Tuesday 14 November 2017

The Battle Of The Vegan Christmas Sandwiches



It's that time of year when all the high street coffee shops and lunch outlets release their festive menus for the lead up to Christmas and this year there appears to be some really decent vegan offerings - hoorah! 

I've tried to get my hands on and try as many as I could over the past few weeks in order to bring you this comprehensive review and ranking of the main contenders. Let's just say it's been an enjoyable task! 

Pret



Pret have really blown me away with their festive offering this year and it's a vast improvement on last years vegan Christmas sandwich. The Very Merry Christmas Lunch takes pole position so far for me this year and really does take some beating. I love that it combines three of my favourite festive ingredients - stuffing, cranberry sauce and crispy onion flakes. The grilled carrots also give it a suitable amount of crunch! Everything about this sandwich just shouts Christmas and I dread to think how many I will eat between now and the big day! 10/10


Boots



Boots' Parsnip Fritter & Butternut Squash vegan sandwich has been a favourite of mine over the past few weeks, it's delicious! I'm also impressed that Boots didn't just go for something quite simple and standard. This does show some imagination! The only reason this one comes in second place for me is that it is more dry than the Pret option. But still the flavours are very festive! 8/10
  

M&S



Oh M&S I had such high hopes for this but sadly I feel a bit let down. Their Chestnut Roast Wrap just isn't festive enough for my liking and I don't know about you but a wrap is more of a Summer thing than a Christmas thing, so this just didn't feel very festive at all. I'm pleased they're offering more vegan options, and clearly M&S are finally getting the message that there is a demand for more vegan food, but this attempt almost feels a little half hearted. 5/10

Caffe Nero



Impressively Caffe Nero are offering us a vegan wrap for Christmas this year, their Falafel With Chestnuts & Spiced Slaw which also has a touch of cranberry sauce for the festive touch. I mean they could have been a little bit more inventive than just going for falafel but at least they do have a festive option for us. I also would have preferred to see a sandwich to a wrap but you can't win them all! They also have their vegan mince pie which was a favourite of mine last year and is again this year. I like the fact that it's fresh on the counter with all the other treats and, although very similar, it's slightly bigger and tastier than the packaged one from Costa. 5/10

  

EAT


Another turn up for the books is the Roasted Butternut Squash, Seedy Stuffing & Slaw sandwich at EAT which is also filled with cranberry sauce and, surprisingly, some vegan mayo. Sadly I haven't got around to visiting EAT yet but if you have already tried this comment below and let us all know what it's like! tbc/10


Tesco


Word on the grapevine is that Tesco Finest are offering up a festive vegan roll filled with bubble and squeak fritters, braised red cabbage flavoured with apple, sage and onion stuffing and vegan mayo. It's also said to come with an additional sachet of coconut bacon flakes to sprinkle inside. I mean this just sounds incredible and like a fairy tale! I am yet to see one in person yet, and who knows how many and what stores will be stocking them, but I am already on the hunt. Something tells me this will be like finding gold dust! tbc/10  

Costa



Again, no festive vegan option on the sandwiches front from Costa this year but they are offering up two vegan sweet treats - their mince pie and Christmas cake slice. I do feel that it's time Costa up their game and provide us with a decent vegan sandwich, they appear to be falling way behind their competitors. 2/10

Starbucks


Disappointing, but not surprising, to see absolutely no festive vegan offering from Starbucks. 0/10



If you're up for making your own Christmas sandwich I would recommend giving my super simple recipe a try as for me it's the real stand out winner! It contains Paxo sage & onion stuffing, vegan mayo, cranberry sauce, green leaves and crispy onion flakes. Now this is a sandwich that really does taste like Christmas. If you decide to make it let me know what you think!

What sandwich is your winner this Christmas? 
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9 comments

  1. That Pretty sandwich looks a-maz-ing! Definitely need to try one (or six) soon.

    Liz x
    Distract Me Now Please

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  2. Wow! Those are some pretty creative vegan sandwich options!
    Jennifer @ http://MyBlissfulJourney.com

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  3. I haven't tried any of the sandwiches yet but the Costa Christmas Cake Slice is amazing!! :) xx

    Yasmina | The July Journal

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  4. The Tesco on Broughton Road stocks the new Fritter Sandwich, proper tasty too.

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  5. Agree with you on the M&S wrap. It was just a bit... bland. I've tried it twice and I also think the wrap gets a little soggy and thick compared to the filling, if that makes sense.

    LOVE the Pret sandwich too but need to get my hands on more of the above. Boots may be first on the list! ;-)

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  6. The M&S one looked so good. Shame it was a letdown. And I'm a million miles (okay an hour) from my closest pret so it looks like I'll have to try and track the Boots one down instead. Great that so many places are offering them this year.

    Sophie
    www.glowsteady.co.uk

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  7. Really enjoyed reading this, Sarah! I've only tried the Pret sandwich so far (and I loved it) but I'm very tempted by the Boots one now too xx

    Toasty

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  8. Loved this sarnie segment:) Have to say that out of all these lovely offerings that your sandwich looked & sounded the most appetising! New business venture, maybe?! #Sarah'sSarnies Lol. X

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  9. The Tesco one is FIT! They had it in a small branch in Hornsey ��

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