Plant-Based Thanksgiving Ideas

I love Thanksgiving!

Aside from all the other cool things about the day, it’s a chance to make all your favorite traditional dishes, whether they go back to your childhood or only a few years. I now have so many “special” dishes that I can’t fit them all into one day—and that doesn’t count new recipes I still want to try. I’ll probably spill them into Christmas meal planning or wait until next year.

I hope you find a few great plant-based Thanksgiving recipes here to try. All of the recipes I recommend have been tested with picky omnivores, meaning for each vegan dish you make, you should be able to replace another dish rather than increase the total number. 

Here is the line-up of my favorite Thanksgiving ideas, with links to recipes.

Entrees

Savory pie

• Gracious Vegan Shepherd's Pie

• Gracious Vegan Vegetable Pot Pie (crust contains oil)

Vegetable or pasta casserole

• Elegant Succotash Gratin

• Hearty Vegan Vegetable Lasagna

• Spaghetti Squash with Cashew Ricotta, Spinach, and Peas

• Potato-Vegetable Bake with Gravy

Cakes or Fritters

• Gracious Vegan Savory Quinoa Cakes

Sides

Gravy and Dressing

• Special Mushroom Gravy

• Gracious Vegan Easy Gravy

• Vegan Dressing with Gravy

Potatoes

• Vegan Mashed Potatoes

• No-Oil Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• Sweet Potato Cakes

Other vegetables

• Vegan Green Bean Casserole

• No-Oil Roasted Cauliflower

• Smoky Sweet Roasted Acorn Squash

• No-Oil Roasted Brussels sprouts

• Creamy Pureed Greens

• Slow-Baked Butternut Squash Dice

• Roasted Cabbage Paprikash

• Red Cabbage with Almond Goat Cheese and Pecans

• Carrot-Beet Slaw with Hummus

Desserts

Pie or Cheesecake

• Perfect Plant-Based Pumpkin Pie

Cake

• Almond Flour Vegan Chocolate Cake (oven or Instant Pot)

Crisp

• Apple Crisp with Date and Oat Crisp Topping

• Blueberry Crisp with Dates and Oats

Ice Cream

• Pumpkin Ice Cream Sundaes

• Really Nice Cream with Added Brownie Bits

Whipped Cream

• Vegan Whipped Cream