Thanksgiving Sides - Updated
I have hosted many Thanksgiving dinners over the years and try as I might to mix things up, try a different recipe, drop one of our sides from the menu, my family won’t hear of it. They each seem to have a favorite traditional dish that to them says “Thanksgiving.” I suppose it is because these dishes evoke fond memories of childhood, reflect our long held traditions and most importantly provide comfort that they appear every November on our family table. What has changed over the years is the way I eat and cook. I became a vegetarian 19 years ago and then transitioned to veganism 6 years ago, necessitating not one, but two, modifications to these family favorites. I hope you will give these updated versions of old classics a try. We are a large family of mostly omnivores, and I don’t think that these recipes are a compromise: seconds are the norm and leftovers are few. Come to think of it maybe my family doesn’t know these dishes are vegan. Hmm… on second thought, let’s not tell them.
Sweet Potato Souffle With Pecan Crumble
This is not the canned yam casserole with marshmallows of yore. You know the one: the one that kids scrapped the top off of leaving the rest untouched. These sweet potatoes are creamy, rich, delicious and packed with nutrition; you just may fall in love.
Servings: 12
Prep Time: 70 minutes. (includes 1 hr. to bake potatoes.)
CookTime: 30 minutes ( double the time if you make in advance and the dish has been refrigerated.)
Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Ingredients
6 pounds sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon cane syrup
1/3 cup non-fat sweetened condensed milk (non-dairy find it here)
2 sticks butter, softened ( I used plant based Earth Balance European Style.)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 orange, juiced or about 1/2 cup of orange juice (I sometimes throw in more as I like how the citrus tempers the sweetness.)
1 lemon, zested
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Crumble Topping
1⁄2 cup flour
1⁄2 cup rolled oats
1⁄2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1⁄2 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
1⁄2 cup mini marshmallows (optional) Find vegan marshmallows here.
Directions
Bake sweet potatoes in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour until fork tender. Remove peels. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine potatoes, cane syrup, condensed non dairy milk,find it here butter and brown sugar. Add the orange juice, lemon zest and juice. Blend thoroughly with the paddle attachment until smooth. Sprinkle in the cinnamon sugar, nutmeg, raisins and pecans. Finally, remove the bowl from the mixer and add the pralines; fold gently through the mixture.
Transfer mixture to a 2 1/2 quart baking dish.
Make the crumble - stir together flour, oats, sugar, pecans, and salt in a bowl; add butter and, using your fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until large crumbles form. Mound crumble mixture over filling, dot with marshmallows, if using. (You will see in my photo that I used the marshmallows on half of the casserole.)
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
* Important note: This dish can be made ahead. Make the filling and refrigerate, but do not put the crumble on yet. Bring the sweet potatoes to room temperature, cover with the crumble and bake according to the directions. If you cannot bring the dish to room temp, plan on cooking the filling for an extra 20-30 minutes without the crumble, then remove from the oven, cover with the crumble and bake another 20 minutes or until golden.
VEGAN GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
This is a fresh take on the green bean casserole of my childhood. As a kid, I was mostly interested in the topping, but not anymore. The homemade mushroom sauce and the fresh green beans elevate this dish to real food while the crispy fried onions are as tasty as I remember them. This is a Minimalist Baker recipe (Find her site here.) that she roughly adapted from Alton Brown.
Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound green beans (rinsed, trimmed and cut in half)
Sea salt and black pepper
2 Tbsp vegan butter
1 medium shallot (minced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms (mix of button & cremini works well)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 cup vegetable broth (homemade or store bought)
1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk or any plant based milk of you liking
1 1/2 cups crispy fried onions (divided) Vegan friendly brands can be found here and here.
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt well - it will help season the green beans. Add green beans and cook for 5 minutes, then drain and place in an ice water bath to stop cooking. Drain and set aside.
In the meantime, start preparing sauce. In a large skillet over medium heat, add vegan butter or olive oil and shallots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add mushrooms and season with a bit more salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes more or until lightly browned.
Sprinkle in flour and whisk to stir and coat the veggies. Cook for 1 minute, then slowly add in veggie stock, whisking to incorporate.
Add milk next and whisk to stir again. Season with a touch more salt and pepper and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low to thicken. Cook for 5-7 minutes more, or until thick and bubbly. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Remove from heat and add 1/3 of the fried onions (1/2 cup as original recipe is written) and all of the cooked green beans. Toss to coat well, and top with remaining fried onions.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until warmed through and bubbly and slightly browned on top. Serve immediately.
*Important Note - If you are like me and don’t have time to make any last minute dishes on the day of, keep reading. To make this work on Thanksgiving day, I cook the beans and make the sauce in advance. Before sitting down to eat, mix together sauce and beans and bake for 20 minutes to heat through in a 350 degree oven. Top with remaining crispy onions and serve.
