16 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes (Mains, Sides, Breads and Pies)

These vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes are the dishes I put on the table when half the family skips the turkey and nobody wants a plate of sad leftovers from the side dishes. All sixteen are my own tested recipes, from a proper centrepiece lasagna to buttery mash, two kinds of rolls and four puddings.

Honestly, a meat free Thanksgiving is easier than people think, because most of the classic table is already vegetables, bread and pie. The trick is knowing which dishes hide chicken stock or anchovies, and having one or two mains that feel like an occasion. So I have grouped everything into mains, sides, breads and pies, with a make-ahead plan and a sample menu below.

In short, the 16 recipes are 2 mains, 7 sides, 3 breads and 4 desserts, all meat free with a quick label check on the Worcestershire, cheese and pie crust. The quickest, air fryer mushrooms and asparagus, take 13 minutes, and four dishes are vegan as written: the lasagna, sweet potato fries, mushrooms and asparagus.

What Makes a Thanksgiving Dish Vegetarian?

A vegetarian dish has no meat, poultry or fish in it, and that includes the stock and fat it is cooked in. That last part is where Thanksgiving trips people up. As the University of New Hampshire Extension points out in its guide to healthful holidays, many traditional sides are already meatless, but chicken broth hides in plenty of them.

• Stuffing: classic stuffing is moistened with chicken or turkey stock. My bread stuffing uses chicken stock as written, which is why it is not on this list, but swap in vegetable stock and it becomes vegetarian.
• Gravy: traditional gravy is made from turkey drippings. Instead, make a mushroom or onion gravy with vegetable stock.
• Worcestershire sauce: it usually contains anchovies, so buy a vegetarian one for the green bean casserole.
• Pie crust: some shop bought pastry is made with lard, so check the label for butter or vegetable fat.
• Cheese: Parmesan is traditionally made with animal rennet, so look for cheeses labelled suitable for vegetarians.

Whichever gravy you make, serving it in a warmed glass gravy boat keeps it pourable at the table, and you can see at a glance when it needs topping up.

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes for the Main Course

First, the question every meat free guest dreads: what goes in the middle of the plate? I want something generous that can be sliced or scooped at the table, so these two bakes take the place of the turkey.

1. Vegan Lasagna

This is the dish I serve when I need a main that pleases vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters alike. Tempeh or smoked tofu and mushrooms give the sauce real bite, and a creamy layer of macadamias or cashews blended with lemon and nutritional yeast does the job of the cheese. Better yet, you can assemble it the day before and bake it on the morning.

Get the Vegan Lasagna recipe →

2. Baked Mac and Cheese

In my house, baked mac and cheese is a Thanksgiving main in its own right, not just a side. A butter and flour roux turns whole milk into a silky sauce, then cheddar, mozzarella and Monterey Jack melt in off the heat. The buttered breadcrumb lid is the bit everyone fights over, so I bake it in the widest dish I own.

Get the Baked Mac and Cheese recipe →

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes for Sides

Next come the sides, which are the real heart of a meat free Thanksgiving. I pick two potato dishes, two green dishes and one or two quick air fryer extras, so the oven never has more than it can handle.

3. Buttery Mashed Potatoes

Good mash comes down to three habits: drain the potatoes really well, let them steam dry in the hot pot, then add the butter before the warm cream. Cold dairy on hot starch makes it heavy, and a blender turns it to glue, so I always use a masher or a ricer. It needs nothing but butter, cream, salt and pepper.

Get the Buttery Mashed Potatoes recipe →

4. Scalloped Potatoes Without Cheese

These are the old fashioned scalloped potatoes my grandmother made: thin slices baked slowly in a seasoned cream sauce until the top browns and the middle turns silky. Because there is no cheese, there is no rennet to worry about at all. Smoked paprika and garlic powder give it a quiet warmth that sits beautifully next to the green beans.

Get the Scalloped Potatoes Without Cheese recipe →

5. Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Swapping tinned beans for fresh ones turned this from the dish nobody touched into the one people queue for. The beans are blanched for exactly five minutes, folded into a creamy mushroom sauce and baked under crispy fried onions. The recipe uses an optional teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, so use a vegetarian Worcestershire or simply leave it out.

Get the Fresh Green Bean Casserole recipe →

6. Garlic Butter Green Beans

When the casserole feels like too much, these 20 minute garlic butter green beans are my lighter green. The beans are blanched until just tender, then tossed in a pan of foaming garlic butter for a few minutes until glossy. On Thanksgiving I blanch and chill them the day before, so they only need a quick toss in the pan while the gravy finishes.

Get the Garlic Butter Green Beans recipe →

7. Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes belong on the Thanksgiving table, and these fries are the version the children actually eat. Even quarter inch sticks are tossed in oil, salt and pepper, then crisped in the air fryer while the oven is busy with everything else. They are vegan, naturally gluten free and gone within minutes, so make more than you think.

