Thanksgiving is tomorrow! While this is an excting time, many non-meat-eaters may feel a little left out. But thanks to an abundance of meatless recipes, vegans and vegetarians can also join in on the tasty festivities this Thanksgiving. Here’s a perfectly planned list of recipes that contain no meat at all:
Side Dishes
Delicious Vegan Cornbread
Recipe from Jeanette’s Healthy Living:
1 cup almond milk or other non-dairy milk
3/4 cup medium-grind yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup corn flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1 tablespoon organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together milk, eggs and oil. In a medium bowl, stir together cornmeal, corn flour, sweet rice flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Pour into lightly greased 9-inch square pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese
Recipe from Vegan Yumminess:
10 ounces dried macaroni (or about 2⅔ cups)
1 cup peeled/diced yellow potatoes (or russets)
¼ cup peeled/diced carrots
⅓ cup chopped onion
¾ cup water (preferably use liquid from pot of boiled veggies)
½ cup raw cashews
¼ cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¾ to 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
· Cook macaroni al dente, according to package instructions (usually requires boiling for 6-8 minutes in salted water), drain, and set aside.
· Bring several cups of water to boil in a small pot. Place chopped potatoes, carrots, and onion in the boiling water, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and soft enough to blend. Cooking time will vary slightly, based on how small you have chopped your veggies.
· When veggies are soft enough to blend, use a slotted spoon to remove them from cooking water, and place them in your blender. Add ¾ cup of that cooking water to your blender, along with your remaining ingredients.· Blend until smooth.
· Pour sauce over your cooked macaroni noodles in a dish of your choice, taste for salt, and serve immediately.
· Or, place macaroni mixture in a baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until crumbs are turning golden brown.
Buttery Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Recipe from Minimalist Baker:
6-8 medium yukon gold potatoes (if large, cut in half)
1.5 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
5-6 cloves roasted garlic (or sub minced garlic sautéed for 3 minutes in olive oil)
3-4 Tbsp vegan butter (such as Earth Balance), melted/softened
1/4 cup fresh chives for topping
· Place potatoes in a large saucepan or pot and cover with water. Bring to a light boil over medium-high heat, add 1 tsp of sea salt, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes or until very tender. They should effortlessly slide off a knife when pierced with a knife.
· While the potatoes are cooking, chop up your chives and measure your butter.
· Once tender, drain your potatoes and place them back in the hot pot off the heat for 1 minute to evaporate any additional water. Then transfer to a large mixing bowl.
· Mash your potatoes using either a potato masher or a hand mixer until fluffy. Note: Be careful using a hand mixer as you can overmix the potatoes and they can become gluey. It’s personally the method I prefer as I don’t own a potato masher. I just make sure not to overmix.
· Add in butter, garlic, salt, black pepper and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
· Lastly top with chives, stir and serve as is or your favorite gravy (or mushroom gravy). Leftovers will keep in the fridge covered for up to a few days.
Main Courses
Vegan Butternut Squash Alfredo Baked Shells
Recipe from Gimme Some Oven:
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, homemade or store-bought
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces jumbo shells
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch cubes (see my tutorial here)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 batch Skinny (Sage) Alfredo Sauce, recipe below
1 cup shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese (optional)
Sauce ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup low-fat milk (I used 1%)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage (or 1 teaspoon dried sage)
3/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
To make stuffed shells:
· Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (greased with cooking spray).
· In a small bowl, stir together the Panko, melted butter, Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon salt until combined. Set aside.
· In a large mixing bowl, toss together butternut squash, garlic cloves and olive oil until evenly coated. Spread the butternut squash out on the prepared baking sheet, and season generously with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
· Then remove the garlic cloves and seal them in a small pouch made of aluminum foil, and set the pouch on the baking sheet next to the squash.
· Bake for 20 minutes, or until the butternut squash mash easily with a fork and the garlic is soft and fragrant.
· Transfer the squash and garlic back to the large mixing bowl along with 1 cup of alfredo sauce, and mash together with a fork until smooth.
· While the butternut squash are roasting, bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil over high heat. (*See tip below about starting the alfredo sauce at this point.) Add the jumbo shells and cook al dente (or ideally cook until just a minute before they reach al dente) according to package instructions. Drain.
· In a 9×13-inch baking dish (or I used an oval dish), spread out 1/2 cup of the remaining alfredo sauce in an even layer. Stuff a tablespoon or two of the butternut filling inside each of the shells, and lay them in an even layer in the baking dish, filling-side-up. Spoon the remaining alfredo sauce evenly on top. (Optional: if using the mozzarella, sprinkle it on top of the alfredo sauce.) Then sprinkle the Panko mixture evenly over the top of everything.
· Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, or until the Panko mixture is crispy and starts to turn slightly golden. Remove and serve immediately.
To make sauce:
· Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute one minute, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Sprinkle with flour, and stir to combine. Saute for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally.
