To help you find the best gift possible for the vegan in your life, What’sTheBest’s plant-based writers have clubbed together to provide you with a list of the greatest vegan stuff a person could receive. Whether for a celebration, birthday, anniversary, Christmas, or just because, there's sure to be something here that hits the spot - or, at the very least, gives you a few ideas.
Related: 19 of the best gifts for wine lovers | The best gifts for bakers
We’ve included a 30-minute cookbook for the vegan on the go, some delicious alcoholic tipples, and some cruelty-free cosmetics. Sweets, chocolates, and cheeses are, as always, integral to the selection too. At the bottom of our list, we’ve included a little section on Paperchase’s eco-friendly gift wrapping selection, helping you maximise your vegan and sustainable brownie points.
Read on for our selection of the best gifts for vegans.
The best gifts for vegans
The BOSH! boys are known for their incredible plant-based recipes. In this book, their extensive knowledge has been used to craft over 100 quick recipes, allowing plant-based feasts to be prepped and cooked in 30 minutes or less. There are breakfast and lunches, smoothies and cocktails, nutritional salad bowls and hearty feasts, and more besides. There's a lot to love here, with particular highlights being the vegan mac and cheese, and lemon and artichoke risotto.
Vegan cheese seems like some mystical magic. This kit breaks down the walls of misconceptions by allowing the lucky recipient to make 20 batches of delicious and nutritious nut-based cheeses, including Mozzarella, Ricotta, Mascarpone, Halloumi, Feta and Parmesan. The set comes with all the instructions and herbs needed to make the cheeses. Just be aware that you'll need to provide the nuts.
Bloom's vegan-friendly gin is always a winner in our eyes because, well, it's just plain delicious. The drink has a light and smooth taste to it, which is complemented with notes of citrus. It's great over ice with tonic or in a cocktail.
If you know someone who falls into both "gym bunny" and "vegan" categories, then this plant-based protein powder may be just what they desire. While a balanced plant-based diet can provide all the protein needed, this power from ON is a handy way of getting a post-workout boost, whether it's after a run, weights, cycle or yoga session (or even just as a quick snack). Available in Berry, Chocolate and Vanilla.
Seedlip's herbal spirit distillation is a popular non-alcoholic choice for a good reason: it's super tasty. It carries a complex, rich yet smooth mix of flavours, including spearmint, rosemary and thyme, as well as peas and hay. There's nothing quite like it. In our option, it's best over ice with a dash of tonic and a curl of orange peel.
Not only does Bulldog provide excellent skincare products, but every single last one of them is suitable for vegans. Add to this the brand's dedication to cruelty-free practices, and this is a set that any vegan will be happy to receive. This set includes a wash bag, Bulldog Original Face Wash, Original Face Scrub and Original Moisturiser.
The perfect relaxing night calls for a round of face masks, and this 7th Heaven giftset will be a thoughtful gift for any vegan skincare addict. Inside, you'll find four face masks, a face cloth and a storage bag. 7th Heaven is totally cruelty-free with many vegan products, and this particular set is suitable for vegans.
From vegan Instagram and Youtube sensation Gaz Oakley, known as Avant Garde Vegan, this recipe book has a collection of 70 simple and protein-packed dishes from breakfasts, dinners and desserts. This book is also a great choice for those with any food allergies or intolerances as the book states whether a dish is gluten-free or can be made without gluten. Aditionally, it has recipes for one pot meals, 15 minute meals and meal prep. Perfect for vegans looking to up there cooking game despite their busy lives.
