Veganizing Thanksgiving The Easy Way!

So you want to have a Vegan Thanksgiving without too much work? I am here to help you eat yummy, with only a little bit of cooking. We live in a day and age where we have tons of vegan options, the days of eating only a salad are over! I will give you all the vegan options available at most major grocery stores.

So whether you’re making the entire dinner yourself or you’re in need of something to take to your family’s dinner (so you don’t starve) I am here to help you have a delicious dinner.

Let’s get started!

1. Turkey Substitutes

This Field Roast is what I had my very first Thanksgiving as a vegan. While it is tasty, it is super filling and a small piece will fill you up fast!

Gardein’s Holiday Roast is my favorite!!! I have had it the last 3 Thanksgivings and everyone in my family loves it! 2 thumbs up!!

If you’re not a fan of the Roasts or they aren’t available in your area, you may be able to find Gardein’s Turk’y Cutlet. It cooks a lot faster than the roasts and comes with two packs of gravy.

Trader Joe’s introduced this about 2 years ago, I have never tried it, but it looks great. So if you’re lucky enough to have a TJ’s close to you, give it a try.

Tofurky was the VERY FIRST Roast ever available! They were the trailblazers for our cause!!! I personally appreciate their efforts, but I am not a fan of the flavor or lack thereof of this roast. I’ve only had it once at Etho’s Vegan Kitchen in Orlando, FL.

2. Stuffing

I love that more and more products are now being labeled Vegan. I know as vegans we still read the ingredients list, but it helps us shop faster. Whole Foods has lots of Vegan items for the holidays, more are listed on this post.

This stuffing has traditional herb flavors to perfectly complement your thanksgiving dinner. I used it once, I found it to be pretty dry if you follow their directions, I would recommend using a little bit more water and butter.

I use this one every single year to make my mom’s amazing dressing! A dressing is a mixture of cooked cornbread and stuffing, they are mixed together with a lot of oil and you bake it in a lasagna pan. It is delicious, my mouth is watering just telling you about it.

I use this cornbread stuffing only when making a side of stuffing, and I like to jazz it up by adding craisins and walnut pieces to it. Everyone loves it!

3. Green Bean Casserole

This brand is available everywhere, making it easy to find. And they even have the recipe for Green Bean Casserole on the back of every package.

This brand of Crispy Onions I’ve only found at Costco, so it comes in a pretty big bag. To me, they taste the same as French’s brand.

Now all you have left to do is make your own Vegan Cream of Mushroom, it is super simple, all you’ll need are:

Ingredients:

8 oz. Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
3 tbps. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely grated
2 tbsp. onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp. Dry Sherry (or red wine vinegar)
1/2 cup chickpea flour
2 cups Non-Dairy Milk, Unsweetened
Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
Pinch of dry Thyme
Salt & Pepper to taste.

Directions:

In a deep pan, at medium-high heat bring the oil to a simmer, add the shallot and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, and saute until they have released most of their liquid and said liquid has evaporated.
Then add the chickpea flour, and mix well until it turns a little brown.
Add the dry sherry or red wine vinegar and stir in in for about 1 minute.
Add about 1/2 cup of the milk into the pan and bring to a simmer, whisk well until the flour has no more clumps in it. Then add the rest of the milk, the nutmeg, thyme, salt and pepper.
Bring everything up to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, this may take up to 10 minutes. Make sure to keep whisking it as needed.
Once it has thickened, remove the pot from the heat and serve, or you can refrigerated for about 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.
Enjoy!

4. Mashed Potatoes

Use your choice of potatoes, my favorites are Red Potatoes, but most people like the potatoes in the picture. Wash, peel, cut and boil in a pot with salted water, I also like to add a bay leaf to my potatoes while they boil, cook them until the desired doneness. Save a cup of the water they boiled in in case you need it. Then drain the potatoes.

Now add Vegan Butter, my favorite brand is Earth Balance. Add salt and pepper to taste and mash those potatoes until creamy. If they are dry, use some of the cooking water you saved to keep your mash moist, you can also add some non-dairy unsweetened milk or vegan sour cream to make your potatoes extra creamy. If you want to get fancy, add roasted garlic to them.

5. Gravy

I’ve only ever found this Vegan Gravy at Wholefoods, but hopefully this year they make it available at other grocery stores.

This gravy by Tofurky is harder to find, but it tastes great if you can find it.

Thank you Campbell’s for making one of your gravies vegan!!! This you should be able to find everywhere. But if you want to make your own gravy, I have a delicious recipe here LINK TO MY RECIPE

6. Rolls

Yes, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls are vegan! You’re welcome 😉

I found these rolls while doing research for this post. They are even labeled vegan, and the company tells me you can find them in the freezer area of your grocery store.

7. Sweet Potato Casserole

So did you know that sweet potato is also known as yams? If you don’t feel like cooking them yourselves, you can use this brand, open the can, pour it over a baking dish. Add the vegan marshmallows that I have pictured below and bake until the marshmallows are toasted.

These marshmallows are delicious, I can’t tell the difference, they come in many varieties: Vanilla, Mini Vanilla, Pumpkin, and Peppermint. I like to use the Mini Vanilla for the Sweet Potato Casserole they toast faster than the larger ones. SIDENOTE: These are also perfect to make Rice Krispy Treats. And the peppermint ones are great with hot chocolate.

8. Cranberry Sauce

This is my brother’s favorite! He says it’s not Thanksgiving if there isn’t a roll of jellied cranberry sauce with the can lines on it. So if you grew up eating this you’ll be glad to know it’s vegan!

The whole berry sauce is more my kind of cranberry sauce, I am not a fan of the jellied stuff. You can jazz this one up by heating it up and adding orange peel and some ginger ale. Try it, I’m sure you’ll love it.

9. Dessert

Costco’s Lattice Apple pie is vegan and HUGE! It’s also very yummy.

Daiya Cheezecakes come in many flavors, but this limited pumpkin spice cheezecake is perfect for Thanksgiving.

Marie Callender’s is another accidentally vegan dessert, they come frozen you just heat them up. Dutch Apple Pie is just one of the many flavors they have.

This is another Whole Foods item. They are typically in the refrigerated case of the Bakery. They run out of the Vegan one pretty fast! You can place an order at their Bakery to make sure you get your hands on one.

What is pie without a whipped topping… am I right?!?! Well, you’re in luck, So Delicious’ Coco Whip is fantastic, my favorite one is the one in the Blue Tub. Plus, did you know you can refreeze whatever you don’t use? 😉 Yep, it’s written on the package!

If you’re partial to the traditional whipped cream packaging, then Reddi Wip has two Vegan choices for you, Almond Milk and Coconut Milk. Make sure to follow the directions on the can carefully because they tend to get clogged.

Well, this brings us to the end of this Veganizing Thanksgiving the Easy Way guide. I hope it helps you to have a delicious, hassle-free Thanksgiving. Now you’ll only have family dynamics to deal with, and I can’t help you with that. As vegans, we have many things to be thankful for, so many new food choices, are just one of them.

Happy Vegan Thanksgiving!

Main Dishes, Thanksgiving