20 Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes Sure to Delight Everyone at Your Table
Do you have vegan guests coming to dinner this year? Step one: Don't panic. Step two: Choose from our collection of mouthwatering vegan Thanksgiving recipes, from appetizers to sides to mains and desserts.
While so much of the culinary focus of Thanksgiving involves a giant bird, vegans would like to remind the eating world that the true edible stars of late fall are fruits and vegetables, and there is no better place to celebrate them than on the vegan Thanksgiving table with dishes that will delight every last person at your gathering.
A stroll through the local farmers' market and farm stands will reveal a wonderful variety of pumpkins and hard-shelled squash, fresh apples and pears, and bunches of nutrition-rich cold weather leafy greens like kale and broccoli rabe. Supermarkets are suddenly bright with the new season's citrus, late Muscat grapes, and pyramids of fresh cranberries. Gorgeous pomegranates begin to arrive alongside trays of sunny persimmons. There are fungi to add complexity and substance to stuffings and sauces. Pecan and walnut trees are delivering their harvest of fresh season nuts. And cold-season staples like lentils and beans come into their own at last.
Use this bounty of seasonal food to make recipes just right for Thanksgiving, from vegan takes on Thanksgiving classics like stuffing, mushroom gravy, and mashed potatoes, to stunning vegan entrées.
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Red Pepper and Pomegranate Dip
Ruby pomegranate, roasted peppers, and creamy walnuts are whizzed up with chile for this zesty and arrestingly bright dip. It's a perfect welcome for arriving guests.
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Beet Salad with Citrus Mint Dressing
Mellow roasted beets are invigorated by winter citrus and refreshing mint to make an appealingly simple and striking salad.
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Roasted Squash with Shallots Grapes and Sage
Real grapes are ripe in fall, and their caramelized sweetness is offset by musky roast sage—perfect for this nutty roasted squash and grain entrée.
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Vegan Apple Pie
The delectable crust for this pie uses safflower oil rather than butter.
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Roasted Carrots with Red Quinoa and Spinach
A hearty dish with a color palette so right for the Thanksgiving table. The secret weapon in this warm salad is shiro miso, the fermented soy paste that seems made for honeyed quality of roast carrots.
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Pumpkin Pasta
This baked pasta dish is a novel use for canned pumpkin puree at the Thanksgiving table. Kale and jarred sun-dried tomato pesto bring extra flavor and color to the pumpkin sauce, and sliced almonds add crunch.
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Vegan Lentil Soup
Broccoli rabe's mineral depth adds complexity to a warming lentil soup spiced with fragrant cumin, toasted coriander, and a last-minute dash of red wine vinegar.
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Persimmon with Roasted Chicories
When chicories are roasted they take on a deep nuttiness, complemented in this luxuriously textured salad by fresh slices of Fuyu persimmon, pomegranate seeds, and succulent oil-cured olives.
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Stuffed Onions
An irresistible option for a main course, these stuffed onions are filled with creamy potatoes and a powerhouse combination of mushrooms.
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Cranberry-Vanilla Compote
Refreshing, pretty, and featuring the best fruits of the season, these delightful compotes are a refreshing end to a very filling meal.
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Cannellini and Kale Soup
Kale is the iron-rich cool weather star in this satisfying and simple soup where crisp garlic adds a powerful crunch.
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Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Extra-virgin olive oil makes these potatoes smooth and rich. Using a ricer yields mashed potatoes with an especially light, fluffy texture. Alternatively, potatoes can be mashed with a potato masher or fork.
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Stewed White Beans with Tomatoes and Rosemary
Comforting beans are perfumed with rosemary, bay, and onion before cooking in the rich juices of hearty tomatoes.
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Braised Green Beans and Tomatoes
The savory depth of canned tomatoes turns the classic side dish of green beans into a bowlful of goodness whose juices you'll want to spoon up.
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Poached Red Wine Pears
Pepper is the surprisingly effective aromatic in this classic dessert, where red wine turns pears sumptuous.
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Curried Lentil Soup with Dried Cherries and Cilantro
An assertively spiced soup of creamed lentils combines the sweetness of coconut milk with pungency of garlic, ginger, and curry powder, with fresh cilantro and dried cherries adding layers of rewarding complexity towards the end.
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Vegan Stuffing
A simple sourdough stuffing that everyone at the table will want to try. It has all of the traditional stuffing flavors—without the traditional poultry broth, dairy, or eggs.
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Cranberry-Apple Chutney
Most cranberry sauce recipes are vegan. This mouth-watering chutney goes a step further than the simple sauce. It matches assertive vinegar with brown sugar. Enjoy it with roasted squash, stuffed onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, or parsnips.
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Cippolini
Try not to inhale these luscious little mouthfuls of sweet-and-sour glazed onions. Cooked low and slow they are a meltingly good side dish for substantial fare like slow-cooked beans and lentils.
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Vegan Spiced Red Fruit Tarts
These luscious little tarts have a decadent chocolate crust, are stuffed with fresh cranberries and frozen raspberries and cherries, and are perfumed with warming spices.