Life is much different for Osceola Turkey's relatives raised for meat. Factory-farmed turkeys live for only a few short months, in sheds where they are crammed by the thousands so tightly that they can barely move. Shortly after hatching, turkeys have the ends of their beaks cut off and their toes clipped. These birds never see the outdoors.

Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be about a (dead) turkey, and vegetarians/vegans need not be left out of the traditional meal. Being miserable at Thanksgiving doesn't do the animals any good.

Hopefully, these vegan versions of your favorite foods will help you to participate in the Thanksgiving holiday, fill your belly, and maybe convince any non-vegetarians at the table that an ethical diet can be tasty as well.

We want your recipes and cooking tips!
Got a great vegan recipe for cornbread or dinner rolls? Pumpkin pie? Salads? Please click here to let us know and we’ll post your favorites for others to enjoy. Read visitor submissions below.

We recommend these websites for more vegan Thanksgiving recipes:
VegCooking.com — VegWeb.com

Thanksgiving Dinner at Sublime restaurant, November 22. (Click here for menu)

Recipes:
Main Dishes
Thanksgiving Stuffed Squash
Holiday Roast Roll with Shitake Mushroom Gravy & Herbed Stuffing
Seitan Turkeyless Roast & "Turkey" Gravy
Lentil Shepherds Pie
Crockpot Mixed Vegetable Bake
Tofurky

Sides
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Roasted cauliflower with garlic
Field Greens Salad with Roasted Walnuts and Mandarin Oranges
Stuffed Celery

Soups
Butternut-Leek Bisque
Curried Squash Soup

Desserts
Pumpin Pie

What you need:
• One large Winter Squash. Turban or Acorn squash also work well
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup leek, chopped (leeks need to be washed carefully to remove dirt)
(If you don’t have leeks, increase onion by another 1/4 cup)
• 3/4 cup celery (approx. two stalks), diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, depending on your preference
• 1 1/2 cup frozen veggie burger crumbles (Vegan options: "MorningStar Meal Starters Crumbles," "Boca Meatless Ground Burger")
• 3/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped (chestnuts or walnuts also work well)
• 1 cup apple (Gala or other soft apple), chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (“Craisins”)
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth (Vegan options: "Swanson Certified Organic Vegetarian Vegetable Broth," "Pacific Natural Foods organic vegetable broth")
• 3 cups stuffing (Vegan option: "Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing")
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
• Salt & Pepper

What you do:
1. Preheat oven to 395 degrees.
2. Rinse squash and cut off top (cut acorn squash in half lengthwise).
*Be careful. Cutting through the hard shell can be difficult.
3. Scoop out insides (you do not need to save the seeds).
4. Spray or wipe outside of squash lightly with oil. Place top and bottom into baking dish. Cook at 395 degrees for 45 minutes (cooking time for Acorn squash will be significantly less; simply cook until tender).
5. To prepare stuffing, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
6. Add onions and leeks. Cook for three minutes, or until brown.
7. Add celery and garlic. Cook until celery is translucent (approx. 5 minutes).
Add 1/8 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
8. Add veggie burger crumbles, pecans, apples and cranberries.
Allow mixture to cook for a couple more minutes, then add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
9. Once broth is boiling, turn off heat and mix in stuffing.
10. Add parsley.
*Add additional broth, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary to moisten stuffing.
11. Once stuffing is ready, check on squash. Squash is done cooking when a fork goes easily into flesh of squash.
12. Stuff squash with stuffing/vegetable mixture to overflowing. Whatever stuffing remains can be place in a baking dish.
13. Turn oven down to 350 and cook both squash and extra stuffing for another 10-15 minutes.
To serve, scoop out stuffing and flesh of the squash. Or cut squash into wedges like a pie. Garnish with extra parsley. Note: The shell of the squash is not edible.

