Easy vegan Thanksgiving recipes, plus tips to add flavor and texture to vegetables

Turkey could take high billing on most Thanksgiving menus, however with so many scrumptious seasonal greens and plant-based recipes, the choices so as to add vegan dishes to the desk this yr are considerable.

And remember to save lots of room for dessert with two scrumptious choices from the Korean Vegan.

Chef Jason Pringle, the chief sous chef at Montage Healdsburg within the coronary heart of California wine nation, shared this standard stuffed cabbage recipe that makes use of grains and lentils with recent herbs and spices to have a wealthy and flavorful vegan-friendly choice on the vacation desk.

1/2 cup Black Forbidden rice, raw (different massive grains, comparable to farro, could also be used)

1 1/2 Cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (any kind)

1/2 Cup small diced carrot

1/2 Cup small diced celery

4 sprigs thyme, picked and chopped

1 teaspoon Smoked paprika

1 teaspoon every recent chives, parsley, tarragon

2 tablespoons chickpea miso (or white miso)

Convey the broth to boil. Add the forbidden rice, scale back warmth, and simmer for 50 to 60 minutes. If not utilizing instantly, place in a storage container and refrigerate.

Warmth a big sauté pan with olive oil. Add the mushrooms and prepare dinner till caramelized. Add the onions, carrots, thyme and garlic stirring, till the onions soften, about 4 minutes. Add water by the tablespoon if wanted to forestall sticking. Add the rice, cooked lentils, and all spices. Cook dinner, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the miso, scale back the warmth to low, and prepare dinner till the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Season with recent herbs, salt, and pepper to style. Put aside to chill.

Discard the robust outer leaves of the cabbage. Minimize across the core and punctiliously take away about 10 of the most important leaves. If the stem ends of the leaves appear thick, use a vegetable peeler to slice away among the thickness. Convey a big pot of water to boil and add the leaves. Boil for two minutes or till tender. Take away every leaf fastidiously and permit to empty and funky in a colander.

Oil a deep 7-inch soufflé or baking dish. Place the most important of the cabbage leaves bowl-side up the dish, positioned in order that it covers the underside and a part of the edges. Repeat with 2 to 4 extra leaves till the underside and sides are lined. Place a layer of rice-lentil filling within the bowl created by the cabbage, utilizing 1/3 of the filling. Easy it evenly in order that it spreads to all sides. High it with a cabbage leaf. Repeat with two extra layers of filling alternating with a cabbage leaf. High with a cabbage leaf, bowl facet down, and tuck it in across the sides. Utilizing a big spoon or your hand, press down on the leaf, packing within the filling and ensuring there are not any air bubbles.

Steam for ten minutes and heated by means of. Alternatively, you might be baked at uncovered for 30-40 minutes. Take away. Fastidiously insert a desk knife in opposition to the sting of the dish and run it round to ensure there are not any stuck-on edges. Place an upside-down serving plate on high, and invert the casserole onto the plate. Serve scorching.

Love and Lemons meals blogger Jeanine Donofrio, who focuses on creating vegan and vegetarian recipes, shared a collection of her favorites that may be an awesome addition to any Thanksgiving unfold.

Donofrio instructed “Good Morning America” there’s “two methods to go” if you happen to’re seeking to lean in the direction of vegan-friendly meals this Thanksgiving.

“Having an all sides Thanksgiving is enjoyable as a result of I believe Thanksgiving is all concerning the sides anyway,” she mentioned. “Or I begin with a ravishing predominant dish that is a seasonal produce, like a stuffed acorn squash,” which she mentioned has turn into “a go-to” as a fall dinner or on the vacation desk “as a result of it is a formidable predominant dish, it is a centerpiece, it is seasonal and it is lovely.”

Donofrio mentioned “it isn’t as a lot about making a meat substitute” as it’s “cooking with some love and a focus and seasoning the greens very well to make the greens actually flavorful.”

It additionally doesn’t suggest it’s a must to forgo Thanksgiving classics. “It isn’t onerous to make actually acquainted meals that do not scare people who find themselves perhaps not on board with a meatless factor,” she mentioned.

“You may make vegan stuffing, mashed potatoes with out cream or dairy, or cauliflower mashed potatoes which might be whipped up that I believe are simply as scrumptious,” she continued. “I’ve a mashed potato recipe the place I did not use cream or butter — I take advantage of olive oil.”

Try her full recipes to get pleasure from this vacation season, under.

“I believe individuals are intimidated by squash as a result of it is onerous to chop,” Donofrio mentioned. “Get a pointy knife and if it is just a little bit too onerous to chop, soften it within the oven first. It could actually appear intimidating however the oven does a lot of the give you the results you want — after which it turns into tender and tender — there is not actually any any work.”

