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There's a marvelous veggie product called Tofurky which you can get in trader Joe;s and I believe, Whole Foods & other places....it can even be stuffed just like a real turkey breast. I found it quite mosit and delish,a nd with all the other sides you get on Thanksgiving (yams, cranberries, bread, greens, potatoes, etc), vegans have plenty to eat. But just inc ase you want more variety there is also a great recipe for a cashew loaf that I found online that I think you can google. I was quite rich and satisfying.

Vegetarian cassoulet would be a luxurious dish that could be a side or a main. Pure comfort food.

Last year I made a vegetarian "chili" consisting of a pureed sweet potato, veg broth, and ancho chillies base. You may throw in whatever you please, but I like onions, bell pepper, and black beans. Bulgur wheat or dried bulk TVP can add a nice hearty and filling texture.

Being vegan on thanksgiving is like being muslim on hanukkah.

Last year, I had grapes for Thanksgiving (thanks, stepmom) so anything you serve is welcome--really, just having vegetarian side dishes is enough.

My favorites, in an ideal world would be vegetarian stuffing (dressing), green beans, stuffed vegetables like autumn squash, and sweet potatoes (plain, no 'stuff' for reasons of taste, not just vegetarianism). And cranberry sauce and pie, of course.

I honestly wouldn't worry too much about the protein--no one is going to keel over and die for want of protein after eating a huge plate of T-day veggie sides.

However, since this person is vegan--why not have a 'nut tray'--everyone would like that actually, and stuff like walnuts, pecans, and so forth are very seasonal, and just about everyone (except for people with allergies) likes cashews or peanuts.

Hummus for the appetizer spread is another possibility.

I am vegetarian, but for a vegan, you might want to have fruit for dessert. Actually, although I love dessert, after a meal I'm usually too full to enjoy it and would probably prefer fruit, and like to 'take home' a slice of pie or two.

SailorDave: "Being vegan on thanksgiving is like being muslim on hanukkah."
Since the purpose of thanksgiving is to celebrate and be thankful for the food we have (among other things), I'm going to guess that you aren't a vegan, SailorDave. And if you are, I would suggest changing your outlook. There are plenty of delicious vegetables in the world, and everyone can be thankful for them.
That being said, my vegetarian Thanksgiving meal is always Shepherd's Pie, made with lentils and root vegetables in place of the meat. Basically, it is a big plate of lentils and roasted vegetables topped with creamy, peppery mashed potatoes. I don't miss the turkey at all.

My dad and my sister are vegetarians, so we just keep all the sides meatless and then fry up some tofu with soy sauce for them - they seem to like it well enough.

@firni- you are so right- sides are where it's at! there are veggie gravy equivalents, homemade or (this sounds much more horrible than it is, promise) in packets at the hippie store. i've utilized it on at least one occasion, simmering tofurkey slices in it and serving it like an open-faced sandwich. gah, this convo is making me so impatient for the big day...

I have done stuffed pumpkin and pumpkin lasagna in the past. I'm considering pumpkin baked ziti from Veganomicon for this year's feast.

If you really want to impress, this recipe is supposed to be delicious : http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/1435893.htm#turkey

I am going to be making bryanna's pumpkin pie for sure. I really like that it doesn't call for tofu.

Oh wow, guys! After reading through this thread, I have to tell you that you can definitely make vegan versions of anything you would normally see at Thanksgiving. Vegans can have pie for dessert, with ice cream and whipped cream, even! And there are plenty of vegan gravy recipes.

Also, I think some of the Pepperidge Farm stuffing mixes are vegan if you use veg broth. And you can buy gelatin-free cranberry sauce if you're attached to those can-shaped slices.

We always have vegetarians at the table, so there are more vegetable dishes than meat ones! One stuffing is always made vegetarian (and mushroom-less, to account for one attendee's odd tastes), and I'm planning on making a roasted root vegetable medley along with a creamed spinach casserole and probably something else as my contributions.

