10 Tasty Vegan Thanksgiving (or Christmas) Recipes

As a vegan, you can enjoy almost every traditional Thanksgiving dish with just vegan ingredients. Some of these vegan recipes are so delicious even non-vegans would end up licking their fingers. In this post, I’ve put together 10 tasty vegan Thanksgiving (or Christmas) recipes to try this holiday season.

This year the holidays might feel a little different, and you may not have as many people over as you’ve had most years. But that shouldn’t come in the way of celebrating good food and great friends and family, right?. If you have your health, you have a lot to be thankful for. So why not do it with some delicious, healthy plant-based recipes?

10 Tasty Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

1. Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Broccoli

I don’t know about you, but when I think of Thanksgiving, I immediately think about warm and cozy comfort food, and one of those is Mac and Cheese. But if you’re a vegan, you can have your vegan version of Macaroni and Cheese like this one with Broccoli.

The cheesy creaminess of this vegan Mac and Cheese comes from blended squash with nutritional yeast and plant-based milk. Here’s what you need:

Butternut squash (1 medium-sized or 1 ¾ pound)
Onion (1 cup, chopped)
Garlic (4 cloves, minced)
Plant milk (2 cups, any unsweetened one of your choice)
Whole-grain penne pasta (3 cups)
Broccoli (3 cups, small florets)
White wine vinegar (1 tablespoon)
Sea salt (¼ tablespoon)
Ground pepper (⅛ tablespoon)
Nutritional yeast (2 tablespoons)
Fresh thyme (½ teaspoon, chopped)
Fresh basil for garnish

Steps:

This recipe doesn’t take a lot of time, except for prepping the squash. You should prepare it in small pieces and steam in a steamer until it’s tender.
In a saucepan, add onions, garlic, and thyme with half a cup of water. Cook until the onions are soft and keep stirring and adding a splash of water, so it doesn’t stick.
Pour this mixture into a blender, along with the squash and all other ingredients, except broccoli and pasta. Blend until it has a creamy smooth texture.
Cook pasta until it’s al dente or cooked, and add broccoli just before 5 minutes of that so it can cook a little with the pasta. Now, drain the pasta and broccoli, and add them to the creamy mixture, tossing it gently to cover all pasta and florets. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Recipe courtesy of Forks Over Knives.

2. Cranberry Orange Sauce

Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without a cranberry dressing. Here’s a cranberry sauce recipe with orange and beets:

Clementines (2, cut into supremes)
Beet (1 cup, peeled and diced)
Cranberries (1 cup, frozen)
Orange juice (1 cup)
Rind of orange (½ cup, chopped)
Dates (16, pitted)
Garlic (⅛ teaspoon, minced)
Lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
Sea salt (¼ teaspoon)
Ground black pepper

Steps:

In a saucepan, add everything except lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cook covered for 10 to 15 minutes medium-low heat until the beets are soft.
Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and mix.
Use a hand blender or masher to blend/mash the mixture, leaving it smooth or with bits of chunks as per your preference.
Refrigerate it for a couple of hours before serving. (This stays good for a week, so you can prepare in advance too)

Recipe courtesy of Forks Over Knives.

3. Yuca Mash with Corn and Peas

I know mashed potatoes make up the side on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but this rendition of mashed potatoes with Yuca will definitely be a winner this year. If you’ve ever had Yuca fries, you know what I’m talking about.

Here are the ingredients that are easily available everywhere:

Yuca (4 pounds or 12 cups, peeled and cut into one-inch pieces)
Onion (1 cup, chopped)
Garlic (4 cloves, minced)
Corn (1 cup, fresh or frozen)
Green peas (1 cup, fresh or frozen)
Lemon juice (2 tablespoons)
Baking soda (½ teaspoon)
Ground turmeric (¼ teaspoon)
Sea salt (½ teaspoon)
Ground black pepper to taste
Fresh chives (1 tablespoon, chopped)

Steps:

In a large pot add 16 cups of water with baking soda and bring to boil. Then add yuca cubes and cook uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes.
Now, transfer cooked boiled yuca to a large bowl and mash using a masher or even a fork.
In a pan, add onions, garlic, and turmeric. Cook for ten minutes over medium heat, then add all the other ingredients except chives. Cook for another 10 minutes.
Add this mixture into the yuca mash and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle over chopped chives.

Recipe courtesy of Forks Over Knives.

4. Fall Harvest Salad

A vegan Thanksgiving would be incomplete without a tasty salad, so here’s a fall salad recipe that uses all the seasonal ingredients.

Kale
Squash
Brussel Sprouts
Apple
Beets
Cranberries
Pomegranate
Walnuts
Vinegar
Lemon
Tahini

You’ll need to roast the Brussel Sprouts, beets, and yuca at 425 F for about half an hour. Prepare the dressing in the meantime, blending together tahini, vinegar, and lemon juice. Add everything to a big bowl and top with the dressing, and your delicious fall salad is ready.

