8 Easy Vegan Finger Foods
Even though it may not feel like it this year, it's Christmas. And just because we can't have the large gatherings we may be used to at this time of year, we can still enjoy the best foodie season of the year.
In this special blog post, I am sharing 8 ideas for your festive buffet table. You can of course add in the usual nibbles such as crisps, nuts, cheese boards or other favourites, but when it comes to the party food, it is always nice when it's home made. All of these bites are easy to assemble and each contains 5 ingredients or less. Apart from the Gingerbread Cream Fruit Shots.
ON THE MENU:
- Garlic & Tarragon Mushroom Toasts: Hummus, Garlic, Tarragon, Butter Mushrooms, Mini Toasts (ready bought),
- Mini Poppadoms Filled with Dhal, Chilli & Lime or Mango Chutney and Coriander Leaf
- Individual Vegan Meatball Marinara Subs: Vegan Meatballs, Vegan Cheese, Tomato & Basil Sauce, Mini Bread Roll
- Mini Ham & Cheese Toasties with Cherry Tomatoes: Vegan Ham, Vegan Cheese, Bread, Butter & 1/2 Cherry Tomato per piece
- Vegan Fish Finger Tacos: Vegan Fish Fingers, Mayonnaise, Iceberg Lettuce, Pickled Gherkins & Dill
- Vegan BBQ Rib Brioche Sliders: Tempeh, BBQ Sauce, Chopped Red Onions, Pickled Gherkin Slices on a Vegan Brioche Bun
- Vegan Chicken Mayo Sliders: Vegan Chicken Nuggets, Mayo, Iceberg Lettuce, Mini Bread Rolls
- Mini Gingerbread Cream Fruit Shots, Topped with Fresh Passion Fruit, Blackberry, Redcurrant & Rosemary Garnish (Cream was leftover from my Vegan Gingerbread Cream Mince Tarte, click here for the recipe)
Let's get assembling!
Garlic & Tarragon Mushroom Toasts
Ingredients:
Assembly:
Cook the mushrooms ahead and allow them to cool. Spread a little hummus onto the toast and top with a single mushroom. I bought the toasts from an online supermarket and the hummus is the pea hummus by Leon, which I bought in Sainsbury's vegan aisle.
Mini Dhal Poppadoms
Ingredients
Assembly:
These little bites of comfort are so easy to create and taste delicious. A warning though, you need to prep them right before eating or the dhal will eventually soak through the poppadoms. I have on occasion left the ingredients separately, displayed like a mini grazing board. You can add all of the components to little dishes and allow guests to assemble them. You can add a range of chutneys, raw onion, chilli, fresh herbs and spices to intice your guests to get creative. (It also means less for you to prep and it's lots of fun for them).
Make life easy for yourself, and buy ready-made dhal. You can of course make it yourself ahead of time, but there are some great products out there to save you time. Take a look online at the small businesses in your area to see if they have one, or head to your local supermarket and pick one up there. The mini poppadoms are available in many supermarkets in the World Food or Snack isles. I prefer the intense chilli & lime chutney, but mango chutney also works. coriander adds a nice pop of green and the red chilli a pop of red, both are optional. I love the colour of these little bites.
Vegan 'Chicken' Mayo Sliders
Ingredients:
Vegan chicken nuggets, vegan mayo, iceberg lettuce & mini bread rolls. (Sorry, no photo was taken of ingredients for this one).
Assembly:
Cook the nuggets according to the pack instructions. Shred or chop the lettuce into small pieces, slice open the roll and place the nugget onto the bread. Top with lettuce and mayo and pop a cocktail stick though it to keep it together and to make it easy to pick up and eat!
Vegan 'Fish' Finger Tacos
Assembly:
Cook the fish fingers according to the pack instructions. Take a mini soft taco tortilla, place a few leaves of iceberg lettuce and top with the mayo, pickles and dill. Secure in place with a small skewer to stop it from falling about.
Individual Meat Ball Marinara Subs
Ingredients:
I have combined passata and tomato puree and simmered in a pan until warmed. I then decanted it into a dish in prep for assembly. I have also removed the centre of come mini rolls. I also decided to cut my cheese slices into the shape of stars, because it's Christmas!
Assembly:
Cook the meatballs according to the pack instructions. Remove the centre of the rolls as shown above, add a decent spoon-full of the sauce so that it spills over the edge a little. Top with the cheese. If the meatball is still hot it should soften the cheese or you can add it when they're cold if you prefer.
Miniature Ham & Cheese Toasted Sandwiches
Ingredients:
I used Swiss-style vegan cheese and smoked 'ham'. I like to use farm house bread as this is my favourite for toasted sandwiches, but you can use whatever you prefer. I like to add a cherry tomato half on top for a little pop of flavour. That is optional.
Assembly:
Cut the bread & cheese into squares. Cut 2 slices/squares of the cheese per piece. Toast the lightly under the grill on both sides. Place each piece of bread into the grill and toast lightly on both sides. Once brown, add the cheese slices to half of the toasted pieces and remove the other half (they will be used to top the sandwiches. When the cheese has melted, place a couple of slices of ham, cut to size and top with the bread. Place half a cherry tomato on top and skewer with a cocktail stick to hold it in place. Serve straight away.
Tempeh BBQ 'Rib' Brioche Mini Rolls
Ingredients:
I found these delicious glazed vegan brioche rolls in my local supermarket, but they can be difficult to get hold of. If you're unable to find them, you can use any bread roll halved or quartered. I also used some vegan BBQ sauce, a block of tempeh sliced into small squares, pickled gherkins and red onion.
Assembly:
Start by frying your tempeh in a little oil until it begun it crisps on both sides. Add a tablespoon or two of your BBQ sauce and fry for a little longer until it becomes sticky. Save a little for the sandwich, you can heat it in a pan if you wish or serve straight from the bottle. Slice open the bread and top with the tempeh, followed by extra sauce, sliced pickled gherkins, the raw red onion and finally the other half of your bread. This one is so yummy and comforting! Do try to get brioche buns if you can, it's worth it.
Gingerbread Cream Fruit Shots
Ingredients:
Ok, so technically there are way more ingredients than just 5 in this one, however the cream was already made ahead because it was created from the leftovers of my Gingerbread Cream Mince Tarte head to my recipe page for that one:
This one is very easy to assemble once the cream has been made. Follow the recipe for the tart above and then fill a small shot/espresso glass with the cream, and leave it to set in the fridge. Once set, decorate with whatever fruit you have available, I had some passion fruit, black berries and redcurrants, which worked so well with this, I used rosemary for garnish as it felt festive with the other colours.
I hope you enjoyed this post and if you do give any of the ideas a try, don't forget to tag me so on my Instagram or Facebook!
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