20 best vegan starters

Best vegan starters

Warm hummus with pine nuts, raisins and olives

Jazz up hummus with pine nuts, juicy raisins and olives for a pretty starter. You can make the vegan hummus ahead of time and top with the extras before serving.

Smoky vegan mushroom and walnut-stuffed portobellos

These mushrooms filled with walnut and crispy, herby breadcrumbs make a great vegan starter. They double up as quick and easy burgers too, when sandwiched in a bun with hummus, salad leaves and roasted peppers.

Roasted harissa cauliflower with warm coriander hummus and dukkah

Chunky wedges of roasted rose harissa cauliflower served with warm hummus and a super-simple homemade dukkah makes for a great starter, served up in smaller portions.

Sweet potato tikki

Traditionally cooked in Indian households as a snack, this version of these potato cakes by Maunika Gowardhan is made with sweet potato to keep light – perfect for a starter, then. They're packed with warming spice and served with a fresh, crunchy kachumber salad.

Vegan carrot and coriander soup with spicy flatbread croutons

Soup is a classic starter. Jazz yours up with this recipe for a carrot and coriander version, complete with ras el hanout croutons for a heady kick of spice.

Vegetable tempura

Try these mouthwatering veggie tempura with mushrooms, sweet potatoes, aubergines and red peppers. Perfect served with a Japanese citrus ponzu dipping sauce.

Grilled vegetable antipasti

Kick off an Italian-inspired dinner with our grilled vegetables. Serve with fresh focaccia and olives for a mezze-style starter that everyone can tuck into.

Hummus platter with all the veg

Combine hummus with your favourite flavours, such as pepper or smoked salt, to create an effortless entertaining platter. Serve with veg, focaccia or savoury biscuits.

Indonesian sweetcorn fritters with chilli and tomato sambal

Served as a snack or as part of a meal, these Indonesian-style sweet and crunchy fritters (perkedel jagung dan dabu-dabu) are irresistible.

Sri Lankan spiced grilled cabbage

Coat charred hispi cabbage in spices and tomatoes to elevate your summer barbecue – it's also vegan and gluten-free, so everyone can enjoy.

Cucumber gazpacho

Cucumber, avocado, cornichons, pickled onions and yellow tomatoes come together in this creamy, refreshing soup. Jalapeño gives it a little kick.

Vegan summer rolls

These Vietnamese-style vegan rolls packed with carrot, courgette and cucumber make for a light start to a plant-based dinner.

Beer batter pakoras

Although these crispy beer batter pakoras require a little bit of work straight before serving, they're worth it and serve six people.

Smoked aubergine, pepper and walnut salad with pomegranate

Smoked aubergine combined with sweet red peppers and walnuts makes for an easy sharing starter that you can make ahead of time. Serve with flatbreads if you want it to be more filling.

Thai ginger salad

A shredded cabbage, carrot, cucumber and edamame salad, made deliciously nutty with a peanut butter and lime juice dressing. With all those textures and sweet-savoury flavours, this will definitely whet your appetite for the main event.

Broad bean, peach and fennel salad

Try this brilliant medley of broad beans, thinly sliced peaches, fennel, fresh basil and courgette, dressed in a lemony red chilli dressing as a light and summery starter.

Fattoush with crisp spiced chickpeas

A vibrant Lebanese-style salad that mixes chickpeas with crisp and herby pitta croutons, radishes, tomatoes, sumac and a pomegranate molasses dressing.

Socca with sa tartinade

Perfect unleavened pancake squares, courtesy of Claude Bosi’s Mayfair restaurant. Serve your French socca with a garlicky aubergine dip.

Smoked aubergine with pepper and pomegranate molasses

Sabrina Ghayour's recipe for sweet and smokey vegan aubergine salad would make the perfect starter for a sharing spread or Middle Eastern-style meal. Infused with the flavours of Persia, it'll sure get those juices going.

Spanish aubergine stuffed with pisto

The slow-cooked vegetable stuffing in this recipe together with the crunchy, garlic migas topping is like a hug on a plate. This makes a top starter, but could also be a side dish or main.