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    Home • Recipes • Vegetarian Recipes

    Quick No-Suet Mincemeat (Macaron Filling)

    Published: Nov 20, 2021 · Modified: Jun 1, 2023 by Jill Colonna11 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    A quick vegetarian no-suet mincemeat recipe with a much shorter mature time compared with traditional mincemeat. It also makes a fabulous filling for gluten free mince pie macarons - without the pie.

    holiday mincemeat macaron

    Feeling Festive on Stir-Up Sunday

    As Stir-up Sunday falls upon us at the end of November, it's a time to start thinking about being festive in the kitchen.  Seeing prompts on social media reminded me.

    So what is Stir-up Sunday? Stir-up Sunday takes place the last Sunday before Advent. Traditionally, it's the day that good British home cooks get stirring the Christmas pudding and top it up with more Brandy. The whole family gets to stir it around, making a wish while doing so.

    At home in France, however, Antoine isn't a fan of Christmas pudding - although sticky toffee pudding with apple is, however, a great hit.

    So, instead, I get around this catastrophe of keeping a little bit of my Britishness by stirring up some homemade mincemeat and finding ways to French it up a bit.

    quick no-suet mincemeat recipe

    No-Suet Vegetarian Mincemeat Recipe

    Whilst Christmas pudding needs time to mature before Christmas, the bonus is that this mincemeat doesn't need as long to mature. It only requires a few days and can keep for up to a year - although I haven't even tried it as it disappears pretty quickly! Moreover, as traditional mincemeat uses beef suet, I prefer making this vegetarian version, using butter instead.

    So it has all the traditional ingredients of mincemeat without the suet.

    My daughters are absolutely nuts about mincemeat and mince pies - especially when homemade with this mincemeat.  So we can make pies with more filling rather than more pie dough, so they are lighter than store-bought mince pies. It's also great for filling these deliciously quick and easy Mincemeat Pinwheels.

    mincemeat spirals on a shiny red plate dusted with icing sugar

    Mincemeat Macarons (Vegetarian & Gluten-Free)

    Now that we have homemade British-style mincemeat, it's time to French them up a bit. Consequently, we said Bonjour to mincemeat macarons!

    Make a batch of dark coloured macarons (adding ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon in the shells) and fill them with this vegetarian mincemeat. Recipes for macarons are in my books: Mad About Macarons!

    If you close your eyes, you'll discover the taste is just like a mince pie without the pastry.

    Moreover, it's also like a light gluten free Christmas pudding! It's festive. It's fruity. It's spiced.
    Healthy too with apples, pecan or walnuts.

    mince pie macaron with holly and jar of mincemeat

    When you follow the mincemeat macaron filling recipe below, there are two versions:

    • Either blitz the filling to make a smooth paste, making it easy to pipe out using a piping bag.
    • Alternatively, just spoon it on (like in the photo). Don't forget, however, to let your mince pie macarons mature patiently in the fridge for at least 24 hours. What? The macarons are patient or are you?

    As this uses butter instead of suet, this is suitable for vegetarians and, like all macaron recipes in my books, are gluten free.

    close-up mincemeat macaron dusted with icing sugar

    What Can I Make with No-Suet Mincemeat?

    Plus, it goes without saying - you don't need to just fill macarons with this.

    It's great for making your own mince pies or for spooning over creamy rice pudding for something festive.
    Or top on Palets Bretons (French butter biscuits from Brittany) for a French style mince pie.

    holiday mincemeat macaron

    Quick No-Suet Mincemeat

    Jill Colonna
    An easy, quick no-suet mincemeat recipe, ideal for vegetarians and gluten free. Little time needed to mature compared with traditional mincemeat. It also makes a fabulous filling for macarons!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 1 hour hr
    Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
    Course Condiments, confiserie
    Cuisine British
    Servings 4 jam jars

