party food – #ThisGirlEats

Veggie Christmas Party Treats For ALL Your Guests to Enjoy! | #ThisGirlEats

Christmas always comes with at least one inevitable party or social gathering and, if you’re unlucky, you’re stuck hosting it. Coming up with new ideas for party food is tricky; you don’t want to be boring but you don’t want to make things too stressful for yourself, and you’ve got to find some sort of middle ground to cater for everyone. It’s a minefield!

Something we need to consider more these days is providing some delicious vegetarian and vegan options. I’m sure we all know someone with these dietary requirements – or are that someone ourselves! – and no host wants to let any of their guests go hungry, so coming up with simple, fun, tasty ideas to suit everyone is essential.

Below are five different ideas with links to some great recipes, all of which are either vegetarian or vegan and TOTALLY delicious!

Mushroom Rolls

Mushroom rolls are a great alternative to sausage rolls, the classic party buffet food. A finger food spread just wouldn’t be the same without them, and to make a delicious vegan substitute all you need to do is swap out the meat for thinly diced mushrooms, onions and a splash of soy sauce. Watch out for the puff pastry, but I find Jus Rol is a safe bet if your local supermarket brand uses dairy.

I’ve actually got my own recipe for these ones, which you can check out here.

Nachos with Fresh Tomato Salsa & Guacamole

The great thing about nachos is that the effort you put into them can be as minimal as you like. You can make your own salsa with fresh tomatoes, onion, chillies and coriander and you can whip up guacamole by mashing together avocado, red onion, garlic, lime juice and, you guessed it, more coriander. Or, if you can’t be bothered, you can pick up ready made versions from the store and just throw it all together at home. Either way, you can’t go wrong with chips ‘n’ dip!

Jamie Oliver’s Classic Tomato Salsa

Simple Guacamole from Loving It Vegan

Fried Halloumi Sticks

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am OBSESSED with halloumi, especially halloumi fries. There are two main kinds of halloumi fries; strips of halloumi that have just, literally, been fried, and halloumi in a crispy, crunchy batter that more resembles a chip. These might not be so great for a cold buffet, but if you’re happy to serve hot food straight out the kitchen these would go down a storm!

Crispy Halloumi Fries from Scrummy Lane

Joe Wicks’ Halloumi Dippers

Mini Veggie Taquitos

Taquitos are like Mexican spring rolls stuffed with a spicy filling, usually fried but can be baked too. You’ll often find chicken taquitos as a restaurant appetiser, but there’s absolutely no reason you can’t wrap up a veggie-friendly version for your guests. I love Mexican flavours, and the versatility of these is fantastic – I’ve only listed two recipe options here, but have a quick search online and you’ll find dozens of different filling ideas.

Vegetarian Baked Taquitos from Weelicious

Vegan Taquitos with Chipotle Sauce from Vegan Heaven

Antipasti Skewers

Antipasti (or antipasto, I’m not entirely sure which is correct and I do apologise!) is an Italian appetiser which usually combines a variety of ingredients. I’m sure you’ve seen antipasti platters with cured meats, olives, cheeses, pickled vegetables, etc. and, to be honest, serving up a huge board full of Italian treats is a pretty good party idea by itself. But to be more finger food friendly, you could layer up a few ingredients, such as sundried tomatoes, olives and mozzarella balls, onto a toothpick and create mini antipasti skewers.

Easy Vegan Antipasto Skewers from Sweet Simple Vegan

RECIPE: Mushroom Rolls (Sausage Roll Alternative) | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 6
How much does it cost? These rolls cost me less than 50p per person.
What are the benefits? This recipe is a great vegan option, provides one of your five a day and is a great source of plant-based protein.

Sausage rolls are part of British culture, aren’t they? Our friends across the pond think they’re kinda weird – but then again, they’re also confused by beans on toast, another British institution. And, hey, I’m struggling with the idea of biscuits and gravy, whatever the hell that is…

Anyway, point is, everyone in the UK knows there’s nothing like a good sausage roll. Whether it’s a party, a picnic or just a delicious mid-morning Greggs, we are slaves to the humble snack of sausage meat wrapped in flaky puff pastry. But are they any good for you?

