30 Meatless Recipes For The Best Vegetarian Thanksgiving Ever

A lot of people would say Thanksgiving has to revolve around the turkey, but we’d like to say otherwise. You could do a ham, or a roast chicken, or even NO MEAT AT ALL. Whether you’d like your whole meal to be meat-free or are just looking for inspiration for that vegetarian friend or cousin (they’ll be SO grateful you thought of them), we’ve got ideas here for you. Check out our 30 vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes—we bet you won’t even miss the meat.

No matter the reason you and yours are vegetarian, it’s not hard to see the benefits of skipping the turkey this Thanksgiving. From epic turkey fails to intense family arguments over who gets the drumsticks, there are lots of reasons to ditch the bird. The absolute best part is that, since you’re not spending HOURS on a bird that takes up your whole oven, you can instead focus on all the real best parts of the meal. Yep, we’re saying it: Thanksgiving sides are what it’s really about, and if you’re skipping the turkey, you can have them ALL.

Most of the classic sides are inherently vegetarian (and for those that aren’t, like stuffing or gravy, we’ve got you covered), so rather than include all of those here, we’re instead focusing on some alternatives to the main attraction. Feeling the loss of the turkey centerpiece? Swap it for something equally stunning, like our Thanksgiving cauliflower, our whole roasted cabbage, or our stuffing-stuffed pumpkins. Don’t need your vegetarian dish to be the center of attention but still want it to be special? Try making our chicken fried cauliflower, our beet Wellingtons, or our vegan mushroom pot pie. They’re just as delicious as their meaty counterparts and are sure to thrill any vegetarian crowd.

Want more Thanksgiving inspiration? Check out our top plant-based meals (it’s YOUR holiday, make whatever you like), our best Thanksgiving cocktails, and our favorite Thanksgiving pies too.