Vegan barbeques are 43% healthier than regular meat-based barbecues, new research has revealed. But can they be just as impressive as a traditional meat fest on the grill?
- Falafel burgers are the most popular vegan barbecue dish in the UK, beating out other favourites like pulled jackfruit and avocado Panzanella
- There are just 208 calories in the average UK vegan dish, compared to 369 in a standard BBQ – equating to a 43% difference
- Vegan dishes are also quicker to cook than meat BBQs and are generally lower in fat
Motorhome rental company, Camptoo, has analysed the UK’s most popular recipe sites to reveal what Brits will be cooking on their barbecues this summer.
The study, Britain’s Best BBQ, looks at all aspects of Brits’ barbecuing habits, including their favourite food, the top vegan dishes and the nutritional contents of recipes.
For those of us looking to lose a little bit of lockdown weight or embrace a healthier lifestyle, following a vegan diet could be the way forward, as the average vegan BBQ dish contains 43% fewer calories than the standard British BBQ.
The research showsed that vegan barbecue recipes take on average just 22 minutes to cook – that’s 31 minutes less than a standard barbecue – contains just 208 calories with nine grams of fat (compared to 20 in a standard recipe) with a higher fibre count.
However, before you get too excited, vegan recipes do tend to have higher carbohydrate (22g) and sugar (10g) counts than a meatier option, the study found.
Which vegan recipe favourites are the most likely to impress?
While chicken burgers have proved to be the most popular overall dish for Brits on a summer barbecue, falafel burgers are the most popular and most cooked vegan item. Pulled jackfruit is also a popular substitute for pulled pork and avocado is also high on the list of popular ingredients.
Camptoo’s Head of Wanderlust, Ed Bassett commented on the findings saying: “While there were no major surprises in terms of most popular meats or BBQ food types, there were some very interesting differences in terms of how recipes ratings and popularity was affected by factors such as calorie count and protein contents.”
Bassett said their analysis of vegan recipes also provided intriguing results.
“It’s nice to see exactly what meat alternatives are being used on barbeques… with the summer BBQ season fast approaching, this research has given us a flavour of what to expect on the grills across campsites up and down the UK,” he said.
Vegan BBQ food recipes to try
- Falafel burger: here’s a recipe from Tesco.com. Some of the added sauces suggested may not be 100% vegan.
- Vegan BBQ pulled jack fruit: here’s a recipe from Alphafoodie.com
- An amazing list of other Vegan BBQ recipes can be found here from BBC Goodfood.com
also 73% less likely to get severe covid if you are vegan …