When Erik Marcus invited me to share my Thanksgiving menu and recipes on Vegan.com, I thought it was a great idea. I’ve been making vegan Thanksgiving dinners for more than twenty years and have come up with a perfect vegan feast that is filled with traditional flavors from cranberries to pumpkins.
Some years we have guests at our Thanksgiving table, but more often it’s just the two of us. I always make a huge spread with all the trimmings anyway. Of course, we always end up enjoying the leftovers for days, but each year we say “wouldn’t it be nice to share this wonderful meal with more people?” And now I can, thanks to Erik’s terrific idea.
Follow this link to Vegan.com and check out my menu and recipes. Even if you have your own traditions, you may just find a new dish or two to try. I especially hope new vegans will find it helpful, as it can take the guesswork out of preparing your first vegan Thanksgiving dinner.
I’ve even served this menu to omni relatives who discovered what vegans already know: Yes, you can have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner without a turkey on the table. In fact, one of them said (while going back for seconds): “it’s so good — it tastes like Thanksgiving!”
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I saw this on vegan.com. I think thats really fantastic. I was afraid I had to make a 5 pound tofurkey out of a mold.. but you offer so much MORE!! Thanks!!
Thank you! I've been making the same (really tasty) sweet potato lasagna main dish for a few too many years & am ready for a changeup. The roasted wheatmeat & gravy will definitely be on my menu. Also the sweet potato sticks, though I may add agave, balsamic vinegar & rosemary.
Mmmmmm everything looks so good. Since I am the only vegan in my family I travel and bring about 5 dishes to the table every year. These recipes gave me great new ideas to try! Thanks!
I haven’t made up my menu but I’m glad you posted yours. I’ll probably find something to add in.
Great feature! I was toying with the idea of coming up with some sort of seitan and stuffing roulade, but you’ve already done it!
Erin: I’ve tried other ways of combining seitan and stuffing and I think the roulade works best for appearance and also balancing the flavors. Many years ago as a restaurant chef, I’d make roulades and ballotines that were either steamed, braised, or poached in a similar way. I think these methods work great for seitan. I hope you have fun experimenting!
Your menu looks delicious! I was wondering about the roulade – I am going to someone’s house for Thanksgiving and would like to bring this. Could I make it ahead of time and then put it in the oven to re-heat? Thanks so much for your ideas!
Sarah: Yes, this roulade reheats nicely in the oven. Even better, when you make it ahead and then refrigerate it, it’s much easier to slice evenly, so you can cut perfect slices in advance (using a large serated bread knife for slicing). To reheat, reassemble the slices into the shape of the roulade and wrap tightly in foil to keep it from drying out. Then, reheat it in the oven. To serve, fan out the slices on a platter. Sometimes I leave a portion of the roulade uncut for “display” and then fan the slices in front of it. It’s best to use a large serated knife for slicing. I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks for the tips, Robin!
Robin, thanks for a wonderful wheatmeat roast this year! This was also the first year in many years that I haven't purchased a frozen Now & Zen “Un-Turkey.” I've been intimidated from making seitan for too long. When I saw your recipe on vegan.com I thought, “I can do this…And Robin's cookbook recipes have never failed me.” I'm so glad I decided to give it a try. Your recipe liberated me from buying that (very expensive) Big White Box from Whole Foods. Your roast recipe produced a perfect, delicious entree, even in my inexperienced hands. It was a great success. Thank you, and best wishes for a happy holiday season!
Maggie, Congrats on making your own wheatmeat roast this year! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know — I truly appreciate your kind words.