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Home » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

Gluten-Free Vegan Christmas Pudding

Last updated - December 1, 2022; Published - November 23, 2018 By Rhian Williams 52 Comments

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A collage of two gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding photos

This Gluten-Free Vegan Christmas Pudding is super moist, warmly spiced and really easy to make. It's fruity, not too heavy or sweet, not gummy or doughy, and is healthier than the traditional version. It's made in one bowl, is boiled/steamed in a pan so doesn't require an oven, and is refined sugar free too. The best comforting Christmas dessert!

A round gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding with white cream poured over it topped with three red cherries
What is Christmas Pudding?


Christmas Pudding is a traditional British Christmas dessert that is a steamed pudding made with dried fruits, citrus peel and spices soaked in alcohol. It has a black colour as it often contains dark sugar and treacle.

What type of alcohol should you use for Christmas Pudding?


Commonly used alcohol types are rum, brandy or sherry, or sometimes even dark beers, but you can use any alcohol you like.

If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, make sure to check that the alcohol you use is gluten-free.

If you need it to be vegan, you can use the website barnivore.com to make sure that your alcohol is vegan.

Can you make Christmas Pudding without alcohol?


Christmas Pudding traditionally contains alcohol as the dried fruits are soaked in alcohol before being added to the pudding batter. To make alcohol-free Christmas Pudding, you can replace the alcohol by soaking the dried fruit in orange juice or apple juice instead.

Can you make Christmas Pudding without soaking the dried fruit a day in advance?


Yes - you can do this by placing the dried fruit and alcohol (or juice) mixture in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 1 - 1 ½ minutes. Then leave to soak for 30 minutes.

How do you reheat Christmas Pudding?


If you want to make this Christmas Pudding in advance and reheat on the day, you can do this by steaming it again for 1 hour prior to serving. Or you can warm up individual slices in the microwave.

How to make this recipe

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

  • Place the dried fruit, orange zest, grated apple, ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice in a bowl and add a generous amount of brandy or sherry, until everything is roughly covered.
  • Keep covered in the fridge for around 24 hours, to allow the flavours to develop.

Tip: Use a box grater to grate the apple - and there's no need to peel it first.

Chopped dried fruits and and grated apple soaked in sherry in a glass mixing bowl
  • Mix together with all the other ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.

Tip: If using ground walnuts, make these by placing the walnuts in a food processor and pulse until you get a fine powder.

Raw gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding batter in a glass mixing bowl
  • Grease a medium-sized deep glass bowl or pudding basin and transfer the pudding batter into it.
  • Place the bowl in a pan (make sure it’s bigger than the bowl) and fill up with cold water up to halfway up the bowl.
Raw gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding batter in a glass bowl in a silver pan filled with water
  • Cut out a circle of baking paper to place directly on top of the pudding batter so that it’s completely covered.
A gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding in a glass bowl in a pan covered with a circle of baking paper
  • Then use some tin foil to cover the top and fold around the sides of the bowl.
A gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding in a bowl covered with foil in a pan
  • Place a lid on the pan and bring to the boil.
  • Turn down the heat and cook on a low heat for 2 hours.
A gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding in a glass bowl
  • Leave to cool slightly before taking out the bowl. 
  • Carefully remove the tin foil and the baking paper. Run a blunt knife around the edge of the bowl to let the pudding come away from the sides - this is easier to do once it’s cooled down.
  • Turn the bowl upside down on a plate and shake until the pudding pops out.
A round gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding with white cream poured over it topped with three red cherries

How long does this Christmas Pudding keep for?

This Christmas Pudding keeps covered in the fridge for a few days. It can be enjoyed hot or cold.

Substitutions you can make

  • You can use any type of dried fruit: I used a mixture of dates, cranberries, figs, prunes and apricots, but you can also use raisins, sultanas, sour cherries, mango, papaya or pineapple.
  • You can replace the alcohol with orange juice or apple juice.
  • You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
  • You can use any type of liquid sweetener: date syrup, maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
  • You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
  • You can replace the ground walnuts with ground almonds.
  • For a nut-free version: replace the ground walnuts with ground sunflower seeds.
  • You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.
A slice of gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding on a plate with a mouthful being taken with a fork

More vegan festive baked goods

  • Pecan Pie
  • Apple Cake
  • Gingerbread Cookies
  • Christmas Fruit Cake
  • Apple Pie
  • Pumpkin Pie
  • Gingerbread Cake

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Watch how to make this recipe

A round gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding with white cream poured over it topped with three red cherries

