Gonna be hosting a Friendsgiving for my vegan friends and need some ideas on what to make. Everyone in attendance is fine with eating vegan so I need some ideas for a main, some sides, stuffing, and dessert.
You must log in or # to comment.
I can help here!
For a main, I’d suggest a Tofurkey roast. They’re super easy, extremely delicious, and should be showing up in the frozen section of grocery stores pretty soon here. (They don’t exist most of the year, which is a little tragic.) There are other brands of vegan roasts, and they’re fine, but Tofurkey is the best, in my opinion. Also, one Tofurkey roast is nowhere near as large as a turkey, so depending on how many people are coming you might want to get two. And then you’re more likely to have leftovers, which is always a good thing!
Stuffing is also easy: simply find a box of stuffing that’s vegan, there should be at least one choice at the grocery store. Watch out for chicken broth and hidden dairy, I’ve seen both of those show up in ingredient lists and it’s annoying.
Mashed potatoes and gravy are easy. You can just make them as normal, substituting plant milk and plant butter in the potatoes and veggie broth for the gravy. Some roasts actually come with gravy, but it’s never as much as I want, so if you end up with something like that I suggest using that as a base and stretching with more broth and flour.
For sides, I’d recommend brussels sprouts however you want to do them. I usually go roasted with some olive oil, soy sauce, and herbs. Cranberries are also easy, I usually get a bag, either frozen or fresh, whatever I can find, then cook with a splash of lemon juice and sugar to taste. Green beans are a classic, again roasted with olive oil, soy sauce, and herbs. Really, any roasted veggie is nice.
I did a green bean and mushroom soup casserole one year, which was absolutely amazing, but took a lot of work because you have to make your own mushroom soup since Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom has dairy in it. If you feel like going all out though, it’s pretty worth it.
I’m not a big dessert person, so usually I don’t make one. That being said, a pumpkin pie (or squash or sweet potato or what have you) should be pretty easy. Graham cracker crusts work fine and are usually vegan (I think, maybe double check) and making the filling should be straightforward. Depending on where you shop you might even be able to find some vegan whipped cream if you’re into it. You can also maybe buy a dessert. I know Daiya has cheesecakes that are actually pretty good, but they’re rather expensive and a bit small, so your mileage may vary there.
Good luck! Vegan thanksgiving is actually much easier than it sounds at first! And the roasts are so, so much easier to cook than a dead bird, you really come out ahead there!
We do our brussels sprouts roasted in maple syrup and gochujang. They’re my favorite.
Thanks for the thorough recommendations!
I have made this for our Friendsgiving ever since going vegan. It’s always a hit: https://minimalistbaker.com/1-hour-vegan-shepherds-pie/
I pretty much always make a vegan shepherds pie for holiday parties. People like them, they’re great for a couple bites or if you need it as a main. Easy enough to make, easy to make a lot too. Cost effective too.
I’ve done that recipe and others, hard to go wrong.
For anyone who isn’t a huge fan of lentils (like myself), TVP is a great substitute for any recipe that’s using lentils in place of ground meat.
Stuffed acorn squash
Creamy pumpkin pasta
Warm grain salad, with crispy tofu or soycurls
focaccia bread
chickpea pot pie - savory chickpea stew style filling baked in a pie crust
mushroom wellington - savory sauteed mushroom duxelles filling wrapped in phyllo or pastry dough and baked
veg sides are easy to do vegan. Roasted squash, mashed potatoes, green beans
some packet gravies are vegan if you check the ingredients
lasagna
green bean casserole
BREAD
deleted by creator
Do you have any recipes you can share? Googling the Anishinaabek words doesn’t yield many results unfortunately
deleted by creator
Awesome, thanks!
Below is a recipe for my favorite vegan mushroom gravy. Goes great with mash potat, tofurky roast, and we use it as the liquid for green bean casserole. I strain out the chunks of mushrooms and onion cuz I like a smooth gravy and I don’t like mushrooms. Once you have a meat and a gravy, most sides are very easy to make vegan except maybe mac cheese. Good luck!
Recipe:
spoiler
Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients: 1 cup of Mushrooms, sliced and diced.
½ large Onion, diced
4 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 cups of Veggie Broth or 1 cup strong Veggie Broth and 1 cup Soy Milk/Creamer*
¼ cup Margarine
½ cup nutritional yeast
¼ cup Olive Oil
¼ cup Soy Sauce
½ cup flour and ¼ - ½ cup water mixed
¼ cup chickpea flour (optional)
¼ tsp. each Thyme, Rosemary, Sage
Salt and Pepper to taste.
*You can use any broth, but here is by far the best way I have found to do this: Boil 1 cup of water and add in 2 tbsp. Better Than Bouillon’s No Chicken base (that’s twice as strong as they recommend). Whisk and keep on low heat, and then add it, along with the soymilk, when the recipe calls for it.
Sauté the onions in the margarine and oil. When transparent, add garlic and mushrooms. Let them saute for 5 minutes, and then add in broth and soy milk creamer (or just broth, if using premade broth). At this time, also add soy sauce, nutritional yeast and all spices.
Separately, whisk flour and ¼ cup water together. Add more water if thickener is too thick. Slowly add in until gravy is desired consistency. Do not use all of thickener if you don’t need to.
Incorporating a vegan mushroom gravy into a shepherds pie is also super bomb
Thanks! I was wondering how to do a good gravy
A stuffed pumpkin/squash makes for a really good main. I don’t have a go to recipe but there are lots online you can find
For a side, I’ve made a roasted root vegetable and Brussels sprout salad that has always been a hit. Choose your favorite root vegetables, dice them. Chop large Brussels sprouts in halves/quarters as needed (leave small ones whole). Toss the root vegetables and sprouts in oil, maple syrup, salt, pepper and your choice of spices (thyme, rosemary for more thanksgiving flavors, garlic is also good). Roast on a flat tray until the vegetables are soft when pierced with a fork. Toss with a salad dressing of oil, vinegar and maple syrup and serve warm over a bed of arugula
I seconded the shepherd’s pie in another post but this side is always a hit and it’s requested by my family every year.
https://rouxbe.com/recipes/1699-sauteed-brussels-sprouts-shallots
Make sure your knife is sharp cutting all those sprouts is a pain otherwise
Shepard’s pie and brussel sprouts seem popular! Thanks for sharing!
