Traditionally, Thanksgiving dinner includes foods like turkey, ham, and meatballs. However, Thanksgiving is not actually about the specific meal. It is the tradition for get together of the family and relatives. So, planning for a vegetarian Thanksgiving is a good idea to make everyone happy.
Planning for vegetarian Thanksgiving meal is the best way as vegan people can not feel left out at the table. By such way, you can provide a balanced meal to everyone. Vegetarian Thanksgiving dishes ideas includes vegetarian recipes for appetizers, bread, main courses, side dishes, and dessert.
Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dishes Ideas & Menu:
Appetizers/Starters:
- A platter of sliced vegetables and fruits.
- Sweet potato soup made with corn, peppers, and caramelized onions.
- An elegant soup prepared from wild rice and cranberries decorated with sherry.
- Pumpkin soup laced with apple slices and a dollop of crème fraiche.
- Crudites: Typically, a plate of crudités is made up of one or more types of raw vegetables like, tomatoes, asparagus, celery, beans, radish, peppers (red or yellow), carrots, baby fennel and sweet corn and is served with one or more dips. In place of a salad, you can serve this as an appetizer, at a buffet.
- Squash Soup: It has taste similarity with beef stew and has notably thick consistency although it contains no cream or eggs.
- French Onion Soup: top with croutons and cheese. This vegetarian soup is so flavorful and meat-eaters will never know the difference.
Side Dishes:
- Cranberry-studded wild rice pilaf
- Red Cabbage with Cranberries as a sweet-and-sour side dish
- Stuffed sweet potatoes which are sweet and buttery
- Balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts
- Roasted winter vegetables with rosemary, garlic and olive oil
- Mushroom Sauce: To thicken this vegan mushroom sauce into mushroom gravy, you can add another ¼ cup of flour.
- Mashed Potatoes: Mashed potatoes are quick and easy to prepare. For all types of variations like vegan mashed potatoes and garlic mashed potatoes, they acts as a great base.
Main Dishes:
Other than the turkey, Thanksgiving dinner is actually quite veggie-friendly, at least when it comes to the side dishes. So, most vegetarians will appreciate the traditional mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and macaroni and cheese.
- Shepherd’s Pie: A simple yet delicious vegetarian version of the real thing. Some possible vegetables could be bell peppers, carrots, celery, corn, green beans, leeks, mushrooms, peas, spinach, zucchini.
- Spanakopita: It is a Greece vegetarian recipe having rich and delicious spinach-cheese pie.
- Sweet Potato Gratin: It is healthy main course made by layering of sweet potatoes with black beans, rice, and spinach. Mix cornmeal, oil, thyme, cumin, and salt and sprinkle over the gratin.
- Potato and Bell Pepper Gratin with Pepper Jack Cheese: It is a spiced variety which melts beautifully. Add this gratin for just enough start and receive praises from guests.
- Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers: This vegetarian recipe is made up of green peppers with stuffing of a mixture of brown rice, nuts, dried cranberries, tofu and cheese. To make a vegan delight, you can use Parmesan as a substitute of soy cheese.
- Lasagna: Basically, it is prepared with layers of flat noodles, vegetables, cheese, and sometimes meat. Many delicious variations can be carried out in lasagna with vegetables and mozzarella and ricotta cheese. Mushroom lasagna, mushroom goat cheese lasagna, spinach lasagna, and zucchini lasagna are other variations of it.
- Shepherd’s Pie: Prepare it with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. Other substitutes for filling are mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, corn, spinach, zucchini or green beans. Boost the protein content with filling of Lentils or tofu.
Desserts:
- Vegan pumpkin custard
- Pear crumble with maple ice cream
- Cranberry-Nut Bread: Sweet-tart bread for dessert, tea, or breakfast
- Vegan pumpkin pie: The classic pumpkin pie recipe prepared by using tofu as a binder instead of eggs.
- Cranberry Pear Crumble: A classic fruit crumble, prepared with pears and cranberries and also apples.
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies: Made with canned pumpkin, potato starch and rice flour.
- Sweet Potato Pie: You can consume it as a dessert after Thanksgiving dinner. It is sweet but not too sweet.
- Apple Cinnamon Crisp: A quick and easy recipe for apple crisp topped with cereal.
So, there you have it—a Thanksgiving Day meal that could accommodate the very special vegetarian in your life.