Whether you are vegetarian, vegan, or neither, Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to try out some fresh and flavorful plant-based recipes. It’s a great way to add healthy dishes to your table while taking advantage of all the seasonal veggies and fruits that are available. Also, when you think about it, even though turkey has become synonymous with Thanksgiving, it’s usually the side dishes and desserts that most people get excited about and many of those already tend to be vegetarian or vegan.
More from MamásLatinas: Latin-inspired dishes to make our Thanksgiving dinner a flavorful fiesta
If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet and are going to eat at someone else’s home, it’s never a bad idea to bring a dish or two or three that you prepared yourself to make sure that there will be something you will enjoy eating. If you aren’t vegetarian or vegan and are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s never a bad idea to include vegetarian and vegan dishes on your menu. There’s nothing worse than having someone come over to dine with you and not having anything available that they can eat. With that in mind, check out the following vegetarian and vegan recipes that are perfect for Thanksgiving.
A butternut squash lasagna makes for a great main dish.
Giada De Laurentiis suggests spicing up your side dishes with this butternut squash lasagna, but we don’t see why it can’t serve as a main dish for anyone who is vegan or vegetarian. It’s certainly hearty and filling.
A hominy guisado is filling and flavorful.
A hominy guisado is another great plant-based main dish option. You can add so much flavor to it depending on what you include in your guisado. This particular recipe is a great way to serve hominy and let it shine as a main course.
Cranberry sauce has always been vegetarian and vegan friendly.
Cranberry sauce is made of cranberries and has always been a great vegetarian and vegan addition to any Thanksgiving meal. Do yourself a favor, though: Don’t buy the kind in a can, make some from scratch. The results are so worth the effort.
Roasted carrots are exquisite.
Carrots don’t often get to be the star of a dish, but this recipe changes that. This recipe shows you how to cook them until they are caramelized and then dress them in a warm honey and orange syrup with raisins, toasted almonds, and sesame seeds.
A vegan green bean casserole is very on brand.
Green been casseroles are pretty ubiquitous on Thanksgiving meal tables. There’s no reason why they can’t be vegan. This particular version also happens to be gluten-free and is made with the help of a store-bought vegan cream sauce.
These vegan biscuits and gravy are divine.
Biscuits and gravy would normally be off limits to anyone who is vegetarian or vegan, but not these biscuits and gravy. These biscuits end up being soft and fluffy on the inside with nice crunchy bits on the outside. The gravy is made using almond milk.
Vegan mashed potatoes are a no-brainer.
These vegan mashed potatoes are so delicious and creamy because they are made with roasted garlic and olive oil. So good! Also, if you like gravy on your mashed potatoes, you can use the vegan gravy from the vegan biscuits and gravy recipe above with these mashed potatoes.
Try a quinoa, cornbread, and cranberry stuffing.
There are quite a few people who go crazy for stuffing on Thanksgiving and who can blame them? It’s freakin’ fantastic! This quinoa, cornbread, and cranberry stuffing is going to make stuffing lovers very happy.
Or what about vegan butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and pecan stuffing?
First of all, look at this stuffing! It’s gorgeous. Having that on your table will make people swoon. This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free as well. Make sure you follow the vegan version and swap vegetable broth for bone broth. Get the recipe here.
Roasted potatoes are amazing!
You are going to want to make these roasted potatoes all year long because they are so good, but they definitely should make an appearance at Thanksgiving. Once you make them, you are going to get requests to make them over and over again. You’ll see!
This vegan butternut squash soup is perfect for the season.
How do you make a butternut squash soup creamy and vegan? Is it even possible to make something creamy without using cream? Yes, you can use coconut milk instead to achieve a creamy, rich flavor.
Give Brussels sprouts with pomegranates and nuts a whirl.
Brussels sprouts are not everyone’s favorite, but usually that’s because they aren’t cooked well and end up tasting like B-L-E-H. Don’t give up on them, though. Try this recipe that combines them with fresh pomegranates, walnuts, and pine nuts.
Try these calabacitas con queso (or without queso to make them vegan).
When it comes to calabacitas — if you know, you know. And if you don’t, it’s time to find out because calabcitas are too dang good to be missing out on. You can make them with cheese or omit the cheese, if you want them to be vegan.
This vegan sweet potato pie recipe is a winner.
Pies are a big draw on Thanksgiving and there’s no reason why you can’t make pies that are both vegetarian and vegan friendly. This sweet potato pie is definitely one you are going to want to make and devour.
And of course, you’ll want a vegan pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving is a given. It’s a classic dish that can so easily be made to be vegetarian and vegan-friendly. You don’t even have to tell anyone that this recipe is vegan if you don’t want to, because they won’t notice.