The one time I hosted, I went by the 1/2 lb of turkey per guest rule I found online, and even though I'd only counted the adult carnivores, I still ended up with half a turkey left over -- we all like the vegetable dishes so much that we end up filling our plates with those!

There's a delicious mushroom gravy recipe in Molly Katzen's Vegetable Heaven. A great cookbook by the way. I can always find something delicious and festive (and easy to prepare) in there.

Sides are enough for me. I don't remember liking turkey much before I was a vegetarian, so I don't really enjoy tofurkey. I've tried tofurkey, and it does taste similar to turkey. I've never liked gravy either, so I don't worry about a substitute. Lentil loaf sounds really good though, I'll have to try that suggestion from fritesandfries.

Make him either bring his own food or make his own food. Why should you be put out because of a voluntary dietary restriction on his part?

i personally really like stuffed acorn squash because it's delicious there are lots of different variations such as moroccan style acorn squash and it's also more festive than stuffed peppers

We like the Quorn roast better than the tofurky, but the tofurky "giblet" gravy is good if you can eat mushrooms. I make my own gravy on thanksgiving, but we do a vegie 'thanksgiving' dinner once or twice a month once the cranberries show up in the stores. No need to wait and have it once a year, it is too yummy. We like to have it a lot, including the pumpkin pie, I just make a huge batch and freeze the filling and crust in single pie increments.

I googhled "vegan Thanksgiving" and came up with 1,850,000 hits-----so obviously we are not alone! :-D

All you vegetarians who happily gorge on sides - do you know for sure that the stuffing isn't made with chicken broth? How about everything else?

@stphjay

I think that if you care enough to have someone over to share your Thanksgiving with them, you would care enough to be respectful of their lifestyle/diet. In general, I usually don't ask because it seems rude and nit-picky when I am in someone else's home but when it's someone notorious for "spiking food" (like my mother) or generally unknowledgeable or disrespectful, I ask.

Last year was my first vegan thanksgiving. I never really went for the turkey at thanksgiving when I ate meat anyway because frankly, the sides are so much better! As a vegan, you become very accustomed to NOT eating at others homes during big holidays because even if people are trying to be accomodating it is difficult to demand a vegan dish from someone (even if they are family) when they are responsible for a feast for 25 people who have different tastes. It is good to make dishes which can be veganized at the table that way people can customize based on diet.

Used to have a great recipe for a nut loaf wrapped in pastry ala beef wellington. made an impressive centerpiece, but I've lost the recipe. I'm sure you could find a nut loaf online, and you could make the pastry with vegetable shortening.

Roasted vegetables with the traditional sides would keep me happy any day, and I'm not a vegetarian.

Great mushroom gravy in Sundays at Moosewood that totally faked me out the first time I made it, it tastes so meaty.

For years we had a pot-luck Thanksgiving, and along with the traditional stuff we had lots of interesting nontraditional dishes - potato salad, lasagna, phyllo-wrapped asparagus or asparagus with crumb topping. Being thankful for family and friends around the table for the day makes the food secondary. It's great to have wonderful food, and even better to share it with those we love.

i make most of the food for my entire (HUGE) family, so i know everything that went in to the meal. and funny, even though i'm a vegetarian, i don't "resent" the choice my family has made to eat meat when i feed them- cooking is what i (most of us) do for those i care about, not a chore.

I love the sides and happily eat my way through dinner with plenty of room for pie, and more pie! If you want something more specific/complete The Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates features both a fully vegetarian and a separate fully vegan Thanksgiving menu. The recipes look awesome and I plan to make a couple of them this year.

My aunt is vegetarian and came to our place for dinner last year. She was the only vegetarian among us omnivores, so it was Mom to the rescue. Having grown up Seventh Day Adventist--though not vegetarian--I am accustomed to occasional vegetarian dinners. Mom made one of her delicious vegetarian loaves--which is always a hit at church pot lucks--from cottage cheese, eggs, ground nuts, bread crumbs, and perhaps mushrooms. She also made vegetarian gravy to go with, so we had to two gravies, the other being made with the drippings. I think more than half of us--owing to the general Thanksgiving pile on--had some of this veggie loaf special addition to the table and it was delicious. I think I also did a vegan stuffing with veggie stock, and all the other veggie sides were without bacon or drippings or chicken/turkey stock, which is not my preference, but everything was a hit!

