Thanksgiving is one of the most important national holidays in the United States.
It's an opportunity for individuals to get together with loved ones to have fun and show gratefulness to God.
If you're thinking about hosting a Thanksgiving party this year, chances are you will want to display your culinary skills using Turkey, vegetables, stuffing, and other treats.
But deciding what type of dishes to prepare will largely depend on your family and other attendees.
If most of your loved ones and other attendees are vegans, you'll want to plan a nice wfpb thanksgiving dinner menu.
Luckily, this post highlights some of the best Whole Food, Plant-based Thanksgiving Dinner Food options to make your work easier.
1. Roasted Butternut Squash and Cranberry Sauce
Butternut Squash is one of the best vegetables to include in your wfpb thanksgiving dinner menu. It’s rich in provitamin A carotenoids, vitamin B and C, potassium, magnesium, and manganese. It also offers a good dose of fiber. Ideally, it's high in nutrients and low in calories. You can use it to make butternut squash soup to whet the appetite of your loved ones during Thanksgiving dinner. You can also roast the butternut squash to make a good side dish. It has a buttery texture with a sweet and salty taste. To enjoy it, serve it with cranberry sauce.
Making roasted butter squash is easy. You'll need butternut squash, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
How to prepare it
- Peel the squash
- Cut it into 1-inch cubes
- Bake – Spread the cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer them to the oven, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until they’re crisp and golden brown.
You can use roasted butter squash as a simple side dish, incorporate it into your favorite salad, blend it into soup, or blend it into hummus.
2. Baked Pumpkin Parfait
This wfpb thanksgiving dinner menu item will spice up your celebration because it’s both healthy and delicious. It’s made with whole grains, sugar, butter, honey, and pumpkin, and it’s perfect for all kinds of eaters – from people who are still on a sugar high to those who need extra help with dinner. You can make this dessert at home or buy it at a restaurant. In either case, it’s a great way to give your entire table a filling.
To make Baked Pumpkin Parfait at home, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Canned pumpkin pie mix
- Whipping cream
- Vanilla
- Softened cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Crushed gingersnap cookies
- Broken vegan white chocolate baking bar (8 pieces)
Procedure
- Combine whipping cream and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until you achieve a soft, thick foam. Refrigerate.
- Combine the cream cheese and pumpkin pie mix in a separate large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed till thoroughly blended. Add the powdered sugar and beat until it's properly mixed. Taste the sweetness. Add more powdered sugar if the right sweetness hasn't been achieved.
- Slowly fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture
- Serve in plastic cups. Layer the pumpkin mixture, crushed cookies, and whipped cream in plastic cups. Top each cup with white chocolate (1 piece) and whipped cream to garnish. Refrigerate.
3. Garlic vegan butter rice with kale
This dish will add real value to your wfpb thanksgiving dinner menu. This combination of kale and rice, tossed with garlic and butter, will make kale haters love this dish. Kale is one of the most nutritious plant-based foods out there. It's rich in vitamin A, C, and K. It's also laden with antioxidants. It has many benefits. For example, it helps lower cholesterol, a risk factor for heart disease. It also has cancer-fighting properties and is an excellent source of minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Rice contains over 15 essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, zinc, selenium, iron, and fiber. So this dish allows you to get more nutrients into your body.
This is the easiest plant-based dish to make at home.
Ingredients
Vegan Garlic butter rice: Unsalted butter (30 grams), 4 large cloves of minced garlic, uncooked white rice (eleven and a half cups), vegetable broth.
Marinated kale: Sliced kale leaves (7 cups), olive oil (2 tablespoons), and salt and pepper.
Procedure
- Cook the rice
- Transfer the kales to a large bowl—drizzle olive oil over it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands for about 30 seconds until well marinated.
- Place butter in a large pot. Place the pot over medium heat. Add garlic into the pot and stir till golden brown. Add the cooked rice and stir for about 10 seconds. Add the vegetable broth. Stir for a few minutes, cover, and let it simmer for 12 to15 minutes.
- Mix the kale with the rice, remove it from the heat and let it rest for 15 minutes. Use a fork to fluff the rice as you stir the kale through. Add butter while stirring. Also, add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Blueberry chickpea salad
Your wfpb thanksgiving dinner salad section will sparkle with this awesome dish. Blueberries are sweet, except their sweetness is natural. They are rich in dietary fiber, which aids the smooth running of the digestive system. They also contain vitamin C and K. and are an excellent source of antioxidants.
