Christmas day is fast approaching and we are entering Christmas party season. At this time of year supermarkets are offering all kinds of delicious festive canapés and festive treats. When you have vegetarian guests, however, it’s not always easy to find delicious vegetarian supermarket party food. But I’ve got your back! I’ve tested the UK supermarkets to find the best veggie-friendly supermarket party food.
If you like the look of this vegetarian supermarket party food and want to make your own, I have plenty of festive recipes. I recommend trying out my Christmas sausage rolls, vegetarian pigs in blankets, or Brie and cranberry filo tarts.
Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer had a huge array of delicious party food. From steamed buns and cheese fondues to spring rolls and tartlets. Although on the more expensive side at around the £6 per product, most of the party food was on a 4 for the price of 3 offer.
I chose the snowman steamed buns, netted vegetable spring rolls, butternut squash quiche bites, and Brie and cranberry tartlets.
M&S Collection Snowmen steamed buns – £7.50
These 8 steamed buns are delightfully decorated as snowmen in red and green hats. They were easy to cook and could be microwaved in just 2 minutes.
The buns are filled with hoisin vegetables. Although delicately flavoured with a good mix of vegetables I didn’t think there was quite enough filling. Furthermore, the buns weren’t particularly fluffy – however, the texture was very impressive for buns cooked in the microwave.
My score: 8/10
M&S Food netted vegetable spring rolls – £5.50
This pack of 12 spring rolls contained two different flavours. The white rolls are filled with aromatic vegetables whilst the green ones have a Thai curry flavour.
All of the spring rolls were crispy and flavourful. I preferred the Thai curry rolls as the filling was deliciously spicy with a nice heat to them.
My score: 8.8/10
M&S Food Butternut, Feta, and sage quiche bites – £5.50
This pack of 12 quiche bites was the first of its kind I had seen in any supermarket. These were easy to cook and the pastry underneath was buttery and golden on the bottom.
The sage flavour was strong and there were large chunks of butternut squash in the quiche along with pumpkin seeds which added texture. Overall, these quiche bites were a nice change from the regular array of party food!
My score: 8.5/10
M&S Food Brie and cranberry tartlets – £5.50
These 12 tartlets are filled with oozy Brie cheese and tangy cranberry sauce. The cheese had a strong flavour and the filo was crispy and not dry. The only issue with these tartlets were that the pastry was slightly undercooked on the bottom.
My score: 7.9/10
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s had a huge range of delicious party food with offerings found in both the frozen and refrigerator section. This included more expensive options from the Taste the Difference range and plenty of more affordable options too.
I tried 6 different veggie party food options, 3 from the refrigerator section and 3 frozen.
From the refrigerator section I tried the Cheddar & truffle crostini, baos of holly, and the vegetable spring roll selection. From the frozen section I tried the vegan pups in blankets, Brie and cranberry bites, and halloumi fries.
Sainsbury’s vegetable spring roll selection – £3
This vegan vegetable spring roll selection contained 5 hoisin flavoured spring rolls and 5 red Thai style spring rolls. These were both flavourful, however the flavours weren’t particularly sophisticated. They were pretty crispy and definitely a solid option!
My score: 7.7/10
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Cheddar and truffle crostini – £5.25
These 8 crostini were topped with plenty of Cheddar and flavoured with truffle. Cooked quickly in the oven, these crostini were delightfully crispy and the truffle flavour was not overwhelming whilst the Cheddar was deliciously strong. Although slightly on the expensive side, these bites are definitely worth it!
My score: 9.4/10
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Baos of holly – £6
These vegan steamed decorated bao buns are filled with shredded vegetables and can be cooked in the microwave in just 3 minutes.
The vegetables are deliciously fragrant and flavoured with ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Although not as fluffy as I would’ve liked, considering they are cooked in the microwave I was impressed with their texture. I also loved the holly decoration, these buns certainly look festive.
My score: 8.9/10
Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers pups in blankets – £4
These 15 mini vegan pups in blankets can be found in the freezer section and need to be cooked in the oven for 20 minutes. The sausages themselves had a herby, meaty flavour whilst the vegan bacon brought a delicious saltiness. These aren’t the best vegan pigs in blankets I’ve tried but they are certainly good for the price.
My score: 7.8/10
Sainsbury’s Brie and cranberry bites – £2.50
These 10 Brie and cranberry bites cost just £2.50. These bites exploded slightly in the oven but the flavour of the cheese was nice and strong and the burst of cranberry sauce was delicious. They weren’t quite crispy enough for my liking, this might perhaps be improved by giving them an extra couple of minutes in the oven.
