When people think of Thanksgiving, they often think of turkey. However, there is no real reason why turkey needs to be included at all for a delicious Thanksgiving meal; most traditional harvest festival meals put an emphasis on the grains, fruits and vegetables that are finally ripe and ready. Celebrating the bounty of the land with delightful breads and plant based meals is a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving with your friends and family.
Even if you do have some non-vegan dishes for some guests, providing a range of vegan dishes, which everyone will love, adds variety and offers choices for any vegan friends or family members. Here are some great recipes, for a full vegan Thanksgiving dinner, that are delicious enough to grace anyone's table.
Vegan Thanksgiving Menu Ideas
The good news is that with a few simple modifications, many traditional Thanksgiving recipes can be vegan friendly. What's more, in many cases, people may not even notice the difference, or prefer the variety in flavour. These vegan Thanksgiving dishes also look beautiful on the dinner table.
Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes for Main Dishes
Grilled Portobello Mushroom
To have the hearty Thanksgiving main dish, with the umami flavour people look for from turkey, mushroom steaks fully satisfy.
For a vegan recipe for the marinade, you'll need 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 3 tablespoons of tamari sauce, a tablespoon of oil, a tablespoon of vegan Worcestershire sauce, 1 clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke, 1/4 cup of finely diced onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients well and marinate the mushroom steaks for 20 minutes. This is enough marinade for about four mushrooms. Grill the mushrooms on medium high heat for ten minutes, flipping them half way through. You can brush on more marinade as you grill.
Hint: the marinade is also good on roasted butternut squash and other roast vegetables. A little goes a long way, so just use a bit.
Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are really easy to make a vegan version of. Peel and boil the potatoes until done, then mash with minced garlic, vegan butter, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a drop of cashew milk or oat milk. Almond milk does not work well for this. A sprinkle of spring onions adds a finishing touch.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Other Roast Vegetables
Classic roasted vegetables do not even need modification and are always delicious. Beets, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, acorn squash,
Sweet Potato Casserole
For this recipe, peel, dice, and boil 6 cups of sweet potatoes for 12 minutes, depending on how finely you chopped them. You should be able to easily mash them. Spread the sweet potato into a casserole dish.
In a food processor, pulse 3/4 cup of pecans, 1/4 cup of flour, 1/3 cup of brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon together until mixed. Then add 2 tablespoons of melted vegan butter and pulse until chunky and everything sticks together. Add more butter or flour as necessary.
Spread over the sweet potato and bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.
Green Bean Casserole
PETA's green bean casserole recipe is easy and delicious. It just uses fresh green beans, mushrooms, and vegan-friendly mushroom soup and crispy, fried onions, making it one of the simplest vegan Thanksgiving recipes. You can use this mushroom sauce to elevate it suitably for hosting Thanksgiving dinner.
Stuffing
Use vegan bread you have on hand; it does not matter if it is starting to go stale. Sauté onion, celery, and garlic in vegan butter. Meanwhile, toast cubed bread in a 350° oven for about 15 minutes, turning the cubes occasionally.
When the vegetables are sautéed, add a little vegetable broth, a pinch of salt and pepper, sprigs of fresh sage, thyme, and parsley. Toss the bread cubes with this, until lightly moistened; do not get them soggy. Next, the cubes can go back in the oven at 375° for another 25 minutes to crisp up.
Cranberry Sauce
While avoiding the gelatin in canned cranberry sauces, this is one of the vegan Thanksgiving recipes that is better than the original most people are used to. Take a cup and a half of cranberries, one cup of sugar, one cup of water (or a half cup of water and a half cup of orange juice), and the lemon juice and zest from one lemon, and add together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. The cranberries will pop, but this is fine - this will make it more of a sauce. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
Butternut Squash Pasta
For an easy pasta side dish to complement the Thanksgiving main course, with the taste of seasonal flavours, rotini pasta with the La Dee Da Butternut Squash sauce is quick and delicious. No recipe needed!
Vegan Thanksgiving Desserts
Vegan Pumpkin Pie
The quintessential Thanksgiving dessert is already plant-focused, so just needs a few tweaks. To make it a simple recipe - which is always good for Thanksgiving recipes when it can get busy and chaotic - just buy a ready-made vegan pie crust.
For this recipe, use one large (15 oz) can of pumpkin, 3/4 cup of coconut milk, 3/4 cup of brown sugar (or to taste), 1/4 cup of cornstarch to thicken, 1/4 cup of maple syrup or agave syrup, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, and a pinch of salt. Mix well, add to your pie shell, and bake according to the pie crust instructions.
Save the pumpkin seeds to roast and add to your salads for the week, or put out as a snack before dinner.
Bonus Apple Pie!
If you buy more vegan pie crust, you can also easily bake a vegan apple pie, with just cut, peeled granny smith apples, brown sugar and cinnamon to taste for the filling.
Don't Forget the Cream!
Instead of heavy cream, which isn't heart healthy anyways, get the same rich, creamy satisfaction from a dairy free, vegan cream that will taste good, or better, than dairy cream. Coconut whipped cream is very easy to make. Simply put a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight, scoop out the hard cream that separates and solidifies on the top, and whip it until it has a creamy texture. You can add a teaspoon of coconut sugar, if you prefer it sweeter.
Cashew cream is also easy. Soak a cup of raw cashews in hot water for 15 minutes, drain them, then blend until completely smooth. A strong blender is needed to get the right consistency. You can add vanilla and maple syrup or sugar to this cream as well, to your preference. It keeps for up to a week, so you can do it ahead.
Simplify Thanksgiving Recipes
Whatever is on your Thanksgiving table, La Dee Da sauces can simplify your kitchen chaos. With delicious, whole-food, vegan sauces, there are flavours to complement any dish, and taste like you made them from scratch. Because we did. Save time when cooking for a crowd, but don't skimp on taste.
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