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    Home » Holidays

    Thanksgiving for two: Vegan mains & sides

    Updated: May 7, 2025 · Published: Nov 17, 2020 by Cadry Nelson · This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 2 Comments

    Text overlay: Thanksgiving for two. Vegan main courses, sides, and more. Mashed potatoes, greens, and cutlet on plate.

    Thanksgiving for two this year? Plan your menu with these vegan side dishes and entrees. The list includes store-bought options as well, in case you don’t feel like cooking from scratch.

    Gardein turk'y cutlet with gravy, mashed potatoes, and greens on plate.

    If you aim to keep your celebration small this year, here’s a helpful guide for planning a small vegan Thanksgiving celebration.

    When you’re cooking for two, there’s no reason to make an exhaustive amount of vegan Thanksgiving recipes. An entrée, potato, and other side dish will suffice.

    As you look at the recipes, you can decide if you want to reduce the servings in each, so that there’s only enough for that day. Or you can make the full amount, and embrace the leftovers.

    (After all, what’s November without a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich?)

    In this post:

    Jump to:
    • Start with drinks
    • Pick a potato
    • Choose a salad or side dish
    • Pick an optional topping
    • Select an entrée
    • Go the store-bought route
    • Store-bought sides
    • There are no rules

    Start with drinks

    Glasses of Christmas mimosas on table by Champagne and cranberry juice.

    This cranberry mimosa is a yearly favorite. It’s made with champagne or sparkling wine, a splash of cranberry juice, and a few fresh cranberries.

    For a non-alcoholic option, it’s also really nice with cranberry juice and sparkling water. I’ve been drinking that all month long, and it’s very refreshing. Plus, cranberry juice is potent, so just a splash is all you need.

    Other drink options include coffee, tea, or a nice glass of red wine.

    Pick a potato

    Close-up lemony potatoes on dinner plate.

    In my mind, holidays are all about potatoes. While mashed potatoes are the classic option, feel free to switch things up.

    Lemony potatoes, mustard mashed potatoes, or an air fryer baked potato all work well.

    Or heck, why not make a batch of baked french fries?

    Choose a salad or side dish

    Spinach salad in bowl with candied pecans, roasted apple slices, and vegan feta cheese.

    After the potato portion has been sorted, it’s time to pick another side dish.

    Something fresh and green nicely breaks up the beige of the day. Or you can go the roasted vegetables route for something to warm-you-up if there’s a chill in the air.

    Here are some colorful side dish options:

    • Fall salad with apples, vegan feta, and candied pecans
    • Spinach salad with persimmons & delicata squash
    • Vegan wild rice soup
    • Easy roasted cauliflower in the air fryer or oven
    • Roasted delicata squash with rosemary
    • Roasted cabbage
    • Roasted Brussels sprouts with apples
    • Red wine mushrooms with garlic
    • Easy collard greens
    • Broccolini with garlic and kale
    • Sautéed kale with garlic
    • Vegan stuffing with chestnuts

    (If you make stuffing, I recommend making the full amount. It’s not that much more work than halving it, and stuffing freezes beautifully.)

    Pick an optional topping

    Celebration Roast slices on plate with collard greens, mashed potatoes, and cranberry salsa.

    Having something bold, bright, or creamy to go alongside the entrée really enhances the flavors of the day.

    Go classic with vegan turkey gravy or cranberry sauce. Or step outside the ordinary with cranberry salsa or apple chutney.

    Select an entrée

    Personal-sized vegan pot pies on table with rosemary.

    For the main event, here are some options that feel festive but aren’t way too big for a smaller gathering.

    Make personal-sized vegetable pot pies (or do it up with a full-sized vegan pot pie).

    They are filled with potatoes, beans or seitan, carrots, peas, and onions in a creamy cashew sauce.

    Vegan drumstick on plate with sweet potato and kale.

    If you always called for the drumstick in your pre-vegan life, make a batch of vegan fried chicken.

    It’s served on a bamboo skewer, breaded, and fried. It even has a crispy layer of “skin!”

    Lemony seitan skewer on plate with salad and cranberry sauce.

    Fire up the grill for vegan skewers.

    These kebabs include all of the classic holiday favorites in deconstructed form – right down to the sweet potatoes & marshmallows at the end of the stick.

