Vegan Blini Toppings (and easy vegan blinis)

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.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

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.

Notes

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.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was! Mention @thevegspace or #thevegspace