Well, no. Not really. Sure, they’re good for the soul in a warm, comforting way, but it’s safe to say they’re somewhat lacking in nutritional value – so I’ve cooked up my own #ThisGirlEats version!

Stuffed with a rich mushroom mixture, these rolls are already one step closer to that ‘Five A Day’ target. They’re also a real crowd-pleaser at get-togethers too; having a delicious vegan recipe to hand means more of your guests can enjoy the food. Everyone’s a winner!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 Pack of Ready Rolled Puff Pasty (approx. 190g)
250g Mushrooms, Finely Chopped
1 Large Onion, Finely Chopped
2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

SEASONING
When cooking down the onions and mushrooms, add a generous helping of black pepper to the frying pan, as well as a pinch of salt (but not too much as the soy sauce already gives a salty flavour), dried garlic, dried thyme, and the tiniest pinch of dried chilli flakes for a lil’ kick.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, oil or cooking spray so the pastry won’t stick.

2. In a frying pan, cook the onion on a medium heat for around 5 minutes, until soft. Add the mushrooms, soy sauce and seasoning and fry for another 5 – 10 minutes, until the veggies are completely cooked down.

3. Remove the filling from the heat and leave to cool. Meanwhile, slice the pastry into two strips, each one around 3 1/2 inches wide. Brush the edges very lightly with oil and arrange the filling in a sausage-like shape length-ways down each strip of pastry.

4. Roll or fold the pastry strips over until the filling is fully encased. Brush with a very light dab of oil, place on baking tray and pop into the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, until light golden brown.

Tips & Tricks

These are made to be a great vegan alternative to sausage rolls – but if you want to keep things more traditional, you can egg-wash the pastry top and edges instead of using oil.

If you want an earthier taste and “meatier” texture to the rolls, throw in some very, very finely chopped walnuts.

For an even smoother filling, blitz it in a food processor.

RECIPE: Spicy Cheese and Onion Loaded Potato Skins | #ThisGirlEats

Serves: 2
How much does it cost? This recipe cost me less than £1 per person.
What are the benefits? Thanks to the chillies this recipe is full of antioxidants, as well as being a good source of fibre and suitable for vegetarians.

This isn’t the first time I’ve played around with potato skins (check out my recipe for sweet potato skins with cheese and bacon) but I really enjoy making them – and, more importantly, eating them! 😋

These ones have got a kick with spicy cheese and fresh chillies; they make great antioxidants for the immune system so there’s a good reason for ramping up the heat, but they might be too spicy for those of us with a milder palette. My boyfriend loved them because he’s a sucker for spice but I found them a little eye-watering, so I’d definitely adjust to taste! 🌶

When shopping at my local supermarket (ASDA), I managed to pick up everything I needed for 96p per person, serving up two loaded skins per plate. I thought this was a bargain, especially when I saw how huge and absolutely stuffed to the brim they were when we dished them up!

INGREDIENTS
2 Large Baking Potatoes
1 Large Red Onion, Finely Chopped
2 Chillies (red or green), Finely Sliced
50g (or half a cup) Spicy Grated Cheese – ASDA do a great firey cheese blend

SEASONING
When you’re mashing together the scooped potato flesh (there has to be a more appealing word than “flesh”, surely…) season with salt and pepper and, if you want an even spicier taste, then you could also throw some dried chilli flakes in there too.

So, this is how I did it…

1. Wash and prick the potatoes, then nuke in the microwave. Each potato should take around 7 minutes; keep going until the insides are soft.

2. Scoop out the potato skins and mix the flesh (there’s that word again…) in a bowl with the red onion, chilli, cheese and seasoning until well combined. While this is all coming together, slip the empty skins under the grill to crisp up.

3. When the potato has been mashed in properly with the other ingredients, remove the skins from the grill and load ’em up.

4. Pop the skins, hopefully now full to the brim, back under the grill for another 5 minutes or so, just until the insides are warmed through and the cheese has melted.

Tips & Tricks

Potato skins make an excellent party snack – use smaller potatoes but follow the same steps for some tasty party treats.

A block of plain, non-spicy, value-range cheese will make this recipe even cheaper, especially if the chillies give you enough heat as it is.

More traditional fillings, like cheese and bacon or cheese and onion, work just as well with the same method as long as the fillings are prepared as necessary.