It’s easier to eat vegan during the holidays if you’re at home because then you’re in control of all of the food and it’s easy. But if you are going to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving, it can be harder because you don't want them to make anything special for you. If they do want to make something vegan for you, then refer them to this blog post so they can get easy and quick ideas.
What I do for the holidays and any family event is I make my own food at home and just bring it. When it’s dinner time I take my food out of the tupperware and put it on a plate so it’s like everyone else's. If you want to eat out of the tupperware that’s cool, too. If people don’t know that you’re vegan, you’ll probably get a lot of questions about what you’re eating and why. So just prepare for that. It’s not a big deal though because once they ask at that first dinner, they won’t bug you in the future.
These recipes below are easy in the sense that the ingredients are easy to find and not ones that you’ve never heard of.
Stuffing
Half of my plate could just be stuffing and I’d be happy about that.
To make stuffing vegan-friendly is SO EASY.
First, don’t put it inside the turkey. Just have it as its own dish. Second, use vegetable stock instead of a meat-based stock.
Make sure the bread you’re using for the bread crumbs is free of dairy and eggs. I buy a stuffing bag mix at the store with just bread crumbs in it, that works too- just make sure there is no dairy in the ingredients. I follow the directions on the bag, but just replace butter with vegan butter and I add as much celery and onions as I want.
For a more specific recipe to follow, click here.
Modify it as you wish as long as your ingredients are vegan!
“Meat”
If you want a meat option, I honestly just cook up some Gardein Chick’n Tenders and call it good.
If you want to have a “turkey” option, Gardein has some Turk’y Cutlets, and a stuffed Turk’y (I have not tried this or seen it in stores near me, but I would try it if I saw it).
The brand tofurkey (I use their turkey deli slices) also has a “turkey” roast. I have not had it yet. Click here to view it.
There are many other “turkey” options, but I tend to stick to the quickest and easiest ones which I listed above. Other options are here.
Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes
Baked Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes: just bake it however you like, and eat it with some vegan butter.
2. Sweet Potato Casserole: You can modify your current recipe by replacing butter with vegan butter, removing marshmallows (they contain gelatin) or replacing them with vegan marshmallows. You can also Google “vegan sweet potato casserole” to get more specific recipes. I found one here that looks yummy and has easy ingredients.
Vegetables
This is an easy one. Just make sure you don’t put butter on them!
Caramelized vegetables are not vegan either unless you make them vegan.
Vegetable side options: Corn, green beans, string beans, carrots
Green Bean Casserole
I have never had Green Bean Casserole before, but it’s always on the table at every Thanksgiving I’ve been to. Here is a recipe I found that has easy ingredients.
Rolls
You don’t have to make home-made rolls in order for them to be vegan. Just look at the ingredients on the bag and make sure there is no dairy (milk, butter), eggs, or honey.
Rice
Rice, that’s it.
Pumpkin Pie
Here is my favorite pumpkin pie recipe.
Add some dairy-free reddi-whip and you’re good to go!
Apple Pie
Costco has a huge apple pie that we get and it’s vegan! Just double check that the one at your store is vegan, too.
Here’s a recipe I found that has super easy ingredients.
The above ideas should be plenty for a vegan Thanksgiving. They all have easy ingredients and are simple to modify and make. Please tag me in any dishes you decide to make and I will repost them! My social media accounts are all linked on my blog.