It’s our 2nd vegan Thanksgiving so this year I have full confidence that we’ll get to enjoy the holiday with some delicious and traditional food, minus the bird. I just spent about 5 hours cooking a feast that we’ll get to enjoy tomorrow, and let’s be real, I just had a pretty hearty sample as I cooked. YUM! I used a lot of the same recipes that I used last year because they were so good already, and changed up a few things. I’m so excited to celebrate with family tomorrow and we have a very long list of things to be thankful for. Here’s some of the goodies I made to celebrate the holiday of eating.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Craisins with Maple Mustard Dressing- I cut brussels off the stalk and cut them in half and combined them with precut butternut squash. I mixed them in a bowl with 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp dijon, 1 tsp yellow mustard, and 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire. I roasted them on a baking sheet on 375* for about 30 minutes. I added some pecan pieces and roasted another 10 minutes and then toss with craisins when it comes out. It’s savory, sweet, and a healthy side to balance the mega amount of carbs.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes- These are the BOMB! First, cut the tops off a head of garlic and wrap it in tin foil with a little olive oil and salt then roast on 375* for 45 minutes. I peeled 3 lbs of gold potatoes and boiled them until soft. In a mixer, add the roasted garlic, boiled potatoes, 1/4 cup almond milk, 2 tbsp vegan butter, and salt and pepper. The roasted garlic flavor gives them such a great flavor without being overpowering and they’re creamy, thick, and AMAZING.

Easy Vegan Gravy– I really didn’t like the vegan gravy I made last year, but I found a new one to try. It’s base is one of my favorite things, Vegetarian Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base. You make a roux with flour and vegan butter then add the bouillon and water plus poultry seasoning and pepper. You cook until thickened to your liking and it’s seriously SO GOOD. I tried it today and holy moley, I couldn’t stop eating spoonfuls of mashed potatoes from the tester bowl with this gravy.

Recipe -https://www.thissavoryvegan.com/the-best-vegan-gravy/

Grandpa’s Stuffing- This stuffing is so simple, but it was always my favorite thing at Thanksgiving. It’s a family favorite! This year I accidentally got whole wheat bread and so far it looks drier than usual so might not be the best, but hey, nothing that gravy won’t fix. I veganized my grandpa’s recipe which wasn’t hard to do so I can still enjoy it.

1 yellow onion, diced

1 head of celery, diced

1 loaf white Tuscan sliced bread

3 cups water

2 tbsp vegan butter

1 tsp Vegetarian Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base

poultry seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

dash of sage

1. Preheat oven to 375* and slice bread into cubes. You can leave it out to dry overnight or bake it on a low heat for a few minutes until it gets a little crisp.
2. Add celery, onion, water, and bouillon to a stock pot and bring to a low boil until onions are translucent.
3. Sprinkle poultry seasoning, sage, salt and pepper on bread cubes and then scoop onions and celery on top of the bread.
4. Slowly add the liquid to the bread and stir while adding until bread is moist (ew I know.)
5. Wrap in a few different batches of tin foil and bake for 30-40 minutes until hot and the outside is getting crispy and inside is still soft.

Trader Joe’s Turkey-less Roast- I’ve heard that this is really great, so I picked one up to try! I’ll let you know how it is, but it’s fun to have a main for Thanksgiving.

Peas and Cranberry Sauce- Yes, both from a can because that’s the way I like them.

Vegan Salted Caramel Apple Pie- This turned out fabulously! I used the filling from this website ( https://www.pinterest.com/pin/146718900346654021/ ) and used vegan butter instead of coconut oil and used 3 tbsp instead of 2. I think I used more vegan butter for this meal than the whole year combined, but it’s Thanksgiving! I used half brown sugar and half cane sugar for the caramel and it turned out delish. I used 3 Granny Smith and 3 Honeycrisp for a nice tart/sweet combination and made sure I didn’t cook them down long enough that they’d be mushy after baking.

I used this easy vegan pie crust recipe (https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-pie-crust/) and doubled it for the top and bottom crusts. It was SO easy to make and it comes together in your food processor. Plus no need to refrigerate or parbake so it’s quick. I split it in half and rolled it out easily, then added it to the bottom of my pie pan that I love from Williams Sonoma. I put it in the fridge while I rolled out the top, and used a couple leaf cookie cutters to cut out the pie crust for the top. I took the bottom out of the fridge, added the filling and decorated the top with the leaf pie crust cutouts. I sprinkled with raw sugar and baked on 350* for about 45-50 minutes which is longer than the directions said. I hope it’s as tasty as it looks!

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving and enjoy the time together!