The Perfect Vegetarian Holiday Dinner
If you’ve recently converted to a meat-free lifestyle, or have a little vegetarian at home, you may be wondering how to tackle your first vegetarian holiday menu. But whether it’s your first veggie filled year or your 15th, side-stepping that turkey can be tough – especially when you’re expecting a group of carnivores at your vegetarian table. To help you power through the holiday’s with ideals intact and your appetite well satiated, we scoured the web to bring you a pitch perfect vegetarian menu, that’s sure to please vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.
Vegetarian Holiday Dinner: The Starter
Get things rolling with this smooth and flavourful Honeycrisp Apple and Parsnip Soup from The Chubby Vegetarian. Honeycrisp apples are sweet and delicious, so allow them to shine. Their flavour pairs beautifully with the inherent spiciness of the parsnips, while a boiling potato gives the soup a rich and creamy texture. Delicately seasoned with a touch of rubbed sage, this soup is a great way to start any meal.
Vegetarian Holiday Dinner: The Salad
Add some beautiful greens to your guests’ plates with this insanely festive Autumn Arugula Salad from How Sweet Eats. Piled high with caramelized squash, avocado, spiced pecans, and pomegranate, this salad is a real showstopper. Drizzled with a spicy sweet ginger pomegranate dressing, this salad captures all the flavours of fall in every bite.
Vegetarian Holiday Dinner: The Sides
Mashed Potatoes:
Forget the turkey, in our humble opinion; it’s not Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner without mashed potatoes. And they can’t be just any mashed potatoes. Thanksgiving mashed potatoes have to be ultra creamy, ultra rich and satisfying beyond belief. Thankfully, this recipe for Herb & Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes (from Love and Olive Oil) is all of those things. Make lots – people are going to want seconds… or thirds.
Stuffing:
Seeing as this is a Vegetarian affair, cooking stuffing inside a bird is sort of a non-option. But that doesn’t mean you can have moist flavourful stuffing on your table. Spice things up with this Spicy Poblano Cornbread Stuffing from Love and Lemons. It’s loaded with flavour, stays moist all by itself, and is a touch unexpected. You’re guests won’t know what hit ‘em. Psst! You can easily make this vegan and/or gluten free.
Gravy:
Simply put, those potatoes and that stuffing are going to need gravy. But if you’re not familiar with vegetarian gravy (or doubt it’s existence) prepared to be enlightened with this Wild Mushroom Gravy recipe from Oh My Veggies. Made using oyster mushrooms for a delicious umami punch, this decadent gravy recipe will have everyone licking their plates.
Vegetarian Holiday Dinner: The Main Dish
The plate is almost full, but it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a main event. A roast acts as a centerpiece to the whole meal, so when you’re planning a vegetarian Thanksgiving or holiday dinner, you have to select a meat-free option that not only tastes great, but adds visual appeal and a feeling of abundance to the dinner table. This Vegetarian Wellington from Veggie Belly does just that. Packed with fennel braised seitan, thyme roasted mushrooms, and kale, this wellington is positively bursting with flavour. The golden puff pastry makes for a great centerpiece and its magic at soaking up that Wild Mushroom Gravy.
Vegetarian Holiday Dinner: The Dessert
All fairytales come with sweet endings, and your storybook vegetarian holiday meal is no exception. Serve your tea and coffee alongside a slice of this Brown Sugar Pumpkin Pie with Honey Sweetened Meringue. Spiced with cardamom and cinnamon, and topped with lighter-than-air meringue, this glorious pumpkin pie is the perfect way to wind down the evening.