THE BEST MASHED POTATOES!
These homemade mashed potatoes are perfectly light, creamy, and flavorful. They are easy to make and are delicious plain or with a ladle full or two of vegan gravy. See notes for tips and possible recipe variations.
Servings: 10-12
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
5 pounds potatoes (try using half Yukon Gold, half russet potatoes)
fine sea salt
6 tablespoons non-dairy butter (I strongly recommend you use Miyoko’s butter. The flavor is superior . Find it here.)
1 cup non-dairy milk ( I use unsweetened soy or almond milk.)
Optional * 4 ounces or less of non dairy cream cheese, room temperature, roasted garlic, or even infuse your milk with a favorite fresh herb. I recommend rosemary or thyme.
Toppings: chopped fresh chives or green onions, freshly-cracked black pepper
Directions
Cut the potatoes. Feel free to peel your potatoes or leave the skins on. I peel. Then cut them into evenly-sized chunks, about 2 inches thick, transfer them to a large stockpot full of cold water. (Cutting the potatoes means they will cook faster and more evenly . You don’t want your potatoes to crumble on the outside while still hard in the center.)
Boil the potatoes. Once all of your potatoes are cut, be sure that there is enough cold water in the pot so that the water line sits about 1 inch above the potatoes. Add 1 tablespoon sea salt into the water. Then turn the heat to high and cook until the water comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high (or whatever temperature is needed to maintain the boil) and continue cooking for about 10-12 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle of a potato goes in easily with almost no resistance. Carefully drain out all of the water.
Prepare your melted butter mixture. Meanwhile, as the potatoes are boiling, heat the butter, milk and an additional 2 teaspoons of sea salt together either in a small saucepan or in the microwave until the butter is just melted. (You want to avoid boiling the milk.) Set aside until ready to use. (This is when you can add fresh herbs for an aromatic herbal infusion. Just remember to remove big pieces and stems before mashing.)
Pan-dry the potatoes. After draining the water, immediately return the potatoes to the hot stockpot, place it back on the hot burner, and turn the heat down to low. Using two oven mitts, carefully hold the handles on the stockpot and shake it gently on the burner for about 1 minute to help cook off some of the remaining steam within the potatoes. Remove the stockpot entirely from the heat and set it on a flat, heatproof surface.
Mash the potatoes. Using your preferred kind of potato masher (I recommend mashing first with a hand masher then moving to a stand mixer.) Roughly mash the potatoes.
Stir everything together. Pour half of the melted butter mixture over the potatoes and mash to your desired consistency, slowly adding in the remainder of the milk/butter mixture. Fold in the cream cheese, if using, in stages, folding in each addition in until just combined to avoid over-mixing. (Feel free to add in more warm milk to reach your desired consistency, if needed.) This is also the stage that you would add your roasted garlic.
Taste and season. One final time, taste the potatoes and season with extra salt if needed.
Serve warm. Then serve warm, garnished with any extra toppings that you might like, and enjoy!
Vegan Mushroom Make-Ahead Gravy
I have been making some version of this gravy for years. However, I have always made it on texture and taste not adhering to a recipe. I didn’t think that made sense for a blog so wanted to give you something you could count on. The recipe that follows received 5 stars with tons of votes and credit goes to the popular Melissa Clark. I like that she caramelizes the onions and uses soy sauce to enhance the flavor. Just be sure to use a good-quality vegetable stock, if you aren’t making your own. You can simmer the gravy up to five days ahead and store it in the fridge. Reheat just before serving.
Yield: 3 1/2 Cups
Servings: 14 1/4 cup sized servings
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ small onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
4 ounces baby portobello (cremini) mushrooms, finely chopped (1 cup) . A mix of white and brown mushrooms work well too.
½ cup all-purpose flour, perhaps more may be necessary for desired thickness.
4 to 5 cups vegetable stock, preferably homemade, as needed
1 teaspoon soy sauce, more to taste
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Directions
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms; cook, stirring, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in vegetable stock, a little at a time, until a smooth sauce forms. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes until thickened. Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper. Serve as is or to make a smoother gravy I use my immersion blender to remove the larger chunks. You can pass it through a fine mesh strainer but you will lose a lot of the nutritional goodies.
Last I like to add rosemary or thyme for extra flavor.
Happy cooking and Happy Thanksgiving,
Kathryn
P.S. So why the picture of the little girl? I ran across it when looking for Thanksgiving pictures. It was taken of Annalise shortly before her 2nd birthday. She was always a little explorer and that day was no exception as she walked by herself through her grandma’s garden on Thanksgiving day 1999.