Ingredients:
• 2 lbs. firm tofu
• 4 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp powdered agar
• 1 ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 ½ cups Herbed Bread Stuffing*
• You’ll also need plastic wrap, waxed paper and aluminum foil

Directions:
1. In a food processor, puree all roll ingredients, stopping to scrape down the sides, as necessary. Mixture will be fairly stiff. Preheat oven to 350.
2. On a work surface, lay down 2 16” long pieces of plastic wrap, over-lapping them about 2 inches. The overlapped seem should be vertical (not horizontal). Lay a 16” sheet of wax paper horizontally in the middle of the plastic. Spoon tofu mixture onto waxed paper and spread out into an 8” x 12” rectangle, about ½ -inch thick. Make sure thickness is even all around.
3. Lay a third sheet of plastic wrap on the work surface, and on it mound the stuffing, forming it into a roll about 11 inches long (use the plastic to help mold the stuffing into the roll). Carefully transfer the stuffing roll to the center of the tofu rectangle, letting the stuffing roll off the plastic and onto the center of the tofu rectangle.
4. Now is the time to summon your assistant. With one person on each end of the plastic wrap, bring the two sides together. The tofu will meet over the top of the stuffing roll, encasing it. Gently press together and smooth out any places, including ends, that have stuffing showing through; twist plastic ends to seal. (The roll is baked in the wax paper and plastic wrap).
5. Securely wrap roll in 2 layers of aluminum foil, making sure no plastic is exposed. Place on baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool in wrappings, and refrigerate until 1 hour before serving.
6. To serve, carefully remove aluminum foil, plastic and wax paper; wrap with fresh foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 until heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and transfer roll to a serving platter; decorating as desired.

*Herbed Stuffing
You can substitute your own favorite bread stuffing, but make sure it’s not wheat-free or it won’t hold together properly. Chopped fresh fruits, such as apples, will also prevent the stuffing from holding firmly together.

Ingredients:
• 1 large onion, diced small
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 celery ribs diced small
• 1 tbsp dried sage
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 5 cups whole wheat bread cubes
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion in oil, stirring frequently until golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in celery, sage, rosemary, and continue cooking for about 2 minutes. Add bread cubes and toss to combine. Remove from heat and slowly add vegetable stock, tossing to combine, until mixture is moistened. Season to taste with sale and pepper, cover and set aside. Makes about 3 ½ cups.

Shitake Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (shitake mushrooms or other wild mushroom)
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons arrowroot or cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water
• Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion in oil until golden, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook over slightly higher heat until mushrooms are very soft, about 10 minutes. Add stock, vinegar, and soy sauce, bring to a boil and cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes
2. Reduce heat to a slow simmer. Mix arrowroot or cornstarch with cold water until smooth. Slowly add to simmering liquid, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Visitor tip:

Seitan Turkeyless Roast
Ingredients:
• 1 recipe of your favorite stuffing
• 2 lbs. of chicken style seitan, cut into 1" slices (White Wave Meat of the Wheat is good for this)
• 1 recipe vegan gravy (recipe below)
• 1 package puff pastry sheets, thawed
• 1/4 cup soymilk

Directions:
Arrange overlapping slices of seitan on baking sheet in a row, mounding in center. Pour 1/4 cup gravy over. Press stuffing mixture around seitan pieces to cover completely. Press into a neat oval shape.

Roll pastry sheets out to 1/16" thickness. Drape pastry over mound; trim away excess around bottom. Use scraps to cut out decorative shapes (leaves, apples, etc.), attach shapes with daps of cold water. Brush pastry lightly with soymilk.

Bake 1 hour at 400, covering with foil if it browns too much.

To serve, cut straight down through pastry, stuffing and seitan to make neat 1/4" slices. Spoon gravy over each serving.

Serves 12.

"Turkey" Gravy
Ingredients:
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tsp.s vegan "chick'n" bouillon powder
• 1 tsp. vegan "beef" bouillon powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3 Tab. nutritional yeast
• 1 Tab. cornstarch

Directions:
Mix cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold broth. Put remainder of broth, and nutritional yeast in a saucepan. Heat to boiling. Turn down to medium. Stir in cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Cook until thick (1-3 minutes).

Visitor tip:

Lentil Shepherds Pie
Ingredients:
• 1 bag of lentils
• 1 bag of frozen vegetable mix
• Container of vegetable broth
• 6 potatoes
• Vegan butter
• 2 tomatoes
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Cook lentils with vegetable broth. When they are close to being done add mixed vegetables. While that's cooking make mashed potatoes with the potatoes and butter. Acquire a casserole dish and add the lentil mixture to the bottom; on the top portion add your mashed potatoes. Add sliced tomatoes on top to garnish. Put in oven on 350 for twenty five minutes.

