Vegan ready meals and desserts
Although making a vegan meal needn't be difficult or time-consuming, sometimes it's just useful to have a ready meal in the fridge or freezer for a vegan guest.
While the supermarkets are coming up with ever-increasing ranges of vegetarian ready meals, there's still not a huge choice when it comes to vegan ready meals, as most of the vegetarian products include milk or eggs.
Wholefoods shops and Holland and Barrett usually have a better range of ready-made vegan products than supermarkets, if you have one near you it's worth dropping in and having a look what's in the freezer. Use the HappyCow directory to find shops near you.
Supermarket vegan ready meals and 'instead of the meat' products
Here is a list of vegan ready meals I (and some kind people on vegetarian online forums) have spotted in supermarkets. This is not a complete list, I don't eat ready meals very often myself so there are probably some I haven't found yet! If you know of any others, please let me know!
I have also included ready-made items which you can serve a vegan guest instead of a piece of meat in a meat-potatoes-vegetables meal, such as a Sunday roast. Sometimes this is more suitable than a whole separate ready meal if the potatoes and vegetables you're already cooking will be suitable for vegans. (Find out how to veganise a meat-potatoes-vegetables meal.) All 'instead of the meat' products are frozen unless otherwise stated.
I have also started to include ready-made desserts that are suitable for vegans. Now there's really no excuse for serving your vegan guest fruit salad while everyone else has triple chocolate gateau... :-)
Manufacturers do have a habit of changing their recipes with no prior warning, so check the label before buying. Products listed here may not be available in all stores.
Asda
Chilled
Asda Organics nut roast
Vegetable chow mein
Penne arrabiata
Frozen
Penne arrabbiata
Chips and curry sauce
Instead of the meat
Asda spicy bean and nacho burgers
Asda nut cutlets
Grassington's chicken-style fillets
Co-op
Frozen
Linda McCartney chilli non carne
Instead of the meat
Linda McCartney sausages, cornish pasties and country pies
Grassington's multigrain vegetable bakes
Marks and Spencer
Chilled
Vegetable curry (Indian)
Morrisons
Frozen
Linda McCartney chilli non carne
Some of the products in the 'meat-free' range (vegetable burgers etc.
- details to follow!)
Chilled
Simply Organic ready meals
Cauldron Sweet potato and aubergine balti
Instead of the meat
Linda McCartney sausages, country pies, sausage rolls
Grassington's Spicy bean burgers, beef-style meatballs, chicken-style
fillets and beef-style peppered steak
Goodlife nut cutlets
Sainsbury's
Frozen
Amy's Enchiladas
Chilled
Cauldron Chickpea and spinach balti
Sainsbury's Vegetable dhansak
Be Good To Yourself Wholegrain spaghetti with sun-dried tomatoes and roasted
vegetables
Instead of the meat
Sainsbury's Spicy bean quarter pounders
Sainsbury's Vegetarian nut cutlets
Sainsbury's Vegetable Dunkers (nuggets)
Sainsbury's basics vegetable burgers
Sainsbury's free from 2 spicy bean burgers (gluten and wheat free)
Linda McCartney sausages and country pies
Goodlife Butternut squash roast
Grassington's Multigrain vegetable bakes, Spicy bean burgers, Beef-style
peppered steaks and Chicken-style nuggets
Birds Eye Mexican Chilli Bean Burgers
Desserts
Treacle tart
Basics apple pie (chilled, large pie - the packs of 6 Basics mini apple
pies are also vegan)
Tesco
Chilled
Tesco Value Italian vegetable pasta
Simply Organic ready meals
Pick Me Foods Vegalicious Masala (some - but not all - other products
in this range are also vegan)
Instead of the meat
Tesco Meat-free mexican-style bean burgers
Tesco Meat-free chicken-style dippers
Tesco Meat-free vegetable fingers
Tesco Meat-free vegetable quarter pounders
Tesco Meat-free nut cutlets
Tesco Meat-free falafel
Linda McCartney sausages and country pies
Desserts
Woodland fruit strudel (frozen)
Apple strudel (frozen)
Apple and mincemeat strudel (frozen)
Value Apple Pie (frozen)
Waitrose
Chilled
Waitrose chargrilled vegetable pizza
Instead of the meat
Waitrose chunky vegetable quarter pounders
Waitrose Morrocan-spiced couscous grills
Goodlife butternut squash roasts
Goodlife spicy bean quarter pounders
Linda McCartney sausages and country pies
Cauldron carrot and onion burgers (chilled)
Wicken Fen carrot and coriander sausages (chilled)
Grassington's are making an increasing number of vegan products these days. Their Spicy beanburgers, Multigrain vegetable bakes and new 'Gardein' range of meat alternative products (including meatballs, chicken fillets and peppered steaks) are suitable for vegans.
Simply Organic make a range of vegan ready meals including chillies, stews and casseroles.
Tinned or fresh shop-bought soup and bread can be a suitable light meal for a vegan, but check the ingredients for non-vegan ingredients, as many vegetable soups include milk, cream or honey. Also watch out for meat or fish stock, although in Britain these are not usually used in soups described as 'vegetable' and should definitely not be in any 'vegetarian' soups.
Alternatively, have a look at the 10-minute meals page for super-quick recipes and home-made frozen ready meal ideas.