If you’ve adopted the vegan lifestyle, then you know how hard it can be to find delicious dishes around the holidays. Unless you’re making a Thanksgiving feast yourself, it can be pretty tricky to navigate the menu during your friends’ and family’s get-togethers. Will there be food for you? Is your family going to make a big deal out of your diet? Are people going to like the dish you make and bring? Luckily, I’ve rounded up some of the easiest (and tastiest) vegan meals you can make this holiday season!
Whether you’re a new vegan, a seasoned vet, or just looking for some new inspo for your holiday dishes this year, this vegan holiday menu is exactly what you need. As a three-year vegan myself, I’ve collected some of my favorite tried and true meals over the years in hopes to inspire other animal-lovers to adopt the lifestyle. These eight vegan holiday dishes are my go-tos! So whatever the reason for your vegan tastes this year, you’ll have a blast creating these recipes. From yummy appetizers to savory desserts (and everything in between), you’ll love these eight dishes.
- Vegan Butter Board
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Replacing the popular charcuterie board this year is the viral foodie trend, the butter board. And since the holidays are quickly approaching, every dinner party host and bring a board planner should know how to create a vegan butter board. Luckily, I found the perfect recipe! This delicious board is “creamy, sweet, salty, and full of herb flavors,” according to the recipe’s creator, and I totally agree! For my board, I followed the instructions using my favorite Trader Joe’s Vegan Buttery Spread. After spreading the vegan butter, I chose to go in a more spicy and savory direction — topping the board with roasted garlic, fresh parsley, thyme, and spicy syrup. You can use any vegan bread, but this creator recommends toasting the Vegan Brioche Bread from Trader Joe’s (obvi). This is such a quick and easy vegan appetizer you can make for your next holiday gathering!
- Roasted Pumpkin Soup
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If you’re looking for a vegan dish that encapsulates the feeling of fall, consider making this roasted pumpkin soup recipe! Whether you’re going home for the holidays or hosting your first Friendsgiving, your guests will absolutely love this delicious and creamy dish. It’s a beautiful blend of roasted pumpkin, coconut milk, and flavorful aromatic spices — and if you happen to be traveling to your holiday get-together, this soup is perfect to make ahead of time.
- Mini Apple Pies
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Make use of the apples you picked this fall when with these vegan mini apple pies! These mini pies come with a sweet cinnamon apple filling and chopped apples of your choice. It only takes 30 minutes to make this dessert, and these mini pies are a great (and way easier) alternative to a traditional slice of the pie or cake you’d normally see at the dinner table!
- Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
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Looking for a comfort food to make this holiday? This is your dish! Whoever you’re making this vegan mac and cheese for, they’re sure to fall in love with this recipe. It takes about 40 minutes to make, tastes amazing, and is definitely healthier than your typical holiday mac and cheese. You’ll need a few veggies to make this dish — onions, garlic, cauliflower, and vegetable broth are the base of this recipe. And don’t worry, bestie, it tastes even more delicious than the mac and cheese you’re used to! Trust me.
- Tofu Veggie Noodle Soup
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If you know me, then you know I’ll take my mom’s pho and egg rolls over the traditional turkey and stuffing any day. This year, I’m planning on making an easier, vegan version of my mom’s soup! So, if you’re looking to incorporate a non-traditional dish in your holiday dinner, try this Tofu Noodle Curry Soup by Gathered Nutrition. It’s the coziest dish you can make this season, and it’s definitely one of my favorite go-to recipes for the winter. It’s super easy to make and the creamy curry flavor is amazing!
- Sheet Pan Roasted Fall Veggies With Tahini Sauce
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This is a super simple recipe, but man, is it delicious! These sheet pan roasted veggies mix in some of everyone’s favorite fall produce — like sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, bell peppers, and red onion (yum). The star of this dish, however, is the delightfully spicy tahini sauce. Trust me, after you try it, you’ll want to put it on literallyeverything! You can add your own seasonal veggies to make this dish your own, but I think this recipe by Gathered Nutrition is perfect as is!
- Cinnamon Roll Bread
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You know this recipe is going to be amazing when vegan FoodTok bestie, Halle Burns, is making it. Similar to Burns, I didn’t think I could make bread from scratch by myself — let alone create a delicious dessert out of it. This holiday, you can recreate Burns’ cinnamon roll bread with her easy recipe! This dessert is a fluffy blend of your favorite fall flavor — cinnamon, obvi — and tastes even better than it looks! Definitely make this dish if you’re in charge of dessert this year — everyone is sure to love it!
- Spinach and Artichoke Dip
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Say hi to your new favorite vegan dip! If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a huge fan of the creative recipes from Gathered Nutrition. When you serve this classic dish at your next holiday party, it’s sure to be a hit! The texture and flavor of this vegan dip is absolutely perfect, and it is so easy to make. It’s simple, creamy, and so good! The base of the “cheese” sauce is cashews, so make sure to check for nut allergies when making it for your guests!