The holy grail of all peanut butter is ManiLife. Peanut butter is one of the best vegan spreads for toast. ManiLife has won The Great Taste Award in 2019 and is the only peanut butter to win the highest level of 3 stars. It has no palm oil, no added sugar, and at 1kg, this gift will be the ultimate breakfast game-changer.
www.lush.com
Everyone's favourite vegan cosmetic company, Lush, is always a sure win for any gifting season. Its range is wide and varied, so sometimes it can be a little daunting to know what to pick up. Thankfully, the All The Best gift set solves this issue by bundling Lush's top four bestsellers into one tidy package. The set includes: Honey I Washed The Kids soap, Ro's Argan body conditioner, The Olive Branch shower gel and Rub Rub Rub shower scrub.
www.hotelchocolat.com
Good news! Hotel Chocolat's infamous H-box chocolate selection is now available for vegans. 100% plant-based, the chocolates are made using nut milk instead of dairy. The box includes Plain, Salted Caramel, Praline, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Raspberry and Orange flavours.
www.hotelchocolat.com
The brains over at Hotel Chocolat melted salted caramel into a vodka that's been infused in toasted cocoa. What more do we need to say? It's sweet, indulgent and 100% vegan.
The Conscious Candy Company Pick & Mix 1kg
Yes, that's right. You can arrange for 1,000 grams of vegan sweets to be delivered. Dreams do come true. First and foremost, vegan or not, the sweets crafted by the CCC are moreish, delicious, tasty, and delicious once again. The pack can be filled with standard sweets, fizzy sweets or reduced gluten variants. It's worth checking out the site for more, as they also offer chocolates, biscuits and lollipops.
cakeordeath.co.uk
Named after a sketch by Eddie Izzard, and packaged in pink and black leopard print, Cake Or Death vegan brownies are simply amazing. You can treat someone to a one-off box, or even a subscription - you save 20% and get a box every month. Highly recommended.
freesoul.com
Made with no soy, no gluten, no additives, no artificial sweeteners, and no added sugars, these vegan powders are easy to digest. Crafted with vital vitamins, minerals, and adaptogens made for the perfect proportions for the female body.
This is a lovely eco box, comes with all the sustainable pamper necessities. It features biodegradable bamboo cotton buds, reusable bamboo cotton makeup remover pads, a cotton laundry bag, a travel size 15g clearing treatment face mask and a travel size 30g natural massage soap.
wearefaace.com
This mask and cleanser duo from _facee is entirely vegan and cruelty-free and at 100ml it is perfect to fit under the travel liquid allowance. Dirty Faace treats the skin whilst washing away makeup and grime from the day and the Period Faace mask is perfect for keeping breakouts under control when your hormones are playing havoc with your skin.
Related: The best vegan cookbooks | The best bamboo eco-friendly swaps
Eco-friendly packaging
There are many reasons that a person may decide to “go vegan,” though one of the more popular reasons is for the sake of the environment. Veganism greatly lessens a person’s carbon footprint, so it may seem like a shame to undermine all that effort by opting for a plastic-based gift wrap.
Of course, concerns about waste plastics, carbon footprints and sustainability aren’t exclusive concerns of the vegan community. People the world over, from all walks of life, are looking at ways they can change their habits to better take care of our planet.
Luckily, there are many stationers now actively pursuing more sustainable practices and products. One of the best and most widely known is Paperchase. This year, they have an entire section of their website dedicated to eco-friendly gift wrap and packaging. The Kraft Gift Wrap range is made entirely of recycled materials and itself can be recycled. This, combined with a step away from new plastics, glitters and harsh inks makes the range a great choice of sustainable packaging.
You can view the full range, including options with tonnes of colour, right here, or check below for some of our favourite low-key options.
Kraft sustainable wrapping
This paper is made using FSC-approved recycled materials, and it (and the inner tube) can also be recycled. What's not to like here?
Traditional tape is super useful and integral to many wrapping situations, but it's also pants for the environment. Well, this Kraft brown paper tape helps right this wrong by being 100% recycled.
Made from FSC-approved materials, this recyclable gift box has its magnetic closure - that means you don't have to use any plastic tapes of bows. Measures roughly 375 x 140 x 375 mm.
Just because it's eco-friendly, doesn't mean it has to be brown! Bling out your gift with this 3m roll of gold wrapping paper, excellent for embellishing, wrapping, sticking, and cutting. FSC-approved.
You can read more about Paperchase’s commitment to sustainability and its work with the Forestry Commission (FSC) here.
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William Lobley is a Deputy Editor for WhatsTheBest, specialising in gaming, technology and the outdoors. He also writes for Empire Online.
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