Here are the 40 best Vegan Afternoon Tea recipes. They're perfect for Mother's Day or any special occasion! From scones and cupcakes to sandwiches and macarons, these vegan recipes will be perfect on your cake stand for High Tea.
vegan afternoon tea
You don't have to miss out on afternoon tea if you're vegan, egg-free or dairy-free!
There are so many classic high tea recipes that are easily veganised without any compromise on taste.
This list is filled with every classic high tea recipe, from scones and brownies to macarons and lemon drizzle cake.
Be sure to also check out my vegan cake recipes for even more inspiration.
This post was originally published on 7 March 2017. Republished 5 May 2020 with new photos, information and recipe links.
afternoon tea recipes
Afternoon tea is such a wonderful way to slow down and enjoy an afternoon with good company.
A few cakes and some sandwiches are suddenly transformed into something very special once they're served on a cake stand on a beautifully laid table.
mother's day afternoon tea ideas
With Mother's Day coming up, it's a lovely excuse to get baking and treat your mum to a homemade afternoon tea.
Nothing's as special to a mom as spending some quality time together. And it's perfect over a vegan afternoon tea.
Plus, you don't have to book a restaurant, instead you can do it at home!
tips for a vegan afternoon tea
- Dress the table. If you have a tablecloth, be sure to iron and use it. Cloth napkins are also a great touch.
- If you have a fancy tea set, now's the time to use it! If not, you can often find mismatched vintage teacups and saucers in vintage, consignment and thrift stores. Also be sure to check out flea markets and antique fairs.
- A cake stand is great for displaying your delicious sandwiches and cakes. If you don't have a cake stand, then use plates around the table to display all the food.
- Lay out everything for the tea, including milk (decant into a small jug), sugar in a bowl or teacup and plenty of teaspoons.
- Be sure to make a mix of sweet and savory recipes. One non-negotiable is to make sure there are some cucumber sandwiches for an authentic afternoon tea.
- You can make it all from scratch, or buy a few elements and make the rest yourself. You can also make many of the below recipes ahead of time.
- Be sure to also include a bottle of prosecco or Champagne to make it extra special!
tips for setting the atmosphere
- Flowers really set the mood. The cake stand will take centre stage, so you won't need a centerpiece. Instead, you could add a few edible flowers to the food, or else cut flowers and put into bud vases or jam jars.
- Dress up! If you're going to all the effort of baking and decorating, then be sure to get yourself dressed up too.
- For more atmosphere, put on some mellow music. Try some piano bar music or google afternoon tea music for loads of choice.
what is typically served for afternoon tea?
At afternoon tea, you will typically find the following foods:
- Sandwiches, cut into small dainty slices.
- Usually cucumber sandwiches, with a few other flavors too.
- Scones, with clotted cream (a thick slightly sweet cream) and jam.
- A variety of jam flavors.
- Small, dainty cakes.
- Little pastries and tartlets.
- Tea in teapots. Usually black tea or others such as Earl Grey or green tea.
- Champagne, prosecco or sparkling wine are often offered.
what time is afternoon tea
4pm is the traditional time to serve afternoon tea. Of course if you're making your own high tea at home you can serve it any time you like!
how to make cucumber sandwiches
Here's how to make classic cucumber sandwiches for your vegan afternoon tea!
You'll need:
- White sliced bread. Sure you could try healthier bread, but the classic is on thin white!
- Vegan butter. If you really don't like vegan butter, try vegan mayo.
- Cucumber. Remove the peel, and slice it thinly. If you want to be fancy, you could deseed the cucumber by cutting it in half lengthways and scooping out the seeds with a teaspoon. Then cut the half moons into thin slices.
- Salt. You'll need a little sprinkling of good sea salt to bring out the flavor of the cucumber.
To make it: thinly spread vegan butter onto slices of bread. Add a single layer of cucumber, sprinkle with salt, and top with a slice of buttered bread. Cut off the crusts, then cut into 'fingers'.
Voila - classic cucumber sandwiches!
vegan high tea recipes
So, without further adieu, here are my top 40 recipes for a vegan afternoon tea.
