While many of you in the US are putting the finishing touches on your Thanksgiving plans, many of us Canadians are already starting to think about our December menus. Here are some of my favourite vegan holiday recipes that could suit many holiday meals, or perhaps simply a comforting dinner on a cold night!
See below for my tips on navigating the holidays as a vegan.
Soup & Salad:
Mushroom Millet Soup with Cheezy Garlic Bread
Spiced Red Lentil, Tomato, and Kale Soup
Holiday Salad with Cranberry Apple Orange Vinaigrette
Main Course:
High Protein Mashed Potatoes (also see my red lentil version on VegNews)
Cranberry, Apricot and Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf
This Ain’t Grandma’s Sweet Potato Casserole
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Rosemary and Garlic
Roasted Butternut Squash with Kale and Almond Pecan Parmesan
Dessert!
Vegan & Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
Serve with Whipped Coconut Cream if you’d like…
Sinless Sticky Toffee Pecan Pudding
Pumpkin Gingerbread with Spiced Buttercream
Breakfast:
What to do with leftover pumpkin pie? Meet Vegan Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Casserole!
Baked Apples Stuffed with Cinnamon, Date, Pecan Oatmeal
Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole
Gift Ideas:
Slow Cooker Naked Apple Butter
Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter with Hemp, Flax, and Chia or 2-Minute Apple Cinnamon PB
Homemade Pumpkin Butter From Scratch (or from a can)
I’ve received many questions over the years about how to navigate the holidays as a new vegan. The first year I was “coming out” as a vegan, I recall being so anxious about holiday get togethers! It was the first time I was seeing many family members and I was nervous about explaining it to everyone. Thankfully, I anticipated it to be much worse in my own mind than it actually was, but that isn’t to say that I didn’t have my fair share of critics, comments, and questions too.
Here are some of my tips for navigating holiday dinners as a vegan:
1. If you will be eating at a family members house, let them know well in advance that you eat a vegan diet so there aren’t any surprises on the day of. Don’t be afraid to explain it clearly as it’s not unusual for someone to think a vegan still eats butter or eggs. It’s also helpful to remind them what you DO eat! Often people can assume that vegans have a super restrictive diet, so it’s helpful to let them know all the foods that you do eat – vegetables, fruit, legumes, beans, grains, nuts/seeds, oils, soy, herbs/spices, etc or remind them of foods that are naturally vegan.
2. After letting the hosts know, offer to bring a couple vegan dishes so they don’t feel like they have to scramble to find vegan recipes. A couple good options are the lentil loaf and the Cranberry, Apricot and Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf. For the lentil loaf, I suggest slightly undercooking it the first time if you plan on reheating it in the oven just before serving (so it doesn’t dry out). If you are traveling from afar, offer to help prepare a couple vegan dishes the day before. This again would be helpful to plan out before you arrive.
3. What if you are hosting the meal as a new vegan? When I hosted my first vegan Thanksgiving back in 2010, I let my guests know that the meal would be 100% vegan – and of course delicious! If you don’t want any animal products at your meal, make this clear in advance or you might find Uncle Ted showing up with his turkey the morning of.
4. Challenge some of your open-minded guests to “veganize” one of their favourite recipes and bring it to the dinner. Make this into a competition for the “best vegan dish” at your holiday meal and award a prize to the winner each year! How fun would this be?
5. What to do about naysayers? There will always be naysayers, comments, or questions about why you eat a vegan diet – and it’s good to be able to explain it to others in a few words. Just like they tell entrepreneurs to be able to describe their business in a single sentence, it’s important to be able to communicate why you are a vegan. Plan for these questions and you won’t be thrown off by them at the dinner table. If you are feeling really uncomfortable or cornered by a critic, you can always suggest that you discuss it after the meal. It’s easy to feel outnumbered as a vegan around the holidays, so I like to keep my sense of humour. Crack a joke right or sarcasm right back to a naysayer. It doesn’t need to be so serious.
6. A delicious vegan dish can tame even the toughest critic. Win them over with the food. ‘Nough said!
I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well! Do you find it difficult to navigate the holidays as a vegan? What tips would you give to new vegans?
I had just become a vegetarian a month before Thanksgiving last year so I modified the stuffed peppers recipe I used to make to be vegan. Stuffed veggies are always a winner even amongst the carnivores!
That is a great idea…I hadn’t thought of that but yes they are always a hit, aren’t they?