Visitor tip:

Crockpot Mixed Vegetable Bake
Ingredients:
• 2 cans Creamed corn - 17 oz each
• 2 cans/bags frozen Green beans; cut - 16 oz each
• 2 cans/bags frozen Peas - 16 oz. each
• 1 can Tomatoes - 17 oz
• 1/2 cup Nayonnaise/ Veganaise
• 1 tsp Tarragon
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Mix well to blend herbs. Cover and cook on low 4 - 6 hours.

Visitor tip:

"I've had luck with Tofurky, vegan faux turkey. It's expensive and looks a little wierd, but it's easy to prepare and tastes good (I especially like the stuffing). Make sure you thaw the Tofurky before cooking. You can find Tofurky (includes roast, dumplings, gravy, stuffing and dumplings) this time of year at natural foods retailers, such as Whole Foods Market or Chamberlin's Market."

What you need:
• 5 tablespoons water
• 5 tablespoons silken tofu.
• 1/2 cup mushroom gravy (approximately half of a 10 ½ oz can)
(Vegan options: "Campbell's Mushroom Gravy," "Simply Organic mushroom sauce")
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2- 15 oz. cans of green beans, drained (approximately 4 cups)
• 1/2 cup French’s French Fried Onions
• Salt & Pepper.

What you do:
1. In a blender, combine water and silken tofu and blend until smooth.
2. Add mushroom gravy, and pour into a baking dish.
3. Add soy sauce, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
4. Add green beans and fried onions and stir together.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle fried onions on top before serving.

What you need:
• Four gold potatoes. (a.k.a. “Klondike” or “Yukon” potatoes)
• Vegan margarine (Vegan options: "Fleischmann's Unsalted Margerine," "Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread")
• Salt & Pepper

What you do:
1. Wash potatoes (they do not need to be peeled).
2. Cut potatoes into large cubes and boil until tender.
3. Drain potatoes, but (important) save approximately 1 cup of hot potato water.
4. Mash potatoes.
5. Add 2 tablespoons margarine.
6. Add 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
7. Mix well.
8. Add 3/8 cup of potato water, or more to desired consistency.
Serves 2 or 3 people.

Visitor tip:

Roasted cauliflower with garlic.
Ingredients:
• Cauliflower, 3 heads, cut into 2-inch-wide florets
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss cauliflower with oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Spread evenly in two baking pans and roast, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 25 minutes.

Visitor tip:

Field Greens Salad with Roasted Walnuts and Mandarin Oranges
Ingredients:
• 2-4 bags of fresh mixed field greens (depending on number of guests)
• 1-2 cups roasted walnuts*
• 1-2 large cans of mandarin oranges drained (save juice for dressing)

Dressing: Mix juice from oranges, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, drop of sesame oil, salt, pepper and sugar to taste.

*Toss walnuts with melted soy butter and raw sugar and bake at 350 until browned.

Visitor tip:

Stuffed Celery (appetizer)
Ingredients:
• 2 bunches celery (10 - 12 large stalks)
• 2 cups raw carrots, diced
• 1/2 cups raisins or dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew, etc.)
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• Salt or substitute to taste
• 2 Tbs minced parsley

Directions:
Cut off the root ends and leaves of celery. Carefully separate and scrub large stalks clean and let stand in salted ice water for 15 minutes. Drain dry, strip away coarse strings and set aside.

Steam carrots until soft, drain until quite dry, and puree. Mix all ingredients and seasonings well. Stuff stalks with mixture. Garnish with parsley and cut to desired length. Do not serve too chilled.

Visitor tip:

Butternut-Leek Bisque
Ingredients:
• 2 large leeks - trimmed using 2” of green
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs. butternut squash (1 large) seeded peeled and cubed
*some stores offer pre-peeled and cubed butternut squash which makes this recipe all the easier.
• 1 small apple peeled, cored and cubed
• 2 cups water
• 13oz. broth
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sage or nutmeg (your preference)
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/8 tsp all spice
• 3/4 soy milk or soy cream
• Roasted and salted sunflower seeds and parsley for garnish

Directions:
1. Heat oil, add leeks and cook approximately 8 minutes on medium heat
2. Add squash, apple, water, broth, salt, pepper, sage, all spice and simmer 20 minutes until the leeks and squash are soft.
3. Blend in small batches until soup is smooth.
4. Add cream before serving. Garnish with seeds and parsley.

