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    Home » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

    Gluten-Free Vegan Mince Pies

    Last updated - July 13, 2021; Published - November 27, 2018 By Rhian Williams 11 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    A collage of two gluten-free vegan mince pies photos

    These Gluten-Free Vegan Mince Pies are crispy, flaky, fruity and fragrant. They're not too sweet, healthier than the traditional version, refined sugar free and super easy to make. The best festive sweet treat for Christmas! 

    Four gluten-free vegan mince pies topped with pastry stars against a marble background
    What are Mince Pies?


    Mince pies, also known as mincemeat pies or fruit mince pies, are a sweet pie filled with a spiced dried fruit mixture, although they did originally used to contain minced meat too. They are traditionally eaten at Christmas.

    What is mincemeat?


    "Mincemeat" is the filling inside mince pies. It originally used to contain minced meat, but nowadays it is made with dried fruits, citrus peel, nuts, grated apple and spices, often soaked in alcohol. It is often made using suet too, but this not included in this vegan version.

    What type of alcohol should you use to make Mince Pies?


    Commonly used alcohol types are rum, brandy or sherry, 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 Mince Pies without alcohol?


    Mince Pies traditionally contain alcohol as the dried fruits are soaked in alcohol when making mincemeat. To make alcohol-free Mince Pies, you can replace the alcohol by soaking the dried fruit in orange juice or apple juice instead.

    Can you make Mince Pies 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 to make this recipe

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

    • Place the dried fruit, walnuts, orange zest, grated apple, ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice and maple syrup 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 bowl to make vegan mincemeat
    • Combine the coconut oil, ground almonds and flour in a glass mixing bowl along with 7 tablespoons of water, until it forms a firm dough.

    Tip: Add the water a few tablespoons at a time so that you don’t add too much!

    Gluten-free vegan pastry dough in a bowl
    • Lay out a sheet of baking paper on a counter. Sprinkle the surface of the paper and a rolling pin with a generous amount of flour.
    • Take just over half of the pastry dough and use the rolling pin to roll it into an even rectangular shape, as thin as you can without it breaking.
    Gluten-free vegan pastry dough rolled out on a sheet of baking paper covered with flour
    • Use a circular cookie cutter to cut out a circle of the pastry dough.
    Gluten-free vegan pastry dough rolled out on a sheet of baking paper with a circular cookie cutter on it
    • Place the pastry circle in a greased muffin/cupcake tin and gently press down - make sure to do this carefully so you don’t crack the pastry.
    • Repeat until you get another 11 circles and place them in the muffin/cupcake tin too - you will need to roll out the pastry a few times.
    Twelve gluten-free vegan mince pies pastry crusts in a muffin tin
    • Roll out the remaining pastry dough and use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a star shape (or a smaller circular one if you don’t have a star-shaped one).
    Gluten-free vegan pastry dough rolled out on a sheet of baking paper with a star-shaped cookie cutter on it
    • Place a heaped teaspoon of the mincemeat into each pastry crust.
    Twelve gluten-free vegan mince pies pastry crusts in a muffin tin filled with vegan mincemeat
    • Place the pastry stars on top of the mincemeat in the pie crusts.
    Twelve raw gluten-free vegan mince pies pastry crusts in a muffin tin filled with vegan mincemeat and topped with pastry stars
    • Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, until the pastry crust is firm to the touch and golden brown.
    Twelve gluten-free vegan mince pies in a muffin tin topped with pastry stars

    How long do these Mince Pies keep for?

    These Mince Pies keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days.

    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 walnuts with pecan nuts.
    • You can replace the alcohol with orange juice or apple juice.
    • You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, date syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
    • You can replace the gluten-free flour with rice flour.
    • You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.
    Six gluten-free vegan mince pies topped with pastry stars against a marble background

    More vegan festive desserts

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

    Three gluten-free vegan mince pies topped with pastry stars

    Gluten-Free Vegan Mince Pies

    These Gluten-Free Vegan Mince Pies are crispy, flaky, fruity and fragrant - the best festive sweet treat for Christmas! 
    4.15 from 14 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: British
    Keyword: gluten-free mince pies, vegan christmas recipe, vegan mince pies
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12 pies
    Calories: 131kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    For the mincemeat:

    • 100 g (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)
    • 25 g (¼ cup) walnuts , finely chopped (or sub pecan nuts)
    • 1 teaspoon unwaxed orange zest (or sub ½ teaspoon orange extract)
    • 1 apple , grated - no need to peel
    • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon mixed spice (or sub a mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves)
    • 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
    • Brandy or sherry (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary - or sub apple or orange juice)

    For the pastry:

    • 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil
    • 75 g (⅔ cup) gluten-free flour blend , plus more for rolling (or sub rice flour, or plain all-purpose flour if not gluten-free)
    • 75 g (⅔ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
    • 7 tablespoons water

    Instructions

    For the mincemeat:

    • Place the dried fruit, walnuts, orange zest, grated apple, ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice and maple syrup 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.

    For the pastry:

    • Combine the coconut oil, ground almonds and flour in a bowl, along with about 7 tablespoons of water, until it forms a firm dough - add the water a few tablespoons at a time so that you don’t add too much!

    To assemble:

    • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
    • Lay out a sheet of baking paper on a counter. Sprinkle the surface of the paper and a rolling pin with a generous amount of flour.
    • Take just over half of the pastry dough and use the rolling pin to roll it into an even rectangular shape, as thin as you can without it breaking.
    • Use a circular cookie cutter to cut out a circle of the pastry dough.
    • Place the pastry circle in a greased muffin tin and gently press down - make sure to do this carefully so you don’t crack the pastry.
    • Repeat until you get another 11 circles and place them in the muffin tin too - you will need to roll out the pastry a few times.
    • Place a heaped teaspoon of the mincemeat into each pastry crust.
    • Roll out the remaining pastry dough and use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a star shape (or a smaller circular one if you don’t have a star-shaped one).
    • Place this on top of the mincemeat on one of the pies.
    • Repeat until you use up the rest of the pastry - you will need to roll out the pastry a few times.
    • Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, until the pastry crust is firm to the touch and golden brown.
    • Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days.

    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.
    Nutrition Facts
    Gluten-Free Vegan Mince Pies
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 131 Calories from Fat 63
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 7g11%
    Saturated Fat 2g10%
    Sodium 1mg0%
    Potassium 93mg3%
    Carbohydrates 16g5%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 9g10%
    Protein 2g4%
    Vitamin A 10IU0%
    Vitamin C 1mg1%
    Calcium 39mg4%
    Iron 0.7mg4%
    * 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. S

      December 28, 2020 at 7:37 pm

      Looks amazing! Do you melt the coconut oil ?
      Have a happy, safe festive season -Merry Christmas and happy new year

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        December 28, 2020 at 9:11 pm

        Thank you! No, you don't need to melt it. Thank you, you too! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    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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