Well just like that, we’re already into the November and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I’ve mentioned in the past that Larissa and I tend to be “just the sides’ type of gals. This year though, we’re looking for a genuine vegetarian or vegan main dish ideas that we can take to our family get together.
So, with a little help from our private Facebook group, The Peas and Carrots Society, here are some of our top contenders!
The 8 Contenders for Our Vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast!
We are HUGE fans of bowls (as evidenced by our own book “Buddha Bowls The Vegetarian Zen Way.”
So when we found this recipe by I Love Vegan, we know it was worth being on our list!
From their site:
“Easy peasy vegan Thanksgiving in a bowl! Roasted veggies, toasty pecans, mashed potatoes, and easy vegan gravy, all in 1 bowl and ready in less than 1 hour. Serves 2.”
This is one of my favorites! Larissa makes this with a traditional pie crust but she makes a separate one for herself (and for her dad when he visits) that has a thicker biscuit topping.
Definitely a great comfort food and the leftovers heat up very well!
Total cook time is about 1 hour and 15 minutes. When I became a vegetarian, there were a few things I knew I would probably miss primarily because I grew up eating these meals. One of these meals was meatloaf.
Of course, as I started learning more about eating meat-free, I found to my happy surprise that there are a LOT of different ways you can recreate some of your favorite meat dishes without meat. Meatloaf is one such recipe that isn’t too hard to recreate.
There are quite a few recipes out there but I liked this one because it has a maple tomato glaze that looks amazing.
- Gluten free
- Dairy Free
- Vegan
- High Fiber
Who doesn’t love a good Risotto? This one is made with several fall favorites to include pumpkin puree, brown rice, roasted pecans, sage, and cloves. It looks hearty enough to be served as a main dish for your vegetarian Thanksgiving but can be great as a side or for potlucks .
The first time I had a vegan stuffed acorn squash, I was working in corporate and our company Thanksgiving celebration included some vegan options. Once such option was stuffed squash.
I had never had stuffed acorn squash and when this plate came out of the kitchen, boy were my omnivore friends jealous.
This recipe from Cookie and Kate is close to the one I had.
The recipe is vegetarian but can easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese.
The stuffing consists of quinoa, hulled pumpkin seeds, and cranberries to name a few of the ingredients.
One of my favorite vegetarian dishes is quiche. Light and easily complimented by most sides, this one is perfect for your thanksgiving day feast!
Our community LOVES mushroom Wellington as it’s come up on several posts.
Mushrooms make a great meat substitution so this recipe will definitely serve as a great main dish complimented with a side of roasted potatoes which Delicious Every Day also includes in their post for this recipe.
This one takes about 2 hours total cook and prep time but the reward is a savory, sweet, and salty on the outside and super tender on the inside roasted cabbage.
We hope that these 8 recipes have given you some inspiration to try something new this Thanksgiving. We want to thank our Peas and Carrots Society members for their input and a special thanks to our Golden Apple Roundtable members who support us via
Also mentioned in this episode:
- Our revamped Resources Page!
- Off-the-shelf cranberry sauce can contain gelatin (not vegetarian/vegan) and other undesirable ingredients such as high-fructos corn syrup. Instead, try making your own! Here is a homemade apple cranberry sauce from Vegan Huggs.
- Thanksgiving Vegetarian Zen Style (Our Pinterest Board)
Thanks for listening!
Peace and Veggies,
Vickie and Larissa
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