What to Feed Vegetarian Friends on Thanksgiving
Author: Alisa Boland
From climate concerns to ethical concerns to a simple dislike for dry meat, there are a plethora of reasons to forgo the Thanksgiving turkey in favor of a plant-based option. However, the question still remains: what can be used to replace the bird?
Luckily for you, dear reader, I will walk through the pros and cons of six plant-based alternatives to a Thanksgiving turkey, evaluating each dish based on dietary concerns, flavor, and ease of preparation. Although this article was written with Thanksgiving and it’s Norman Rockwell aesthetic in mind, any of these dishes would be a great centerpiece for a vegetarian-friendly meal beyond the holiday season.
Tofurkey Roast
Image from: https://tofurky.com/what-we-make/roasts/roast/
Ah yes, the 1995 classic which spawned an industry. The concept is simple: a log of fake “turkey” made from protein-packed soy and wheat gluten which is filled with wild rice and bread crumbs. If Tofurkey’s stuffing isn’t quite your game, both Gardien and Quorn have Tofurkey-inspired products with different flavor profiles—just be careful when shopping for these alternatives because some varieties are not fully vegan.
In terms of ease, it can’t be beat: the pre-stuffed ‘bird’ takes a little more than an hour to prepare from packaging to the oven. However, there are some downsides. Because of the wheat protein, most Tofurkey-inspired roasts are far from gluten-free. Although the company may approximate the flavor of a turkey roast, buying a pre-made product takes some of the fun out of actually cooking the main dish of Thanksgiving from scratch. Which brings us to our next option:
2. Homemade Stuffed Tofu
Why not make your own Tofurkey-inspired roast? The concept is relatively simple: run some tofu through a food processor, press it to remove excess liquid, stuff it with a filling of your choice, and cook it as you would a Tofurkey. Because of its soy base, this homemade tofu roast is as high in protein and iron as its store-bought cousin. And despite what you lose in convenience, making your own stuffed tofu has its benefits. Unlike store-bought Tofurkey, your homemade roast can be customized to suit your diet and tastes, and frankly, it’s a bit more impressive. You can find some vegan recipes for stuffed-tofu online here and here.
That being said, in order to maintain the structural integrity of the dish, you have to be extremely careful about pressing all the liquid out of the tofu, which can become quite a time-consuming process. Add the time it takes to remove the excess liquid to the time it takes to chill the puree adding the filling, and you’re looking at a time investment of five hours minimum from start to finish.
Still, for Tofurkey-fans who are looking to have a more DIY Thanksgiving experience, homemade stuffed tofu is a perfect Thanksgiving main course.
3. Nut Loaf
My general philosophy on vegetarian cooking is that it usually turns it better when it stops trying to resemble meat. With that in mind, why not replace the turkey with a vegetarian staple? The nut loaf. This umami, carb-packed, plant-based rebuttal to the meatloaf typically contains a mixture of nuts, mushrooms, and some sort of starch, such as rice or lentils, which is then cooked in a loaf pan for an hour until the surface is brown and crunchy. There are many different varieties of this vegetarian staple, some of them more vegan than others (see here too).
Nut loaf tends to be pretty easy to throw together, requiring only around an hour of prep time and an hour of cook time. Some of the fancier recipes ask you to sauté the mushrooms before integrating them into the mix, but by and large, the cooking process is uncomplicated: assemble the ingredients, combine, and bake.
That being said, depending on the recipe, nut loaf can be low in protein, but using brown rice or lentils as your starch goes far to remedy this. Another downside is if you already have Thanksgiving stuffing on the menu, the flavor and texture of a nut loaf may feel redundant.
Still, this is one of my highly rated picks as the centerpiece for a plant-based holiday meal.
4. Veggie Pot Pie
Why not just replace the turkey with another—and arguably more popular—all-American classic: the pot pie? Although this dish doesn’t really score well on the gluten-free front nor deliver on the protein which most plant-based diets lack, it’s hard to say no to a flaky crust and warm, gooey pie filling. Most of the recipes online (1, 2, 3) call for premade pie crust and take a little less than two hours to whip up, including around an hour to bake in the oven.
For all that it lacks on the nutrition front, this ultimate comfort food makes up for in flavor. It sure beats a dry bird as far as I’m concerned.
5. Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms or Peppers
Either of these stuffed vegetables would be my top choice for a vegetarian main dish. Without stuffing, portobello mushrooms already have a rich umami flavor, and bell peppers boast a subtle brightness rare for late-season vegetables. Mix either of these flavor-packed bases with some goat cheese or spicy quinoa stuffing to add some protein and additional flavor and voila: you’ve got a drool-worthy centerpiece for your Thanksgiving meal.
The only downside is that most of these recipes depend on cheese to add body and structure, so vegans will have to make some substitutions to enjoy these, but altogether these are some of my top picks for a veggie-forward turkey substitute.
6. Squashducken
This is the vegetarian rebuttal to the turducken, the infamous dish consisting of a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey—a meal which both vegetarians and meat-eaters alike find absolutely disgusting. This recipe replaces the poultry with seasonally appropriate vegetables; squashducken consists of a zucchini stuffed inside of an eggplant, which is then stuffed inside of a butternut squash.
In all honesty, I had never heard of squashducken until I started doing my research for this article, but based on the absurdity of the concept alone, I thought it deserved a hearty shout out. This dish is gluten-free and easy to make vegan with some small substitutions. Although squashducken is low in protein, it makes up for it by being high in shock value.
The gamble of this recipe may not be quite worth setting aside some of the more tried and true vegetarian classics, but I, for one, will certainly be attempting this recipe as a side for Thanksgiving.
7. Sides
Image from: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/
When it comes down to it, Thanksgiving is a full course meal, and turkey is only one small (if somewhat over-hyped) part of the spread. Most of the classic side dishes are already vegetarian, if not vegan: roasted brussel sprouts topped with crisped garlic, butternut squash soup, mashed potatoes, tangy cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potato pies, stuffing, the list goes on.
Rather than lusting after a vegan turkey substitute, it might be time to be thankful for what we vegetarians already have: those nostalgic Thanksgiving side dishes that already sit on the table.