· Slowly add chicken broth, whisking to combine until smooth. Whisk in milk and sage, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let cook for an additional minute until thickened, then stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until the cheese melted. Reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to use. (*For timing, I recommend making the alfredo sauce simultaneously with bringing the pasta water to a boil and cooking the pasta.)
Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna
Recipe from Gimme Some Oven:
3 cups (or 1 24-ounce jar) marinara sauce, homemade http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/marinara-sauce-recipe/ or store-bought
9 no-boil lasagna noodles (you may not use the entire package)
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves, loosely packed
3/4 cup roughly-chopped fresh basil leaves, loosely packed and divided
1/3 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
· Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
· In an 8×8-inch or 9×9-inch baking pan, spread 3/4 cup of marinara sauce evenly across the bottom of the pan. Layer 3 lasagna noodles in an even layer, followed by half of the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of Mozzarella, 1 cup spinach and 1/4 cup fresh basil. Repeat with a second layer of marinara, noodles, ricotta, Mozzarella, spinach and basil. Then finish with a final layer of marinara, noodles, marinara and Mozzarella.
· Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and begins to brown around the edges.
· Remove and set on a cooling rack. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and the remaining fresh basil. Serve warm.
Desserts
Vegan Carrot Cake
Recipe from Gimme Some Oven:
2.5 cups (12.5 ounces) gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill GF All-Purpose Baking Flour), plus extra for dusting the pans
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of ground ginger
1 pound carrots, peeled
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 flax eggs (*1/4 cup ground flaxmeal and 3/4 cup water, see instructions below*)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
For frosting:
8 cups gluten-free powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) vegan butter or margarine
3 Tablespoons non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
· Adjust oven rack to the middle position, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Use cooking spray or butter to thoroughly grease the inside of either:
-1 13×19-inch baking pan, or
-2 9-inch round cake pans, or
-3 8-inch round cake pans
· Then dust the inside of each pan with gluten-free flour until the grease is completely covered and no spots of the pan are visible.
· In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves and ginger together until combined.
· In a food processor fitted with the large shredding disk, shred carrots. Then transfer them to the mixing bowl with the flour. Wipe clean the food processor bowl, and fit with the metal blade (in place of the shredding disk). Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar and flax eggs and process until frothy and throughly combined, about 20 seconds. With processor running, add oil in a steady stream. Process until egg mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 more seconds.
· Transfer egg mixture to the large bowl with the carrots and flour. Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture until thoroughly combined. If using nuts, stir them in until combined.
· Pour batter evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about:
-30-35 minutes for the 9×13-inch baking pan
-25-30 minutes for the two 9-inch round cake pans, or
-18-23 minutes for the three 8-inch round cake pans
· Let cake cool completely in the pan(s) on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen. Remove cake, if transferring to a different serving platter, and frost as desired.
To make frosting:
· Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor, and mix until smooth and combined. If the frosting is too thick, add in some extra milk to thin. If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar to thicken.
Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Recipe from Once Upon a Cutting Board:
10 sheets of low-fat graham crackers (about 1.5 cups of crumbs)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup melted organic coconut oil
2 cups canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
3-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
· Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9” pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.
· Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until they form fine crumbs. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the cinnamon with a whisk or a fork. Add the melted coconut oil and mix together (I use a fork) until well combined. Pour crumb mixture into the prepared pie pan and press evenly across the bottom and up the sides to form a pie crust. Bake in preheated oven for about 7 minutes, then remove. Leave oven on.
· For the filling, mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, whisking together until just combined. You could do the wet and dry ingredients separately if you like but I saved bowls and just mixed everything together in one. Pour filling over the baked pie crust, return to oven, and bake for 55-60 minutes, until set.
· Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature for at least an hour, then transfer to refrigerator and let cool for 3-4 hours or overnight before slicing and serving.
· Serve with coconut whipped cream, if desired.
Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
Recipe from CupcakesOMG!:
4 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1-2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
juice of half an orange
3/4 cup chopped raw pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp melted coconut oil
· Bring a large pot of water to a boil and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While water comes to a boil, peel and dice sweet potatoes into large chunks.
· Add sweet potato chunks to water. Boil until fork tender–about 10 minutes.
· Drain potatoes, then dump them back in the large pot with all the other ingredients. Using a hand mixer, blend until potatoes reach desired consistency and flavor. (You may like to add a little more coconut milk, spices, or syrup based on your taste.)
· In a small bowl, combine all topping ingredients until pecans are well coated.
· Dump sweet potatoes into an oven safe dish and top with pecans.
· Bake in preheated oven until topping is browned–about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
With this list, there is absolutely no reason for vegetarians or vegans to feel left out this Thanksgiving! Even those who eat meat can enjoy these delicious recipes! Now it’s time to do some last-minute grocery shopping and start preparing for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!