Menu options for a Vegetarian Thanksgiving

If you are the one hosting your Thanksgiving feast and just started your vegetarian lifestyle, you may wonder how to present an outstanding spread. Or perhaps you want to accommodate your vegetarian friends. Don’t fear it! Compared to vegan eaters, vegetarians have a bit more variety because they usually will eat eggs, cheese, and sometimes even fish.

Being Vegetarian Isn’t as Restrictive as People Believe

There are a few different kinds of vegetarians.

· Pescatarian: includes fish, seafood, eggs and dairy

· Flexitarian: includes dairy, eggs and sometimes fish, meat and poultry in small amounts

· Vegan: no animal products or by-products

In this article, we’re focusing on the classic vegetarian who does not eat meat, poultry and seafood, but does eat eggs and dairy.

Let’s talk appetizers

Nuts, crackers, cheese, fruits and jelly

Starting off with a tray or two with some vegetables, nuts, and cheese is a classic, can’t-go-wrong move.

Possible food tray ideas:

Buy fresh, organic vegetables for a tray (you can of course choose anything: cucumbers, carrots, celery, mushrooms, etc.)
Cheese and bread or wheat cracker tray (buy some vegan dips or butters if you’d like)
Fruit, nut and seed trays (bowls for nuts) (use fresh or dried fruits)

How to approach the main course of a vegetarian turkey day

If you plan on cooking, you may still want to order your main dish—a tofu turkey or “tofurky” as some companies call them is usually the way to go. Essentially, a tofurky, as it is usually called, is the main dish and they can be prepared in many different ways stuffed with rice or other vegetables and spices.

Of course, it can be quite easy to fill up on many savory vegetarian sides. If you don’t want to do a tofu based creation like the tofurky, there are other plant-based turkey alternative options for the main dish.

Main options

While there are many different vegetarian foods that could be considered a main option at your vegetarian thanksgiving feast like different vegetarian pizzas, flatbreads, tarts, pies and so on that could eliminate meats, below are options like a tofu made turkey, squash casseroles, and even a vegetarian lasagna or portabella stuffed with cheese and other vegetables.

Tofurky (tofu made turkey, sometimes stuffed with greens or potatoes, etc.)
Squash or pumpkin casseroles
Spinach and mushroom pizza
Pumpkin casserole
Spinach and ricotta lasagna
Squash ravioli and onions
Portobello mushroom stuffed with creamy spinach

Sides or main dish options for Vegetarian thanksgiving

The majority of side dishes and salads are easy. Most of them contain more nuts, squashes, greens and so forth. It depends how your crowd is. Always discuss options with guests beforehand, but there are many to review that should peak your interest.

Possible sides:

Roasted vegetable tarts
Swiss chard, feta and sweet potato tart
Roasted butter squash risotto
Roasted carrots with faro and crème
Pecan sweet potato casserole
Pumpkin soup
Green beans and almonds
Creamy spinach
Cranberries
Vegan noodles with wild mushrooms

Popular Vegetarian Salads You Could Serve:

Cool beans salad (green onion chopped up, black beans, corn, etc.)
Asian salad (almonds, mandarin orange slices, lettuce, radishes, brown rice, ginger sesame dressing)
Garden chickpea salad
Veggie salad (hardboiled eggs, kidney beans, potatoes, lettuce, onions, asparagus, green beans)

While many folks cook a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, some sort of greens, usually cranberries or cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes or other traditional food items—some of us are vegetarian and this makes the menu a bit different, especially the turkey part.

With that said, we hope you enjoy the beautiful autumn weather and delicious times with family and friends!