Swedish flat-pack furniture giant IKEA is bidding farewell to the traditional turkey roast as part of its festive food menu and is going completely meat-free this Christmas.

For the first time ever, furniture giant IKEA is saying goodbye to the traditional turkey roast and shunning meat this Christmas in favour of an entirely meat-free menu.

Keen to “offer more planet-friendly and sustainable meals, at a low price,” IKEA is launching two new veggie dishes – a vegetarian Brie and Cranberry Open Tart and a new vegan main in the form of a Root Vegetable Tart Tatin as well as vegan-friendly mince pies.

IKEA’s Root Vegetable Tart Tatin (£3.95) which is made from fluffy puff pastry topped with glazed root vegetables and a sprinkling of thyme. According to the company, “this show-stopping vegan dish is also served with veg aplenty, including the festive favourite, Brussel sprouts.”

The meat-free dishes will be available as part of IKEA’s £5 lunchtime offer, which includes a dessert and drink.

Live healthier

In a statement sent to Vegan Food & Living: “As part of our commitment to supporting our customers to live healthier and more sustainable lives, we have decided to launch our first-ever ‘Meat-Free Christmas’ in our restaurants. We know that Christmas Dinners are an important part of the festive season, and we really want to encourage our customers to try something new this year. Both our meat-free dishes are packed full of flavour, to showcase how more sustainable options can be just as tasty”.

“This is another step forward in our journey to offer delicious food for the many people, also supporting those customers who are taking a more flexitarian approach to eating and reducing their meat consumption. 50% of all the hot meals served in our restaurants are now plant based, vegan or vegetarian.”

Sustainable

In a bid to provide more sustainable and ‘healthier’ options to customers, IKEA launched a vegan ice-cream as well as plant-based caviar and a veggie hot dog in 2018. Following on from the successful launch of the soy-based ice-cream in stores, IKEA also launched a strawberry version and now offers a range of vegan options including Veggie Balls and a Vegan Blueberry Mousse.

As well as introducing vegan ice-cream, IKEA has also pledged to remove single-use plastic from stores by 2020.

The meat-free Christmas menu will be available to purchase from Monday 4th November.

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