5 Vegan Dishes for a Meatless + Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Dinner
Eating vegan doesn’t have to keep you from enjoying traditional holiday staples
Thanksgiving is hands-down my favorite holiday. Gathering with loved ones over beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes..?
But the pandemic wasn’t the only thing that changed this year’s festivities for me. I adopted a mostly meat-free, dairy-free diet a few months ago, and many of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes were out of the question.
Or so I thought.
I was determined to keep one thing constant this year: traditional Thanksgiving food. And to ensure I wasn’t nauseated and bloated from eating *all* the things, I decided to find vegan Thanksgiving meals that I knew my family would love.
And I wanted to share a few of those dishes to help anyone considering a holiday dinner free of meat and dairy.
As you read through the following dishes, keep this in mind: Vegan doesn’t necessarily mean healthy. Like the title states, the dishes are meatless and dairy-free, and may not have much nutritional value. But it’s a special occasion, which gives us permission to indulge a little.
Vegan doesn’t necessarily mean healthy.
5 Vegan Dishes to Add to Your Thanksgiving Menu
I found most of these dishes on Pinterest and through a simple Google search for “vegan [insert meal here] recipe.” And in the process, I found a few good sources for daily vegan meal ideas.
1. Jackfruit Pot Roast
Meat, e.g. turkey and ham, is traditionally the main dish on the Thanksgiving menu. So naturally, I wanted a meatless dish that could compete. (And no, I’m not on the tofurkey wave quite yet.)
Since starting my vegan journey, jackfruit has been a key ingredient in many of my meals. I’ve had jackfruit tacos and pulled BBQ jackfruit so far. And like most people, I like it for its “meaty” texture and because it absorbs nearly any flavor or sauce. So when I learned about jackfruit pot roast, adding it to our vegan Thanksgiving menu was a no-brainer.
After a quick Google search for “jackfruit pot roast recipe,” I found Fly Vegan’s recipe on YouTube (shown below). The ingredients are listed in the video’s description, and I just jotted down the steps from the video. Warning: the flavors are slightly rich and spicy. But overall, it was a hearty and delicious addition to the table.
2. Vegan Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and cheese is THE Thanksgiving staple. Some might even argue that it’s more important than the turkey. And Thanksgiving dinner just wouldn’t be the same without it, vegan or not.
I’ll admit that I’m not a huge fan of vegan macaroni and cheese. I’m a mac and cheese snob, and it’s been hard to find a dairy-free version that even comes close to the real thing. I’ve tried a few vegan recipes, and though my husband loved the results, they were a “no” for me. But this vegan baked macaroni and cheese is a winner!
While the recipe calls for vegan cheese (I used Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds), the “cheese” sauce is made using a few interesting ingredients, like carrots, potatoes and cashews. But don’t let that deter you. Like regular mac & cheese, you can season the sauce to your liking, and extra seasoning salt made it just right for me. I had seconds and thirds, and saved the rest for leftovers.
3. Vegan Baked Candied Yams
Baked candied yams are another must-have on my Thanksgiving dinner table. While I *think* most candied yams are dairy-free, I found a vegan recipe just in case.
Ya’ll. I guarantee this vegan baked candied yams recipe will delight vegans and non-vegans alike. The chef behind the recipe even encourages you to make double the syrup because it’s just that good (and I concur). She is a registered nurse, so I expect this version to be healthier than most recipes. In her own words, “it is healthier than Paula Deen candied yams.”
And I know, I know. This recipe doesn’t call for marshmallows. But marshmallows are completely dairy-free, which means you’re free to top your vegan baked candied yams with the little sugar bombs if you’d like (no judgment here).
4. Vegan Cornbread
I grew up on Jiffy cornbread, ya’ll. Needless to say, I like my cornbread sweet.
Before switching to a dairy-free diet, my go-to boxed cornbread was Krusteaz Honey Cornbread Mix. So for our vegan Thanksgiving dinner, I essentially wanted a dairy-free version of that. Enter Nora Cook’s vegan cornbread.
This was such a simple recipe. If you’re adding cornbread to the Thanksgiving menu, you’ll only need a few ingredients to bring this delicacy to the table:
- All-purpose flour
- Yellow corn meal
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Canola oil
- Salt
The cornbread was *chef’s kiss*. And after eating boxed cornbread for most of my life, I prided myself on making this dish from scratch.
5. Dairy-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are such a simple yet filling side dish. But it’s typically packed with dairy from butter to milk to cream — a no-no for my fellow lactose intolerant friends.
This dairy-free garlic mashed potatoes recipe substitutes regular butter for vegan butter (I used Country Crock Plant Butter with Olive Oil). And the milk and cream is replaced by coconut cream (I used Organic Coconut Cream from Sprouts Farmer’s Market).
They were golden and fluffy like their dairy-filled counterpart. And topped with fresh parsley and gravy, the two versions are nearly indistinguishable.
We rounded out our first vegan Thanksgiving with collard greens (cooked in the crockpot). And it was a success, if I say so myself. My parents, who consume meat and dairy on the regular, were even fans of these dishes.
Which of these meatless, dairy-free dishes has your mouth watering? 😛