    Ingredients
      

    • 275 g (10oz) Apples (about 2-3) peeled, cored and grated (I used Granny Smith)
    • 200 g (7oz/ 1¼ cups) Golden sultanas
    • 200 g (7oz) Cranberries
    • 100 g (3.5oz/ â…” cup) Raisins
    • 100 g (3.5oz) Currants
    • 100 g (3.5oz) Dates chopped
    • 50 g (2oz/ scant ½ cup) Slivered almonds broken
    • 100 g (3.5oz) candied orange peel
    • 25 g (1oz/ 2 tbsp) pecan nuts (or walnuts) chopped finely
    • 200 g (7oz / 1¼ cups) soft dark brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon mixed spice pain d'épices
    • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 orange (grated zest and juice) unwaxed/organic
    • 100 g (3.5oz/scant ½ cup) butter unsalted
    • 10 tablespoon Cognac Brandy, apple or orange juice

    Instructions
     

    • Throw all the ingredients and 8 tablespoon of the Brandy (or apple juice) in a heavy-based pot with a lid and cook on a low-medium heat for about an hour.
    • Allow to cool, stir in another 2 tablespoon of Brandy, then fill sterilised jars with the mixture
    • For filling macarons, blitz the mixture in a food processor (or hand blender) until a smooth paste.
      Leave to cool then fill your macaron shells with the mincemeat paste and sandwich them together. Leave to mature in a container in the fridge for 24 hours, to let the macaron magic do its work.

    Notes

    Once cooled and in jars, the butter will appear but that’s normal. When used in mince pies or other dessert recipes, this will disappear.
    Storage: As long as this mincemeat is kept in sealed, sterilised jars, it can keep for a year in a cool, dry place. Once opened, keep refrigerated.
    Measures: Please note that all my recipes are best made using digital kitchen scales in precise metric grams. Both ounces (and cups) are given as an approximate guide. 
     
    Keyword mincemeat macaron filling, no-suet mincemeat spirals, Vegetarian mincemeat recipe

    This post was originally published December 1st 2016 but is now republished to include new images and updated text.

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    Jill Colonna standing in a French patisserie lab holding a giant whisk over an oversized mixer bowl

    Meet Jill Colonna

    Jill is both Scottish and French and author of the book and blog, Mad About Macarons since 2010. Here she shares over 30 years of experience of living the healthy food life with her French family in Paris - via easy recipes and local food guides in France.

    More about Jill

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    1. Thomasina

      November 24, 2022 at 7:46 pm

      5 stars
      Christmas Mincemeat filling inside a macaron? That's definitely for me.

      Reply
      • Jill Colonna

        November 24, 2022 at 10:34 pm

        So glad you like it, Thomasina x

        Reply
    2. Geni Mermoud

      December 08, 2021 at 7:18 pm

      Jill, are fresh cranberries and dried cranberries interchangeable in this recipe?

      Reply
      • Jill Colonna

        December 08, 2021 at 7:46 pm

        I've only ever used dried for this mincemeat, Geni - but fresh would work too! Enjoy and thanks for popping in x

        Reply
    3. Lucie

      November 26, 2021 at 1:46 pm

      5 stars
      Lovely twist of two desserts, tastes of Christmas!

      Reply
      • Jill Colonna

        November 26, 2021 at 3:10 pm

        Thanks Lucie - yes, it's a mini mini Christmas pudding!

        Reply
    4. June S

      December 11, 2016 at 1:34 am

      Now I really like this macaron filling for Christmas day. I am quite excited to make them for gifts as I've found gift bags shaped like a gingerbread house. We have been invited for a buffet on Boxing Day too so I think these macarons will go down very well. Thank you for the idea Jill.

      Reply
      • Jill Colonna

        December 11, 2016 at 2:41 pm

        They sound fun Christmas bags and so great that you'll be giving them as gifts! Please share them with us on Facebook, June, if you can... 🙂

        Reply
    5. Jean-Pierre D

      December 03, 2016 at 5:24 am

      I like the sound of this and beautiful in a macaron, Jill. A spoonful on rice pudding would also be great.

      Reply
      • Jill Colonna

        December 03, 2016 at 1:16 pm

        What a brilliant idea, Jean-Pierre. Thank you!
        Rice pudding with warmed mincemeat sounds gorgeous.

        Reply

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