Plant-Based Thanksgiving Swaps: Ideas and Recipes for Every Course, from Experts

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Is vegan Thanksgiving healthier?

“As a blanket statement, plant-based meals are not always healthier, as it depends on the makeup of the meal itself,” Dr. Hunnes explains. “Plant-based [Thanksgiving meal alternatives] that are based on processed or highly processed foods can make the meal less healthy,” Dr. Hunnes says. “You can purchase plant-based ‘stuffing’ that is made from white-flour bread and is high sodium/salt—or buying a ‘vegan pie’ does not mean it’s healthy,” as it might be made with manufactured ingredients such as trans-fats (generally listed as partially hydrogenated oils on the ingredients list).

Julia Zumpano, RD, LD, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic, reinforces that plant-based meals can still contain a high amount of simple carbs and unhealthy fats—even if they do not contain animal products. She says French fries and vegan cake are plant-based, for example, but that doesn’t mean they’re healthy.

Zumpano adds that processed, meatless ingredients such as vegan cream cheese, cheese, and vegan processed meat alternatives is another nutritional trap that technically makes your meal plant-based but not necessarily healthy. That said, “Some of those swaps are fine, especially since it’s a special occasion,” she says.

Still, “The more ingredients and swaps needed, the more likely you are to get into some processed foods and have recipes not tasting as ‘traditional.'”

Our plant-based experts’ primary advice? It’s the holidays: Use less-than-healthy swaps when needed, but keep plant-based Thanksgiving recipes simple for the best, most authentic versions of the real deal.

Plant-based Thanksgiving main courses

Whether for sustainability or personal health purposes, as more Americans swap out beef, chicken, pork, seafood, and more for plant-based alternatives, the industry has tripled over the last decade, according to data from the Good Food Institute. And looking ahead, the market for meat substitutes is expected to continue growing annually by 8.55%.

That means it’s easier than ever to find plant-based Thanksgiving turkey swaps from brands like Tofurky, Quorn, Gardein, Myrtle Greens, and Trader Joe’s. While that’s convenient, 2023 research published in Nutrition & Dietetics explains that these plant-based meat substitutes are often higher in sugar and salt and lack important nutrients found in real meat. Says Dr. Hunnes: “Whole-food, plant-based meals, on average, will tend to be healthier—from a higher-fiber, higher antioxidant, and lower saturated fat perspective.”

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Lentil loaf

Dr. Hunnes says she enjoys preparing lentil loaf as a Thanksgiving main. “It looks a bit like ‘meatloaf’ but is made from super healthy grains and lentils—and it is also very hearty.”

Try this highly-rated lentil loaf recipe from our sister site, Taste of Home (just leave out the mozzarella or sub in non-dairy cheese if you’re making it vegan).

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Stuffed seasonal vegetables

You can also treat your guests to stuffed bell peppers or stuffed squash for a seasonal holiday entree. Zumpano told us her take on this is “stuffed peppers using black beans and quinoa.”

“You can get smaller kabocha squashes or pumpkins and stuff them with a whole grain or a wild-rice pilaf that also contains healthy nuts such as almonds or walnuts,” Dr. Hunnes says. “That makes a beautiful centerpiece.”

Not to mention delicious.

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Sheet pan meal

“I love an easy sheet pan meal with various seasonal roasted veggies—butternut, acorn, yellow, or delicata squash, brussels sprouts, carrots, sweet potatoes, and peppers, with cubed tofu for protein,” Zumpano says.

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Vegan “turkey”

You can also try making a plant-based turkey entree from scratch—without all of the processed ingredients—such as a seitan turkey roast. Or try thin slices of tofu sauteed with soy sauce and spices like sage, rosemary, onion, and garlic to mimic a turkey taste. “Don’t be afraid to try something new and use recipes or cookbooks to guide you,” Zumpano says.

Plant-based Thanksgiving side dishes

Our experts note that many traditional Thanksgiving sides already feature plants as the main part of the dish—and it’s incredibly easy to swap out non-vegan ingredients.

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Cranberry sauce

This holiday staple is almost always entirely plant-based. Even most commercially canned cranberry sauces are vegan (while rarely used, it’s worth checking the label for gelatin, which is not vegan).

But you can make cranberry sauce yourself with frozen or fresh cranberries and experiment with flavors like citrus zest, pomegranate arils, vanilla extract, or rosemary and sweeten it up with maple syrup or monkfruit to keep the dish free of refined sugar. (Take note that honey is a non-vegan sweetener.) Try out this crowd-pleaser cranberry sauce recipe from Taste of Home.

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Vegan stuffing

Traditional stuffing can include a few non-vegan ingredients, such as dairy butter, chicken stock or broth, turkey drippings, or eggs. But these ingredients are easy to work around, according to Dr. Hunnes, who says she loves chopping up a whole-grain or sourdough bread loaf and adding herbs and cut-up vegetables—and you can use vegetable broth and either non-dairy butter or canola oil to bind the dish together, no egg required.

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Mashed potatoes

You don’t have to miss out on creamy, decadent mashed potatoes if you’re going plant-based this Thanksgiving. Swap vegan butter and soy milk for the dairy ingredients—the fluffy, decadent consistency won’t be compromised. Zumpano also recommends trying cauliflower mashed potatoes, which add a light, nutty flavor to the dish. (And check out this vegan mushroom gravy from a registered dietitian.)

The same dairy-free strategy works for mashed sweet potatoes—and if you’re a household that loves sweet potato casserole, there’s a vegan alternative for that as well. Certain brands sell vegan marshmallows (here are some of our favorites), or you can make your own from scratch using agar powder.

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Veggie side dishes

You can put a vegan spin on many other Thanksgiving classics, such as vegan green bean casserole, but our experts offer some other creative ideas that fit with the season—as Dr. Hunnes shares: “We like doing roasted yams, roasted cauliflower, roasted Brussels sprouts with roasted grapes, green bean almondine, and pumpkin soup.”

Or, adds Zumpano, keep it even simpler with sauteed green beans with garlic and olive oil.

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Plant-based vegan Thanksgiving desserts

Here’s the good news: it’s fairly easy to replicate many Thanksgiving desserts with simple plant-based swaps, according to Dr. Hunnes. “You can substitute plant-based milk—such as coconut milk or oat milk—for the dairy in many recipes,” she says. “You can often leave out the egg (in desserts like pies), but you can also substitute with a ‘flax egg’ by soaking ground flax seed in a small amount of water.” This flax egg does the work of binding ingredients together in recipes that require an egg.

Zumpano adds, “There are some desserts that are easier than others to make plant-based, but I would suggest an apple crisp, pumpkin pie, or pumpkin mousse—those can easily be made plant-based.”

And if you’re buying dessert for your Thanksgiving dinner, products with easily recognizable ingredients such as yams, pumpkin, maple syrup, plant-based milk, and spices will be much better than prepared desserts with a long list of unrecognizable ingredients, Dr. Hunnes says.

About the Experts:

• Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, is a senior dietitian at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Assistant Professor with the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA, and author of Recipe for Survival: What You Can Do to Live a Healthier and More Environmentally Friendly Life.

• Julia Zumpano, RD, LD, has been a registered Dietician at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition for almost 20 years, specializing in disease prevention and management.

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