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50 vegan Thanksgiving recipes & resources to get you through the holidays. From mouthwatering appetizers through enticing desserts. Plus, tips on how to navigate the social aspects of a vegan holiday!
Like so many of us, I’m plotting and planning this year’s vegan Thanksgiving menu.
Since David and I often go the potluck-route, it’s usually a matter of picking one or two things and going from there. The only problem is paring down what those few items will be.
Luckily, there’s no reason that the classic favorites have to be limited to that one day of the year as tasty vegan Thanksgiving recipes abound.
Here’s a round-up of my personal favorite vegan Thanksgiving recipes, along with dishes from some of my blogging friends.
Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes
Thanksgiving cocktail & appetizer recipes
As people file in with casseroles to warm and coats to hang, it’s fun to have nibbles for noshing. Bring on the cocktails, dips, finger foods, and cheese balls.
Cranberry salsa with cream cheese
Warmed Castelvetrano olives with lemon & garlic
Loaded sliced potatoes in air fryer or oven
Vegan bacon dates with almond butter
Artichoke crostini with hummus & marinated cashews
Check out these vegan Thanksgiving appetizer recipes from across the blogosphere:
- Cashew Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms – Glue & Glitter
- Holiday Cheddar Cheese Ball – Vedged Out
Thanksgiving salads & side dishes
Thanksgiving foods are often shades of beige. It feels good to balance out the tan with pops of color.
Vegan Thanksgiving salads
Roasted apple salad with candied pecans
Delicata squash salad with persimmons
Kale salad recipe with roasted chickpeas & cashew dressing
Kale & wheat berry salad with lemon tahini dressing
Easy spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette
Israeli couscous salad with artichokes & olives
Vegan Thanksgiving sides
Vegan stuffing with chestnuts
Fresh cranberry salsa with orange zest
Stuffing muffins with chestnuts
Roasted Brussels sprouts with apples & caramelized onions
Mashed potatoes with seitan bacon vegan gravy
Easy roasted cauliflower in the air fryer or oven
Here are more vegan Thanksgiving side dishes I think you’ll love:
- Green bean casserole with onion ring style topping – Keepin’ It Kind
- Cornbread stuffing – Vegan Richa
- Vegan green bean casserole – Fatfree Vegan
Vegan Thanksgiving main dishes
Vegan polenta stacks with barbecued squash & cashew cream
Chicken-style vegan pot pie (Made with frozen, store-bought pie crusts!)
Easy baked tofu recipe with lemon & rosemary
Vegan Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich
Here are some more vegan Thanksgiving main dish ideas:
- Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon (The baking directions aren’t included in the link. I always bake them, and I use half the amount of oil listed with no adverse effects. To bake, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly oil each side of the cutlets, and bake at 375 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes, flip the cutlets, and then bake for 8-10 more until golden brown.
- Festive Chickpea Tart from Dreena Burton’s Let Them Eat Vegan. I like to make two tarts and freeze one for the Christmas holidays. The tarts freeze and thaw beautifully.
- Pumpkin-seed crusted tofu with cranberry relish from Vegan with a Vengeance
- Stuffed squash – Dianne’s Vegan Kitchen
- Southwest pumpkin risotto – Veggie Inspired
- Loaded holiday panini – Vegan Yack Attack
- Butternut & wild mushroom lasagna – Keepin’ It Kind
Vegan Thanksgiving dessert recipes
Thanksgiving desserts are all about the pies and pumpkins. I think any of these options would go over well with a crowd.
- Maple cream pumpkin pie with buttery gingersnap crust – Spabettie
- No bake pumpkin pie with gluten-free crust – Vegan Richa
- No bake pumpkin swirl cheesecake – Dianne’s Vegan Kitchen
- Raw Coconut Banana Cream Pie – My Darling Vegan
- Vegan apple pie – Fried Dandelions
Vegan Thanksgiving resources
Finally, I always say that with veganism, the food is the easy part. It’s navigating social situations that can be tricky. If this will be your first vegan Thanksgiving, here are some helpful resources as we move into the holiday season.
- 12 tips for surviving your first vegan Thanksgiving
- When people won’t eat your food because it’s vegan
- Friendsgiving: Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner
- Going vegan: What to do when the joke’s on you
- Going vegan: Making new food traditions
- My wish for the turkeys
Tanya says
Thanks for posting the baking instructions for the Chickpea Cutlets. That is going to be on my menu!!!
Cadry says
My pleasure! I love that recipe any time of the year. It’s so good!
Bianca says
This is such an awesome list, Cadry! Thanks for posting this. My mom handles all the cooking, mostly. But I usually throw in a dish or two. I may pick something from this list.
Cadry says
Thanks, Bianca! I wanted to include some dishes from Vegan Crunk, but I was having a hard time finding recipes on your blog. Have you thought about making a recipe tab?
Dale says
One of these days I’m going to join someone for a Thanksgiving. I’m really curious to see what the experience is really like.
Cadry says
You really should and then write about it! It would be fun to hear an outsider’s perspective.
ADI says
Perfect! My friend was looking for some vegan suggestions. I’ll send her the link to this. ~.o
Cadry says
Terrific, thanks!
Eva @ Four Leaf Clover says
I needed vegan Thanksgiving ideas so thank you so much for sharing so many of them!! I’m attending my husband’s family Thanksgiving for the first time this year and I’ll be the only vegan there so I’ve gotta bring something reeeeally good, haha!
Cadry says
Oh, I hope it went well! Let me know how you fared if you get a chance. 😀
Eva @ Four Leaf Clover says
I ended up just making a dessert (vegan snickerdoodle cupcakes) and they were a hit! Everyone loved them 🙂 How as your Thanksgiving?
Cadry says
I’m so glad they were a hit! They sound delicious. My Thanksgiving was easy and very low key. It was just me and my husband this year, and so we were able to make dinner at our own pace with whatever we were in the mood for that day.
Eva @ Four Leaf Clover says
That sounds really nice and calm (something you don’t often find around holidays, haha!)… I’m glad you had a good day! Were you planning on doing a similar post for Christmas?
Cadry says
Yes, it hadn’t been our original plan for the holiday, but it did make things very low stress. I hadn’t planned on doing a similar post for Christmas since people tend to eat similar things. Do you think it would be useful?
Eva @ Four Leaf Clover says
I’ve only ever been to one American Christmas before so I wasn’t really sure what to expect food-wise. I didn’t bring food that year, but I will probably be bringing food this year. But if it’s pretty much the same food, then I’ll work with that 🙂
Cadry says
Oh, I see! Some families have different traditions, but for the most part, Thanksgiving foods & Christmas foods are pretty similar.