Favorite Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes

My favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes - sides, salads, mashed potatoes, stuffing, main dishes, and dessert. Vegan and gluten-free options.

Favorite Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes

Does anyone else feel like Thanksgiving is SO early this year?! Five minutes ago it was summer, then the leaves were falling, then we had a bit of snow last week(!), so needless to say, it’s suddenly holiday season! Whether you’re hosting the big meal or you’ve been assigned to bring a salad or side dish, here are a few recipe ideas. This is a short list of recipes that are my favorites right now. There are also tons more listed under the Thanksgiving tab of our recipe index.

Start the meal off with this Butternut Squash Hummus. In my opinion, this is the best fall dip. It’s creamy, it’s squashy, and it’s nicely spiced with cumin and coriander. Make it extra fancy (and extra delicious) by sprinkling it with feta cheese and pomegranates.

Butternut Hummus with Feta & Pomegranates

Stuffing is always my favorite part of the meal. Here are two versions that I love because they pack a decent amount of vegetables in between the bread. This Kale & Shiitake Mushroom Stuffing is rich with celery, rosemary, a touch of balsamic vinegar, cranberries, and savory sage leaves. An umami-tastic stuffing.

Kale & Shiitake Mushroom Stuffing

Stuffing option number two is this Butternut Squash & Leek Stuffing that I made last year. I love it because it’s so colorful from the squash, herbs, and little purple cipollini onions.

Butternut Squash & Leek Stuffing

For mashed potatoes, I have three choices depending on your potato preferences:

Cauliflower Parsnip Mash with Roasted Garlic is a non-traditional mash because, well, it’s not actually made with potatoes. I just love the nutty, earthy, complex flavors from the parsnips and the roasted garlic.

Cauliflower Parsnip Mash w/ Roasted Garlic

For a more traditional mash, make these Vegan Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. Cauliflower subs in for half of the potatoes, making them smooth, fluffy, and light.

Vegan Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Then, of coarse, there are these Kale & Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes that I posted the other day. This recipe makes a “rustic” mash, which is my way of saying that it’s a no-peel dish with a wonderful chunky texture and lots of flavor.

Kale & Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes

For a veggie main course (or a nice side dish) try this Acorn Squash with Chickpeas & Chimchurri. The bright flavors here are anything but traditional, but it’s such a cozy and delicious stuffed squash recipe.

Acorn Squash with Chickpeas and Chimichurri

Keep the vegetable side dishes simple – you’re cooking enough already! These Simple Roasted Beets with Citrus will brighten up the whole meal while keeping your grocery list short.

Simple Roasted Beets with Citrus

If you’ve been assigned the salad, this colorful Fall Farro Salad with Halloumi & Pomegrantaes is sure to impress.

Fall Farro Salad w/ Halloumi & Pomegranates

Or for a quicker easy-to-bring salad, make this Shredded Brussels Sprout & Cranberry Salad. It’s so tasty with so few ingredients. You can even buy the bag of pre-shredded Brussels sprouts – I won’t tell.

Shredded Brussels Sprout & Cranberry Salad

For dessert, I’m obsessed with this Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Pudding. To me, it tastes like the best pumpkin pie filling ever – the freshly roasted squash brings such wonderful natural sweetness.

Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Pudding

Last but not least – maybe you’re having an intimate Thanksgiving just for two? For so many years, Jack and I stayed home in lieu of dealing with crowded airports. I’d always keep our dinner simple but festive by making butternut squash risotto… but you could spice things up by making this Butternut Squash Pasta with Chili Oil, Feta & Mint.

Butternut Squash Pasta with Chili Oil, Feta & Mint

For more Thanksgiving recipes, check out our recipe index and click “Thanksgiving” on the right sidebar!

4 comments

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  1. Sabrina from newkitchenlife.com
    11.14.2018

    love all of these, a great resource for veg Thanksgiving options, Kale & Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes, wow, thank you for all of these

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.17.2018

      thanks Sabrina!

  2. Bryan
    11.14.2018

    The kale and olive oil mashed potatoes look really good! I’ll definitely be trying that recipes out today or tomorrow. Thank you

  3. Alicia
    11.14.2018

    These dishes look so appetizing. You did such a wonderful job showcasing the veggie sides!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.