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–+ servings
Overhead photo of a jar of fruit mince.

Quick Mincemeat (Fruit Mince)

Robyn
This quick and easy homemade mincemeat (fruit mince) is vegan, gluten free, and made with basic pantry ingredients. Taking just 10 minutes to make, it is perfect for last minute fruit mince pies!
4.67 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course baking
Cuisine British
Servings 24 mince pies
Calories 70 kcal

Equipment

  • medium saucepan with a fitting lid

Ingredients
  

  • 210g (1½ c) sultanas, raisins or a mixture of both
  • 2 medium apples peeled, cored and coarsely grated
  • 1 orange zested and juiced
  • 1 lemon zested and juiced
  • 80g soft brown sugar
  • 80g (½ c) almonds roughly or finely chopped * see notes below for almond quantities.
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • pinch nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon mixed spice
  • 2-3 tablespoons water

Instructions
 

  • Place the sultanas, grated apples, orange juice and zest, lemon juice and zest, soft brown sugar, chopped almonds, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice and water in a medium saucepan and place on a medium heat.
  • Bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down slightly and gently simmer with the lid on for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the apples are tender.
  • Add a splash more water if it looking dry.
  • Let cool slightly before adding to pastry in mince pies, or cool completely and then store in the fridge, or freeze.

Video

Notes

This amount of fruit mince is enough to make approx. 24 mince pies.
*Almonds – this is quite a nutty mincemeat, use ¼ c / 40g for if don’t want as many nuts.
Apples – grated apples add moisture which the dried fruit absorbs creating plump juicy fruit.
Dried fruit – I often use sultanas, but you can use raisins, or a mixture of raisins and currants
Almonds – raw unsalted almonds. Feel free to swap in pecans, hazelnuts or walnuts, or leave out altogether.
Soft brown sugar – or light muscovado sugar – adds a rich, caramel sweetness. If you only have white sugar in then you can use that, but be aware the mincemeat won’t taste quite as rich.
Orange – orange zest and orange juice. A traditional ingredient in Christmas mincemeat is mixed peel, however it’s not an ingredient that you tend to have in. There is always a question about what to do with the rest of the packet, unless you are doing a lot of Christmas baking, so I have used fresh orange instead.
Lemon – lemon zest and lemon juice. As with the orange above, it adds a citrus flavour to the mincemeat.
Spices – ground cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice. The classic Christmas spices for me. You can use a pinch of ground cloves or ginger if you prefer.
Grating the apple ensures that it cooks and softens before the water evaporates. You can cut it finely instead and have larger chunks of apple rather than it ‘melting’ into the background.
Don’t cook the fruit mince over too high a heat as the sugar can catch and taste bitter.
Keep an eye on the fruit when it’s cooking, adding a little more water if needed. This can alter depending on how ripe your apples are.
Stir occasionally to make sure the fruit doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Lemon and orange juice – Around 2 tablespoons or lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of orange juice. If it isn’t this much, add a little more water.

Nutrition

Calories: 70kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 1gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 4mgPotassium: 134mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 22IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 0.4mg
Keyword Christmas mincemeat, Fruit Mince, Fruit mincemeat

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