Easy Homemade Mincemeat

This easy homemade mincemeat recipe is super quick to make and perfect for festive baking, especially mince pies. Full of juicy currants, raisins, sultanas, cranberries, with a touch of warming Christmas spices and rich brandy, you’ll be making it every Christmas.

Christmas isn’t Christmas without a mince pie!

I’ll be honest though. I didn’t discover the joy of those little pastry tarts filled with sweet and juicy fruit, and a touch of Brandy until recently.

I grew up with my Grandmother making hundreds of mince pies every year for the annual school Christmas event. She taught me how to make the perfect pastry and that sweet jewelled filling. But not once did I feel like sneaking one warm from the oven and tucking in.

I admit I do feel sad for not indulging in my Granny’s mince pies while she was with us. So to make up for it and bring her into the kitchen with me every Christmas, I whip up several batches of the mince pie recipe she taught me; including her own homemade mincemeat.

Here’s why you should make your own mincemeat…

I know how easy it is to pick up a jar of mincemeat, heck I’ve done it plenty of times; but this recipe is a gamechanger.

• It’s super simple and takes just 10 minutes, faster than going to the shops
• It’s so much better than store-bought mincemeat, trust me
• You can give it a personal touch with your favourite dried fruits
• It smells just like Christmas.
• It IS Christmas, all that’s missing is Michael Buble

If you want to skip the essential info and handy tips for starting a Christmas tradition with homemade mincemeat, then head down to the printable recipe card.

What is mincemeat?

Mincemeat hails back to the 13th Century when yes, it did contain meat! Fast forward many centuries and mincemeat is now a sweet, boozy concoction.

A mix of dried fruits including sultanas, raisins and currants with a drop of brandy and warming winter spices; mincemeat is typically used as the filling for mince pies, but I love using in cakes and ice cream too for fabulous festive desserts.

Should you use suet or butter?

Traditionally mincemeat is made with suet, a hard fat that has a high melting and smoke point which makes it perfect for pastry.

For many recipes you will often find that it is shredded beef suet that is used, which doesn’t make it vegetarian friendly. However you can substitute it for vegetable suet or vegetable shortening, like Trex or Crisco.

But if like me, a suet doesn’t appeal, don’t worry you can use butter instead. Both suet and butter work to help seal the fruit, keeping the sweetness and juices locked in.

TOP TIP: If you prefer to use suet or shortening in your mincemeat, swap the butter in the recipe and use the same quantity.

What you’ll need to make this recipe

View my Amazon shopping list with equipment and ingredients.

There really isn’t an easier recipe that this one. The only thing easier is to pop to the shops and buy a jar of mincemeat, but where’s the fun in that!

So, if you’re keen to make your own mincemeat for your Christmas bakes this year, here’s what you’ll need.

The Ingredients

Now if you’re like me you probably have a cupboard full of dried fruits that you can use to make this mincemeat, and I’m using:

• Sultanas
• Raisins
• Currants
• Cranberries
• Mixed Orange and Lemon Peel

I’ve gone for a more traditional recipe but you can swap these for other fruits such as dried apricots, dates, dried pineapple or papaya.

You can also mix up how much of each of these you use. So if you a more a sultana fan than currants, why not swap the quantities over?

The Equipment

As I mentioned, this is a super easy homemade mincemeat, and there’s also no fancy equipment. Go and grab yourself:

• Large heavy-bottomed saucepan
• Wooden spoon or spatula
• Four sterilised jam jars

You’ll also need something to zest your lemon, and I recommend a microplane citrus zester if you have one, or a fine grater will do too.

How to make homemade mincemeat

Before you get stuck into making the mincemeat sterilize jam jars ready for the mincemeat.

• Wash the jam jars and lids in hot soapy water, rinse and pop onto a baking tray in a preheated oven, 50C/ 120F until completely dry.
• Alternatively, you can put the jars and lids in the dishwasher on a hot cycle.
• If your jars have rubber seals, remove these and place in just-boiled water.

For a great guide on prepping your jars, check out Tin & Thyme.

Next up, the mincemeat; this so simple so…

• Heat dried fruit, mixed peel, fresh apple, lemon, spices, sugar and butter together in a large saucepan, over a medium heat, for 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
• Let the mixture cool before adding the brandy and stirring through.
• Spoon the mixture into sterilised jars, pop on the lids and cool thoroughly before storing.

TOP TIP: Switch out the brandy and some of the fruit, and add dried pineapple, papaya, dates and rum for a tropical twist.

Step by step live video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKPyEHD6N-4

Frequently asked questions

Hints for the best mincemeat

The combination of the dried fruits and spices are utterly delicious, but here’s some handy hints to ensure you get the best mincemeat possible…

• Use a soft brown sugar – This will give your mincemeat a rich, caramel flavour that works perfect with the fruit and brandy. I prefer to use a dark muscovado sugar, but you can use a light brown sugar.
• Add a little extra crunch – I make nut-free mincemeat but you can add chopped hazelnuts or blanched almonds into the fruit mixture.
• Let the fruit cool before adding alcohol – Make sure the cooked fruit mixture has cooled for at least 10 minutes before adding the brandy. This helps to prevent the alcohol ‘cooking off’ with the warm mixture.