Get the Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries recipe →

8. Air Fryer Mushrooms

Mushrooms bring the savoury, meaty depth that a meat free table can miss, and the air fryer turns them deep brown in under ten minutes. The secret is space: a single layer with gaps, so the water leaves as steam and the edges crisp. I spoon them over the mash or next to the lasagna.

Get the Air Fryer Mushrooms recipe →

9. Air Fryer Asparagus

Air fryer asparagus is my emergency green vegetable, for when the oven is full and the table looks beige. Four ingredients, about eight minutes, and the spears come out tender in the middle with a little colour at the tips. Of course, thin spears need less time than thick ones, so keep an eye on the basket.

Get the Air Fryer Asparagus recipe →

Breads and Rolls

After that, the bread basket, which in my family is the first thing to empty. All three of these are vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes as written, with milk, butter and eggs rather than any lard.

10. Skillet Cornbread

For this skillet cornbread, the batter goes into a properly hot cast iron pan with sizzling butter, which is what gives you those toffee coloured, crunchy edges. It needs no buttermilk, just cornmeal, flour, milk, an egg and butter. Better still, it bakes in the time it takes to rest everything else, so I slide it in as the last dish.

Get the Skillet Cornbread recipe →

11. Sourdough Dinner Rolls

If you keep a starter, these rolls are worth planning around. Milk, butter and a little honey make them soft and tender, with a faint tang under the sweetness. Because the rise is long, I shape them the night before and leave the covered dish in the fridge, then bake them on the day.

Get the Sourdough Dinner Rolls recipe →

12. Soft Dinner Rolls

These soft dinner rolls are for anyone without a starter. The dough is made in a bread machine or by hand with instant yeast, milk, butter and an egg, then shaped into twelve balls that rise until they touch. They tear apart in soft little clouds, and a brush of melted butter as they leave the oven keeps the tops shiny.

Get the Soft Dinner Rolls recipe →

Pies and Desserts

Finally, pudding. I always make one pie the day before and one easy bake that can go in the oven while we eat. Remember that the egg based pies need the fridge; University of Illinois Extension explains which pies need refrigerating and why they should not sit out for more than two hours.

13. Easy Pecan Pie

One bowl, an unbaked crust and no blind baking, which is why I make this pecan pie every November. The filling of eggs, brown sugar, syrup, butter and vanilla is whisked together while the oven heats. The only real skill is taking it out while the very centre still wobbles, because it sets as it cools.

Get the Easy Pecan Pie recipe →

14. Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet potato pie is softer and more gently spiced than pumpkin, and some of my guests prefer it. Mashed sweet potatoes are beaten with butter, sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, cinnamon and nutmeg, then baked in an unbaked crust. It starts in a hot oven and finishes lower, so the filling stays silky right to the edge.

Get the Sweet Potato Pie recipe →

Both of these pies bake well in a 9 inch glass pie dish, since the clear sides show you whether the base has browned before it comes out.

15. Pumpkin Dump Cake

Pumpkin dump cake is pumpkin pie underneath and a buttery crumble on top, with about ten minutes of actual work. The pumpkin custard goes in the dish, dry cake mix is scattered over without stirring, and melted butter is poured on top. No pastry, no mixer, and it feeds twelve, which makes it my favourite crowd pudding.

Get the Pumpkin Dump Cake recipe →

16. Easy Apple Crisp

For anyone who finds pie too rich after a big meal, this apple crisp is the answer. Cinnamon apples go underneath and a buttery oat crumble goes on top, with those caramelised bits around the edge of the dish. I put it in the oven as we sit down, so it comes out warm for the ice cream.

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All 16 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes at a Glance

Here are all sixteen recipes side by side, so you can build the table course by course and see how long each one takes. Times and servings come from the recipe cards.

A Sample Meat Free Thanksgiving Menu for 8

If you would like me to choose from these vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes, this is the menu I would cook for eight people. It balances creamy with crisp, and it only ever needs one oven at a time.

For a mixed table where some guests eat turkey, my traditional Thanksgiving dinner plan works alongside this list, since every side here suits both.

Make-Ahead Plan for Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes

Here is the order I cook these vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes in, so the day itself is mostly reheating and baking. The timings come from each recipe card.

Tips for a Meat Free Thanksgiving

• Ask your guests first. Vegetarian and vegan are not the same, so check whether anyone avoids eggs, dairy or honey.
• Make two mains. In addition to the lasagna, a second hearty dish means nobody is left with just potatoes.
• Keep serving spoons separate. If turkey is on the table too, give the meat free dishes their own spoons.
• Use one stock for everything. Vegetable stock in the stuffing and gravy means the whole table suits everyone.
• Bake the pies a day early. Pecan and sweet potato pie both need hours to cool and set, so they are perfect make-ahead puddings.
• Count the oven space. That is exactly why three of these vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes use the air fryer instead.

Frequently Asked Questions