Vegan Wedding Reception Menu

Vegan Wedding Reception Menu Ideas

You’ve finally found the perfect wedding gown, so now it’s time to start planning your wedding reception! If you have vegan family members and friends, you’ll need to make sure you have tasty menu options for them. Or better yet, maybe you’re going vegan for your entire wedding reception! If that’s the case, you’ll need some amazing culinary delights to wow and impress your guests. Coming up with the most delicious vegan menu possible is certainly top priority. Vegans don’t eat any meat or animal products, and this includes eggs, butter, cheese and milk. It may seem like a tall order to create dishes excluding these ingredients, however you’d be surprised at all the delicious meals you can create!

Vegan Hors D’oeuvres for Your Wedding

To start off your wedding reception, you’ll want to provide your guests with some great tasting, vegan hors d’oeuvres. There are many super satisfying small bites that can easily be made meat and dairy free!
Some Mediterranean-style dishes include tomato bruschetta brushed with olive oil or potato cups filled with vegan cheese and caramelized onions. Grilled veggies with bean dip or falafel with tahini sauce are light and delicious appetizers. Olive oil roasted and spiced chickpeas are a great snack. You should have no trouble finding recipes on the web or Pinterest for all of these excellent options!

American hors d’oeuvre ideas include roasted potatoes with olive oil, or artichokes with tomatoes and fennel. Take a refreshing approach with fruit skewers on sticks! Tortilla chips and guacamole never disappoint. Quinoa and spinach-stuffed mushrooms or stir-fried shiitake mushrooms and sugar snap peas are sophisticated choices.
A few Asian style hors d’oeuvres include grilled tofu and pineapple skewers or seitan fingers with soy dipping sauce. Vegetable spring rolls, cucumber and avocado sushi, and veggie fried rice are also great, light options.

Vegan Salad Options for Weddings

Salads are some of the best options for vegans – however, they can get slightly one-dimensional if there isn’t a varied mix of ingredients! The key is to provide a blend of greens and fruits/veggies that work harmoniously with each other. Replace traditional cheese with vegan cheese, and sub unsweetened nut milks or ground cashews in place of dairy for yummy homemade dressings.

Our favorite vegan salad recommendations include mixed green salad with avocados and lime vinaigrette, cucumber tomato salad, spinach with blanched almonds, vinaigrette, and mandarin oranges; three bean salad, tabouli salad, couscous, sun-dried fruit and chickpea salad, walnuts and spiced green beans with mustard vinaigrette, arugula with sliced pears and pistachios.

Vegan Soup Options for Weddings

You’re in luck if you’re looking for a great tasting vegan soup for your wedding! It’s easy to transition any traditional soup recipe into a vegan one. In fact, simply replace any meat broth with vegetable broth, and replace any cream or milk with unsweetened nut or soy milk.
The best soups to make vegan include miso soup with mushrooms, Thai coconut soup, vegetable minestrone soup, tomato dill soup, gazpacho, fresh fruit soup simmered in white and red wine.

Vegan Entrées for Weddings

At any wedding, vegan entrées are the most important part of the meal. Who needs meat with all the delicious vegetable-based recipes out there?! Just be sure to avoid butter and dairy in cream sauces and gravies – olive oil or cashew cream is again a great substitution for those ingredients. Some of our all-time favorites are Mediterranean-style and they include couscous stuffed portobello mushrooms or tofu squash ravioli in cashew cream sauce. Spicy ratatouille served over rice is the perfect compliment to a nice green salad. Go traditional with pasta primavera with seasonal vegetables, sautéed onions and marinara sauce.

Our favorite American entrées include refried black beans and tomato rice with guacamole, stuffed butternut squash, peppers stuffed with rice and vegetables, tofu “steak”, mushroom ragout with pasta, and seitan meatloaf with mushroom gravy.

Finally, some great-tasting Asian style entrées include vegetable Thai curry with steamed quinoa or chickpea curry. We also love pistachio crusted tofu over horseradish potatoes and wilted spinach, or angel hair pasta with vegetables and ginger soy sauce.

Photography Credit: Ali Bailey Photography