I think if I were to do a veggie entree it would be three sisters stew, (corn, beans, squash) using either summer squash and corn or winter squash and hominy. The stew can be done in the crockpot and it celebrates foods of the New World and the fall harvest. The veggie loaf, the gravy, and the three sisters stew can all be made ahead and taste better the next day anyway.

Just wanted to add that vegetarian gravy is ridiculously easy to make if you have a good veggie broth or stock. Just make a roux (you can even use olive oil for a vegan gravy) and whisk in the broth, then season the crap out of it.

I'm no longer vegetarian, but when I was, I unabashedly went the parade-of-sides route. Green bean casserole was a must for me, along with stuffing (with apples!), roasted spiced sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. My vegetarian ex-husband, on the other hand, would just mix corn and stuffing into his mashed potatoes and call it a day.

@Nickiter

Like not be a difficult eater for a day and just deal with what's given them?

I've always gone the sides route and have been vegetarian long enough that my family respects my decision and doesn't make the sides with chicken broth or whatever. It also helps that many of our family's traditional dishes don't have animal products, like my grandmother's roasted eggplant salad.

But, if there's any worry that you're putting someone out with your request (or that you're being put out), there's no harm in bringing something to the table yourself (or asking your guest to). It lets the vegetarian be in control of their food, introduces other family members to their lifestyle choice/veggie foods and helps the host/hostess out. Honestly, most veg*ans are used to this anyway and it'll be a good experience for your brother.

Since my grandmother is getting on in years, I plan on doing a lot of cooking this year anyway. I'll be making a veggie gravy (roux of margarine/flour, veggie broth, various herbs and soy sauce for umami), green bean casserole, garlic mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes from The Modern Vegetarian Table. My husband, an omnivore, is making his signature "bird in a bag" (roasting a spice-rubbed turkey in a paper bag).

I am a vegetarian and I was born on a Thanksgiving Day so this is a BIG DEAL for me... I just don't like to eat a bunch of side dishes that seem to have nothing in common... That's why I have taken it upon myself to make a vegetarian menu with which noboby will miss the traditional turkey. This is what I have done in the last few years:

2006
Butternut Squash Lasagna from Giada Di Laurentiis
I guess we accompanied it with a salad... can't remember

2007
Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
Vanilla Maple Glazed Carrots
Sweet Potato Flan
Arugula/Red Onion Salad

2008
Pumpkin Rissoto
Baked Sweet Plantains
Vanilla Cheese Flan - same recipe as above, but without the sweet potato added.

2009 - this menu is still in the works... but here are a few options I am considering
pumpkin polenta
sweet potato mash with a homemade cranberry sauce
truffle mac & cheese - just because its delicious and super simple to make
roasted pears with blue cheese and hazelnut pralines

I'm going to have to agree with other comments that sides and pie are enough for me! 101cookbooks has a great olive oil mashed potato recipe with kale that could be vegan but still omni-friendly.

@nitsuj If I eat meat/chicken stock/etc. I get sick. I don't think it's polite of me to ruin Thanksgiving by getting violently ill just to avoid putting them out and having my host make a different recipe when they are already cooking and have invited me over to eat. Often I will bring a dish, suggest a recipe so they don't have to find one, or offer to cook. Would you think a Jewish guest should eat bacon because they are inconveniencing you by voluntarily keeping kosher?

This year is my first vegan Thanksgiving and my aunt, whose house I'm going to for the meal, is sort of put-off by it, I can tell. But, her sides are always amazing and delicious, and I am going to bring some mushroom gravy and maybe some Field Roast for my main dish. She makes an incredible apple pie - made with vegetable shortening and Earth Balance margarine - that is the best I have ever tasted, and I'm not a pie person so that's a saying something.