5 Dishes to Make Your Vegan Happy This Thanksgiving
We all have at least one in our lives. For me, it’s my brother-in-law. I respect and admire him, but I have no desire to eat bananas with peanut butter every morning. With the rise of veganism in our culture, it’s helpful to understand easy substitutions for meat, dairy, eggs, and the like. For example in baking, eggs can be substituted with flax eggs, applesauce, or mashed bananas. Eggs serve as a binder in baking, so anything that helps combine your dry ingredients with your wet ingredients will do. There’s a variety of plant-based milks out there that can serve as a substitute for dairy and fats like coconut oil and Crisco are fantastic replacements for butter. With this in mind, here are some of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes, veganized.
Sweet Potato Casserole
This recipe utilizes the natural sweetness of the potatoes in a unique way. Instead of steaming, you bake the sweet potatoes to unleash that magic caramelization that takes place in the oven. There’s no added sugar in this recipe save for the vegan marshmallows, so it’s a healthier take on the classic. But there’s still plenty of those wonderful flavors and textures we’ve come to love over the years.
Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash
This impressive main course is the perfect substitute for a traditional turkey. It packs a punch with the two-in-one fall flavors of squash and wild rice with sage and cranberries. To boot, the recipe also includes optional onion gravy for serving. While the cook time is around two hours, most of that time is spent baking. And at the end you have a beautiful vegan centerpiece sure to score you points in the afterlife.
Apple Pie
While some people believe that you can’t have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, I beg to differ. The texture of sweet potatoes and pumpkin are just too similar for me. So, if I’m having sweet potato casserole, I likely won’t go for a slice of pumpkin pie. And Thanksgiving without pie is just sad. Plus this recipe for vegan apple pie is simply divine. Some people are intimidated by making their own pie crust, but I will tell you now it is 100% worth the time and effort. Most recipes will tell you to chill the pie dough for at least 30 minutes, but from experience I recommend chilling for 2 hours. The secret to dealing with pie dough is controlling the temperature-and that temperature needs to be very cold so that the butter (or vegan butter in this case) doesn’t melt. Cooking is where art meets science and with baking the science part is extra important.
Dressing
Is it stuffing or is it dressing? This is a question for the ages. Regardless, for some, dressing (or stuffing) is the make it or break it point of Thanksgiving. Good stuffing is both crispy and tender and whispers of fresh herbs to really bring all the flavors home. And this recipe does not disappoint. The Minimalist Baker packed this delicious staple with simple ingredients prepared just the right way and includes lentils, vegan butter, and that flax egg I mentioned at the beginning.
Mashed Potatoes
What is Thanksgiving without at least five different types of carbs to choose from? The Kitchn has made making this mouth-watering classic vegan easy with the use of Earth Balance and reserving some of the cooking water from the potatoes. The result is an extra creamy dish that will have you saying “dairy, who” before you’ve finished that last bite.
Anyone with dietary restrictions will tell you that they’re used to bringing their own food when they travel. What a lovely surprise it would be for them to not have to do that this year. It’s easy to get caught up in all the stress and anticipation that the holidays bring and forget to be considerate of the people in our homes. Making a few substitutions doesn’t require additional effort, and it would mean so much to the vegan in your life. And you might find that you enjoy the vegan version just as much if not better.
