You must be freaking out, either because you cannot imagine Thanksgiving without turkey, let alone mashed potatoes without butter (?!), or because you are vegan, and you were feeling excluded from ‘Turkey Day’ until you realized it might be possible for you to partake in eating with everyone! You must also be thinking, ‘What on Earth goes into a vegan take on a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner?’

Vegetables…

The honest answer is I had no idea until I started looking up recipes. I gathered some ideas from minimalistbaker.com, which offers plenty of simple, varied, and fun vegan and gluten-free recipes. I gathered others from highly-rated non-vegan recipes on Google. Then I went to the store, bought the ingredients I intended to use, and starting cooking!

Thus each recipe below has been tested and approved. However, the ingredient amounts listed below are not exact; they are suggestions to get you started. While cooking, add enough of each ingredient to get the flavor you want and the consistency you desire. For example, “1 pinch” is a fraction of a teaspoon; “1 large pinch” is close to a full teaspoon. If you prefer exactness, then use whichever measuring implements best suit your fancy.

Happy cooking!

The Turkey

Turkey is not vegan. But, considering all the other staples on the traditional American Thanksgiving menu, the turkey is often the one and only source of protein on the table… but you can change that, and you can avoid bringing certain questionable creations like “tofurkey” into your home!

Thanksgiving Falafel

Ingredients:

1 splash almond milk

3 cup chickpeas

1 large onion

2 tbsp corn starch

1 large pinch sea salt

1 large pinch black pepper

1 large pinch dried parsley

1 pinch rosemary

1 pinch sage

1 pinch thyme

grape seed oil or extra virgin olive oil (for pan frying)

Directions:

1. Rinse chickpeas.

2. Chop onion.

3. Add everything (except oil) to food processor or blender and process / blend until mixture is smooth and paste-like. Put almond milk in first so things get moving.

4. Transfer mixture to large bowl and add a bit more cornstarch to thicken.

5. Heat large metal skillet over medium or medium-high heat. Then add enough oil to skillet to create a thin layer on bottom.

6. Once oil is hot, place round dollops of falafel mix into skillet and cook 2 - 3 minutes on each side, or until bottom is browned (imagine cooking pancakes; make these as large or as small as you want them to be). Be sure to flip them gently! Repeat until all mix has been cooked.

Yield:

~20 pieces with diameters ranging from 2 inches to 3 inches

Total Time:

~40 minutes

The Gravy

Gravy, for those of you who have neither bothered to make it from scratch nor cared to look at the ingredients listed on the store-bought stuff, is comprised of either “pan drippings” or meat stock, butter, flour, black pepper, and whatever else people and food manufacturers desire to add. Thus gravy is not inherently vegan… but you can fix that!

Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

chopped mushrooms (as desired)

2 cup vegetable stock

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup flour

1 large pinch sea salt

1 large pinch black pepper

Directions:

1. In large saucepan, sauté mushrooms in oil with salt and pepper.

2. Stir in flour.

3. Whisk in vegetable broth.

4. Allow mixture to thicken then serve.

Yield:

~3 cups

Total Time:

~15 minutes

The Stuffing

Similar to gravy, stuffing is often made with meat stock and butter. It could also contain traces of milk and eggs, both common ingredients in bread recipes. In other words, stuffing is not made to be consumed by anyone who has chosen to be vegan… so you can make something better!

Fall Harvest Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 large head broccoli

1 large head cauliflower

1 onion

3 long stalks celery

1 large carrot or handful baby carrots

1 large or 2 small apples

3/4 cup dried cranberries

2 cup vegetable stock

1 large pinch parsley

1 pinch thyme

1 pinch rosemary

1 pinch sage

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Wash and chop all vegetables and apples.

3. Mix them up with dried cranberries in large baking pan.

4. Stir spices into vegetable stock, and pour mixture over vegetables.

5. Cover baking pan with aluminum foil, and bake for about 30 minutes.

6. Remove aluminum foil, stir, and bake about 15 minutes more, or until vegetables closest to heat begin to brown.

Yield:

~8 servings

Total Time:

~60 minutes

The Mashed Potatoes

When you rave about good mashed potatoes, you tend to describe them as ‘creamy’ or ‘buttery’, which makes sense, given cream and butter are go-to ingredients in most recipes! How can mashed potatoes exist without butter?

Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

6 - 8 medium potatoes

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

5 - 6 cloves roasted garlic

2 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

fresh chives (as desired)

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes.

2. Place potatoes in large pot, and cover them with water. Stir in about 1 tsp salt. Boil potatoes for 25 to 30 minutes.

3. Once potatoes are soft, drain them and transfer them to a large mixing bowl.

4. Mash potatoes until they are fluffy.

5. Mix in remaining ingredients.

6. Top with chives and serve while warm.

Yield:

~4 servings

Total Time:

~40 minutes

The Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 ripe banana

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/4 cup flour

1 pinch salt

4 to 6 tbsp cold water

Filling:

2 3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup almond milk

2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 pinch ginger

1 pinch nutmeg

1 pinch cloves

1 pinch sea salt

Directions:

Crust:

1. Mix flour and salt together in large mixing bowl.

2. Cut in banana and oil.

3. Add in water 1 tbsp at a time, stirring until mixture comes together into workable dough.

4. Transfer dough to hard flat surface (e.g. plastic cutting board, granite counter), and roll it out into shape of pie pan. Then arrange it in pie pan.

Filling and Baking:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Combine all ingredients together in large mixing bowl.

3. Transfer to pie crust.

4. Bake about 50 minutes.

5. Cool then serve.

Yield:

1 pie with 9 inch diameter

Total Time:

~ 100 minutes