10 Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

I love Thanksgiving.  Growing up, my family drove 1.5 hours every year to Staten Island.  We enjoyed an absolutely amazing meal at my Aunt Sue and Uncle Richie's her.  Some of my favorite childhood memories are centered around Thanksgiving and this time in New York.  My brother Tim's nickname Timothy Turkey originated from my Uncle Richie's jokes at the Thanksgiving dinner table.  I'll never gorget how my little brother would make the largest plate of food you'd ever see and then before he'd eat it, swirl and mix it all together.  On black Friday we'd then take the Staten Island ferry into Manhattan and enjoy broadway plays or dinner in Little Italy.

One of the only writing assignments I remember of my childhood is embedded in my brain because of Thanksgiving.  I even remember learning what an adjective is and how to use them writing about Thanksgiving.  I was one of the only students in the class (which didn't happen often) that understood how to use adjectives to describe an appetizing Thanksgiving dinner.  And it's because of the amazing food my Aunt Sue would make every year that I could describe the sweet, crunchy taste of the slivered almonds on glazed green beans.  I can still remember the embarrassment and slight excitement I felt as the teacher read my Thanksgiving dinner essay aloud to my entire 7th grade class.

I first saw Dr. T Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. discuss the research of plant-based nutrition in 2005, just a few weeks before Thanksgiving.  My very first two weeks of attempting to eat a plant-based diet was during Thanksgiving!  Can you imagine?  I "failed" miserably -- I didn't give my Aunt Sue a heads-up, had no idea what I could've eaten instead and came completely empty-handed.  So once I saw that cheesy spinach dip, it was on!  

It's been over 10 years now and I've enjoyed many healthy and delicious vegan Thanksgiving dinners and so can you!  Now that we're in week 3 serving Trisha's Healthy Table meals to-go, our supporters are starting to ask if we're making Thanksgiving meals.  The short answer is "oh yes." In doing research for our menu, I came across 10 vegan Thanksgiving recipes that you could add to your table whether we make food for you or not.

10 Healthy, Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

*Some of these recipes use oil although non of them use more than 4 TB which can easily by omitted especially if it's 1 TB needed to saute.  Learn how to saute without oil here.  It's easy!

1.  Festival Kale Salad with Sweet Apple cinnamon vinaigrette and pecan parmesan by OhSheGlows.com  I've made this recipe from her cookbook and it's honestly the best kale salad I've ever had and it uses a low-fat dressing that tastes so good.

2.  3 ingredient cranberry sauce from IsaChandra.com

3.  Southern style cornbread dressing by FatFreeVegan.com  Originally from the South, this chef knows how to make traditional Southern recipes healthy without compromising flavor. 

4.  Simple vegan stuffing from MinimalistBaker.com

5.  Cauliflower mashed potatoes with creamy mushroom gravy from MinimalistBaker.com 

6.  Butternut pecan sweet potato casserole from MinimalistBaker.com

7.  Meatless loaf by FatFreeVegan.com  This is an oil-free and delicious look "meat loaf".  

8.  Lentil loaf with a maple sweetened glaze from eatingbirdfood.com (love that name).

9.  Pumpkin pie from Cathy Fisher.  I love all of her recipes.  They're tasty but she only uses whole plant foods when she cooks.  She makes some of the healthiest and tastiest recipes.

10.  No bake almond butter cup bars  These aren't a traditional Thanksgiving dessert that I'm use to, but they look so good I just had to share.

Take Control Now

What's one plant-based recipe you could incorporate into your Thanksgiving dinner this year?  What would you like to see Erik cook for Trisha's Healthy Table meals this Thanksgiving?

Answer by clicking 'comment' below.