Full recipe at Running on Real Food.

5. Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Green bean casserole is another iconic Thanksgiving dish, but this is a fully vegan version, so even healthier. The highlight is the chunky mushroom gravy, which goes very well with the taste of green beans.

Here are the ingredients for the casserole:

Yellow onion (1 medium, sliced)
Flaxseed (1 tablespoon, grounded)
Sea salt (2 pinches)
Black pepper (2 pinches)
Green beans (24 ounces or 8 cups)
Sliced almonds (1 tablespoon)

Here are the ingredients for the mushroom gravy:

Yellow onion (2 cups, diced)
Mushrooms (16 ounces, sliced)
Garlic (6 cloves, minced)
Oat flour (⅓ cup)
Low sodium vegetable broth (2 cups)
White wine vinegar (2 tablespoons)
Italian seasoning (1 tablespoon)
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Marinate onions with flaxseed, salt, and black pepper for about 5 minutes. Spread them over the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Steam green beans in a steamer with water just below the basket for 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer beans to a baking dish (2 ½ quarts).
For gravy, add mushrooms, onions, and garlic to a saucepan and cook for 7 to 10 minutes over medium heat.
In a bowl, mix oat flour, broth, vinegar, and seasonings, and mix. Add this mixture to the mushroom gravy and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove half the gravy and blend it in a blender, and then pour it back into the saucepan and stir well.
Pour the gravy over the green beans in the baking dish. Top with browned onions and almonds. Bake for 20 minutes.

Recipes courtesy of Forks Over Knives.

6. Vegan Seitan Ham

If you miss the ham you used to eat on Thanksgiving before you became a vegan, this one’s for you. This Seitan ham has a salty and sweet flavor and mimics the ham that often serves as the centerpiece on Thanksgiving dinner tables.

Obviously, this is not gluten-free, as seitan is wheat gluten. It’s perfect for mimicking the ham texture, and as a bonus, contains very low carbs.

This recipe uses tofu for softness, beets for color, and maple glaze for that sweetness that ham roast typically has. It also calls for liquid smoke, which gives it a smoky flavor. This can be the star entree for your vegan Thanksgiving.

For the full recipe head over to Veganosity.

7. Country Meatloaf with Gravy

If you’re having a Friendsgiving, might I suggest this healthy vegan meatloaf recipe that’s so good, even a meat-eater would like it. Plus, the gravy really gives it a holiday spirit. You can use the Yuca mash as the side for this.

This recipe is for a crowd as it produces 8 servings. You can half the ingredients to make it smaller.

For meatloaf:

Onion (1 large, diced)
Carrots (2 large, diced)
Celery (2 cups, diced)
Tempeh (8 ounces or 2 packs)
Cooked brown rice (1 cup)
Garlic (8 cloves, minced)
Olive oil (3 tablespoons)
Soy sauce (½ cup)
Vegetable broth (½ cup)
Bread crumbs (½ cup)
Dried thyme, basil, and parsley (2 tablespoons each)
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

For gravy:

Onion (1 large, chopped)
Flour (½ cup)
Nutritional yeast (¼ cup)
Water (2 cups)
Canola oil (2 tablespoons)
Soy sauce (3 tablespoon)
Garlic powder (1 tablespoon)
Dried thyme (1 tablespoon)
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Steps:

Grease a loaf pan (10 x 5 x 3 inches) and preheat the oven to 350 F.
In a deep skillet or dutch oven, heat some oil and add onions, carrots, and celery, over medium -high heat. Saute for a few minutes and cook until they are soft.
Add crumbled tempeh and soy sauce, and cook for another 5 minutes at medium heat.
Transfer this mixture into a large bowl, and add cooked brown rice (should be warm) and bread crumbs. Mix well with a spoon and add seasoning.
Transfer the doughy mixture into a loaf pan and cover the pan with foil. Bake for 45 minutes with foil, and then 15 minutes without foil.
For the gravy, add oil with onion to a saucepan and saute until they are tender. Pour in flour and nutritional yeast, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick. Now, add the rest of the ingredients with water.
Cook the gravy for a few minutes until it’s thick. Transfer it to a blender and puree until you get a creamy smooth texture.

Recipe courtesy of Well Vegan.

8. Polenta Shepherd’s Pie with Lentils

This is a gluten-free shepherd’s pie that will win Thanksgiving easily. There are so many different recipes for vegan pies, but this one has the strongest holiday vibe. It uses oat flour but you can use other flours as well if you don’t necessarily want it to be gluten-free.

