Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes: 10 Dishes Your Guests Won't Forget

Recipe and Photo Courtesy of My Fancy Pantry

Ingredients

• 1 pound asparagus
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon butter, divided
• 4 large shallots, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 ounces chèvre (goat cheese)
• 2 teaspoons dried tarragon 
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock (I used Trader Joe's)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup low-fat half &half
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• Chives, chopped (to garnish)

Directions

1. Dice the shallots and the asparagus. Reserve most of the asparagus tips for garnishing the soup later.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat and sauté the shallots for about 4 minutes, until they are soft and tender. 
3. Add the asparagus and the tarragon. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until the asparagus becomes nice and tender. Toss in the chèvre and stir to combine. The cheese should melt and everything should begin to look creamy. 
4. Once the cheese melts, add in the flour. Stir and cook for 1 minute so the flour no longer tastes raw. Stir in the veggie stock and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the asparagus is very, very tender.
5. Remove from heat and process the soup in a blender until very smooth. Press the pureed mixture through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a clean bowl or pot.
6. Add the milk/half & half by pouring it in the sieve, over the asparagus puree. This way, you can get maximum asparagus flavor. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set the soup aside. It can be served either hot or cold.
7. In a small pan, melt 1 teaspoon of butter and add the reserved asparagus tips. Sauté for about 4 minutes, to soften. (I also added a little minced black garlic at this stage.)
8. When you're ready to serve the soup, ladle it into bowls and garnish with asparagus tips, chives and a few small chunks of chèvre.

Photo and Recipe Courtesy of Fuss Free Cooking

About 3 servings as a main course

Ingredients

• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled & deseeded
• 3-4 garlic cloves, skin on
• 1/2 fresh chili, sliced
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup boiling water
• 400 grams/14 ounces canned lentils
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• Olive oil
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• Salt to taste
• Fresh coriander/cilantro leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C / 356 degrees F.
2. Peel and deseed 1/2 a butternut squash. Dice into 2.5cm (1-inch) cubes and place them on parchment-paper-lined baking tray as well as garlic cloves and chili. Drizzle over some olive oil, cumin powder and salt and toss all the ingredients until well combined. Then bake them in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the pumpkin feels tender and fluffy when pricked with a fork.
3. While the squash is roasting in the oven, pour 1/2 cup of quinoa and 1 cup of hot boiling water in a medium-sized pot. Start cooking over medium-high flame until it starts to boil. Then let it simmer by reducing to low-medium flame and cover with a lid. In the meantime, rinse and drain the lentils. Set aside.
4. For the quinoa, cook until the water is ALMOST absorbed. When there’s just a little water left at the bottom of the pot (I’ll say about 2 tablespoons worth of water left), turn off the flame and leave the lid on. This will allow the quinoa to completely absorb the water without sticking to the pot. Fork through the quinoa so that it’s light and fluffy. Set aside.
5. Note #1 – I actually cooked this based on the packet instructions so the water-to-quinoa ratio may vary depending on the type/brand of quinoa you are using.
6. Note #2 – Use a medium pot or a pot big enough to contain all the ingredients for this salad. This pot will be used to toss all the ingredients together before serving.
7. Add lentils to the quinoa and toss gently until well combined. Season lightly with salt.
8. Add roasted butternut squash, garlic (skin-off and thinly chopped) and chili to the lentil-quinoa mixture. Drizzle some olive oil and lemon juice over the salad and toss to mix.
9. Just before serving, garnish with some coriander/cilantro leaves. You can serve this salad warm or cold.

Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Katherine Martinelli

Katherine Martinelli is an internationally published food and travel writer and photographer, who remembers watching her father cook dinner every night when she was a child. In the middle of graduate school, Martinelli decided she wanted to pursue a career in food, eventually landing a job at an online culinary magazine and spending a few years traveling and eating. Keep up with her adventures at her eponymous blog, and check out her cookbook, Puff Pastry at Brunch.  

Yield: 2 to 4 servings

Ingredients

For the salad:


• 1 pound sunchokes, scrubbed

• 1 carrot, sliced

• 1 fennel bulb, sliced

• Olive oil

• Salt

• ½ cup pine nuts and/or walnuts, lightly toasted

• 4 ounces mixed greens

• 1½ ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 200 grams (7.6 ounces) halloumi, cubed

• ¼ cup thinly sliced red cabbage

• ½ onion, sliced

• 1 green apple, cored and sliced

For the dressing:

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice one of the sunchokes into paper-thin slices. Halve the remaining sunchokes.
2. Toss the sunchokes, carrots, half of the sliced fennel with olive oil and salt. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until tender. You may need to remove the thinly sliced sunchokes earlier if they get crisp.
3. Saute the mushrooms in a little olive oil over high heat for just a few minutes, until they are cooked and slightly browned. Or, to keep things simple, you can just keep them raw. Remove the mushrooms and set aside.
4. Heat a little olive oil in the pan over high heat and fry the halloumi. Be sure not to crowd the pan, otherwise the cubes will stick together. Flip once and remove from the heat once crispy ob both sides.
5. Put all ingredients in a large salad bowl and toss with the mustard vinaigrette (recipe below).
6. Note on dressing salad: the very best way is to put a little dressing at the bottom of the bowl, then the salad, then some on top and toss to combine.
7. For the dressing: Whisk together all ingredients until emulsified and combined. Season with salt and pepper and add more olive oil, lemon juice or dijon mustard to taste, if needed.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Umami Girl

This recipe makes a satisfying plant-based main dish with a big green salad alongside.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (uncooked) brown basmati rice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, minced
• 6 cups mixed fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (chanterelles, chestnuts, shiitakes, and oysters are good choices)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• About 6 ounces baby spinach
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped chives

Directions

1. Place the rice in a medium pot with two scant cups cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook until water is absorbed, about 40 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a wide skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, still stirring occasionally, until they have reduced in volume by about half and reabsorbed any water they’ve given off during cooking, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, one minute more. Add the spinach to the pan and cook, stirring, until just wilted.

3. When the rice and the mushroom mixture are both cooked, scrape the mushroom mixture into the pot with the rice. Add the soy sauce and chives and stir together gently but thoroughly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 40 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Top of the Apple

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 (17.5-ounce) package whole wheat potato gnocchi
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch kale or swiss chard, roughly chopped
• 4 cups diced butternut squash (about 20 ounces)
• 1 portobello mushroom, thinly sliced and halved
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1-1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 12 ounces ricotta
• 1/3 cup pecan pieces (I used hazelnuts but pecans would’ve been better)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of the salt to a large pot of water; bring to a rolling boil. Add gnocchi. Cook until gnocchi float to the top, about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. In same pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add greens and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt; cook and stir until wilted, about 3 minutes.
4. Once greens are cooked, add butternut squash, mushroom, pumpkin puree, vegetable broth, maple syrup and remaining 3/4 teaspoon of salt; stir and bring to a simmer. Remove to a 9×13-inch casserole dish.
5. Spoon heaping tablespoons of ricotta cheese over casserole; sprinkle with pecan pieces. Bake in oven until squash is tender and ricotta is slightly brown, about 35-40 minutes. Serve warm in bowl; drizzle with additional maple syrup if desired.