Easy Vegetarian Substitutes for Thanksgiving Meals

Here are a few simple ways to make dishes that you are already cooking veggie friendly:

• If you are planning on cooking stuffing (dressing), inside of the turkey, save a portion to be baked in a separate pan. This will more than likely make your stuffing suitable for vegetarians, depending on your recipe. You can easily substitute vegetable broth for a meat-based broth in your recipe if needed. See also: Vegetarian Stuffing Recipes

• Making mashed potatoes? Try using soy milk and a vegan margarine or 100% soybean margarine instead of dairy milk and butter. You can substitute the exact amount of soy milk for dairy milk, but you may want to add about a tablespoon more margarine than your recipe calls for when substituting for butter, in order to add more flavor. See also: Vegetarian and Vegan Potato Recipes

• Candied yams or sweet potatoes are a great Thanksgiving tradition and an easy vegetarian or vegan side dish, just omit the marshmallows (they contain gelatin, which vegans and most vegetarians will not eat), or add to a portion after cooking. See also: Vegetarian Thanksgiving Side Dishes

• Whenever possible, set aside a portion of a dish to be prepared meatless. For example, if you're preparing a sausage and potato casserole, save a portion to be baked separately before adding the sausage.

  Special diets

  If your vegetarian or vegan Thanksgiving guest is on a very special diet, and you'd like to try preparing some food especially for them, here's a few resources that might be helpful:
• Gluten-free Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu Ideas
• Raw Food Thanksgiving Menu

See also: More Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes and Tips