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When people find out that I’ve been a vegetarian my whole life, one of their first questions is, “Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?” And then that is often followed by, “Do you have any vegetarian recipes for Thanksgiving?”
This has always puzzled me. Because though I obviously don’t eat turkey, it seems most people seem to think the sides and pie are the most important part of the meal, anyway. And truly, almost everything EXCEPT the turkey can be made vegetarian. So I’ve never felt like I’m missing out at all.
Table of Contents
My Favorite Holiday Meal Hack
One thing that really alleviates some holiday stress for me is having the same meals every year. Otherwise, it takes a long time to research and plan a new meal, and somehow it always talks longer to cook an unfamiliar recipe. Thanksgiving has gotten so much more straightforward for me since I started making the exact same versions of things every year instead of researching a new and fancy recipe.
This is true for more holidays than just Thanksgiving – I do it for Christmas, New Year’s, Father’s Day, 4th of July, and Halloween. It’s truly one of my favorite holiday hacks!
My Traditional Vegetarian Recipes for Thanksgiving
Because of that, I’ve made virtually the exact same Thanksgiving meal for the past 4 or 5 years. It’s always just slightly different based on if we’re eating with friends or family. But there’s almost always some version of these staples, and these are the recipes I use when making each of them.
They’re all tried and true and I’ve made each of them at least 5 times. I love them dearly and think they’re the best of the best versions. I hope you love them, too!
This is my very favorite Thanksgiving dish that I’ve been making every year for well over a decade. The sweet potatoes are silky smooth and fluffy, and the nutty topping is divine.
Slightly sweet and also fluffy and creamy, this stuff is so good. My two older kids make it on their own every year. I’ve tried numerous times to nail down a version that tastes as good but not using the Jiffy mix, but I haven’t gotten it down yet.
I always think it’s nice to have a soup at the Thanksgiving table for color and robustness.
Cornbread Stuffing
This is Dan’s grandma’s recipe. Basically dried out sweet cornbread mixed with cooked onions/celery/mushrooms, with stock poured over and baked in the oven.
We always make the basic version with fresh cranberries and lots of orange zest.
Vegetarian Thanksgiving Main Dishes
This is the only category where we’ve rotated our choice just a bit. While I’m not vegan, a couple of these options are vegan Thanksgiving main dishes. For the past 3 years, we’ve made the lasagna, but I do love the others, as well. Take your pick!
This is our go to vegetarian main dish for Thanksgiving. I always sub the Parmesan for gruyere to give a slightly nuttier flavor. It’s creamy and festive and delicious.
I don’t tend to generally like pumpkin pie, but this version is SO creamy and smooth, and I love the hit of maple and the flavor complexity from the canned yams.
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