5 Vegan Recipes for a Plant-Based Thanksgiving (Including a Roast Turkey)

Thanksgiving is a holiday that's all about food, and if you're a plant-based eater, it can be a rather tough celebration to navigate.

No longer shall you be relegated to a sad plate of mashed potatoes sans butter and questionable green beans. There are plenty of delicious, vegan-friendly recipes to satisfy all your cravings, and those of your carnivore family and friends.

We communed with some of our favorite vegan chefs to get their takes on macaroni, chocolate truffles and more. We even found a recipe for vegan roast turkey!

See also: 5 Tips to Adopt a More Plant-Based Lifestyle From The Bizerkeley Vegan

Filipino Style Macaroni Salad

Chef Reina Montenegro is a Bay Area-based restaurateur, entrepreneur and caterer who’s putting a plant-based twist on the traditional food of her childhood—and pretty much everything else. Today, she shares with us a favorite among her family celebrations.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb elbow macaroni pasta (cook and follow package for directions)
• 16 oz pineapple tidbits (drained)
• 1 large russet potato (boiled until soft then cubed into ½ inch size)
• 1 carrot (boiled until soft then cubed into 1/4 inch size)
• 1 Tablespoon sweet relish
• 1-2 teaspoon salt to taste
• 3 Tablespoons organic sugar
• 2 pints vegan mayo

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and season to taste.
2. Note: Add potatoes last so they don’t crumble in the mixture.

Vegan Heart of Palm Krab Cakes

Bring a hint of the tropics to your Thanksgiving spread with this Palm Krab Cake recipe from Maui's award-winning plant-based restaurant, Moku Roots. Situated in the Lahaina Gateway mall, this farm-to-table eatery has been recognized by critics around the nation as a must-try for vegans and vegetarians who visit the Hawai'ian island or consider it home. Try this at home and consider it a vcation for your taste buds.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heart of palm - finely chopped or chopped in a food processor. If using a food processor, be careful not to over chop until it’s mushy. You want texture!
• 3 teaspoon old bay seasoning
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 1 cup vegan aioli or mayo of your choice.
• Add up to ⅓ cup of a flour of your choosing if the mixer is so wet the cakes are hard to pan fry.

Instructions:

1. Mix all of the above together with your hand except for the flour so it’s well mixed.
2. Scoop a small amount into a frying pan with hot oil and if it doesn't stay together when cooked add 1/4 of flour to your mix and try again.
3. Serve on a salad or vegan mac and cheese or as a sandwich or just by itself!
4. Garnish with chopped green onions, lemon wedge, or chopped parsley and aioli if you want.

Vegan Chocolate Truffles

Another delight from Maui's Moku Roots restaurant, this decadent dessert packs all the rich, nutty flavor of a chocolate truffle without any of the dairy. Add peppermint for a touch of minty zest and make these through the wintry days of December, too!

Ingredients:

Ganache

• 2½ cups chocolate chips
• 1 cup nut milk of your choice

Pinch of salt

• Chopped nuts, shredded coconut or pretzel crumbs
• Chocolate shell
• 1 cup chocolate
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions:

1. Melt 2½ cups chocolate chips, 1 cup nut milk and pinch of salt in a double boiler or small pot with water at the bottom on low heat. Stir occasionally.
2. Once fully melted, put it in the fridge and let it set for a few hours.
3. Once set, remove from the fridge and make it into balls with your hands. Roll the balls in chopped nuts, shredded coconut or pretzel crumbs (your choice).
4. Once coated, roll them in your hands again to ensure the coating stays on. Freeze for a few hours or overnight.
5. To coat in a chocolate shell, melt 1 cup chocolate with 3 tablespoons coconut oil.
6. Once fully melted, use a fork to dip the balls into the shell. Make sure they are fully coated but remove excess chocolate.
7. Place on parchment paper (or something reusable). Let sit in the fridge for 10 minutes and they are ready to enjoy! Store refrigerated.
8. *Can add peppermint extract to ganache for minty truffles

Vegan Stuffing

From YouTube chef, author and food blogger The Edgy Veg comes this recipe for a mushroom-based vegan stuffing that'll turn heads at your table. We love this channel, because owner Candice comes up with some of the most mind-blowing plant-based takes on classic carnivore favorites. Make this stuffing as a side, and leave some on the side unbaked for use in her vegan Thanksgiving turkey recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 onions, finely chopped, and cooked until translucent
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 4 cups bread crumbs, I like to use torn day-old baguette
• ¼ cup vegan butter, melted
• ½ cup vegetable broth
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp marjoram
• Pinch of salt
• Dash of fresh black pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Heat some olive oil in a pan and cook the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add mushrooms to the pan, and cook until browned, about 10 minutes.
4. Transfer to a bowl with the torn bread or bread crumbs.
5. Add remaining ingredients and mix well, until combined.
6. Place in a greased casserole dish, cover with aluminum foil, and cook for 15-25 minutes, checking every 10 mins to ensure it isn’t drying out.
7. Serve with mushroom gravy, a holiday roast and mashed potatoes!

Roast "Turkey"

The moment you've all been waiting for—maybe. They Edge Veg's Chef Candice knows not everyone wants a meat replacement that looks like an actual animal product, but if you're a new vegan or hosting some non-vegans looking for a traditional fix, this is the one. It definitely helps to watch the video, and additional recipes are linked in the ingredients list.

Ingredients:

• 3 350g package of firm tofu, drained & rinsed
• 2 cups no-chicken-style vegetable broth or bouillon , double-strength
• 6 tbsp tahini
• 6 tsp sea salt
• 6 tsp onion powder
• ¾ cup nutritional yeast
• 6 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1½ tsp liquid smoke
• 6 tbsp white miso paste
• 3 cans of jack fruit, seeds removed and flesh shredded
• My stuffing recipe (not baked)
• Marinade from my rice paper bacon recipe
• Baste from my upgrade your store-bought roast recipe
• 5 to 10 sheets of rice paper bamboo spoons, skewers and toothpicks
• Small roasting pan with a lid

Instructions:

1. To a high-speed blender add tofu, no-chicken broth, tahini, sea salt, onion powder, nutritional yeast, poultry seasoning, liquid smoke, and white miso paste. Blend on high until smooth.
2. Transfer to the stand mixer, add in the shredded jackfruit and knead for 20 mins in the stand mixer.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the baste and marinade. Set aside.
4. After kneading is complete, divide the seitan dough into 5 pieces. 1 large piece for the body, 2 medium for the drumsticks, and 2 small pieces for the wings.
5. Shape each wing & drumstick into its shape, and wrap tightly with foil. For the legs, I like to wrap them around small bamboo spoons to replicate "bones". This is optional.
6. Roll out the body dough, and place the stuffing in the middle. Then, wrap the seitan dough around the stuffing, and wrap it in foil. I like to use the foil to help me shape and hold the shape in place.
7. Place each piece into a pressure cooker, and pressure cook for 45 minutes then let the steam release naturally. I have two pressure cookers so I did them all at the same time.
8. Remove the seitan and place them onto a wire cooling rack.
9. You can continue onto the next steps from here, or place the seitan in the fridge overnight, or until you are ready to prepare and serve.
10. Preheat your oven to 400F.
11. In a large bowl, add warm-hot (not boiled) water. Place the bacon marinade into another bowl with about half of the basting liquid.
12. In a third smaller bowl, add the basting liquid.
13. One at a time, add a sheet of rice paper to the water until softened slightly. Allow the water to drip off and transfer to the marinade. coat the rice paper in the marinade and allow the excess to drip off.

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