Vegan British Recipes: How to Veganize the Classics, from Sunday Roast to Sticky Toffee Pudding

British food has a reputation for being meat-and-two-veg, but look closer and much of the cooking is about the things around the meat: roast potatoes, gravy, stuffing, pastry, puddings, and a long tradition of pickles and chutneys. Almost all of it can be made vegan without losing the character that makes it British.

This guide works through the major occasions, from the Sunday roast to afternoon tea, and shows you where the animal products hide and what to use instead.

Where animal products hide in British cooking

For any family recipe not on this list, paste it into the Veganize This tool for a converted version to start from.

The Sunday roast

The roast is really a collection of sides built around a centerpiece, and the sides carry most of the pleasure.

The centerpiece

A nut roast is the classic option: chopped nuts, breadcrumbs, lentils or chestnuts, onions, herbs, and a binder such as ground flaxseed or mashed beans, baked in a loaf tin. A lentil and mushroom Wellington wrapped in puff pastry is showier. Whole roasted cauliflower or stuffed squash works for smaller tables.

Roast potatoes

Great roast potatoes do not need animal fat. Parboil floury potatoes until the edges are soft, drain, shake in the pan to rough them up, then tip them into oil that has been heating in the oven at around 425°F (220°C). Turn once or twice and roast until deeply golden and crisp.

Yorkshire puddings

These are honestly the hardest part to veganize, because eggs provide the dramatic rise. The most reliable approach uses flour, plant milk, aquafaba or a little baking powder, and a pinch of salt, poured into a muffin tin of smoking-hot oil and baked without opening the oven. Expect a shorter, crisper pudding than the egg version; it still does the job of holding gravy.

Gravy and stuffing

Build gravy on slow-cooked onions, a spoon of flour, and a good stock seasoned with soy sauce and a touch of mustard or redcurrant jelly. Sage and onion stuffing is often vegan already when made from bread, onion, and herbs, but check boxed stuffing mixes for suet or milk powder.

The full English breakfast

A full English is one of the most satisfying vegan fry-ups there is. Most components are plants already.

• Sausages: plant-based sausages, checked for egg and milk.
• Bacon: smoked tofu or tempeh strips pan-fried with a little soy sauce and maple syrup.
• Eggs: a turmeric-tinted tofu scramble with a pinch of kala namak (black salt) for an eggy aroma.
• Baked beans: many canned baked beans contain no animal ingredients, but check the label, or make your own. Our guide to vegan beans on toast covers homemade beans in depth.
• Black pudding: traditionally made with blood. Vegan versions use oats, beans, and spices; look for them specifically labeled vegan.
• Mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, hash browns, fried bread: just cook them in oil or plant butter.

Afternoon tea

Afternoon tea converts almost entirely with the right swaps.

• Scones: use cold plant butter and plant milk soured with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Handle the dough lightly, and brush the tops with plant milk. These Earl Grey scones with clotted coconut cream show the method.
• Clotted cream: chill a can of full-fat coconut milk, scoop off the solid cream, and whip it with a little powdered sugar. For more options, see our guide to vegan substitutes for heavy cream.
• Victoria sponge: a simple oil or plant-butter sponge raised with baking powder and a little vinegar works well. The vegan baking converter can translate the butter, eggs, and milk in a family recipe.
• Sandwiches: cucumber sandwiches only need plant butter. Coronation chicken, created for the 1953 coronation, becomes a curried chickpea filling, as in this coronation chickpea and apple sandwich.

Pies, pasties, and sausage rolls

Pastry is the common thread. Shortcrust made with plant butter or vegetable shortening behaves much like the dairy version, and many shop-bought puff pastries use vegetable fats, although all-butter ones exist, so read the label each time.

• Sausage rolls: fill puff pastry with seasoned plant sausage meat or a mix of mashed beans, mushrooms, sage, and breadcrumbs. Glaze with plant milk mixed with a little oil or maple syrup. These sweet potato and thyme sausage rolls are a good template.
• Pasties: a filling of diced potato, swede, onion, and plenty of black pepper, sometimes with lentils or chopped mushrooms. Note that the name Cornish pasty is legally protected for a specific traditional beef recipe, so a vegan version is best called a vegetable pasty.
• Steak pies: use seitan chunks or meaty mushrooms in an ale gravy.

Puddings and Christmas treats

• Crumble and custard: the crumble topping works with plant butter. Custard powder is often just flavored cornflour and color, but check the label, then make it with plant milk.
• Sticky toffee pudding: dates do the heavy lifting; use plant butter and a flax or aquafaba binder.
• Trifle: swap gelatin jelly for agar-set fruit jelly, use plant-milk custard and whipped plant cream.
• Christmas pudding and mince pies: both traditionally use beef suet. Use vegetable suet, and check shop-bought mincemeat carefully.
• Eton mess: aquafaba meringue, whipped plant cream, and crushed strawberries.

Regional classics worth veganizing

British cooking is really several cuisines, and some of the best candidates for a vegan makeover are regional dishes that already lean on vegetables and grains.

• Haggis (Scotland): the traditional version uses sheep offal, oats, onion, and plenty of pepper and warm spice. Vegetarian haggis has been sold for decades; a vegan version swaps the offal for lentils, finely chopped mushrooms, and extra oats. Serve with neeps and tatties (mashed swede and potato) made with plant butter.
• Stovies (Scotland): potatoes and onions slowly cooked in a little fat, traditionally with leftover roast meat or dripping. Use oil or plant butter and add leftover nut roast, lentils, or browned plant sausages.
• Cawl (Wales): a slow-simmered broth of leeks, root vegetables, and usually lamb. A vegan cawl keeps the leeks, swede, carrots, and potatoes, adds butter beans or pearl barley for body, and is served with bread.
• Lancashire hotpot (England): a stew under a lid of thinly sliced potatoes. Replace the lamb with seitan, mushrooms, or lentils, and brush the potato slices with oil so they crisp.
• Bubble and squeak: leftover mashed potato and cabbage or sprouts fried into a crisp cake. It is vegan as soon as you fry it in oil rather than dripping, and it is the perfect use for roast-dinner leftovers.

Pantry staples for vegan British cooking

• Vegetable suet and a good plant butter for baking
• English mustard, malt vinegar, and a vegan Worcestershire-style sauce
• Dried marrowfat peas or frozen peas
• Canned butter beans, haricot beans, and brown lentils
• Full-fat coconut milk for cream, plus an oat or soy milk for sauces
• Fresh sage, thyme, and bay
• A yeast extract spread or dark soy sauce for savory depth; check the label if certification matters to you

Your next step

Start with the easiest wins: a full English, scones, or a crumble. They need only simple swaps and build confidence. Once those feel natural, move on to the roast. For weeknight versions of British classics, such as cottage pie and sausages with onion gravy, see five vegan British comfort foods for cozy weeknights.