Thanksgiving is often not the most vegan-friendly holiday. Bring any of these delicious plant-based dishes to this year’s Thanksgiving dinner to be the favorite of vegans and meat eaters alike!
Vegan Mac and Cheese
Serves up to 10
Ingredients:
• 16 oz macaroni pasta, cooked in salted water (gluten free or regular)
• ¼ cup vegan butter
• ¼ cup gluten-free or regular all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ cups plain unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 3 cups shredded vegan cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp old bay
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
Instructions:
1. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions in a large pot.
2. Strain the pasta and set to the side.
3. In the same pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is completely melted, whisk in the flour until it forms a smooth paste.
4. Slowly incorporate the milk, whisking until it’s completely incorporated. Let this simmer for a few minutes until it starts to thicken. Stirring occasionally so that it doesn’t burn.
5. Add cheese and stir. Add in salt, pepper, old bay, garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder and poultry seasoning. Vegan cheese takes a bit longer to melt, so keep stirring over medium heat until fully incorporated into a thick, smooth, cheesy sauce.
6. Add in cooked pasta and stir until fully coated, turn off heat.
7. Let cool, then serve!
Almond Crusted Pear Galettes
Serves 6 to 10
Ingredients:
for galette crust
• 1 and ¼ cup frozen vegan butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ cup (very cold) water
• All-purpose flour (for rolling)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil (egg wash substitute)
• ¼ cup sliced almonds (for topping)*
for the filling
• 3 small pears
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup water + 2 tbsp of water for optional cornstarch slurry
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp allspice
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp of ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp of cornstarch (optional)
Instructions:
for the crust
1. Get a medium-sized bowl, put all-purpose flour and salt in the bowl and mix. Cube the frozen butter and add to the bowl and mix everything.
2. Slowly pour water into the bowl and knead the dough with your hands (or a stand mixer if you have one) until chunks of butter are visible. Slowly add in the (very cold) water and continue kneading until your bowl becomes clean.
3. Then plastic-wrap (or use a sustainable alternative) the dough and place it in the refrigerator allowing it to rest for at least one hour.
for the filling
1. If you’re making the dough the same day that you make the galette, when there are 35 mins left on the time for chilling the dough, start working on the filling.
2. Peel and core the pears then thinly slice them, set them aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 F
4. In a saucepan, put the sugar with the water, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger and pears on a low-medium heat until the liquid becomes thick and the pears get reduced (5 to 10 mins). If it isn’t thickening, whisk 1 tbsp cornstarch and 2 tbsp water in a small bowl then add it to the pot. Remove it from the heat.
putting together the galette
1. Foil and oil a sheet pan.
2. Remove the dough from the fridge, put it onto a floured surface and roll it out flat.
3. Shape the dough into a rectangle and cut into quarters.
4. Poke the dough with a fork a few times to create vents.
5. Put 2-4 tbsp of filling in the middle of each quarter and fold up the sides.
6. Get your sliced almonds and push them into the sides of the dough.
7. Brush the pastry with vegetable or olive oil.
8. Place each galette onto the sheet pan and put the pan into the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 5 minutes.
10. Eat alone or serve with ice cream.
*If you have a nut allergy, omit the almonds or substitute them with brown sugar.
Blueberry Citrus Spice Cake
Serves 14
Ingredients:
for the cake
• 1 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp allspice
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ⅔ cup blood orange ginger beer
for glaze
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 tbsp non-dairy milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
for the cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Take out a cake pan and generously oil or butter the pan.
3. In a large mixing bowl mix together the apple cider vinegar and milk and set to the side so that it can curdle.
4. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
5. Reserve 1-2 tbsp of dry ingredient mixture to the side in a small bowl.
6. Once the milk and apple cider vinegar is curdled (5-15 mins), add the rest of the wet ingredients: vegetable oil, vanilla extract, brown sugar, blood orange ginger beer.
7. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold the batter until it’s thoroughly combined, try not to overwork it.
8. Get the small bowl with the reserved dry ingredient mixture and add the blueberries to it. Toss the blueberries in the mixture until they’re coated.
9. Carefully fold the blueberries into the large bowl with the cake mix, try not to break them.
10. Spread the mixture into the cake pan.
11. Put the cake into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a fork inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
12. Once done, take the cake out of the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for around 15 minutes. Once the pan is no longer hot to touch, carefully remove the cake from the pan and put it directly onto the rack.
putting it all together
1. To make the glaze, use the small bowl that you used for the blueberries earlier and whisk together the ingredients.
2. Once incorporated, drizzle the glaze on top of the cake.
3. Once the cake is fully cooled down, serve!
If you happen to have leftover glaze, it (along with all leftovers) can be stored in the fridge for four days. If you refrigerate leftover cake, let it get back to room temperature before eating it.