36 Meatless Recipes For The Best Vegetarian Thanksgiving Ever (2024)

This gorgeous, whole-roasted stunner is the perfect holiday substitute for vegetarians. It's savory, sweet, and salty on the outside and super-tender on the inside. Topped with lots of silky mushroom gravy, we doubt anyone at your table will be missing meat.

Get the Whole Roasted Cabbage recipe.

After baking brown-sugar-butter-slathered squash until perfectly tender, you'll top the squash with a hearty filling of quinoa, kale, and chickpeas. Flecked with dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds, the savory pilaf has the perfect balance of texture, flavor, and pops of color.

Get the Stuffed Butternut Squash recipe.

Make this showstopper with a custom blend of your favorite funghi! If wild mushrooms are not accessible, creminis or button mushrooms would also work perfectly. The ragú can be made up to three days in advance (perfect for a busy Thanksgiving!); just reheat gently on the stovetop while you make the polenta.

Get the Polenta With Wild Mushroom Ragú recipe.

We crave this dinner year-round, but it's especially good in the fall when we want pumpkin EVERYTHING. Using dried sage and store-bought gnocchi means it comes together super-fast too.

Get the Pumpkin Sage Gnocchi recipe.

Your sweet potatoes are tired of being baked all on their own. Give them the chance to become something much more exciting and turn them into sweet potato gratin. Just like the OG potatoes au gratin, these sweet potatoes (including purple AND orange ones) are layered with plenty of cheese and herby cream sauce and baked until golden brown and bubbly. 😍

Get the Sweet Potato Gratin recipe.

This recipe begins—as you might expect—with classic mashed potatoes. We then add herb-infused milk and some cream cheese, then fold in the secret ingredient—eggs! Eggs are stirred in before baking to lighten up the potatoes, and they help the mixture “soufflé” a bit in the oven.

Get the Mashed Potato Casserole recipe.

This side is like if green beans dressed up as cheesy garlic bread. 😍 Tossed in garlic and black pepper and showered with cheese, this simple yet irresistible side will steal the spotlight at every holiday table.

Get the Parmesan Roasted Green Beans recipe.

You don't need meat to make a stuffing everyone will love. This vegetarian option is filled with everyone's favorite Thanksgiving flavors—apples! cranberries! sage! thyme!—if anyone complains about meatless stuffing, just send them home without dessert. 😉

Get the Easy Cranberry Stuffing recipe.

This recipe made us wonder, Why don’t we roast carrots more often? When they roast, their flavor concentrates and sweetens. Pair that with copious amounts of umami-packed Parmesan and just a touch of lemon, and you’ve got a super-irresistible side.

Get the Garlic-Parmesan Roasted Carrots recipe.

When it's cold out over Thanksgiving, a steaming hot pot pie filled with creamy, flavorful gravy, sweet and tender veggies, and topped with a shatteringly flaky crust is EVERYTHING. Here, mushrooms replace meat and are every bit as satisfying as their meaty counterparts.

Get the Vegan Mushroom Pot Pie recipe.

Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike will be piling this flavor-packed gravy on top of all the Thanksgiving sides. This gravy comes together in minutes—and you won't miss roasting a whole turkey or chicken to make it.

Get the Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy recipe.

If you love our whole roasted Thanksgiving cauliflower, then you've gotta try this brown sugar BBQ version. It's got all the smoky BBQ flavors you love, without the meat.

Get the Brown Sugar BBQ Whole Roasted Cauliflower recipe.

Never fear, this lightened-up green bean casserole is here to help you save room for pumpkin pie. Forgoing canned cream of mushroom for a quick homemade mushroom gravy, we'd argue this version is healthier and more delicious than the classic. We dig the sautéed and panko-ed onion topping, but if you can't part from French's fried onions, we won't judge ya.

Get the From-Scratch Green Bean Casserole recipe.

This meatless, dairy-free take on shepherd's pie is packed with veggies (mushrooms! butternut squash! parsnips!) and loaded with flavor. It's also incredibly hearty, thanks to lentils.

Get the Vegan Shepherd's Pie recipe.

Baked, not stirred, this recipe for pumpkin risotto takes some of the work off the chef without sacrificing that classic risotto flavor and texture. A sprinkle of goat cheese, parsley, and the tart-sweet touch of dried cranberries round out the earthy autumnal vibes.

Get the Baked Pumpkin Risotto recipe.

Making pasta dough from scratch does require extra effort, but it's 100% worth it. And honestly? It’s not that difficult (plus, if you're not making a turkey, you've got the time!). Trust us, knowing that you made this butternut squash pasta from scratch will make it taste 10x better.

Get the Butternut Squash Ravioli recipe.

Just because you're not serving a real turkey doesn't mean you can't get in on the theme. Enter: this adorable cheeseball. We used carrots, pecans, pretzels, and bell peppers to create the iconic look, but feel free to sub out for different ingredients for what you have on hand.

Get the Turkey Cheeseball recipe.

Meaty oyster mushrooms stand in for steak in our indulgent take on this Southern classic that's as good for a vegetarian Thanksgiving as it is any time of year. Buttermilk is a must for fried chicken, so we made our own with almond milk and vinegar.

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If you love baked spinach dip, you will love these baked puff pastry puffs. They're filled with a mixture of sautéed onion, garlic, spinach, and cream cheese and baked inside little puff pastry cups in a muffin tin. We bet you can't eat just one!

Get the Spinach Puffs recipe.

This hearty "meat" loaf is made mostly out of chickpeas and baby bella mushrooms. We're in love! Serve it with a side of vegan mashed potatoes and green beans for the most comforting, vegetarian Thanksgiving meal.

Get the Vegan Meatloaf recipe.