Vegan Afternoon Tea Recipes
These vegan vanilla cupcakes are so light and fluffy that nobody would guess that they’re vegan! It’s a super easy 1-bowl recipe that’s light, moist and delicious. You only need 7 ingredients and 20 minutes, with no unusual ingredients. A delicate and tasty dessert that's perfect for a vegan afternoon tea.
This easy and tasty Vegan Cheesecake is perfect on the cake stand. The creamy no-bake vanilla dairy-free cheesecake is smooth, rich and delicious. The simple quick berry sauce is gorgeous on it.
Stuffed mushrooms only take minutes to prep and make a tasty party food or appetizer! The creamy filling is full of fresh herbs and garlic, perfect with the soft baked mushrooms. You can even prep them ahead, freeze them and then bake! Perfect when you're hosting an afternoon tea.
These bright red Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes are a delicate delicious treat. This one-bowl cupcake recipes, perfect with Cream Cheese Frosting, makes cakes that are so moist, fluffy and delicious that nobody would ever guess that they’re vegan. They’re super quick and easy.
Vegan tuna mayo (aka tuna salad) is really quick and easy to make, plus it's healthy and a great meat-free alternative to fish. The texture comes from mashed chickpeas (garbanzo beans) so it’s a nutritious sandwich filling with loads of fantastic flavours.
This Rainbow vegetable sandwich is so vibrant and full of texture! It's spread with creamy hummus, then filled with layers of crunchy raw vegetables. Cut into small rectangles for a perfect Afternoon Tea sandwich.
This Vegan Lobster Roll has all the amazing flavors of the classic sandwich – but veganized! The toasted rolls are filled with a creamy dressing and chopped hearts of palm as the ‘meat’. Delicious and ready in minutes. You can make the filling ahead, then serve in mini toasted rolls.
These easy vegan chocolate cupcakes don’t require any unusual ingredients! They’re quick, easy and so moist and delicious that nobody would guess they’re vegan. Rich, chocolatey and delicious.
This roasted vegetable sandwich is delicious, and the quick pea pesto gives it an extra awesome taste. Springlike and delicious.
Peru is famous for sandwiches, and this veggie version is filled with Peruvian spices and roasted vegetables to give it loads of great taste. This is the most incredible, flavorful Peruvian Sandwich (aka sanguche). Add the vegetable filling to small rolls for dainty versions that are perfect for a vegan Afternoon Tea.
Caponata alla Siciliana is a traditional vegan Italian eggplant stew from Sicily. It’s easy, versatile and full of great taste. Serve it on toasted bread as crostini.
This 1-bowl vegan carrot cake is insanely delicious! It's a classic cake, made vegan, that’s moist, flavorful, fluffy and also super easy to make in just 35 minutes. It's perfect with vegan cream cheese frosting.
You'll love this classic vanilla cake recipe! It doesn’t have any unusual ingredients and it’s very easy to make. Plus, it’s light, fluffy and nobody would guess that it’s vegan. Soft, tender, fluffy and moist. Absolute bliss.
You'll need a chocolate cake on the cake stand! This vegan chocolate cake is rich, moist, fluffy and decadent. It's also super easy to make in 1-bowl with no unusual ingredients.
Did you know you can create picture-perfect vegan macarons using aquafaba (the liquid drained from a can of chickpeas) instead of egg whites? A perfect, fancy, afternoon tea treat.
Cherry Bars are super easy to make and are bursting with fruity flavor. You can make the cherry squares with fresh or frozen cherries, or a can of cherry pie filling! They'll be sure to delight your tea guests.
This vegan Black Forest Cake has all the moist, delicious flavour of the 1970s classic gateau. The rich, fluffy vegan chocolate cake layers are filled with vegan cream and decadent cherries in syrup. It's a showstopper of a cake that will delight at Afternoon Tea!
These easy, fluffy, homemade baked chocolate vegan doughnuts only take 30 minutes to make! The cake donuts are soft and delicious, especially with an extra-special Earl Grey drizzle. No yeast or frying.
