comes pre-cut. Brakes have lots of options to help keep your Easter vegan for example their ‘La Boulangerie’ Hot Cross Buns, or an indulgent Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake; a two-layered vegan chocolate sponge filled & covered with a vegan chocolate icing. or for something a little different their Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream Mochi; hazelnut ice cream studded with crunchy pieces of caramelised hazelnuts.

If we think about main meals for Easter we usually think about roast dinners with all the trimmings, but there’s no reason this can’t be veganised. Try our array of nut roasts from our website or Rose Elliot’s Pine Nut & Carrot Roast with Mushroom Sauce found in the Easter Treats guide. You could pair this with seasonal vegetables and perhaps this wonderful Leek and Cheese Crumble that can utilise both vegan cheese and cream, these will be available from your catering supplier. Your suppliers will also provide arrange of pre-made options for example Bidfood’s excellent ready to heat Vegan Wellington.

If you’re searching for breakfast inspiration take a look at our Veganising Classic Dishes publication where you can find recipes for a full vegan cooked breakfast and again check your catering suppliers that have so many new options, I’ve recently seen vegan black pudding on the Brakes website, which would be excellent as part of an Easter Treat breakfast.

Happy Easter!