These are my vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes, sorted by the job each one does on the table. I usually host Friendsgiving and I’m usually the only vegetarian there. I’m happy with sides, but I want a real centerpiece where the turkey would go.

How I plan a vegetarian Thanksgiving menu

Most Thanksgiving stress has nothing to do with the turkey. It comes from picking recipes one at a time and finding out at 3 pm that four of them need the oven. So I plan the table first and pick recipes second. A spread feels complete when it has one dish in each of these slots:

  1. A centerpiece, something to carve or serve whole
  2. A potato or starch, the dish people go back for
  3. A green vegetable, so the plate isn’t all beige
  4. An orange or root vegetable, for sweetness and fall color
  5. Bread, for the gravy
  6. Something fresh, the one bright, crunchy dish that cuts through everything rich
  7. The classics: stuffing, cranberry sauce, and gravy

That’s nine dishes, and it feeds 8 to 10 people, because nobody takes a full serving of everything. The rows below follow the same order, so you can pick one per row and have a menu.

Vegan mushroom Wellington served with green beans, roasted potatoes, and mushroom gravy on a dinner plate.
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Vegetarian Thanksgiving Mains

The main should be something you can carve or serve whole. My default is the Mushroom Wellington, because it slices clean and most of the work happens Wednesday.

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Vegan Ham

Stuffing, Cranberry sauce, and Gravy

These three are non-negotiable, and two of them can be done days before Thursday. Make the cranberry sauce and mushroom gravy ahead, then just rewarm the gravy.

Shruthi’s TOP TIPS

Tips for a Memorable Vegetarian Thanksgiving

  • Keep the oven to two dishes in the last hour. Everything else should be stovetop, cold, or already baked and holding under foil, or something ends up cold at the table.
  • Put one cold or room-temperature dish on the menu. It goes out at 3:45 with zero work and frees a burner.
  • Finish three dishes before Thursday. Cranberry sauce and gravy count, so you only need one more.
  • Cooking a turkey too? Bake the casseroles and stuffing while it rests. One oven can’t roast a turkey and bake a Wellington the same afternoon, so pick one centerpiece.
  • Count your pans before you shop. A doubled casserole needs a second dish, and you don’t want to find that out Thursday.

Thanksgiving Potatoes and Starches

This is the dish people go back for. Cheesy mashed potatoes stay on the stove, which keeps them out of the afternoon oven traffic.

Green Vegetable Sides

Put at least one green thing on the table so the plate isn’t all beige. If your oven is already full, the skillet green beans cook on the stove in 10 to 12 minutes.

Sweet Potato, Squash, and Carrot Sides

This slot brings the sweetness. My sweet potato casserole is savory instead of marshmallow, and you can build it through the topping up to three days ahead.

Rolls, Biscuits, and Breads

Bread is for the gravy, and for the guest who only eats bread. Bake the rolls in the morning and rewarm them while the main rests.

For a Friendsgiving with More Spice

If your crowd wants something besides the classics, these fit the same oven plan. The gochujang cauliflower bakes at 400°F, same as the Wellington.

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Samosa Wraps

More Vegetarian Thanksgiving Casseroles

If you need one more dish you can assemble ahead, start here.

Thanksgiving desserts

Pie is the easiest part of Thanksgiving to finish early. My pumpkin pie with condensed milk is better on day two, so bake it ahead and the oven is yours on Thursday.

All Thanksgiving

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Vegan Ham