The name may say honey, but there's no honey in honeycomb! It's a really easy candy to make. Drizzle piece in melted dark chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt for a grown-up candy for afternoon tea.
This one-bowl vegan lemon cake recipe is so zingy, fluffy and easy! You only need 9 ingredients and 40 minutes for this light and tender vegan cake. It's pretty and perfect for a celebration.
You only need 8 ingredients and 10 minutes to whip up these chocolate beetroot bliss balls. They're decadent yet healthy.
This vegan pumpkin cake is perfect for afternoon tea, particularly in the Fall or Winter! It's a tasty, easy, 1-bowl recipe with no unusual ingredients. You'll love how moist, flavorful and delicious this cake is, plus it's topped with ginger frosting is! Make it with canned pumpkin, the inside of a jack-o-lantern or even try butternut squash.
These matcha coconut yogurt tarts are bright green so will make a statement on your cake stand! They're also healthy and easy to make. The matcha green tea gives them that amazing colour and fills them with goodness. They’re also tasty and quick.
Try these unbelievably moist, rich, fudgy and delicious (courgette) Zucchini Brownies! They're a quick 1-bowl recipe that are chewy, oozy and gooey.
This is a crisp sandwich with a smoky kick mixed with the smooth, nutty taste of avocado. Bliss. You are going to enjoy this drool worthy Vegan Tempeh Sandwich.
Simple vegan shortbread cookies with chocolate chunks and dusted sugar are a delicate addition to afternoon tea. They’re rich and flavourful, but the real star of the show is their gorgeous texture.
Beautiful decedent rum balls. A perfect little ball of flavour that will be a welcome addition for your tea time treat.
These vegan lemon cookies have a delicious frosting. They're easy to make and zingy!
Vegan scones – these easy British scones are a perfect afternoon tea treat. They are quick and simple to make and totally delicious. Serve with jam and vegan cream; or eat them split, toasted and buttered.
These vegan chocolate orange oat bars are quick and easy, but full of flavour. The decadent chocolate pairs beautifully with the citrusy orange. They're zesty, rich and delicious.
Mini No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake is a simple, elegant dessert! They're delicate, rich and delicious.
Flaky pastry and sweet cinnamon sugar combine in these easy puff pastry cinnamon twists. Make mini versions for afternoon tea!
Crumbly coconut oat bars that are healthy and so easy to make! Undetectably healthy, naturally gluten free and so scrumptious - perfect for a healthy afternoon tea snack.
This ginger Pecan Brittle with chocolate drizzle is surprisingly simple to make! Firey ginger and crunchy pecans are perfect nestled in the buttery candy pieces.
A vegan fruit tart made with a buttery shortbread crust, filled with sweetened cream cheese, and topped with glazed berries for the perfect springtime treat.
These gluten free vegan treats are easy to make and so vibrant. The colour comes from mixing beetroot into the homemade nut butter. It’s then slathered in dark chocolate. They're like peanut butter cups, but healthier and they have a secret bright pink middle!
Crisp, but not hard, chocolate biscotti is perfect for afternoon tea. You can dip these into a cup of tea and they won't fall apart. Delicious!
You'll love these vegan Thumbprint Cookies. The tart jam is nestled on a buttery-sweet cookie. Easy and tasty.
Carrot, oats and spices combine in these tasty balls! Rolled in coconut, they're a delicious healthy treat.
Gary Wild
Chocolate cake is best but I also like lemon tart.
Lisa Pond
Can't go wrong with a stick toffee pudding with ice cream, yum yum.
Kate Smith
Apple crumble and custard, piping hot but no cinnamon
Kirsty Woods
It has to be strawberry cheesecake with cream
Chirag Patel
it has to be a lemon meringue pie
Maria P
I love carrot cake with lots of cream at the top
George Wright
I adore tiramisu; coffee, chocolate, cream - what's not to like!
Karen Howden
I love a nice strawberry tart with fresh cream
Melanie Burton
I absolutely love homemade banoffee pie! I don't have it often, but I do love it!
Tracey S Anderson
I am rather partial to a slice or two or three of Coffee & Walnut cake ... Yum!