This selection of quick and easy vegan blini toppings are simple to make and will impress your guests! Includes a recipe for easy vegan blinis.
🍴Why you will love this recipe
Blinis are perfect party food - little buckwheat pancakes topped with an array of pretty and delicious toppings.
Whilst traditional blinis (and shop-bought blinis) contain milk and eggs, it is very easy indeed to make a vegan version, and to top them with all sorts of delicious things.
Below you will find a recipe and step-by-step instructions for making traditional buckwheat blinis with yeast. Whilst it is possible to replicate a blini-type pancake using plain flour and baking powder, once you've tried a yeasted buckwheat blini you will agree there is no comparison.
Whilst faffing around with yeast might sound like something to avoid when you have guests coming over, in fact these pretty little blinis couldn't be easier to make - just a minute or two of hands-on time mixing the batter, then 45 minutes in a warm place, then dollop the mixture into the pan. So easy, and so impressive!
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📝 What you need to make vegan blinis
Strong White Flour is important to get the right gluten content to give a good rise for the lightest, fluffiest blinis - don't substitute this for anything else. It is sometimes called bread flour.
Buckwheat Flour is traditional for blinis and has a deliciously nutty flavour. It is more expensive than most flours, but you can substitute in rye flour or wholewheat flour instead.
Yeast Use a 'fast acting' or 'instant' yeast here - you can buy it in a tub or sachets in most supermarkets.
Vegan Yoghurt adds a slightly sour flavour and replaces the eggs in this recipe - use an unsweetened soya yoghurt for best results.
Plant Milk Use an unsweetened plant milk - soya gives best results (as it has the highest protein content) but any oat or nut milk will be fine.
👩🏽🍳 How to make your vegan blinis
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼.
Sieve the flours into a large bowl and add the yeast and salt. In a small bowl mix the vegan yoghurt and dairy-free milk, and warm in the microwave for 1 minute.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until smooth, then cover and leave in a warm place for around 45 minutes until the batter has risen and small bubbles have formed on the surface.
Heat a little of the vegan butter in a large frying pan and drop in small dollops of batter in. Cook for a minute then flip over. When they are golden brown and cooked through, remove and wrap in a clean tea towel to keep them soft.
🥂 5 Easy Vegan Blini Toppings
These five vegan blini toppings are simple to make and totally delicious. You don't need to make all five, just choose those you like the look of to make a mixed platter.
For the full instructions on how to make these blini toppings, scroll to the bottom of the page 👇🏼.
Carrot 'Smoked Salmon' and Vegan Cream Cheese
Whilst this isn't claiming to be a perfect vegan replica of smoked salmon, it is an easy way to get a really tasty canapé that looks fantastic! Lemon and nori (seaweed) give a subtle fishy flavour.
Lentil 'Caviar' with lemony oat crème fraiche
Similarly, this vegan 'caviar' is actually a quick puy lentil salad in a tasty balsamic dressing, a touch of nori, and served with a lemony oat crème fraiche.
Glazed Shiitake and Cucumber
These meaty shiitake mushrooms are cooked in a splash of soy sauce. Perfectly paired with cucumber spears and a vegan cream cheese.
Vegan Pastrami and Gherkin
A good-quality vegan pastrami that is widely available in supermarkets makes a perfect pair with mini cocktail gherkins and vegan cream cheese.
Beetroot, Walnut and Caper
Totally delicious, a slice of cooked beetroot is topped with a mixture of walnuts, capers and vegan cream cheese.
No-Cook Vegan Blini Toppings
Or if you prefer some very simple blini ideas that need no cooking at all, how about:
- Hummus and sun-dried tomato A dollop of good-quality shop-bought hummus with thin slices of sun-dried tomato curled on top.
- Avocado and baby tomatoes Mash an avocado and season well with salt and black pepper. Top each blini with a slice of avocado and half a baby tomato.
- Roasted Peppers and vegan cream cheese Use slices of roasted pepper from a jar, and arrange on top of a dollop of vegan cream cheese.
Cheat's Blinis
If you're in a real rush and don't have time to make blinis, you could simply use Ritz Biscuits (which are vegan - the plain, not the cheese version), and top with any of these toppings, to make very quick and easy vegan party nibbles!
🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
Try to serve them fairly soon after cooking, and once the toppings are on, serve immediately. To prevent sogginess, if your party is likely to be a long, grazing-type affair, how about leaving the blinis plain with toppings around them, on a 'make your own blini' station?
You can wrap your blinis in a clean tea towel when they come out of the pan, to keep them soft and warm until serving.
Yes - as it is a yeasted batter, you can speed up or slow down the fermentation time by changing the temperature. So, if you want to make the batter 8 hours in advance, just keep it in the fridge until cooking time, where it will do a long, slow prove which actually enhances the flavour and texture of your blinis.
Yes - whilst they will always be at their best straight out of the pan, you can freeze blinis successfully. Lay them in a single layer on a baking tray covered in baking parchment/greaseproof paper. As soon as they are frozen through, transfer them to an airtight container or bag and keep frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, just pop them in the oven straight from frozen, and cook for 7-8 minutes.
