Kitchen

[Biftu]

i may be hosting some vegetarian guests this thanksgiving and am struggling with what to serve.  I will have the usual turkey with all the usual sides for the non-vegetarians, but need ideas on other dishes the vegetarians can eat.  I always make roasted vegetables which will work, but need more ideas other than that for them.  I am considering making a vegetable lasagne.  Any ideas would be appreciated.

[deepwaterdotter]

Do your guests eat dairy?  I make my vegetable lasagna with milk and cheese.

[Sooner]

@Biftu I would do baked sweet potatoes for the day.  They are SO good and so easy.  

Have fresh and dried fruits and nuts for dessert and snacks for them.

A dish of rice and spinach or other veggies cooked in water or vegetable broth with herbs and garlic. . . 

I would make in advance a day or two and/or freeze a vegetable lasagna:  Use herbs to season, salt and papper and eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, yellow squash, frozen spinach thawed and rung out of water, tomato slices, and/or whatever else veggies you like.  

I would layer thin slices of the above with vegetarian flat noodles and if you can find vegan cheese or something use that, and some tomato slices or sauce for moisture, and layer like a regular lasagna and bake until the veggies are done

I have done it with thin slices of pan roasted veggies and it is good too!  We just make it up as we go along and have whatever we have on hand. 

We make and love this dish and almost always have some frozen.  Matter of fact, we have a big pan of it in the freezer right now.  

[Desert Lily]

Are they Vegan or Vegetarian? Vegans don't eat anything with dairy or anything with eggs, in addition to the other non-vegan items. Once you know which type of diet they follow, you could probably find some great recipes on the internet (maybe rice dishes, desserts, etc.)

[PA Mom-mom]

@Biftu  I think a lot of it depends on how much oven/air fryer space you have AND if your guests are vegan or vegetarian. As stated above, do they eat dairy? It's always nice to have something they can slice as their dinner partners are slicing the turkey. I like cauliflower "steaks" or fried eggplant. Your roasted veggies will be great! Also, there are lots of butternut squash recipes out there. A wild rice side would be great for everyone. My sister in law makes an Ina Garten wild rice and mushroom side that is just delicious. Any recipe that calls for chicken broth can probably use vegetable broth instead. The sweet potato suggestion is also a good one! Good luck, I've been there too.

ETA: I love vegetable lasagna, too. And you could prep ahead of time. Your idea may be the easiest and most satisfying.

[Mindy D]

@Biftu @Whatever you do, don't serve Tofurky. Horrible. I had it a few years ago. My niece and her now husband showed up at my other nieces house for T Day. They are vegetarians and chefs. My niece trained at Le Cordon Bleu. They prepared Tofukey for themselves and we also had regular turkey. The Tofurkey is a horrible tasting product. I love tofu, so it isn't about that. It's just not any good. 'Terrible' isn't good enough to describe it.

The first thing you need to find out is if they are vegetarians or vegans. Vegans don't eat dairy or eggs. 

You might try this recipe. Put the title into your search bar. 

Noracooks

vegan turkey roast

VEGAN TURKEY ROAST

by NORA // NOVEMBER 16, 2020

This post may contain affiliate links.

You could serve a vegetable, mushroom and stuffing casserole as the main dish. You can make a nutritional yeast gravy to serve over it if you like, or since it's a casserole you can put anything you want in it, cheeses, onions, mushrooms. Serve mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, creamed spinach, green beans, crudités, including olives, celery,  cornbread, pumpkin pie.

Just don't serve turkey. 

[Biftu]

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@Desert Lily wrote:

Are they Vegan or Vegetarian? Vegans don't eat anything with dairy or anything with eggs, in addition to the other non-vegan items. Once you know which type of diet they follow, you could probably find some great recipes on the internet (maybe rice dishes, desserts, etc.)

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Vegetarian and one is vegan

[vsm]

There's always Marie Barone's tofuturkey...

[faeriemoon]

I think I'd do a pasta dish.  You could do a pesto or a primavera.  Since one of them is vegan, you can't do any cream based sauces.

You could also do a risotto with peas and wild muchrooms, although  you'd have to eliminate the grated cheese.

[itsmagic]

In addition to the roasted veggies and sweet potatoes, I would make a large tossed salad with a variety of veggies and add some rinsed black beans and chopped up nuts (for protein)   Make a simple vegan salad dressing for it.  I’d also do a fresh fruit salad.