Vegan mincemeat crumble bars - mince pies in a quick and easy to make traybake form!
A crunchy, oaty biscuit base and crumble topping are filled with sweet, fruity mincemeat. It can all be made in one bowl and is much easier than rolling out pastry!
These vegan mincemeat crumble bars are a great quick and easy alternative to traditional mince pies at Christmas time.
They consist of a crunchy, oaty biscuit base, topped with fruity mincemeat and a crumbly topping.
The base and crumble topping are made from the same mixture, so they are really simple to make and you only need the one bowl.
I adapted my popular berry crumble bars recipe to make these, it works extremely well as a festive version!
They are a little more rugged and substantial than mince pies, but in a good way. A slice makes a great filling snack with a cup of tea (or a mug of mulled wine).
What Do I Need To Make Vegan Mincemeat Crumble Bars?:
Mincemeat: No, for anyone outside of the UK, this doesn't contain actual meat. It is a mixture of dried fruits, sugar, alcohol, fat and spices which is used to make mince pies at Christmas.
Lots of shop-bought mincemeat is vegan friendly, but do check the jar just in case as occasionally it may contain beef suet or butter. I used one from Tesco.
You can also use home-made mincemeat.
Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour is best. I haven't tried making these gluten-free. I imagine they would work fine with a plain gluten-free flour blend plus ¼ tsp xanthan gum but they may be extra crumbly.
Oats: Adding porridge oats to the base and crumble gives it a lovely texture. Don't use jumbo oats, regular supermarket own-brand oats are best.
Light brown soft sugar: Using light brown or muscovado sugar adds flavour. I don't recommend swapping this for any other kind of sugar or sweetener.
Butter: You need to use a vegan block butter, not the spreadable kind in a tub. I use Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter.
Baking powder:
Cinnamon: I just add a little bit to ramp up the spices from the mincemeat. You could use mixed spice instead.
How To Make Vegan Mincemeat Crumble Bars:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
Mix together the plain flour, oats, light brown soft sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Add the cold vegan block butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.
Tip about two thirds of the mixture into a square tin, pack it down firmly then bake until golden.
Spread over the mincemeat then scatter over the rest of the crumble mixture, press it down very slightly.
Bake until golden.
Top Tips:
All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
The bars will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for around 4 days. They can also be frozen.
I make nine large squares, but you could also cut them into twelve fingers.
They would make a great dessert served warm with custard or ice cream.
You can add a bit of extra dried fruit to the mincemeat if you like, a handful of dried cranberries would work well.
More Vegan Christmas Recipes:
- Vegan viennese whirl mince pies
- Vegan stollen bars
- Vegan Dundee cake
- Gluten-free vegan Christmas cake
- Vegan pecan snowball cookies
- Vegan gingerbread cookies
- Vegan mincemeat cake
- Vegan chocolate raspberry mousse cake
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.
Vegan Mincemeat Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- 180 g (1 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 150 g (1 + ⅔ cups) porridge oats
- 100 g (½ cup, firmly packed) light brown soft sugar
- rounded ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 175 g (¾ cup) vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) cold and diced
- 411 g (14 ½ oz) jar mincemeat
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/gas mark 5. Grease a 20 cm/8 in square cake tin and line it with baking parchment.
- Mix together the oats, flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the cold vegan butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.
- Tip about two thirds of the mixture into the prepared tin. Spread it out level and pack it down very firmly. Pop the rest of the mixture in the fridge.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes until pale golden.
- Spread the mincemeat evenly over the base. Scatter over the rest of the crumble mixture and press it down very lightly.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes until golden.
- Leave the bars to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then carefully transfer them to a wire rack. Leave to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- The bars will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for around 4 days. They can also be frozen.
- I make nine large squares, but you could also cut them into twelve fingers.
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
Marvic
Hey! Do you think I can use spelt flour?
Hannah
Hi Marvic, yes I think that would be fine.
E
These look wonderful! Being in the US, I am unsure what to use for the oats, though (porridge oats is not a designation here). Would rolled oats chopped up a bit in a food processor work, or should I use steel-cut oats instead? Thank you!
Hannah
Hi, thank you! I would use rolled oats chopped up a bit; or looking at pictures it looks like instant oats would work too. You can see the texture of the oats that you need in one of the step-by-step photos (in the body of the post).
E
Thank you so much!