Substances
2 acorn squash, halved
8-ounce bundle tempeh
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, extra for drizzling
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1/4 cup chopped sage
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Parsley and some pomegranate arils, for garnish
Sea salt and freshly floor black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out and discard the seeds from the squash. Place the squash halves on the baking sheet, and drizzle them with olive oil and pinches of salt and pepper. Roast cut-side up for 40 minutes, or till tender.

Whereas the squash roasts, reduce the tempeh into 1/2-inch cubes, place in a steamer basket, and set over a pot full of 1 inch of water. Convey the water to a simmer, cowl the pot, and steam for 10 minutes. Take away, drain any extra water, and use your arms to crumble the tempeh.

Warmth the olive oil in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add the onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and several other grinds of black pepper and prepare dinner 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and prepare dinner, stirring, till tender, about 8 minutes. Stir within the crumbled tempeh, garlic, walnuts, tamari, apple cider vinegar, rosemary, and sage and prepare dinner 2 to three minutes extra, including 1/4 cup water because the pan will get dry. Stir within the cranberries and season to style. Scoop the filling into the roasted acorn squash halves and garnish with the parsley and pomegranates.

“This vegan stuffing recipe is greatest when it is made with dry, day-old bread. I like to recommend shopping for or baking your bread one to 3 days upfront in order that it actually soaks up the savory taste of the onion, celery, mushrooms, and herbs,” she wrote alongside the recipe on her web site.

Substances
6 tablespoons additional virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup coarsely chopped cipollini onions
3 cups chopped and stemmed mushrooms, mixture of shiitakes and creminis
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/4 cup chopped sage, plus 8 leaves for garnish
2 tablespoons minced rosemary
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
5 cups cubed crusty ciabatta and nine-grain bread*
3 lacinato kale leaves, coarsely chopped or torn
2 cups vegetable broth, plus extra for reheating
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Sea salt and freshly floor black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease an 8-by-12-inch or 9-by-13-inch casserole dish.

In a really massive skillet, warmth 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium warmth. Add the onions, mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and several other grinds of recent pepper, and let the mushrooms prepare dinner till they start to melt, 5 to eight minutes, stirring solely often. Add the garlic, celery, sage, and rosemary, and prepare dinner till every part is tender and the mushrooms are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the balsamic vinegar, stir, and scrape any bits off the underside of the pan. Add the bread and the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and toss to coat. Add the kale and prepare dinner till it begins to wilt, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the broth and stir.

Switch to a casserole dish and pour the remaining 1 cup broth evenly over the stuffing.

Sprinkle with the dried cranberries, remaining entire sage leaves and bake for 20 minutes or till golden brown. Let sit for a minimum of quarter-hour or till able to serve.

Substances
1/2 small butternut squash, halved vertically, and seeded
Further-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, coarsely chopped (½ cup)
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked cashews
1 tablespoon dietary yeast
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
10 recent sage leaves
1 tablespoon recent thyme, plus a couple of leaves for garnish
12 ounces rotini pasta
Sea salt and freshly floor black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Drizzle the squash with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place cut-side down on the baking sheet. Wrap the shallot and garlic cloves in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on the baking sheet. Roast for half-hour or till the squash is tender.

Scoop 1 cup of the squash flesh and switch to a blender with the shallot, peeled garlic, water, cashews, 2 tablespoons olive oil, dietary yeast, vinegar, sage, thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and several other grinds of black pepper. Mix till creamy.

Cook dinner the pasta based on bundle instructions in a pot of salted boiling water. Reserve 1 cup of the new pasta water.

Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Stir within the sauce, including 1/2 to 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce and coat the pasta. Season with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt. High with freshly floor black pepper, a couple of thyme leaves.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook dinner time: 45 minutes
Serves 4

Substances
For the polenta
1 cup stone-ground polenta
4 to 4 1/2 cups water, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, extra to style

For the sautéed mushrooms
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
16 ounces combined mushrooms, sliced or chopped
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon tamari
1 garlic clove, minced or grated
1 tablespoon finely chopped recent tarragon
Freshly floor black pepper

Chimichurri, for drizzling
Microgreens, non-compulsory
Roasted chickpeas, non-compulsory

For the sautéed mushrooms: In a big cast-iron skillet, warmth the oil over medium warmth. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Let the mushrooms prepare dinner, with out stirring, for two to three minutes. It will assist them get a pleasant golden brown sear.

Give the pan a great shake or two and proceed cooking the mushrooms, stirring solely often, till tender and well-browned, 5 to eight extra minutes relying on the scale of your mushrooms. Flip the warmth to low and stir within the rice vinegar, tamari, and garlic. Flip off the warmth and sprinkle with recent tarragon. Serve scorching.

For the polenta: In a blender, pulse the dry polenta to make the granules much less coarse. This offers the polenta a creamy texture and helps it prepare dinner sooner. Take away from the blender and run your arms by means of the dry polenta to ensure there aren’t any lumps.

In a medium pot, convey 3 cups of water to a excessive simmer. Slowly whisk within the polenta. Add 1 extra cup of water and simmer for quarter-hour, stirring often. In case your polenta may be very thick, whisk within the remaining 1/2 cup water. The polenta needs to be creamy.

Flip off the warmth and whisk within the olive oil and sea salt. Cowl and let stand for five minutes. Season to style and serve scorching.

Assemble scorching polenta in bowls. High with sautéed mushrooms and drizzle generously with chimichurri. High with microgreens and roasted chickpeas, if desired. Serve with extra chimichurri on the facet.

“Cashews are a magical vegan ingredient — they substitute cream very well, particularly when you have a strong blender,” Donofrio mentioned.

“Coconut milk will also be a great substitute for cream,” she added, “and different instances it is simply the greens pureed, like beans and potato, which may each get actually creamy.”

She additionally steered including dietary yeast for each taste and a cheese-like, creamy texture.

“Thanksgiving can get bland, so I simply sprinkle pomegranate on every part,” Donofrio mentioned. “They’re fairly they usually’re so flavorful — I all the time say add a pop of pomegranate.”

“Within the creamy mushroom polenta there’s tamari and vinegar,” she added. “I take advantage of balsamic within the mushrooms so that they’re actually flavorful.”

Add one thing candy to the vegan menu with these two recipes from Joanne Molinaro aka The Korean Vegan.

“Paht means candy purple beans in Korean,” Molinaro instructed “GMA” of the primary ingredient within the recipe that she stored below wraps till her debut cookbook was launched. “Thanksgiving in my home is all the time type of a contentious time — there is a group who desires conventional American fare and an older era who desires the Korean classics — I wished to create a recipe that spoke to each side of our household.”

“The purple bean paste is way much less sugary than the standard custard-like filling of a conventional pecan pie, I knew my household would immediately recognize the acquainted taste,” she continued. “I introduced my little pie that Thanksgiving, and since then, I’ve been requested to make it yearly.”

Substances
For the pie crust:
1 1/2 cups (210g) all objective flour (see observe)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (152g) chilly vegan butter, reduce into 1/2 inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

For the pie filling and topping:
3/4 cup (300g) brown rice syrup
6 tablespoons soy or oat milk
1 cup (320g) paht
1/4 cup (50g) mild brown sugar
4 tablespoons (57g) vegan butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups (220g) chopped pecans
3 1/2 tablespoons (35g) potato starch
1 cup (110g) pecan halves

Directions
Make the pie crust: In a meals processor, mix the flour, sugar and salt and pulse whereas including the butter, a couple of items at a time. Add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, till the dough begins to type.
Form the dough right into a ball. Don’t deal with greater than obligatory. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, however greatest if in a single day.
Preheat the oven to 350 levels.Make the pie filling and topping: In a medium bowl, mix the brown rice syrup, soy milk, paht, brown sugar, melted butter, salt, vanilla, chopped pecans and potato starch.
Place the pie dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Utilizing a rolling pin, roll out the pie dough gently till it’s massive sufficient to line a 9-inch pie pan. Ease the crust into the pan and trim any extra dough on the edges with kitchen shears or a pointy paring knife. Pour within the filling. High the filling with pecan halves.
Switch the pie to the oven and bake till the pie filling units (i.e., doesn’t jiggle an excessive amount of), 1 hour to 1 hour quarter-hour. Cool the pie on a wire rack for two hours earlier than serving.

Molinaro mentioned JUST Egg was the important thing ingredient to assist this plant-based and gluten-free cookie come collectively.

Substances
3/4 cup white sugar
5 tbsp vegan butter (barely softened)
1/4 cup JUST Egg (liquid)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup candy white rice flour (common rice flour will NOT work)
1 cup finely floor almond flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon floor cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 levels.
Utilizing a hand-mixer or stand mixer, combine collectively the sugar, JUST Egg, and vanilla extract. Then add the candy white rice flour, almond flour, potato starch, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and blend till a dough varieties.
Subsequent, add the chocolate chips (if desired) and incorporate into the cookie dough with a spoon or spatula.
In a separate bowl, combine collectively cinnamon with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Scoop out sufficient dough to create a ball the scale of a gumball. Coat the floor of your ball with the cinnamon sugar earlier than inserting it in your baking sheet (lined with parchment paper).
Ensure the dough balls are a minimum of 2 inches aside (they’ll unfold).
Bake within the oven for about 11 to 13 minutes. Permit them to chill for about 2 minutes earlier than having fun with.

Recipes reprinted courtesy of Joanne Molinaro, The Korean Vegan.