Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes

As a vegan and a vegan teen, I help make vegan Thanksgiving dinner every year. If you do the same, you may need vegan, plant based, dairy free, organic, and relatively healthy vegan Thanksgiving recipes. Well look no further! In this article you’ll find an appetizer, side dishes, a fake turkey recipe, as well as my suggestion for a store bought fake meat, a stuffing, sauces, and dessert!

Here is my appetizer recipe:

Autumn Squash Soup

1 medium to large winter squash (or about 2 cups cooked pulp)
3 medium onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
2 Tbsps sunflower oil + oil for the baking sheet, if baking the squash
1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 medium carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1&1/2 cups water
1&1/2 cups tomato juice
1 cup apple juice
1 cup orange juice
Sea salt and ground black pepper

Bake or boil the squash. To bake, halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash halves cut side down on an oiled baking sheet and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees until tender, about one hour. Scoop out the pulp and discard the skin. To boil, peel the squash, halve it and scoop out the seeds. Cut it into chunks and place them in a saucepan with water to cover. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid.

Meanwhile, sauté the chopped onion in the oil with the nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, and bay leaves until the onion is translucent. Add the diced carrot and celery and the water (if you boiled the squash, use the reserved liquid). Cover and simmer until the carrots are tender. Remove the bay leaves.

In a blender or food processor, puree the cooked squash, the onion-carrot mixture, and the juices in batches. Alternatively, add the cooked squash, the onion-carrot mixture, and the juices to a large pot. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Gently reheat the soup after either method of pureeing the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 6 to 8

These are my side dish recipes:

Corn Muffins

1 cup fine yellow corn meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
2&1/2 tsps baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup safflower oil
1/8 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 egg substitute (Ener-G or chia seed egg*), prepared as per package directions
Your favorite milk or creamer substitute

Mix all ingredients well, except milk/creamer. Add sufficient milk/creamer to obtain a thick batter (like a cake batter). Pour into muffin cups or pans. Fill 2/3 full.

Bake 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin center comes out clean and dry.

*1 egg = 1 Tbsp whole chia seeds + 3 Tbsps water
Put chia seeds into a small dish. Add the water. Allow chia seeds to form a gel before using.

Mashed Potatoes

4 large boiling potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups vegetable broth
Earth balance margarine to taste
Sea salt to taste

Heat broth to boiling. Add potato cubes. When broth boils again, turn to medium low. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Mash potatoes, mixing in earth balance, and sea salt to taste. Side dish serving 4

Brandied Sweet Potatoes

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup brandy, orange juice, or apple juice
2 Tbsps earth balance margarine
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
4 cups cubed sweet potatoes (1 inch pieces; about 1&1/2 lbs)

In a 2 quart saucepan, combine the water, brown sugar, brandy or juice, earth balance, and salt. Bring to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes; return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or until all of the liquid has evaporated and the sweet potatoes are soft and glazed. Serves 4

Here is my fake turkey recipe:

“Turkey” Roast
1 lb firm or extra-firm tofu, frozen, thawed, and gently pressed dry
1 quart water
1/4 cup vegan “chicken” bouillon powder
1 Tbsp vegan “beef” bouillon powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp celery seed
10 oz can Chinese Braised Gluten (chai pow yu), drained; or 10 oz seitan, drained
6 – 8 slices thick bread, made into crumbs
Vegan chicken broth (reserved from cooking tofu)

Slice or dice tofu. Put water, bouillons, sugar, and celery seed in a pot. Bring to a boil. Add tofu. Turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Drain tofu, reserving broth. Put tofu and gluten, or seitan, into food processor. Process to a chunky paste. Put in bowl. Mix in breadcrumbs.

Pack into a sprayed loaf pan. Cover with foil. Bake 30 – 45 minutes at 350 F, or until hot throughout, basting with broth occasionally. Cool and slice.

My suggestion for a store bought fake meat

Usually my mum and I don’t make a turkey roast because honestly it’s a lot to make. Instead, a lot of the time we buy the Field Roast® Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute, which has the best ingredients and taste combination that we have found! You can find it where Field Roast® is sold. You can use their store locator here and you and find it online here. They also have a Celebration Roast®, if you are allergic to hazelnuts.

This is my stuffing recipe:

Vegan Thanksgiving Stuffing

1 bag cornbread stuffing mix
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1 package vegan sausage (thawed, if frozen)
1 tsp melted earth balance margarine
Vegetable broth, as needed

In a large bowl, mix stuffing, seasonings, and sausage. Blend in earth balance. Mix in sufficient broth to make a moist stuffing (it will dry out in the oven). Pack stuffing into a greased loaf pan (or stuff it into vegetables, i.e. winter squash). Cover stuffing with foil. Bake loaf until heated throughout. Bake stuffed vegetables until vegetables are tender.

These are my sauce recipes:

“Turkey” Gravy

2 cups broth (can use reserved cooking water from cooking the tofu for the “Turkey” Roast)
2 tsps vegan “chicken” bouillon powder
1 tsp vegan “beef” bouillon powder
1 tsp sugar
3 Tbsps nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Mix cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold broth. Put remainder of broth, and nutritional yeast in a saucepan. Heat to boiling. Turn down to medium. Stir in cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Cook until thick (1 – 3 minutes). Serve immediately.

The next sauce is one of my favorite recipes from this list! My mum and I make this for pretty much every holiday:

Cranberry Sauce

8 oz fresh cranberries (or frozen)
1/4 cup maple syrup, or to taste
Grated rind and juice of one small orange or Meyer lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Dash of Ceylon cinnamon, to taste

Wash and drain the cranberries. Remove any soft or discolored cranberries and any leaves or stems.

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring, until the cranberries have popped and the sauce is thick. Serve hot or cold. Yields about 1 cup, unless you double the recipe, then you’ll have more!

And here’s everything you need for vegan Thanksgiving dessert:

Pumpkin Pie

1 crust, purchase one, or make your own!
2 cups pureed, cooked pumpkin
1 cup soy milk, or other milk substitute
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 Tbsp black strap molasses, or to taste
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice

Preheat oven to 425 F. In a large bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients until smooth and blended. Pour into the prepared crust and smooth the top. Bake 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 F; bake until filling is set, about 50 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool, then refrigerate overnight.

Mock Whipped Cream

1 package (about 10 oz) firm silken tofu, drained
1/4 tsp grated orange rind
2 Tbsps maple syrup
2 tsps vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Cover; refrigerate 20 minutes before serving. Makes about 1 cup.

I hope that these recipes will help you with your vegan Thanksgiving dinner! Let me know if you try any of these and how they worked out for you. And tell me what you usually make for vegan Thanksgiving, and what you want to hear about next!