My score: 7.2/10
Sainsbury’s breaded halloumi fries – £2.50
These 10 breaded Halloumi fries cost just £2.50. The halloumi had a delicious salty flavour and were fairly crispy. However, there was something slightly underwhelming about them. I think these halloumi fries would be improved with a sweet chilli dip.
My score: 6.7/10
Lidl
There were only a few vegetarian-friendly party food options in Lidl. From the freezer I bought the cheese jalapeños and breaded Camembert. From the fridge I tried one of three flavoured baking Camemberts – I chose the honey, garlic, and truffle flavour.
Lidl cheese Jalapeños – £1.79
These breaded jalapeños were stuffed with a creamy cheese filling. The breading, however, did not crisp up in the oven. The jalapeños came with a spicy sauce, however this was rather underwhelming. Perhaps these would have been better cooked for a few minutes longer than instructed by the packet.
My score: 4/10
Lidl breaded Camembert – £1.79
These mini breaded Camembert bites were equally as disappointing as the cheese jalapeños. The cheese was not flavourful, had an odd texture, and they were not particularly crispy. These also came with a cranberry sauce dip, however this tasted rather artificial.
I have been told, however, that the texture and crispiness of these bites vastly improves when they are cooked in the air fryer.
My score: 4/10
Lidl Deluxe baking Camembert – £3.29
This baking Camembert comes with a honey, garlic, and truffle glaze and is added to the cheese part-way through baking. Whilst the cheese was extremely gooey, I didn’t enjoy the flavour of the glaze. It was somewhat artificial and bitter so I would recommend not adding it or trying another flavour.
My score: 5/10
Waitrose
Most of the Waitrose party food options are kept in the freezer section. However, few of these options were festively themed. I chose the macaroni cheese balls, nacho cheese bites, and puff pastry straws. From the refrigerator section I tried the three cheese fondue.
The frozen party food was all on a 3 for 2 offer, making Waitrose a surprisingly affordable option!
Waitrose macaroni cheese balls – £3
These relatively small macaroni cheese balls had a strong, good-quality Cheddar flavour and are speckled with plenty of black pepper. Whilst pretty crispy, I reckon these balls would benefit from a few extra minutes in the oven.
My score: 8.1/10
Waitrose nacho cheese bites – £3
These nacho cheese triangle-shaped bites had a crispy maize coating with a flavour reminiscent of cheesy Doritos. They had a good cheese pull, but I would have preferred a more oozy centre. These were not my favourite, I think they needed a little more flavour.
My score: 6.9/10
Waitrose puff pastry straws – £3
These frozen puff pastry straws have either a Cheddar cheese or herby courgette and pesto filling. Both fillings were fairly tasty, but nothing exceptional. The texture of these was pleasant, but I would’ve preferred them to be a little flakier.
To ensure the pastry puffs up I recommend fully preheating the oven and turning the tray half-way through cooking.
My score: 6.9/10
Waitrose three cheese fondue – £4
This three cheese fondue comes in its own ceramic ramekin and must be baked for 20 minutes in the oven. The three cheeses are Cheddar, mozzarella, and Double Gloucester. The fondue is also flavoured with wine.
The mixture of cheeses and wine gives this dip a strong and sophisticated flavour which is delicious with crusty bread. For me, the balance of flavours wasn’t quite perfect, which is why it lost points.
My score: 8/10
Tesco
The offerings form Tesco included vegan laksa cones, Camembert bites, and no-prawn tempura. All of these are available in the freezer section and were all included on a 3 for £6 Clubcard offer. Whilst Tesco had a larger selection of Christmas party food in the refrigerator, very few of these options were vegetarian-friendly.
Tesco Plant Chef aromatic laksa cones – £3
These vegan laksa cones have a fragrant lemongrass and coconut vegetable filling. They had a deliciously strong curry flavour and were perfectly crispy on the outside. Although not particularly festive, I really enjoyed these.
My score: 7.5/10
Tesco Camembert bites – £2.50
These bites are simply mini crispy breaded Camemberts. These, unfortunately, exploded a little in the oven. They were not particularly crispy so I recommend baking them for a few extra minutes in the oven than is stated by packet instructions. They lacked flavour a little so I would serve them with a cranberry sauce dip.
My score: 6/10
Tesco Plant Chef no-prawn tempura – £2.50
These crispy vegan prawn tempura are surprisingly similar to the real thing. The prawns, made using jackfruit and king oyster mushrooms, had a seafood-like texture and flavour and the batter was very crispy. These only lost points as they were fairly oily.
My score: 7.4/10