Chickpeas are high in dietary fiber. They also contain calcium and magnesium for strong bones. Therefore, blueberry chickpea salad is a good option to add more essential nutrients to your body.
To prepare this dish, you’ll need:
- Fresh blueberries (2 cups)
- Diced cucumber (1 cup)
- Mixed salad greens (handful)
- Cooked chickpeas (1 can)
- Finely sliced red cabbage (4 cups)
- Chopped walnuts (1/4 cup)
Procedure
- Mix all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and top it with tahini dressing
- Serve and enjoy
How to make Tahini dressing
- Lemon juice (from two lemons)
- Tahini (3 tablespoons)
- Garlic powder (1 tablespoon)
- Maple syrup (1 tablespoon)
- Water (1/4 cup)
- Salt and pepper
Procedure
Whisk all the dressing ingredients until smooth.
5. Tofu scramble with avocado and tomato
Tofu originated from China. It's made from condensed soy milk, pressed into solid white blocks. A Nigari coagulant is used to solidify tofu and help keep its form. One of the most popular dishes made from tofu is the Tofu scramble. It's a vegan alternative to scrambled eggs. It's ideal if you want to add non-animal protein to your wfpb thanksgiving dinner menu. Avocado and tomato sauce make this dish extremely tasty. In addition, it's pretty easy to make.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Firm tofu (350 grams)
- 1 chopped spring onions
- 2 thinly sliced shallots
- 1 chopped spring onions
- 1 clove of garlic (minced)
- Olive oil (2 teaspoons)
- Red hot chili peppers (optional)
- Ground turmeric (1/4 teaspoon)
- Kala namak (Indian black pepper)
- Salt
- Fresh coriander (garnish)
- Sliced avocado
Preparation
- Sautee the spring onions, shallots, and garlic in a pan over medium heat until golden brown
- Add tofu, red hot chili, black pepper, paprika, Kala namak, turmeric, and salt. Cook for 5 minutes as you scramble with a fork.
- Sprinkle the final product with black pepper. Garnish with avocado, tomato, and coriander.
How many calories are in tofu scramble with avocado and tomato sauce?
There are about 240 calories in a tofu scramble with avocado and tomato sauce.
Can you freeze tofu scramble with avocado and tomato sauce for later use?
Yes, tofu scramble can be frozen for later use. However, it may not be as appetizing when reheated. To make it more appealing, try topping the frozen tofu scramble with avocado and tomato sauce before freezing.
This recipe is a great example of how versatile tofu can be. It can be used as the main protein in a dish or simply provide texture and flavor. The avocado and tomato sauce add tons of flavor to the scramble, making it irresistible.
6. Vegan Turkey Roast
If you want to make a vegan turkey roast, you can use tofu to replace the meat. However, it's not just about replacing the meat with tofu. You need to marinate the tofu and season it well. To make it tastier, you can add soy sauce or tamari and some extra spices like ginger, garlic powder or onion powder.
Instead of using turkey, you can also use seitan or tempeh if you want a vegan roast that's similar to traditional roast.
To prepare this vegan turkey roast, you need the following ingredients
- Tofu
- Wheat gluten
- White miso paste
- Nutritional yeast
- Vegetable broth powder
- Spices and seasonings (garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, sage, thyme, soy sauce, vegan butter.
Procedure
- Combine the Tofu wheat gluten, white miso paste, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth powder, sage, onion powder, thyme, salt, garlic powder in a food processor.
- Blend until the ingredients mix well
- Form the blended mixture into a ball
- Transfer the ball onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until it’s golden brown and crispy on the outside but soft inside.
- Mix the vegan butter, soy sauce, salt, black pepper in a small bowl
- Brush the skin of the vegan turkey roast with this mixture to give it a more crispy skin.
- Serve with your favorite sides such as mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, sweet potato casserole, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, gravy, etc….
Conclusion
If you still want to try something different for your wfpb thanksgiving dinner menu, this list of vegan dishes comes in handy.
The dishes are sure to become staples in your family meals as well. What is there not to love about indulging in a delicious and healthy feast without feeling guilty about what you're eating?
So go ahead and try some of these new options for thanksgiving this year and experience how rich, creamy, and fulfilling vegan food can be.