Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (2024)

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (1)

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Because Thanksgiving is a food-focused holiday centered around turkey as the main course, taking your celebration into plant-based territory can feel a bit intimidating. But let us assure you that hosting a vegan Thanksgiving dinner is not only 100% possible, it can feature dishes that are just as satisfying as traditional ones, packed with the same fall flavors we all know and love. The spiciness of pumpkin, the heartiness of a thick gravy, and the warm fluffiness of stuffing can all be accomplished in vegan-friendly ways—believe it or not—and we’re here to show you how.

Below, you’ll find 35 vegan recipes that explore the potential of Thanksgiving cuisine without using a single egg, pat of butter, or dash of milk. And of course, there’s zero meat involved. But if you make a handful of these—from soups to dips to donuts—your guests won’t even notice the winged gobbler missing from the table. We’ll even venture to say you’ll reuse some recipes through the rest of the winter because they’re just that good.

1

Green Beans with Almond Gremolata

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (2)

Rosemary, almonds, and orange zest put a lovely Thanksgiving-inspired spin on these delicious, accidentally vegan green beans.

Get the recipe from Prevention »

2

Mustard-Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (3)

A mustard and apricot jam glaze brings the fall flavor, and Brussels sprouts offer anti-inflammatory health perks. It’s a win-win!

Get the recipe from Prevention »

3

Roasted Butternut Squash with Frizzled Sage

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (4)

We know sweet potatoes are a Thanksgiving go-to, but butternut squash may be its secret superior, coming in hot with the same sweet starchiness at a fraction of the caloric cost.

Get the recipe from Prevention »

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4

Pomegranate Orange Tart

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (5)

Vegan desserts can be tricky to master, but this seasonal tart is a no-brainer. Made with pure maple syrup and pomegranate molasses, it’s bound to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Get the recipe from Prevention »

5

Pumpkin-Carrot Soup

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (6)

A hearty and warm pumpkin-flavored anything screams Thanksgiving, and this vegan soup ticks all the right boxes. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser, too.

Get the recipe from Prevention »

6

Curried White Bean Dip

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (7)

Appetizers are a Thanksgiving staple and this creamy, fulfilling one won’t last long. Serve it with sliced pita bread, cucumbers, and bell peppers.

Get the recipe from Prevention »

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7

Herb Smashed Root Veggies

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (8)

A medley of smashed root veggies pack the same comforting warmth of mashed potatoes with tons of extra flavor. This recipe features parsnips, rutabaga, potatoes, and carrots.

Get the recipe from Prevention »

8

Roasted Pears With Vegan Salted Caramel

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (9)

A decadent dessert for under 250 calories? Savor the sweetness of roasted pears and a delightfully vegan caramel sauce (all thanks to coconut cream).

Get the recipe from Prevention »

9

Roasted Cauliflower With Cranberry Vinaigrette

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (10)

Cauliflower is full of good-for-your-gut fiber, and this version amps things up with a tangy vinaigrette and toasted nuts for crunch. Just leave the goat cheese off your plate (or sub out with your favorite vegan version).

Get the recipe from Prevention »

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10

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (11)

Curry powder, coconut milk, and a sprinkle of cilantro give this brightly colored squash soup its show-stopping flavor.

Get the recipe from Delish »

11

Roasted Sweet Potato, Pear, and Onion

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (12)

That moment when you take a bite expecting a boring potato—and instead you get a delicious burst of juicy pear! Yum!

Get the recipe from Good Housekeeping »

12

Creamy Roasted Squash Puree

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (13)

Mmm, roast a butternut squash and then blend with maple syrup, shallots, and thyme for a creamy side dish that will get gobbled up faster than you can say Happy Turkey-Free Day.

Get the recipe from Good Housekeeping »

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13

Green Beans With Shallots

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (14)

This classic Ina Garten recipe is easy to make vegan—just use a plant-based butter, such as Miyoko’s or Earth Balance, and you get the same crunchy, classic taste without the dairy.

Get the recipe from Good Housekeeping »

14

Cranberry Relish

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (15)

What can we say, it’s a classic! This super-easy recipe gives fresh cranberries the extra citrusy zest of oranges and lemons.

Get the recipe from Delish »

15

Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (16)

A crust made of crushed pecans and oats? A topping made from whipped coconut cream? It almost doesn’t matter what’s in the middle, but this scrumptious pumpkin pie will have everyone begging for seconds.

Get the recipe from Delish »

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Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (17)

16

Fall Harvest Quinoa and Kale Salad

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (18)

Okay, it’s a cliché that vegans love kale—but this salad, sprinkled with quinoa, crunchy pistachios, and sweet apple slices, demonstrates exactly why the powerful green is so addictive.

Get the recipe from Destination Delish »

17

Mini Vegan Carrot Dogs in a Blanket

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (19)

Got a lot of kids at your vegan Thanksgiving? Hey, you don’t even need kids as an excuse to make this all-time favorite finger-food app. But these pigs in blankets contain no actual pigs or cows—just tasty baby carrots in disguise. Shh, we won’t tell if you don’t.

Get the recipe from Karissa’s Vegan Kitchen »

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18

Parsnip Soup

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (20)

Parsnips look like a paler, shyer version of a carrot—but they pack a delicious flavor in this soup. Especially when topped with chopped hazelnuts and a drizzle of olive oil.

Get the recipe from Feasting at Home »

19

Vegan Wellington

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (21)

Your guests will do a double-take when you unveil this classic British dish at the center of your table. Instead of filling the puff pastry with beef, you’ll whip up a tasty stew of lentils, veggies, and sunflower seeds.