🍽 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Blini Toppings (and easy vegan blinis)
Ingredients
For the blinis:
- 110 g strong white flour sometimes called bread flour
- 55 g buckwheat flour or rye or wholemeal flour
- 5 g fast acting / instant yeast 1 tsp
- 180 g dairy-free yoghurt (unsweetened) soya works best
- 160 ml dairy-free milk (unsweetened) soya works best
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter / block margarine
Topping 1: Carrot 'Smoked Salmon' and Vegan Cream Cheese
- 1 carrot
- ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke optional
- ½ small sheet nori (seaweed) optional
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed or sunflower oil
- vegan cream cheese I like nut-based cream cheeses like Nush
Topping 2: Lentil 'Caviar' with lemony oat crème fraiche
- 3 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ small sheet nori (seaweed)
- 70 g cooked puy lentils or puy/lentil quinoa mix - from a pouch
- oat crème fraiche I like Oatly Creamy Oat Fraiche
- ½ lemon
Topping 3: Glazed Shiitake and Cucumber
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 4 shiitake mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- cucumber
- vegan cream cheese I like nut-based cream cheeses like Nush
Topping 4: Vegan Pastrami and Gherkin
- vegan cream cheese I like nut-based cream cheeses like Nush
- vegan pastrami slices I like Squeaky Bean Pastrami, available in most supermarkets
- cocktail gherkins
Topping 5: Beetroot, Walnut and Caper
- 1 cooked beetroot
- 15 g walnuts
- 2 teaspoon capers
- 2 tablespoon vegan cream cheese I like nut-based cream cheeses like Nush
Instructions
To make the blinis:
- Sift the strong white flour and buckwheat flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast and salt and mix.
- In a small bowl or jug, mix the vegan yoghurt and vegan milk. Warm in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Mix the warm yoghurt and milk into the dry ingredients until smooth, then cover and leave in a fairly warm place for 45-60 minutes, until well risen with small bubbles on the surface. (Or to make ahead of time, place in the fridge for 8 hours).
- Heat a small amount of vegan butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat, and drop in blobs of batter (about 1 tablespoon each). Cook for a minute until small bubbles appear on the surface, then flip over and cook the other side until golden brown and cooked through. Continue until all the batter has been used up.
Topping 1: Carrot 'Smoked Salmon' and Vegan Cream Cheese
- Peel and trim the carrot, then use the peeler to cut it into long, thin strips.
- In a mini-chopper or small blender, blitz the lemon juice, soy sauce, maple syrup, (and liquid smoke and nori if using) - or crush the nori and whisk by hand. Tip into an airtight tub or container then toss through the carrot strips until fully coated. Season well with salt and black pepper. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes or longer.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan, and add the carrot strips and all the marinade. Cook gently for 4-5 minutes until the carrot is fairly soft.
- Spread the blinis with vegan cream cheese, then arrange the carrot smoked salmon on top.
Topping 2: Lentil 'Caviar' with lemony oat crème fraiche
- In a mini-chopper or blender, blitz the oil, balsamic and nori (if using) until smooth, (or crush the nori and whisk by hand).
- Stir the dressing through the cooked puy lentils, and season well with salt and black pepper.
- Mix the oat crème fraiche and lemon juice together.
- Top each blini with a teaspoon of lentil 'caviar' and a teaspoon of lemony crème fraiche.
Topping 3: Glazed Shiitake and Cucumber
- Heat the oil in a small frying pan.
- Clean and halve the shiitake mushrooms and fry gently for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce and let it bubble until the mushrooms are fully coated in a sticky glaze. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Cut a length of cucumber, quarter and remove the fleshy seeds in the centre, then slice into very fine matchsticks.
- Spread each blini with vegan cream cheese, then top with two shiitake mushroom halves and two cucumber matchsticks.
Topping 4: Vegan Pastrami and Gherkin
- Spread each blini with vegan cream cheese.
- Tear the vegan pastrami into long strips, and arrange on the blini, alongside a cocktail gherkin.
Topping 5: Beetroot, Walnut and Caper
- Slice the cooked beetroot into round slices, and lay on a sheet of kitchen paper to drain any excess juice.
- Roughly chop the walnuts and capers.
- In a small bowl mix the walnuts, capers and vegan cream cheese.
- Top each blini with a beetroot slice and a teaspoon of the walnut and caper mixture.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Bunny says
The blini batter recipe worked perfectly even using gluten-free flour! I overproofed mine unfortunately but that's no one's fault but my own. Thanks for the recipe!
Kate Ford says
Ah that's good to know it works well with GF flour, thanks!
Heather Smith Thomassen says
I'm OK with gluten, but NOT with wheat. Is there no substitute for Strong white bread flour, please?
Tania says
These are perfect for all the festive occasions and summer parties!
Keri Bevan says
These are gorgeous. We made them for a party, and even non vegans loved them. Thank you for the recipe!
Suja md says
We really like this recipe. Never knew it was this easy to make. Will be trying without further delay!
Nathan says
These vegan blinis are so cute! I'll definitely have to try that carrot "smoked salmon" variety, but they all look delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Colleen says
We made the shitake & cucumber version for our party last weekend and they were a hit! Thanks for the recipe.
Emily says
What a beautiful and simple appetizer to share with guests! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
kirschplunder says
These look incredible... so elegant and probably very delicious!
Sophie says
They look great! I'm in a beetroot phase at the moment, having it every day!! Especially like the presentation platter too by the way!!
TheVegSpace says
Yes the slate is v. cool indeed - already had lots of use!
Clare Rudd says
Lovely, bet they tasted delicious and they look fab.
TheVegSpace says
Thanks Clare!