Vegan-Friendly Cadbury Sweets for Kali Puja Celebrations
Written by Jheelum Basu | October 9, 2025
From Navratri, Durga Puja, and Laxmi Puja, to Diwali and Bhai Dooj, India gets all busy and decked up with a string of upcoming festivities as September begins. Just like all the other festive celebrations, Kali Puja is an integral part of the festive calendar in the eastern states of Bengal, Assam, and Odisha, which often coincides with the Diwali/Deepavali celebration.
Traditional sweets are an essential part of the Kali Puja celebrations. Be it Payesh (Rice Pudding) and Shondesh or ‘Narkel Naru’ (Coconut-jaggery balls) and Kheer, assorted sweet items are offered to the Goddess as ‘bhog’ (sacred offering). Once the puja is over, these delicious offerings are distributed among the families and friends as ‘prasad’ to share the blessings of Goddess Kali.
These traditional recipes often incorporate milk, khoya, clarified butter, fresh cheese, chenna, cream, and other dairy products. But considering the rise in gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan dietary preferences these days, you don’t really need these traditional ingredients to make delicious festive delights. And with a little chocolatey twist, you can make these Cadbury sweets for Kali Puja celebrations more interesting for all the sweet lovers.
Vegan Almond Chocolate Barfi
During festive seasons, don’t we all love to feel festive in every little thing in our daily lives? In India, festivals and barfis go hand in hand, as they never fail to bring that inherent flavor of festivities. When it comes to Kali Puja, these delicious sweets add more joy to celebrations.
While the original recipe includes milk solids, condensed milk, milk powder, sugar, ghee (clarified butter), nuts, etc, this vegan, gluten-free almond chocolate burfi is a 5-ingredient (ground almonds/almond flour, vegan chocolate, vegan butter, sugar & a touch of saffron), easy-to-make alternative to the traditional ones. This Kali Puja, try your hand at this amazing recipe, and don’t let your vegan friends feel deprived of the festive joy.
Vegan Chocolate Shondesh
A soft, melt-in-mouth, and sweet Shondesh infallibly represents the sweet fraternity of Bengal like nothing else. It epitomizes the ultimate ‘Bangaliyaana’ (Bengaliness) of the milk-based sweet treats made by the confectioners in Bengal.
Be it Durga Puja or Kali Puja, the classic Bengali Sandesh (Shondesh) never fails to add to the festive spirit.
While the traditional recipe sees dominance of milk, cottage cheese, and sugar, in this alternate vegan recipe, plant-based milk and jaggery find prominence with some added chocolatey goodness for your sweet-craving taste buds. Giving the authentic and indigenous dessert recipe a chocolatey twist with vegan chocolate also puts it on the national map of fusion desserts. The rich, creamy bite of this vegan chocolate shondesh is a must-try during this Kali Puja.
Chocolate, Nuts, Jaggery Ladoo
Indian festivals and laddoos share an unbreakable bond. Be it Ganesh Chaturthi and Navaratri in the West, or Durga Puja and Kali Puja in the East, just name the festival, and you will find laddoo’s omnipresence as a sweet symbol of spreading festive joy and divine blessing.
While the traditional laddoo recipes are full of sugar and ghee, these vegan recipe with a chocolatey spin brings in an alternate yet exceedingly delicious sweet treat made with chopped nuts and seeds, all merged with the natural sweetness of jaggery and the decadence of vegan chocolate.
To make these balls full of natural goodness, start by chopping nuts like almonds, walnuts, and cashews and lightly roasting them. Next, add finely chopped dates and mix all the ingredients well with jaggery and melted chocolate on medium heat. Let it cool slightly, and then shape the mixture into small balls and garnish them with shredded coconut for extra flavor and texture.
Vegan Chocolate Mousse
While Indian sweets are a must during the festive season, for the chocolate aficionados, the love for chocolatey goodness can never be stopped at that alone. In this era of fusion desserts inspired by Western recipes, mousse, brownies, and cakes are savored with the same love alongside the laddoos, barfis, and jalebis during festivals.
This velvety smooth, melt-in-mouth vegan chocolate mousse is a delectable, luscious festive treat. The creamy-light texture of the silk-like mousse is full of vegan goodness. While the regular chocolate mousse contains milk, chocolate, and butter, here the vegan alternatives of the ingredients are used with no compromise on taste. To add to its decadence, you can always serve it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or raspberry compote.
Healthy No-Bake Chocolate Cookies
Festive seasons are all about indulgence. And with the rise in vegan diet preferences these days, we have a wide array of options for our vegan friends. These healthy, no-bake, chocolate cookies are indeed one of them. Made with wholesome ingredients like oats, peanut butter, vegan chocolate, and maple syrup, these cookies are vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
The chewy, fudgy cookies are ideal for sharing with your loved ones during Kali Puja celebrations. Filled with the signature aroma and flavor of peanut butter and vegan chocolates, these cookies are are must-try this Kali Puja.
Vegan Chocolate and Date Brownies
For a vegan dessert lover, what’s better than a gooey, vegan chocolate date brownie that melts right away in the mouth? Served hot or cold, these brownies are ideal for festive celebrations. Barring the replacement of the regular ingredients with vegan almond flour, vegan butter, and vegan chocolates, there is no such difference in taste, texture, and consistency. To add more to its taste, you can always serve it hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Absolutely nothing can go wrong when we pair peanut butter with vegan chocolate to make a chewy inside-crunchy outside cookie bar. They offer a delectable symphony of soft and buttery flavors infused with the goodness of vegan chocolate. During the festive season, if you are missing home and missing out on the warm festive feeling, you can resort to these cookie bars for some comfort. These incredibly soft and chewy peanut butter-chocolate chip cookie bars are ideal for your vegan diet preference, with zero compromise on taste and the feel-good factor.