    Two cauliflower steaks on plate with chimichurri.

    Cauliflower gets to take center stage with this recipe for roasted cauliflower steaks.

    It’s finished with a generous spoonful of cilantro chimichurri.

    Baked tofu with lemon and rosemary on dinner plate with Brussels sprouts and rice.

    Easy baked tofu is seasoned with lemon and a sprinkling of rosemary. It has a wonderfully chewy texture.

    Leftovers are terrific in wraps, sandwiches, and salads!

    Go the store-bought route

    If you don’t feel like making the main event from scratch, go with a prepared option instead.

    A lot of store-bought options, like Trader Joe’s turkey-less roast, come in portions large enough to feed a crowd.

    But don’t worry. There are still plenty of choices available that are better suited to a Thanksgiving for two.

    The options below can be found in the frozen section of natural grocery stores, health markets, and even some locations of Target or Walmart.

    Gardein turk’y cutlets with gravy

    Thanksgiving for two with Gardein turk'y cutlet, mashed potatoes, and kale on plate.

    Gardein turk’y cutlets come four to a package. They are lightly breaded and include a small packet of gravy.

    The gravy is on the thin side, but the flavor is fine.

    I like to air fry these at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, stopping once to flip. They don’t need to be sprayed with oil before or during cooking. Then the gravy packet can be removed from its plastic casing and heated in the microwave.

    Gardein stuffed turk’y with gravy

    Gardein also makes individual stuffed entrees. They are lightly breaded and stuffed with cranberries.

    They come two to a package. They also come with a gravy packet.

    Field Roast celebration roast

    Field Roast Celebration Roast slices on plate with apple chutney, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

    Field Roast hazelnut cranberry roast en croute is one of my very favorite store-bought options.

    But when you have a small group, the celebration roast is just the right size.

    Cut off a few slices and brown them in a skillet for the holiday. Then use the rest in a bánh mì the next day.

    Store-bought sides

    While we’re talking about store-bought options, that’s also an easy route for side dishes. You can steam, roast, or air fry chopped or frozen vegetables.

    Sauce your entrée with jarred cranberry sauce. And there are even jarred vegan gravies if you don’t feel like making your own cashew gravy.

    There are no rules

    Platter of nachos by cashew queso.

    Remember, there are no rules when it comes to the fourth Thursday in November.

    This could be a good year to do something outside the ordinary like having a vegan picnic in your yard if the weather allows, or order food from a local restaurant.

    You could make something that feels special but isn’t traditional like seitan piccata.

    It could be a good time to make a recipe that takes a little longer than a usual weekday allows. Maybe vegan risotto or arancini?

    Or lean into the comfort food vibes and have a taco pizza or platter of loaded vegan nachos with cashew queso.

    As long as the meal leaves you feeling satisfied, that’s all that really matters. Happy dining!

    More Holidays

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      Pizza hummus with sun-dried tomatoes
    • Platter of vegan chorizo tacos by Spanish rice and guacamole.
      Crunchy soy chorizo tacos with black beans (Easy Trader Joe’s dinner!)
    • Tortilla chip dipping into salsa verde.
      Oven roasted tomatillo salsa verde recipe
    • Vegan fried summer squash dunked in creamy onion & garlic dressing.
      Crispy air fryer summer squash (or pan fried)
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    About Cadry Nelson

    Cadry Nelson is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer behind Cadry’s Kitchen, and the author of Living Vegan For Dummies, 2nd Edition. Since launching her blog in 2009, Cadry has been making plant-based cooking approachable, and reimagining classic comfort foods. Her work has been featured in NBC News, Buzzfeed, Yahoo, Parade, VegNews, and more. She regularly appears on local TV shows, demonstrating to a broad audience how easy vegan cooking can be.

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    1. Shell

      November 17, 2020 at 3:20 pm

      We will be having a small Thanksgiving this year too. I liked your statement of “there are no rules”. I have never been a huge fan of the traditional Thanksgiving meals, so maybe this year we make a new tradition! Thank you for all of the great ideas.

      Reply
      • Cadry

        November 18, 2020 at 9:52 am

        That sounds like a great idea, Shell! Might as well try something new, especially when there’s no way it’s going to be the same as every other year anyway. Keep me posted on what you decide to make!

        Reply

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