I know Thanksgiving for many people can be a very hard time. Being around (or not being around) family is stressful enough, but add a choice not to eat meat and dairy on top of a holiday that literally worships the consumption of headless birds and you just might give Grandma a heart attack (if the food doesn’t first.. hehe vegan jokes…).

If you’re a new vegan, vegan curious, or simple want to try something different this year at your Thanksgiving table, these are the go-to vegan recipes and dishes my family has tested over the past three years. While some of these are definite recipes, others are suggestions for substitutes for common ingredients. (I do want to give credit to Emily Ewing–previously A Chill Vegan–on YouTube for being one of the first vegan YouTubers I watched. Her thanksgiving videos helped us find some of these dishes!)

From our first vegan Thanksgiving… roasted carrots and making our own seitan loaf did not turn out the best…

…to Thanksgiving 2020… much better!

The Menu:

Trader Joe’s Turkey-less Stuffed Roast
Vegan Mushroom Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Stuffin’ Muffins
Green Bean Casserole
Caramelized Sweet Potatoes
Corn Casserole
Canned Cranberry Sauce
Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls

Ingredient substitutes:

(Any time a recipe calls for a non-vegan ingredient, use these instead!)

Butter → Earth Balance vegan butter sticks

Sausage → Lightlife Gimme Lean Plant-Based Ground Sausage

Chicken stock → Vegetable broth/stock

Milk → Unsweetened plant milk (we use soy)

If you’re looking for even more vegan swaps, check out my Ultimate List of Vegan Substitutes!

Vegan Thanksgiving Dishes

Trader Joe’s Turkey-less Stuffed Roast

This is something my family has tried over the past two years and it’s very good! The roast comes stuffed with a stuffing and cranberry mixture which helps keep it moist. There are also plenty of other vegan thanksgiving roasts you can find at your local grocery store! (Here’s a good article from VegNews with some other options.)

Vegan Mushroom Gravy

You’ve always got to have gravy on the table! This one has great flavor and involves really little prep. Just reheat and boom–it’s done. We find this at Wegmans!

Mashed Potatoes

For anyone who knows me, you know that mashed potatoes are one of my favorite foods. In my humble opinion, my mother makes the best mashed potatoes you’ll ever eat. The trick? Whipping the potatoes with a hand mixer, adding an insane amount of vegan butter, a little vegetable broth, and a little bit of plant milk. This makes the creamiest, whipped potatoes you’ll ever see. They taste like clouds––trust me. (Don’t forget to top them off with another stick of butter too!!)

Apple and Onion Stuffin' Muffins

Recipe by Rachael Ray

My family has used this recipe for years. Why put stuffing into muffin form? It makes it ten times better! The outside of the muffins get crispy, the inside is moist, and everyone gets their own little pre portioned serving. In addition to the regular ingredients this recipe calls for, we also add Lightlife Gimme Lean Ground Vegan Sausage. Cook the sausage along with the apples and onions and add to the stuffing mix (Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned stuffing mix is vegan!) Top each muffin with a pat of butter and bake.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Recipe by Minimalist Baker

Emily posted about this recipe in her YouTube video linked above and it hasn’t failed us for the past few years. Before being vegan, we used cream of mushroom soup for this dish. However, this recipe is 100% vegan and absolutely delicious! No canned soup needed.

Caramelized Sweet Potatoes

No recipe really for these babies. Slice them in chunks, put em on the stove in a skillet with a large amount of vegan butter and some brown sugar and let them cook low and verrrryyyy slow. You’ll get super sweet and savory potatoes. (These are more like dessert to me!)

Corn Casserole

This one is from Emily’s video suggestion. Trader Joe’s Cornbread Mix is one of the only mixes I’ve been able to find that is completely vegan. For this, all you do is add a half packet of the cornbread mix, a can of creamed corn, a can of whole kernel corn, and a half cup of melted vegan butter. Bake on 350F for 40 to 45 min and enjoy!

Canned Cranberry Sauce

No recipe here! Just canned cranberry sauce. No one really eats much of it, no one is in love with it, but you’ve always just got to have one bite. Traditions…

Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls

THESE. These are the things that bring it all together. Let them rise all day for maximum fluff. Spread vegan butter on them. Clear your plate with them. Put holiday roast or jam on them the next morning. Rejoice in the wonders of bread.

So those are the tried and true dishes! This year I also added a baked vegan mac and cheese recipe from Loving It Vegan and some roasted Brussels sprouts. Traditions are fun, but so are new ones. Have a great Thanksgiving! If you tried any of these recipes, let me know over on Instagram!