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 dinner 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 with these recipes that will delight every last person at your gathering.
Crispy Brussels-Sprout Rösti
Lennart Weibull
Whether you serve it as an appetizer or a side at your vegan Thanksgiving feast, this crispy, crunchy on the outside but soft within potato and Brussels sprout pancake is a winner.
Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Mike Krautter
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.
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.
Vegan Stuffing
Bryan Gardner
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.
Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Dip With Pomegranate
Johnny Miller
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.
Mixed Chicories With Persimmon
Chicories are a cold-weather green that’s hardier than summer lettuce. It pairs nicely with dense sweet persimmon and toasted chopped walnuts.
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.
Persimmon, Beet, and Citrus Salad
Martyn Thompson
This is a delightful yet unusual combination of textures and flavors—roasted beets alongside juicy persimmon, bitter endive, and sweet citrus fruits that run the gamut from sour grapefruit to sugary Cara Cara oranges.
Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Martyn Thompson
A spectacular vegan entrée, give this dish the center of the table it deserves. Roasting turns the cauliflower brown, nutty, and very tender. It’s served with an easy stir-it-together green herb sauce.
Sweet Potato-Cauliflower Curry
Con Poulos
A creamy (but dairy free) sauce made with garlic, onion, coconut milk, and red curry paste envelopes hunks of sweet potato, cauliflower, baby spinach, edamame, and zucchini in this colorful vegan main.
Roasted Squash With Sesame Seeds and Cumin
Acorn squash slices are made extra special with the addition of crunchy sesame and cumin seeds and additional ground spices. Roast till soft and caramelized.
Roasted Carrots With Red Quinoa
John von Pamer
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.
Autumn Tian
Chris Court
A show-stopper of a side dish that can also be a main, this French-style tian features thin alternating slices of beet, onion, tomato, and potato.
Vegan Lentil Soup
Justin Walker
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.
Quick-Cooking Green Beans With Lemons
Bryan Gardner
A light and zingy side, these green beans are blanched and tossed quickly in a pan with olive oil, garlic, and lemon.
Cranberry Chutney
Marcus Nilsson
Most cranberry sauce recipes are vegan. This mouth-watering chutney can be made in a large batch and packed into jars for gifts. Enjoy it with roasted squash, stuffed onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, or parsnips.
Roasted Squash, Apple, and Cipollini Onion Salad
Everyone loves a hearty salad. This one leans heavily on the oven for roasting squash, apples, and onions, then serving on top of a bed of watercress with toasted walnuts.
Cranberry-Apple-Mint Sorbet
Dana Gallagher
Cranberry-apple juice infused with fresh mint and churned into homemade sorbet is just the right way to end a hearty Thanksgiving meal.
Vegan Apple Pie
linda xiao
The delectable crust for this pie uses safflower oil rather than butter.
Poached Pears
Grant Webster
Pears have a firm flesh that holds up well to poaching. They take on a wonderful flavor when simmered in cinnamon- and allspice-scented apple cider. Serve with vegan ice cream or sorbet or whipped coconut cream.