Decorating a vegan gingerbread house at Christmas is, for me, one of the loveliest things I get to do with my kids and finding the best vegan sweets for it isn’t as hard as you think.
With ever-growing numbers of people turning vegan, there is a dazzling array of tasty treats that contain no animal products whatsoever. The number of people giving up meat and dairy rocketed by 40% in 2020 with 3% of the UK population now said to be enjoying a vegan diet.
The rise in people switching to a plant-based diet is naturally driving changes within the food industry with increasing numbers of big-name brands turning much-loved products animal free.
Gingerbread is no different – vegan gingerbread dough is actually surprisingly easy to make and incredibly strong, not much different to traditional dough, thanks to all that lovely treacle in there. And so many lovely sprinkles and sweets are now vegan too.
Here’s my list of best vegan sweets for gingerbread decorating endeavours:
Jelly Tots – Jelly Tots are one of my absolute faves and I use them on loads of our houses. They taste so yummy too and you’d never guess they’re vegan but they are!
Skittles – Great for injecting some serious colour into your gingerbread house designs, Skittles have to be up there as one of the go to sweets for decorating as they’re so bright and yummy of course.
Oreos – Okay so technically not sweets but Oreos are vegan believe it or not and if you get the mini ones they make great additions to a vegan gingerbread house as roof tiles or low walls.
Love Hearts – Cute, pastel and with lovely messages on them, what’s not to like?!
Parma Violets – Not everyone’s cup of tea but I personally love them, they remind me of trips to my grandma as a child. They’re also a pretty lilac colour to boot.
Foxes Glacier Fruits – I don’t much care for the taste of these but I’m not a boiled sweet kinda girl anyway. However, they do make for amazing edible glass windows when melted into the window gaps on a gingerbread house.
Millions – My kids love these things although I can’t stand it when they accidentally drop a few and they bounce everywhere. However, they do come in a great range of colours and make for a very festive vegan gingerbread house
Vegan Freedom Vanilla Mallows – I’ve tried so many times to make vegan mallows with limited success but if you do like these pillowy mounds of fluff without the gelatine, then these ones are pretty good.
Jelly Beans – Lovely and colourful, jelly beans area a great addition. I would always check the ingredients though as not all beans a vegan. Sainsbury’s mini ones are. However, Asda’s and some of the original Jelly Beans are not.
Rainbow Drops – I snack on these as a treat but they make great paths for your house. Brightly coloured, light in colours but big on crunch and taste.
Vegan Sprinkles – I love love love sprinkles but many are not vegan friendly. Even ones that don’t contain any obvious ingredients may actually be hiding animal products. Many use glaze made from beeswax while others feature E120 carmine colour which is made from crushed beatle shells. Even some varieties of silver balls are made with fish gelatine so sometimes you need to delve a little deeper into what’s good and what’s not. Having said that The Shire Bakery has a whole vegan section with some lovely options to choose from.
Best Vegan Sweets for your Vegan Gingerbread House
Decorating a vegan gingerbread house at Christmas is, for me, one of the loveliest things I get to do with my kids and finding the best vegan sweets for it isn’t as hard as you think.
With ever-growing numbers of people turning vegan, there is a dazzling array of tasty treats that contain no animal products whatsoever. The number of people giving up meat and dairy rocketed by 40% in 2020 with 3% of the UK population now said to be enjoying a vegan diet.
The rise in people switching to a plant-based diet is naturally driving changes within the food industry with increasing numbers of big-name brands turning much-loved products animal free.
Gingerbread is no different – vegan gingerbread dough is actually surprisingly easy to make and incredibly strong, not much different to traditional dough, thanks to all that lovely treacle in there. And so many lovely sprinkles and sweets are now vegan too.
Here’s my list of best vegan sweets for gingerbread decorating endeavours: