It’s almost Thanksgiving. You are vegan. Not all of your friends and family share your conviction, but you would sincerely enjoy their company on this special occasion.

The Invitations

Some of your invitees won’t be able to imagine a Thanksgiving meal without some sort of bloodshed. That’s okay. You are here to show them how awesome Thanksgiving can be while extending compassion to all creatures.

It’s true that not everyone will accept your invitation, but many of them will. Don’t be afraid to fully disclose your intentions for the meal. You wouldn’t want to catch anyone off guard Thanksgiving Day and lure them to your home under false pretenses. Let your friends and family know this is their opportunity to share in the very way that you like to celebrate a holiday.

Prepare for a little silence, or perhaps a longer than usual wait time for their reply text. Don’t take it personally as they will simply be reacting to the novelty of the notion. Most of us take a little time to process a significant change to our routines–especially with holidays.

If your friends need a little extra convincing, feel free to remind them of a few occasions where you have ceded to their dietary preferences. If they understand how accommodating you’ve been all along, they will likely reciprocate.

Include as many traditional elements as possible. Eating vegan will be a huge change for your carnivorous comrades.

Assure them you’ll have plenty of stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams and cranberry sauce. We will share some recipes so that you can amaze them with just how good a vegan Thanksgiving dinner can be!

Appetizers

Pita Chips & Hummus

Hummus has nearly reached mainstream and your guests will love dipping pita chips while waiting for the main meal. If you haven’t made hummus before, many health food stores sell it freshly made. Most pita bread is vegan by default but check the ingredients if it’s an unfamiliar brand.

Celery and Garlic Herb Avocado Cashew Cream Cheese

Photo from: Healthy Slow Cooking

Your mature relatives might be accustomed to this popular go to, so don’t disappoint them. Pick up some organic celery and top it with this Garlic Herb Avocado Cashew Cream Cheese from Healthy Slow Cooking. Add in some olives for good measure.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Photo from: Minimalist Baker

We’ve discussed the many health benefits of mushrooms on this site before. Here’s a chance to introduce this healthful food to the people you care about, and delight them these simple, 7-ingredient stuffed mushrooms courtesy of Minimalist Baker.

Salad

Simply use your favorite salad recipe or one of your own creations. So what if it sounds stereotypical. No one should walk away from a vegan Thanksgiving fest without having at least a few bites of salad.

Photo from: Simple Girlr

Introduce your guests to your favorite vegan salad dressing. If you don’t already have one, try this Simple Girl Citrus Ginger Organic, Sugar-Free Salad Dressing. Yes, you read that correctly. This works with virtually anyone’s diet. It’s sweetened with stevia too.

Dinner

Main Course

You may have already heard of the brand Tofurkey, but did you know they make an amazing meatless turkey roast complete with wild rice stuffing? Each Tofurkey Plant Based Roast and Gravy package serves up to 5 guests.

Photo from: Tofurky

This might be the easiest thing to prepare from our list. No prep work. Simply cook it in the oven for 2 hours 20 minutes and your main course is good to go!

If you prefer to break from the turkey tradition and go even more rogue, consider the All Vegan Ham Style Roast from the same company.

Potatoes

Mashed

Photo from: simple vegan blog

If you decide to go the mashed potato route, use vegetable broth or plant milk in place of dairy. This vegan mashed potatoes recipe gets it right. You can use tahini or nut butter if you would prefer to avoid oils.

To make life even easier mall using small, thin skinned, shallow-eyed potatoes, and you won’t even need to peel them.

Yams

Instead of candied yams with added sugar and vegan-hostile marshmallows, consider baking sweet potatoes in their natural state. They deliciously caramelize on their own. No added sweeteners necessary.

See this recipe from Empowered Sustenance to learn the foolproof way to bake a sweet potato

Have your guests top their potatoes with margarine if desired. The Earth Balance brand offers a full line of vegan-friendly margarine.

Vegetables

Simple, roasted vegetables are the way to go. Choose one or both of these quick recipes.

Photo by: Sweet Phi

Cinnamon spice roasted carrots

Photo by: Martha Stewart

Roasted brussels sprouts

Tips:

Baking can be carefree and clean up a breeze when using parchment paper. Many brands are safe for oven use up to 425 degrees. Be sure to address the recipe ingredients to accommodate the number of guests.

Sides

Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce

Photo by: Wicked Spatula

No Thanksgiving is complete without cranberry sauce, so serve your guests this vegan treat from Wicked Spatula! It’s called Date Sweetened Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce and it’s bound to convince your non-vegan friends just how awesome eating vegan can be.

Don’t be concerned about this recipe suggesting you use deglet dates. They might sound exotic, but these are the common dates which can be found in any grocery store.

Jazzed Apple Sauce

Photo by: myhdiet

Should anyone have an aversion to cranberries, offer up this apple alternative. Jazzed Apple Sauce will work well as an alternative to cranberry sauce, an additional side, or perhaps a light dessert.

Dessert

Raspberry Coconut Ice Cream

Photo by: Vegan Family Recipes

This vegan raspberry coconut ice cream can be made without in 5 minutes without an ice cream maker. It’s also paleo-friendly and gluten free.

Vegan Holiday Cookies

Photo by: The Vegan 8

Depending on your climate in November, you might prefer a warmer dessert option. Pick your favorite selection of vegan holiday cookies and bring them out along with the pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Pie

Keeping with tradition we’d be remiss not to point you to a pumpkin pie recipe. Using only 8 ingredients and 5 minutes of your time to prep, this rich, spiced pumpkin pie will be the perfect way to end your vegan Thanksgiving festivities.

Happy Thanksgiving. We wish you the best in making your Vegan Style Thanksgiving a hit. Don’t be surprised when your friends and family want to come back next year for more!

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