While the thoughts of Christmas being just around the corner, turkeys are cooking in the oven and people are anxiously waiting to stuff their stomachs. There is one thing that crosses my mind around this time every year: what in the world am I going to eat?! Growing up in a Spanish/Italian household, meat was on my plate with every meal. You can only imagine the response I received when I told my parents I was going vegetarian. While they fully support my ethical and health reasoning for doing so, every year has been a battle to figure out what I’m going to eat for Thanksgiving dinner. Here are some of my favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving meals.
Tofurky
This tends to be a popular option for many vegetarians and vegans to eat during the holiday season. Not only is this delicious, but it also has stuffing in the center so you don’t miss out on anything!
Dairy Free Mac & CheeseThis delicious ‘Mac and cheese’ is not only tasty but it’s also dairy free! This is also a great option for those who are dairy free or lactose intolerant. My favorite part about this ‘cheezy mac’ is that you actually cook this over a stovetop and it’s super creamy!
Sweet Potato Casserole
My mom makes sweet potato casserole every year and she swears by it. It’s also fairly easy to make! While her recipe isn’t vegan-friendly, I’m sure there are ways to substitute products such as egg and butter for vegan products.
Apple Pie
Apple pie is an absolute classic! My family usually gets a pie from a local bakery. This can easily be vegan if made at home by using vegan butter for the crust and filling.
Vegetable Lasagna
Last year, I convinced my parents to make vegetable lasagna for the first time considering they always make lasagna with meat. It was delicious! Again, not vegan-friendly because of the cheese but that can easily be removed. This is truly one of my favorite Thanksgiving meals.
These are my favorite foods that I eat as a vegetarian on Thanksgiving! If this is your first year not eating meat during the holidays, or if you just wanted to learn about new foods to make, hopefully, this makes the holidays a bit less stressful.