By Sara
Has anyone ever given any thought to plant-based sides to grace their holiday table? Is your nightmare showing up to Thanksgiving and not having anything offered that isn’t made with the animal products that you no longer eat? Or are you hosting a shin-dig and are unsure what to make to please a plant-based guest? Good news! It isn’t as difficult as most believe to put on a spectacular feast with easy and delicious recipes.
Nothing says “Happy Thanksgiving” quite like being able to fully participate as a plant-based eater! Last week we looked at options for main dishes, so if you missed it, be sure to check that post out here. I do hope this post will help you to build your Thanksgiving menu with ingredients easily procured at your local grocery store.
“Nothing says “Happy Thanksgiving” quite like being able to fully participate as a plant-based eater! “
The most common and traditional Thanksgiving side dishes are what we will look at first:
Salad:
For Thanksgiving, you can use your food processor to shred brussels sprouts to use as the greens, and top with some chopped apple and chopped, toasted pecans top it off nicely. Dress it with a simple dressing made from some white beans, apple cider vinegar, agave syrup, dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Great news- you will get a healthy dose of cruciferous vegetables in thanks to the shaved brussels sprouts- win-win!
Potatoes:
Mashed potatoes are second to hit my plate following the main dish. You can easily make a vegan version by using soy milk rather than dairy milk, and vegan butter or a plant-based margarine. I did this my first Thanksgiving, and they turned out fine, just not as healthy as I normally eat.
Here is another recipe for mashed potatoes from Love and Lemons. It uses quite a bit of olive oil , and when I’ve made these I’ve cut that back to 3 TBSP and just increased the amount of potato cooking water that I added back to the potatoes, and it worked fine. The roasted garlic really amps up the flavor and makes this dish scrumptious to add to your dinner table, to be enjoyed by your whole family. These creamy potatoes are what I think of when I think of holiday mashed potatoes, and don’t require hard work to prepare this tasty side.
Another potato recipe from Love and Lemons that would be perfect for the holidays is their Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes. These are a more rustic mashed potato, not the heavenly soft kind as above. They have a head of kale in them that blends right into the potatoes and again I made them with only a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and they turned out great.
If you’re feeling really adventurous, you could try swapping out half the potatoes with either cauliflower or parsnips that were cooked with your potatoes and mashing them all together. Parsnips impart a great, nutty flavor to the potatoes that is divine. See? Don’t these plant-based sides look easy so far?
Gravy:
Moving right along on our tour of some perfect plant-based sides to share with your friends and family. Of course when you have mashed potatoes, that means gravy! Here, my favorite is a very simple recipe that you wouldn’t think would be appetizing, but that turns out to be delightful! Creamy Golden Gravy from Forks over Knives is tops in my book.
Making Thyme for Health also has a scrumptious Vegan Porcini Mushroom Gravy this is quite flavorful and appeals to the carnivores at your holiday table. It is easiest with cornstarch used as the thickener. If you make it with the arrowroot powder make sure not to heat it too hot. Once arrowroot powder comes to a certain temperature, it is inactivated and will not offer any thickening properties.
Dressing or Stuffing:
Next up: Dressing or Stuffing. Did you know that it is called stuffing when it is packed inside either a Turkey or other food (such as inside a hollowed out pumpkin). Otherwise, it is called dressing. This savory spin on “bread pudding” is one of my holiday favorites! I just can’t get enough of this every year, without fail. What about you, do you love it or hate it?
I loved the food my Mom made every year for Thanksgiving, so have just been making her recipe vegan, by omitting the egg and replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth. Otherwise, everything in it is already plant-based. And if this is your first time celebrating Thanksgiving as a vegan or plant-based eater, that is okay. It is a classic recipe and that is why it is so loved. This year, I am thinking about being more adventurous, and trying out a new recipe. (Or maybe I’ll make a smaller batch of this and a new recipe since I do look forward to these plant-based sides every Thanksgiving)!
One of the recipes I’m eying is the Whole Grain Stuffing with Pecans and Currants from Forks over Knives. Using fresh herbs in stuffing is such a great way to amp up the flavor profile and one that is just so easy.
The other one I am contemplating is the Best Vegan Stuffing from Delish Knowledge. However I am planning on adding in some fennel and apple with the tempeh “sausage”. I think my taste buds just might do a little dance if I choose this one!
Green Beans:
Are you tired of the dismal green bean casserole that is made with the cream of mushroom soup each year? Check out our Holiday Haricot Vert for a fresh green bean recipe that is gone before you know it. You won’t regret it! No need for a vegan green bean casserole when you have these green beans that are as pretty as they are delicious. The best part is that this is a very easy side dish.
Squash:
For a festive squash recipe, try Minimalist Baker’s Delicata Squash Bake— it is so yummy. I omit the coconut oil and it is still so enjoyable. If you haven’t yet tried roasted delicata squash, you must! It’s sweet and just so easy to make since you eat the skin because it is so thin. This makes preparing it so much easier as well. Or you could simply cook an acorn squash and stuff it with some wild rice and cranberries. Squash make such seasonally perfect plant-based sides!
Mac ‘n’ Cheese:
Do you love a homemade mac ‘n’ cheese recipe to grace your Thanksgiving table? Inside the Blissful Basil cookbook by Ashley Melillo there is a divine kale, artichoke and leek mac ‘n’ cheese with herbed oat crumbs that is a grown up version of this childhood classic. This is by far my favorite plant-based mac ‘n’ cheese recipe, and I’ve tried a LOT, as this was one of my most favorite foods prior to going plant-based. Can’t recommend this recipe enough, and at less than $10 for the cookbook, you really can’t go wrong!
Desserts:
For dessert, I usually just purchase a vegan pumpkin pie from Whole Foods, or an apple pie from Costco (these are accidentally vegan, unless they’ve changed their recipe recently). After cooking all the food I think there’s no shame in a purchased dessert. If you have a vegan restaurant nearby you could also find out about ordering or purchasing one from them too. Since it’s a holiday, I don’t worry about choosing vegan Thanksgiving desserts over more whole food plant based options.
If you want a plant-based dessert, a cobbler, fruit crisp or crumble would be divine here. Apples, cranberries and even pears will shine with some cinnamon, all spice, cloves, ground ginger and nutmeg.
Hosting a plant-based or vegan Thanksgiving dinner need not be overly complicated or time consuming. If you prefer healthy recipes, Forks over Knives has many on their website. If you are indulging over the holiday, that is okay too– no shame in it! Healthy eating shouldn’t be all or nothing– this type of approach makes it very difficult to stick to your plans. Allow yourself some room to enjoy some holiday foods, and maybe even a vegan pumpkin cheesecake (this is one I haven’t personally tried, because I so crave a good ‘ol pumpkin pie).
Planning your plant-based sides for your Thanksgiving table will mean putting lots of love into the meal. I do hope you find at least a couple new favorite vegan Thanksgiving recipes for your family members to enjoy here. Wishing you a blessed holiday meal and a fantastic time spent with family and friends you love and a blessed holiday season.