Get the recipe from Karissa’s Vegan Kitchen »

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (22)

Marisa Cohen

Deputy Editor

Marisa Cohen is an editor in the Hearst Lifestyle Group’s Health Newsroom, who has covered health, nutrition, parenting and culture for dozens of magazines and websites over the past two decades.

Try These Vegan (and Delicious!) Thanksgiving Recipes at Your Holiday Table This Year (2024)

FAQs

How do vegans celebrate Thanksgiving? ›

"A traditional Thanksgiving menu has lots of options for vegans and vegetarians: green beans, cranberry sauce, mashed or roasted potatoes, and sweet potatoes and yams—it's a carb-loaded feast, and we will happily lick our plates," says Peart.

What is a vegan alternative to turkey on Thanksgiving? ›

by Gardein

Other protein-filled vegan options that could replace turkey in your vegan Thanksgiving table are tempeh, tofu and seitan.

What is a good substitute for turkey meat? ›

20 turkey alternatives for Thanksgiving, including duck and pork
  • Pork.
  • Ham.
  • Duck.
  • Chicken.
  • Beef.
  • Squash.
  • Mushroom.
  • Cauliflower.
Oct 30, 2022

What do vegans think about Thanksgiving? ›

And while Thanksgiving is supposed to signify gratitude and abundance—the holiday centers around the autumn harvest—for many, it's the opposite. “It's all about eating and the murder of these birds or other animals,” Patty Shenker, a 30-year vegan told the LA Times.

Do vegans eat turkey on Thanksgiving? ›

And no, vegans do not eat chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, or even cheese, though they are often asked. But keeping a vegan happy on Thanksgiving is not difficult. Plenty of traditional dishes are (almost) vegan anyway, and the oven is on for baking special treats.

Do vegans celebrate Thanksgiving? ›

Turkey isn't the whole meal, and the meal isn't the whole Thanksgiving. The holiday is a celebration of giving thanks, and anyone can do that, regardless of their dietary restrictions.

What is the vegan name for turkey? ›

ofurky, the brilliant brand name that revolutionized Thanksgiving and mock meats forever, makes a lot more than a tofu turkey. But when it comes to a Thanksgiving meatless main course, the wheat and tofu roast filled with a wild rice stuffing is an ideal choice.

Can you eat turkey as a vegan? ›

For this reason, vegans avoid eating foods of animal origin, such as: Meat: Beef, lamb, pork, veal, horse, organ meat, wild meat, etc. Poultry: Chicken, turkey, goose, duck, quail, etc. Fish and seafood: All types of fish, anchovies, shrimp, squid, scallops, calamari, mussels, crab, lobster and fish sauce.

What is cheaper than turkey for Thanksgiving? ›

Roast chicken is less expensive, easy to roast, delicious, and has less portions than a large turkey, so it is perfect for a single, couple, or small family celebration. A simple chicken stuffed with mirepoix, lemons, fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary, sage) and roasted whole is a great alternative to a large turkey."

How can I enjoy Thanksgiving without gaining weight? ›

Enjoy the holiday feast without the guilt – or the weight gain.
  1. Workout when you can. ...
  2. Eat breakfast. ...
  3. Bring a healthy dish to pass (and eat). ...
  4. Pick and choose your indulgences. ...
  5. Slow it down. ...
  6. Go easy on the adult beverages. ...
  7. Get active. ...
  8. Shift your focus.
Oct 29, 2018

What is healthier than turkey for Thanksgiving? ›

Try it out on Thanksgiving by substituting tofu for your turkey. Tofu can be cooked in a variety of flavorful ways and comes with a ton of nutritional benefits including a lot of calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin B, and protein.

What meat is cheaper than turkey? ›

Unsurprisingly, chicken works out as the far cheaper alternative to turkey. With the prices below, we have picked the cheapest whole chickens - if you want something free range, organic, or generally just better farmed, you'll be looking at adding a bit more onto the cost.

What meat is healthier than turkey? ›

Beef has more iron, zinc, and vitamin B12, which are nutrients that promote healthy blood, immunity, and nervous system health, than turkey.

Why is turkey more healthy than beef? ›

"Ground turkey contains less saturated fat than ground beef, giving it a more beneficial fat profile," says Beaver. "In its place, ground turkey instead contains more polyunsaturated fat, which is a protective, healthier type of fat."

What does Christianity say about vegans? ›

Genesis 1 identifies human beings as uniquely images of God and grants them dominion over other animals, but the end of the chapter prescribes a vegan diet for humans, so this original dominion does not include permission to kill animals for food.

Why is November 1 vegan day? ›

The first World Vegan Day was created to mark the 50th anniversary of the society, held on 1 November 1994. This was later extended to become World Vegan Week and, as we now know it, World Vegan Month. Every November, World Vegan Month is celebrated worldwide as a time to shine a light on the vegan movement.

How do vegans accommodate at a dinner party? ›

Make sure you're aware of any allergies ahead of time, so you can prepare dishes suitable for your guests' needs. Speak to your guests a few weeks before the event, and where possible create dishes that are suitable for all, so you avoid having to create different recipes for each person.

Do vegans eat bread and crackers? ›

Yes, bread can and often does contain other ingredients like sugar and molasses (not to mention preservatives and fillers in processed bread), but the majority of those ingredients are also vegan. Generally, most flatbreads, rolls, loaves, bagels, sandwich breads, and crackers don't contain non-vegan ingredients.

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