Vegan holiday food is actually some of the easiest and tastiest food you can make (or buy). Below are recipes for holiday winter squash, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Cranberry sauce, green beans, salads, sweet potatoes\u2026all the other favorites are already vegan, or so close you won\u2019t need a recipe (Annie\u2019s Goddess dressing instead of the tired old ranch dressing, green beans cooked in veg stock instead of chicken stock, etc).<\/p>\n
The main dish is the big question. Tofurky? Field Roast? A big stuffed squash? That\u2019s up to you and your personal tastes. My favorite Thanksgiving involved a six hour hike up a snowy mountain, followed by a feast of latkes (potato pancakes) with apple sauce and vegan sour cream. 3 carefully-chosen people and 7 dogs who were not actually carefully-chosen, being rescues, but they were well-loved. That holiday was so easy, and so fun\u2014none of the stress, misery, heart attacks and animal suffering I was used to\u2014that it set the tone and I haven\u2019t celebrated a \u201ctraditional\u201d Thanksgiving since.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re celebrating with a crowd, try to arrange one of each centerpiece foods (Tofurky, Field Roast, stuffed pumpkin). Have a taste test and then you\u2019ll know what you like in the future.<\/p>\n
Plan ahead–read through these recipes and check out www.vegcooking.com<\/a> for a huge new Thanksgiving food feature.\u00a0 Don’t wait until the week before the holiday–the more you plan, the more you’ll enjoy this holiday of delicious food, friends and family!<\/p>\n Holiday Winter Squash <\/p>\n Holiday Winter Squash <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>Bake an acorn or kobocha squash, whole, at 350 degrees until very tender (about 30 minutes).\u00a0 Let cool, then cut open.<\/p>\n Discard the seeds and scoop out the flesh into a casserole dish.<\/p>\n Top with chopped, roasted and salted pecans and a drizzle of Earth Balance.<\/p>\n Reheat in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.\u00a0 Couldn’t be easier!<\/p>\n Mashed Potatoes<\/strong><\/p>\n Serves 6 hungry people. The garlic does not leave a strong garlic flavor\u2014it sweetens and mellows as it cooks with the potatoes. It lends more of a natural creaminess than anything (cooked garlic is soft and mashes into a nice creamy paste). Cooking it with the potatoes saves time, as opposed to roasting it separately and then adding it.<\/p>\n 2 and 1\/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, or red creamers (about 12 mid-sized potatoes)<\/p>\n 1 full head of garlic, peeled but not chopped (about 10 whole cloves) Gravy<\/strong><\/p>\n 2\/3 cup raw cashews<\/p>\n \u00bc cup nutritional yeast 1 tsp sage (optional)<\/p>\n *more tamari if you want a stronger flavor or darker color<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Cornbread and Pecan Stuffing<\/strong><\/p>\n This is not for the faint of heart. By that I mean\u2014this is not a light and delicate dish. You can make it with vegetable stock instead of Earth Balance if you eat McDougall (if you omit Earth Balance, increase the veg stock to 2 cups total), and it comes out great. But I am giving you the non-McDougall version because I assume (hope) that you will be sharing this with meat-eaters. It’s very rich and filling. It’s one of those dishes that make me wonder why people are so obsessed with \u201cmain dishes.\u201d This has all the calories, protein, and holiday flavor and fat you need (for several weeks). Add some green veg or salad and you’ve got a fabulous meal. A stuffing recipe that will truly stuff you.<\/p>\n First, make the cornbread:<\/p>\n 1 cup all purpose flour NOTE: I would recommend making 2-3 times this recipe, and I would also recommend making it several days ahead of time to make your holiday cooking easier. It’s OK if it’s a little stale, in fact, that will make a better stuffing.<\/em><\/p>\n Stuffing (easily doubled or tripled):<\/p>\n 1 large yellow onion, diced 1 recipe cornbread, above Pumpkin Patch “Cheesecake”<\/strong><\/p>\n This is my absolute favorite pumpkin pie recipe, and it’s also one of the easiest!<\/p>\n 12 oz. firm Mori-Nu silken tofu 1 1\/2 tsp. cinnamon Preheat the oven to 350\u00b0F.<\/p>\n Puree all the ingredients (except the pie crust) in a food processor. Pour the filling into the graham cracker crust and bake for 50 minutes.<\/p>\n Allow to cool for 30 minutes, cover with plastic wrap or the top of the pie container, and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight before serving.<\/p>\n Other Holiday Food Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n – Here is a lovely spinach, roasted beet and orange salad [link<\/a>]<\/p>\n – A stuffed pumpkin recipe [link<\/a>]<\/p>\n – Enter “vegan + recipes + holiday” into google<\/a> or your favorite search engine for countless other main dish recipes.<\/p>\n – Keep checking www.VegCooking.com<\/a> for more holiday food ideas.<\/p>\n – Try this Veggie Pate as a centerpiece Thanksgiving Loaf<\/a>. It has all the seasonings and taste of Thanksgiving. YUM.<\/p>\n – You’ll find lots of vegan holiday desserts at Rainbow and Whole Foods (pumpkin pie, pecan pie, chocolate cake) etc.<\/p>\n
\nMashed Potatoes
\nCashew Gravy
\nCornbread and Pecan Stuffing
\nPumpkin Patch “Cheesecake”<\/p>\n
\n\u00bc cup extra virgin oil
\n\u00bc cup unsweetened soy milk
\n1 Tb salt<\/p>\n\n
\n1\/3 cup arrowroot powder (cornstarch will also work)
\n1 Tb miso
\n3 and \u00bd cups water
\n2 Tb tamari or soy sauce
\n\u00bd onion, peeled
\n1 stalk celery, roughly chopped<\/p>\n\n
\n*water if it’s too thick
\n*arrowroot slurry if it’s too thin (stir 1 Tb arrowroot into \u00bc COLD water, then add to gravy)<\/p>\n
\n1 cup yellow cornmeal
\n2 tsp baking powder
\n1 cup plus 1 Tb water
\n\u00bc cup vegetable oil
\n\u00bc cup maple syrup
\n1 tsp salt<\/p>\n\n
\n1 bunch celery, trimmed and then diced
\n3 cloves garlic, minced
\n\u00bc tub of Earth Balance (that is not a typo)<\/p>\n
\n1 loaf of your favorite bread, stale if possible, cut or torn into chunks
\n1 cup vegetable stock (or more!)
\n1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
\n1 Tb dried sage
\n2 Tb fresh chopped parsley
\n2 tsp salt
\n1 tsp pepper
\n1 cup fresh, whole cranberries or 1\/2 cup dried cranberries (optional, and currants also work)<\/p>\n\n
\n8 oz. nondairy cream cheese (try Tofutti brand)
\n1 cup canned pumpkin
\n1 cup granulated sugar
\n3 Tbsp. flour
\n1\/2 tsp. ground ginger
\n1\/2 tsp. nutmeg<\/p>\n
\n1\/8 tsp. salt
\n1\/4 tsp. baking soda
\n1 prepared vegan graham cracker crust<\/p>\n