Vegetarian Haggis
Our vegetarian haggis recipe is a twist on a traditional Scottish classic that has no meat. If you've been looking for a recipe that tastes amazing, is really easy to make, and is cheap then you have just found your new go-to winter dinner! Perfect for Hogmanay or Burn's Night.
Servings: 8
Calories: 331kcal
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- 1¾ cup onion chopped
- ¾ cup carrot finely grated
- 2 large portobello mushrooms finely chopped
- 1½ cup lentils cooked
- 1¼ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg freshly ground
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons Marmite
- 2 teaspoons molasses (black treacle)
- 1 teaspoon brown sauce HP sauce
- 1½ cups steel cut oats (pinhead oats) uncooked
- 1½ cups vegetable stock
Instructions
Making the Haggis Mixture
- Start cooking the green lentils according to directions on the package and add 1 bay leaf. When tender, strain, return to pot and then add salt to taste.
- In a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter until it's foamy, then saute the onion for 2 minutes. Add the finely grated carrots and cook 5 minutes more.
- Reduce the heat to medium, then make a hole in the center and melt more butter before adding the mushrooms. Cook for 8 minutes until soft.
- Stir in the cooked green lentils with a large wooden spoon, then add the dry spices (ground coriander, mixed spice, nutmeg, black pepper and salt) and the flavorings (brown sauce, Marmite, and molasses/black treacle).
- Pour in the vegetable stock and add the steel cut oats (US) or pinhead oats (UK). Stir until well mixed then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes. Make sure you stir it every couple of minutes so the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more freshly cracked black pepper, salt, or butter to get it just right.
- While the vegetarian haggis is simmering on the stovetop, prep a 1.5 L pudding basin by brushing the inside with butter and placing a circle of parchment paper in the bottom.
Steaming & Serving the Haggis
- Once the vegetarian haggis is done simmering on the stovetop, pack the haggis into the prepared pudding basin. Cover the pudding basin with greased parchment paper and foil, tying a string around the edge to seal. Make a string handle for easy removal later.
- Place a metal jar lid at the bottom of the large Dutch oven to act as a trivet, then place the pudding basin on top. (Check to see if the lid of the Dutch oven fits, if not, change out the metal jar lid for a thinner one.) Remove the lid and fill the Dutch oven with boiling water until it's halfway up the side of the pudding basin.
- Cover and simmer for 1 hour, replenishing the water if needed to keep it halfway up the pudding basin.
- Remove the pudding basin, then remove the cover and turn the vegetarian haggis out onto a plate. Garnish the serving plate with parsley. Serve with neeps and tatties (UK) or mashed rutabaga and potatoes (US) along with a savory whisky cream sauce.
Notes
- Use green lentils that are cooked with a bay leaf until they're soft, then drain, return to pot and season with salt. Taste and adjust seasoning until it's to your liking.
- Add the dry spices first, then the flavorings. After the mixture has simmered, taste and adjust seasonings.
- We used steal cut oats (called pinhead oats in the UK) that are added to the mixture and cook while the mixture simmers in vegetable broth.
- This savory pudding is steamed in a greased pudding basin. For more photos about covering the basin, see our plum pudding post.
- Optional: serve with a whisky cream sauce.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 664mg | Potassium: 576mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2293IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 4mg