Gluten-Free Vegan Christmas Pudding

This Gluten-Free Vegan Christmas Pudding is super moist, perfectly spiced and really easy to make. The best indulgent Christmas dessert!
4.05 from 42 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Keyword: gluten-free christmas pudding, vegan christmas dessert, vegan christmas pudding
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours hours
Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 382kcal
Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

  • 300 g (1 ½ cup) dried fruit , finely chopped (I used a mixture of dates, dried cranberries, dried figs, prunes and dried apricots, but you can use whatever dried fruit mix you like)
  • 1 tablespoon unwaxed orange zest (or sub 1 teaspoon orange extract)
  • 1 apple , grated
 - no need to peel
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice (or sub a mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves)
  • Generous amount brandy or sherry (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary - or sub apple or orange juice)
  • 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
  • 120 ml (½ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
  • 4 tablespoons date syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground walnuts (or sub ground almonds/almond meal) *
  • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
  • 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
  • ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Instructions

  • Place the dried fruit, orange zest, grated apple, ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice in a bowl and add a generous amount of brandy or sherry, until everything is roughly covered.
  • Keep covered in the fridge for around 24 hours, to allow the flavours to develop.
  • Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
  • Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the date syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, salt and ground walnuts.
  • Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
  • Add the dried fruit mixture (along with any residual brandy), adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
  • Grease a medium-sized deep glass bowl or a pudding basin.
  • Transfer the pudding batter into it.
  • Place the bowl in a pan (make sure it’s bigger than the bowl) and fill up with cold water up to halfway up the bowl.
  • Cut out a circle of baking paper to place directly on top of the pudding batter so that it’s completely covered.
  • Use some tin foil to cover the top and fold around the sides of the bowl.
  • Place a lid on the pan and bring to the boil.
  • Turn down the heat and cook on a low heat for 2 hours.
  • Leave to cool slightly before taking out the bowl.
  • Carefully remove the tin foil and the baking paper.
  • Run a blunt knife around the edge of the bowl to let the pudding come away from the sides - this is easier to do once it’s cooled down.
  • Turn the bowl upside down on a plate and shake until the pudding pops out.
  • Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - it’s great eaten hot or cold!

Video

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.
  • You can also make this without soaking the dried fruit a day in advance - place the dried fruit and alcohol (or juice) mixture in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 1 - 1 ½ minutes. Then leave to soak for 30 minutes.
  • If you want to make this Christmas Pudding in advance and reheat on the day, you can do this by steaming it again for 1 hour prior to serving. Or you can warm up individual slices in the microwave.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten-Free Vegan Christmas Pudding
Amount Per Serving
Calories 382 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 8g40%
Polyunsaturated Fat 9g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Sodium 59mg2%
Potassium 421mg12%
Carbohydrates 50g17%
Fiber 7g28%
Sugar 28g31%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 24IU0%
Vitamin C 4mg5%
Calcium 136mg14%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Claire

    December 31, 2019 at 6:56 am

    Can you give me a suggested measurement or range of measurement for the brandy? And what kind of brandy? Thank You.

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      December 31, 2019 at 1:14 pm

      In the recipe instructions I've said that you just need enough brandy for your dried fruit to be roughly covered - this is to ensure all the pieces of dried fruit get soaked evenly, so the amount you need will depend on the shape-size of your container. I would guess that you'd need to use roughly a small glass or so. And any type of brandy works, just make sure to ensure it's vegan/gluten-free etc if necessary!!

  2. Jan

    October 24, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    Hi,

    Can I make this pudding well in advance of Christmas and freeze it or store wrapped in foil?

    Many thanks

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      October 24, 2020 at 12:34 pm

      Freezing it should work!

  3. Clare

    November 02, 2020 at 12:20 pm

    5 stars
    My family love this Christmas pudding. Nice and light and moist. Not as heavy as a traditional Christmas pudding. I end up making a few because they love it so much.
    I substituted the brandy with Apple and blackcurrant juice, added just the perfect amount of sweetness.

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      November 02, 2020 at 3:38 pm

      Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!

  4. Ruth

    November 08, 2020 at 10:39 am

    Hi - can I make in advance and feed it brandy as you would a typical Christmas pudding?

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      November 08, 2020 at 5:13 pm

      It depends how much in advance - because of the gluten-free flour and the lack of sugar, I don't think it'll stay good for as long as a normal Christmas pudding would, unfortunately!

  5. Becky Stacey

    November 09, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    Hiya! Would it be possible to steam this in the oven instead as I don't have a pan big enough? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      November 09, 2020 at 9:45 pm

      Yes that should work! Though the texture will be slightly different and the cooking time will have to be adjusted.

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A collage of two gluten-free vegan Christmas pudding photos
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Hi, I’m Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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