Here are the ingredients:

For the topping:

Dry polenta (2 cups)
Vegetable stock (4 cups)
Plant milk (2 cups)
Nutritional yeast (2 tablespoons)
Baking soda (1 teaspoon)
Sea salt (2 teaspoons)
Ground pepper (½ teaspoon)

For the filling:

Oat flour (¼ cup)
Brown lentils (2 cans or 15 ounces, rinsed and drained)
Frozen vegetable mix (1 bag or 16 ounces)
Garlic (12 cloves, minced)
Onion (1 medium, diced)
Red bell pepper (1 cup, diced)
Mushroom (1 pound, thinly sliced)
Bay leaves (2)
Dried thyme (1 teaspoon)
Dried oregano (1 tablespoon)
Fresh parsley (1 tablespoon)
Vegetable stock (1 ½ cup)
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Steps:

For the topping, take a large saucepan and add vegetable stock and plant-based milk and bring it to boil.
In a bowl, add polenta, nutritional yeast, baking soda, salt, and black pepper. Mix them, and gradually pour it into the saucepan, stirring constantly so clumps don’t form.
Keep stirring frequently and cook it for 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed by the polenta and it has a creamy consistency.
In another saucepan, add the garlic, onions, mushrooms, and bell pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until mushrooms release their water.
Now add all the herbs, bay leaves, and vegetable stock. Cook for 20 minutes on medium-low heat. Remove bay leaves, and blend with a hand blender.
In a bowl, whisk in ¼ cup water and oat flour. Then add the mushroom mixture you just cooked, lentils, frozen vegetables, vinegar, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix it well.
In a 9 x 13 inches baking dish, spread the filling evenly. Layer the topping on top evenly.
Bake at 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes. You’ll know it’s cooked when the top has a brown color.

For more detailed instructions, head to Forks Over Knives for the recipe.

9. Vegan Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is another Thanksgiving favorite across the country. This pie uses a gluten-free flour mix. It’s a delight to look at and a flavorful experience to eat. And you just need 10 ingredients:

For the crust:

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free flour (1 ¼ cup)
Vegan butter or coconut oil
Salt (¼ teaspoon)

For the filling:

Pumpkin puree (2 ¾ cups)
Almond milk (⅓ cup, unsweetened)
Brown sugar (¼ cup)
Maple syrup (¼ cup)
Olive oil or coconut oil (1 tablespoon)
Pumpkin pie spice (1 ¾ tablespoon)
Sea salt (¼ teaspoon)

The pie is very easy to make, especially if you’ve made pies before and know your way around perfecting the crust. For the filling, you just blend together all the ingredients in a blender. It takes about two hours to prep and cook.

For detailed instructions on how to prepare the dough, filling, and how to layer it in the baking pan, head to Minimalist Baker.

10. Roasted Sweet and Sour Brussel Sprouts

Roasted Brussel Sprouts can make a crunchy, tasty side for your Thanksgiving entrees. This recipe has Asian influences, so it would be a nice twist to your usual Brussel Sprouts. And of course, these are super easy and quick to make.

Here’s everything you need:

Brussel Sprouts (3 pounds, halved)
Low-sodium soy sauce (¼ cup)
Balsamic vinegar (¼ cup)
Brown sugar (¼ cup)
Olive oil (2 tablespoons)
Ginger (⅓ tablespoon, ground)
Fresh parsley, chopped

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Meanwhile, take two baking sheets and spread Brussel Sprouts brushed with olive oil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
In a saucepan, add all the ingredients for the sauce (soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and ginger). Cook for up to 15 minutes.
Put some sauce on the Brussel Sprouts, just enough to cover them, then garnish with parsley.

10. Tofurky Roast (Vegan Turkey)

For the showstopper, you can have an actual vegan turkey or Tofurky roast. It will be the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving dinner spread.

While you don’t necessarily need a turkey to celebrate this holiday, it’s nice to honor the long-lived tradition, especially if you grew up having turkey for Thanksgiving.

Fun Fact: The original Thanksgiving didn’t have turkey on the menu. It was more of a surf and turf with venison, duck, goose, fish, oysters, eel, and lobster.

Tofurky is a vegan meat-alternative with many different variations. You can use the Tofurky roast as an entree. It’s available in most local and national supermarket chains.

You can baste it with garlic, olive oil, low-sodium soy sauce, maple syrup, and fresh herbs. You can also roast veggies with it. For sides and gravy, use any of the recipes above.

Head to I Love Vegan to find detailed instructions for roasting Tofurky.

Wrap Up

These 10 tasty vegan Thanksgiving recipes pretty much cover all the vegan renditions of the traditional American Thanksgiving spread. From salad to main dishes to that delicious pumpkin pie, these recipes provide a variety of flavors and textures.

How many of these dishes you prepare depends on you and your gathering, which most likely isn’t that big this year. Perhaps, two mains with three sides and a dessert should be more than enough.