Although I’m an omni & will be partaking in some “traditional” Thanksgiving foods, I can honestly say I’d prefer these dishes than some of the ones I will be eating. I enjoy finding new vegan recipes almost daily; it’s such a healthy, fresh, natural way of eating! My family is very traditional, but like I have for the past couple years, I’m going to contribute a vegetable dish. Last year it was roasted acorn squash, this year it will probably be roasted brussels sprouts. I will definitely incorporate some of these dishes into other meals this holiday season, though. I think any omni would love these dishes!
I hope so too. You certainly can’t go wrong with roasted squash and/or brussels sprouts. Happy Thanksgiving Catherine!
This is a great post, Angela! I’m not vegan but vegetarian for the past 2.5 years, and last year I hosted my first Thanksgiving for my family. We got a free range organic turkey from a local farm for the non-vegetarians that my mom cooked, and I made your vegan lentil walnut loaf for me. It was delicious! Your recipes and outlook really inspire me, and I’m thinking more and more of making the switch to a vegan diet. I’m also an ethical vegetarian, and I love your response to others. I don’t judge them, either, but I think a lot of people fear that vegans/veggies will. Thanks for the great tips! I’m going to troll through your blog for tips on going from vegetarian to vegan now :)
So many good ideas! I am still deciding what I will make… although I am really only cooking for me (all non-vegan family). At least I will have plenty of leftovers!!
All of your desserts look amazing! But that soup for the soul looks so heart. I will have to make that this winter!
this post has really inspired me as a blogger and as a vegan. thank you :)
I’m going to use a few of your recipes for my Thanksgiving dinner this year.
What a great collection of recipes! They all look so delicious!
Hi Angela,
I actually have a question regarding your Thanksgiving recipes. I just made your recipe for the apple, lentil, and walnut loaf and popped it in the freezer for Thanksgiving. My husband and I took a nibble and it was SO good – especially the glaze.
So I know that the loaf freezes well, but I’m also making your recipes for sweet potato casserole and vegan pumpkin pie. (My non-vegan parents LOVE these!) My question is: can I freeze these too? Or is it better not to? If not, how long do they keep in the fridge before Thanksgiving?
I’m trying to space out all of the cooking so I don’t go too crazy the day of. :)
Thanks!
I am seriously loving the lentil walnut loaf – I can’t wait to try it this year, after many years of failed vegetarian meals!
I love this post – so many great recipes and really helpful advice both for vegans and friends/family of vegans :)
Although I’m not vegan anymore, I am vegetarian and don’t eat animal flesh and so turkey is not happening for me but luckily…it’s just our little family of three. So there’s no one to answer to! Or explain things to. But yes, it’s hard when I’m with people who I don’t know for the first time, I have to start from ground zero and explain things.
This is a great post, Angela! I’ll take one of everything – especially the desserts!
We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK but, having seen your beautiful and mouth-watering recipes, I won’t be able to resist preparing a little Thanksgiving feast for my son and I on Thursday. I just know he will love the pumpkin pie brownies :) and as he is the thing I am the most thankful for in the world, it seems very fitting :) xxx
My issues is not the family as a whole, it’s that I know my boyfriend would never be supportive of me making the vegan jump, he has issues with the thought of me going back to being vegetarian (wasn’t for a few years, including when I met him). Sadly he also doesn’t take my current dietary restrictions seriously, and they are medical (Gluten and Dairy!). Any tips for that situtation?
Angela, Everything looks amazing! I want to come over to your house for Thanksgiving.
I think I’ll just come over to your place for Thanksgiving. Your recipes are divine and I love all the creativity you put into them! I’m definitely going to make jars of the pumpkin butter for gifts, perfect idea!
Can I please please please come over for thanksgiving? I will do all the cleaning and won’t make a peep!
Thanks so much for providing these yummy recipes Angela. I do eat meat but I can’t have dairy, gluten or refined sugars cause they mess with me! I dread holidays because sweet things and dairy and gluten filled baked goods are all around me and I find it hard to say no and my body really pays the price. I feel much better now that I’m armed with your delish recipes!
I’ve made your rice pilaf numerous times, and it always comes out great. I’ve also made that gingerbread loaf, and it’s wonderful too!
What a fabulous list + tips! I made your pumpkin brownie pie last year and it was super tasty :) Can’t wait to try more recipes this year!
What is that amazing-looking gravy on the mashed potatoes?
Hey Lauren, It’s a gravy I adapted from Dreena found here: http://ohsheglows.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6005709