By Sara
Plant-based turkey alternatives are becoming more and more available. Is Thanksgiving 2021 to be your first as a plant-based eater? Are you wondering what the heck to serve instead of the Turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner this year? Well you’re in luck, cause we’ve got you covered! Whether you’re looking for a plant-based roast or a main course made from whole foods, we’ve gathered a selection to choose from to satisfy whatever crowd you have for the upcoming holiday meal. A meatless Thanksgiving should not be bland or boring, and we’ve gathered a variety of ideas suitable to be the focal point of the meal!
Personally, after making our tasty Holiday Haricot Vert (fancy green beans), mashed potatoes, stuffing, mushroom gravy, cranberry sauce and a vegan pumpkin pie I feel no shame in opting for a pre-made roast to grace my Thanksgiving table. The best part is they do not take a long time in the oven and can be on your table in about an hour or less. There are just so many options available, with more meat alternatives available every year! These make your holiday feast suitable for even the meat lovers in your life.
“There is no shortage of options for a Thanksgiving main dish that omits animal products for a cruelty-free meal for all to enjoy.”
Ready-Made Plant-Based Turkey Alternatives
Tofurky Plant-based Roast:
Probably the most well-known thanks to all the jibes it receives. However this plant-based roast is filled with a wild rice stuffing has been the most popular vegan turkey alternative since 1995. They have several ways to make it on their site, from doing an orange glaze for it (sounds divine!), to a chipotle-maple syrup glazed roast. Made from wheat and tofu, it lists 5 servings for this roast on the package.
No Evil Foods The Pardon:
If you’re looking for a roast that is not stuffed, this is a holiday centerpiece worthy of your dinner table. You can feel good about serving it as well; for each purchase, the company donates a portion of the proceeds to the turkeys at Full Circle Farm Sanctuary. The nutrition label lists 8 servings for its seitan roast that is loaded with umami for a delicious, savory flavor. We enjoyed this last year, and it makes for great sandwiches with the leftovers!
Field Roast Celebration Roast:
This has graced my table a time or two and has been fully enjoyed. Field Roast has a traditional stuffing stuffed roast as well as a superbly elegant Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute that is wrapped in a puff pastry and is great served to impress your holiday guests! This roast boasts 8 servings and is a vegan roast worth sharing. These are available in the local grocery store.
Vegetarian Plus’ Vegan Whole Turkey:
This is a great option for larger gatherings, with a whopping 26 servings per roast. It will look the most traditional, as it is a turkey shaped roast, made from non-GMO soy protein, and it’s texture and flavor is surprisingly close to real turkey meat. And since it heats and serves in an hour, no need to spend hours basting a bird! The perfect centerpiece when you have non-vegans joining you for the holiday.
Trader Joe’s Turkeyless Stuffed Roast:
If you are lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe’s, they have a great, breaded turkey-less stuffed roast that is filled with stuffing and cranberries. It serves 6 and is a vegan turkey roast perfect for the holiday season. This seitan roast is made of vital wheat gluten (as are most seitans). If you are ready to give plant-based turkey alternatives a try, you can’t go wrong here.
Home-Made Plant-Based Turkey Alternatives
If you prefer more of a DIY option, we have some ideas for you, too friend. Some of the whole food, plant based options include the following:
Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash:
This recipe from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken is one that can be prepared without the listed olive oil in the recipe. It can be mostly pre-made so that you just need to heat and serve for your Thanksgiving meal.
Stuffed Acorn Squash:
These are another main dish that is impressive and tasty. This recipe from Love and Lemons is heavenly. Or, the squash can be stuffed with stuffing of your choice or a holiday wild rice with cranberries.
Shiitake Mushrooms and Chickpea Pot Pie:
(or if you want to get fancy, make individual pot pies to serve). These go over great and are easy to prepare ahead. Then just heat and serve on the big day. This recipe from Tasty is great, but I omit the broccoli and use Shiitake mushrooms that are roughly chopped.
Shepherd’s Pie:
This one is a classic comfort food. You can try variations with polenta on top rather than the mashed potatoes, or swap the potatoes out for mashed parsnips. Season with some fresh thyme, which brings classic Thanksgiving flavors to the table. The Vegan Shepherd’s Pie with Polenta and Lentils from Forks over Knives is top-notch.
Mushroom Lentil Loaf:
This recipe from Making Thyme for Health is perfectly suited to grace your holiday table. Made from a mix of lentils, mushrooms, walnuts and sunflower seeds, with all the distinctive herbs of the classic Thanksgiving dishes it will be one to please.
All of these plant-based turkey alternatives are ones you can be proud to have grace the center of your table. Not only for their taste, but also for their pretty appearance.
As you can see, there is no shortage of options for a Thanksgiving main dish that omits animal products for a cruelty-free meal for all to enjoy. In recent years I’ve enjoyed many of these and hope you find them all to be an ideal choice for your holiday centerpiece. If you do try some of these recipes, hit me up in the comments below or on Instagram to let me know what you thought.
Don’t forget to stop by again next week for our post featuring plant-based sides, coming at you full steam ahead!
