Your easy free-from Christmas dinner

If you're cooking Christmas dinner for a vegetarian, vegan, someone with a gluten or dairy intolerance or even someone on a diet, you're not alone. About 30% of us have a special dietary requirement. Don't get the festive fear, pour yourself a drink and read on – BBC Food is stuffed full of ideas to keep everyone happy, including the cook.

Cooking for... vegans and vegetarians

With a few tweaks, most Christmas dinner favourites can be made veggie or even vegan, so there's no need to cook lots of special dishes. Be careful though – animal products are found in some surprising places, including beer, wine, sweets and crackers, and reading the label doesn't always make it clear whether a food is vegan or vegetarian.

• Vegan and vegetarian roast potatoes. Cook the potatoes in olive oil. Add a few woody herbs and a couple of garlic cloves to boost the flavour, if you're feeling fancy.
• Vegan and veggie gravy is easy to cook and can be made well ahead (refrigerate for a couple of days or freeze for up to a month). Try our easy vegan gravy, which uses dried mushrooms, yeast extract and redcurrant jelly for lots of delicious flavours, or push the gravy boat out with this chestnut and red wine gravy.
• Vegan and veggie stuffing. The classic sage and onion stuffing is suitable for vegetarians and can be cooked in balls or in a tray. It isn't suitable for vegans, but loose-crumbed stuffings like this one from Mary Berry are good because they don't need any binders (usually eggs) – just swap any butter for olive oil and make sure your bread is vegan.
• Vegan and veggie mains. For vegans, readymade pastry is your festive friend – most brands are suitable. It can be used to make filo pies and puff pastry Wellingtons. Nut roasts usually contain eggs, but here's a delicious vegan nut roast recipe. For vegetarians there's a great choice of fancy veggie pies. The big family-sized pies will keep well for Boxing Day buffets and beyond.
• Vegan and veggie desserts. Watch out for animal suet in Christmas puddings and mincemeat, though it is easy to make or buy them without. Eggs and cream are everywhere, but here's a vegan Christmas pudding recipe and you can buy vegan puds from most supermarkets. Take a look at our collection of vegan desserts for more ideas.

Cooking for... gluten-free guests

Gluten is hiding in many festive favourites: stuffings made with bread, sauces thickened with flour and alcoholic drinks made from grains. If you're buying readymade foods, check the label – gluten is a recognised allergen so it will be clearly marked.

• Gluten-free roast potatoes. If you are buying readymade roasties be aware that most have a coating made from flour. It's usually a gluten-free version, but it's best to check the label.
• Gluten-free gravy. Homemade gravies are typically thickened with plain flour, but you can use cornflour or arrowroot instead. It will form lumps if added directly to hot liquid, so blend one part cornflour with two parts cold liquid until smooth, then stir it into the sauce until it comes to the boil. Alternatively, go the French way and make a jus. Deglaze the roasting tin with wine, then add stock and bring it to the boil. Simmer until the volume of liquid has reduced by at least half, then add butter at the end to thicken it further. If you need a quick solution, gluten-free gravy granules are easy to get hold of.
• Gluten-free stuffing. Stuffing is usually made with bread, but gluten-free bread makes a great stuffing that everyone will enjoy, so there's no need to make more than one.
• Gluten-free mains. Traditional roasted meats are trouble-free – and gluten-free breadcrumbs can be used to make nut roasts.
• Gluten-free desserts. Lots of popular Christmas desserts fit the bill, including chocolate roulades and pavlovas. For more gluten-free dessert ideas click here.

Cooking for... dairy-free guests

Cream and butter make dishes feel indulgent, so many Christmas dishes are laden with them. Happily there are easy alternatives in most cases.

• Dairy-free roast potatoes. These are very rarely an issue if you are avoiding dairy. It’s unusual to use butter because it burns at high temperatures.
• Dairy-free gravy. If you use the meat juices to make gravy make sure the meat hasn't been basted with butter or the cavity stuffed with a buttery stuffing. Olive oil works well in place of butter, but any cooking oil will do.
• Dairy-free stuffing. Traditional sage and onion stuffings tend to include butter, but in most cases you can swap it for olive oil. Sausagemeat stuffings are often dairy-free because the meat provides all the necessary fat. Just make sure the breadcrumbs you use are dairy-free – some loaves are enriched with milk and butter.
• Dairy-free mains. For the main course it's mostly a case of swapping butter for oil – you shouldn't require any specialist recipes if you are cooking a traditional turkey dinner, though bread sauce is a no-no.
• Dairy-free desserts. Festive desserts can be tricky, even if the dessert itself is dairy-free (for example Christmas pudding or a lovely cake) what to serve it with poses a challenge. A tub of dairy-free ice cream is a useful standby and the rising popularity of vegan food means supermarkets now stock lots of readymade desserts. For more dessert ideas click here.

Cooking for... dieters

Christmas dinner is a notoriously belt-busting affair, but with a few tweaks you can help your loved ones stay on the wagon. The easiest way is to keep portion sizes sensible and to have some healthy nibbles available so they don't miss out when the nuts and chocolates are being passed around.

• Lower-fat roast potatoes. Sadly, traditional roast spuds are a dieting no-no thanks to the generous amounts of fat they are usually cooked in. This recipe shows you how to reduce the fat, but still make them nice and crisp.
• Lower-fat gravy. Again, gravy tends to contain a lot of calories because it's normally made with the fat from the roast – or, if you are of a cheffy persuasion, a jus thickened with butter and wine. This make-ahead gravy recipe uses less oil, but it's still indulgent. To make a truly low-calorie gravy you can caramelise sliced onions in just enough oil to stop them sticking before transferring to a blender along with stock and flavourings of your choice. Blend until smooth and then heat through in a saucepan.
• Lower-fat stuffing. Avoid stuffings made with sausagemeat (which is usually high in fat). Pick a vegetarian stuffing that uses egg to bind and add the minimum of oil or butter.
• Lower-calorie mains. For the main course the easiest approach is to ensure their plate has plenty of veg and lean roast turkey breast, with small portions of the calorie-heavy dishes such as roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, stuffing and gravy.
• Lower-calorie desserts. Try this reduced-sugar pavlova, a lighter Yule log or a fruity pudding.

Finally...

If you are cooking for someone with an unfamiliar diet, do speak to your guest about their needs. Severity of food allergies and intolerances varies from potentially fatal to extremely mild, so you need to know what you are dealing with. A similar principle applies to lifestyle choices: some people are very committed and others less so. A quick conversation could save you both a lot of worry.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, ask your guest to bring something to help out. Desserts and starters are obvious choices because they can be made ahead and either served cold or reheated in a microwave (your oven is likely to be bursting at the seams). Christmas is about sharing, after all!