Visitor tip:

Curried Squash Soup
Ingredients:
• 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) vegan margarine
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped - separate white and green parts
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 4 cups "chicken"-style vegetarian broth
• 1 cup apple cider
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
• diced pimento

We haven't found a frozen pumpkin pie at the grocery store that's vegan (check out the recipes below). Fortunately, there are several widely-available fruit pies that are free of animal products (don't forget the "ice cream").

Vegan pumpkin pie recipes

Visitor tip:

Ingredients:
Crust:
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup vegan margerine (cold!)
• 5 to 6 tbsp. ice water

Pie Filling:
•1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin or 2 cups steamed, mashed, fresh pumpkin
•1/2 cup apple butter
•3 tsp. egg replacer (powder)
•1/4 cup hot water
•1/2 cup maple syrup
•2 tbsp. lemon juice
•2 tsp. vanilla extract
•1 tsp. cinnamon
•1/2 tsp. allspice
•1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
•1/4 tsp. finely grated ginger, or powdered ginger

Directions:
Crust:
1. In food processor, combine first 4 ingredients and pulse until combined. Add the COLD vegan margarine in chunks and pulse until broken up to pea size chunks. 8 pulses is the average with my machine.
2 Add 5 Tbsp. of ice water and pulse again until moisture is just spread throughout the bowl. 4 pulses is the average with my machine. Dump into zip top bag and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour, up to 3 days in advance.
3. Roll out cold dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Line pie plate with dough and cut off excess crust (there will be extra). Fold edges under to create a smooth edge. Cover with plastic and chill until ready to use.

Filling:
1. Combine the egg replacer with the hot water and mix well. Combine all remaining ingredients with the egg replacer in a bowl and fold until well combined.
2. Pour into prepared pie crust and bake on middle rack of 375°F oven for an hour. Allow to cool completely before serving.
If you want to be "fancy", roll out the extra crust dough and cut out a design (like a pumpkin). 3. Brush with water and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake the design on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes after the pie comes out of the oven. (I usually turn the oven off and cook it as the oven cools down.) Cool on a wire rack.
Place the crust design on the pie before serving.

Visitor tip:

Vegan pumpkin pie
Ingredients:
• 2 10.5oz packages firm silken tofu, drained
• 1 9-inch pie crust
• 1 16oz can solid pack pumpkin
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Blend tofu in food processor until creamy and smooth.
3. Add remaining ingredients except pie crust and blend well.
4. Pour into crust. Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean.

Visitor tip:

Vegan pumpkin pie
"This recipe makes 2 pumpkin pies, and they are so good! You could try to halve the recipe, but I have never tried, so I can't guarantee anything."

Ingredients:
•1 29-oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
•1-1/2 cups vegan sugar
•1 tsp. salt
•1 16-oz. tub tofu*
•3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
•1/4 cup cornstarch
•2 unbaked vegan pie shells**

Directions:
1. Bake the pie crusts per package directions; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, mix together the pumpkin, salt, vegan sugar, cornstarch, and pie spice.
3. Blend or food process the tofu until smooth. Stir into the pumpkin mixture, and pour into the pie shells.
4. Put foil around the edge of the pie crust; this prevents it from browning too much during baking. Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
5. Turn down the temperature to 375 and continue to bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil during the last 15 minutes of baking.
It should look slightly soft when done, and it will firm up during cooling. I recommend making this the day before, or at least several hours in advance, to give it time to firm.
Serve with Hip Whip or other vegan whipped cream!

*For the tofu, you can use either firm silken tofu OR soft Chinese-style (non-silken) tofu; I prefer to use the latter, as it results in a firmer pie. However, if you have a low-power blender, consider using the silken tofu because it blends better; this ensures you won't end up with little white bits in the filling.

**You can use either a homemade pie crust or store-bought. I use a whole-wheat crust from Whole Foods, and it is great.