A healthy eating expert’s favorite vegan recipes and tips for a delicious holiday feast
Posted on November 1, 2021 Written by: 100% PURE ®
For today’s post, we turned the mic over to Aimee Niedosik of Clean Cuisine to get her insight on the best vegan hacks for the holidays. She’s not only an expert in nutritious foods, but an expert in non-toxic and healthy living.
Aimee Harris Niedosik is a recipe creator, autoimmune community leader and website designer–plus a U.S. Marine wife and mom to 2 young teenagers. In 2010, Aimee was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis which led to a lifelong journey to wellness and embracing an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.
Naturally in remission, Aimee creates and publishes clean eating recipes that are gluten free, dairy free and naturally sweetened on her blog CleanCuisine.com. Aimee’s advocacy for helping women with autoimmune disease extends to her autoimmune community, AutoimmuneSisters.org.
Aimee also covers other topics near and dear to our hearts like toxin-free personal care products, clean beauty swaps and so much more. So without further ado, let’s hear more from this clean-eating expert on the best vegan holiday recipes, substitution tips, and more!
Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes
As a diehard clean eater, I make every effort to add more vegetables to everyday family dinner plans. So, it was only natural to create some new and delicious Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes to add to our holiday dinner. Whether you’re vegan or not, these easy vegan recipes are a great way to boost your phytonutrients.
Especially on a holiday that focuses on dairy-laden disasters and desserts loaded with refined sugar. Naturally, these ingredients can cause a bloated tummy and a sugar crash.
Today I am sharing my favorite 12 Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes to make planning this coming holiday easy. Check out my easy vegan recipes below.
Image courtesy of Aimee Niedosik/Clean Cuisine
3 Easy Vegan Recipes for Thanksgiving Appetizers
These healthy vegan thanksgiving recipes are perfect entertaining appetizers for when your friends or family arrive. These recipes are easy to make and perfect for enjoying while you finish preparing dinner.
#1: Healthy Ginger Snaps and Vegan Pumpkin Dip – Better than the traditional, dairy-laden pumpkin dip and superior to the way-too-hard store bought ginger snaps. This Ginger Snaps with Pumpkin Dip recipe is the perfect entertaining appetizer for when your guests arrive while you finish preparing dinner.
#2: Pumpkin Hummus – This recipe for Pumpkin Hummus is the perfect healthy dip for Thanksgivings. Festive, and full of protein, this easy vegan recipe is sure to impress, while keeping you and your guests full and satisfied for hours.
#3: Pumpkin Margarita – This Pumpkin Margarita Recipe is not just any margarita recipe… because this one has PUMPKIN! Perfect for your vegan Thanksgiving celebrations, this recipe has zero gluten, dairy, or added sugars.
Image courtesy of Aimee Niedosik/Clean Cuisine
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5 Easy Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes for Side Dishes
Add one or more of these easy vegan recipes as side dishes to Thanksgiving. These recipes use simple ingredients, fresh herbs and healthy oils.
#1: Patty Pan Squash Recipe – Perfect for your Thanksgiving table, this Patty Pan Squash Recipe is a new vegan side dish that is begging to be on your menu. Simple to cook and quick to make, the savory rosemary and garlic adds a lot of flavor.
#2: Healthy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese – Made with butternut squash and nutritional yeast “cheese” sauce, this delicious Healthy Macaroni and Cheese recipe is perfect as a thanksgiving side dish. Loaded with flavor, you will not be disappointed.
#3: Vegan Green Bean Casserole – This Green Bean Casserole is made completely from scratch, all while keeping ingredients and time spent in the kitchen to a minimum. It truly has that homemade, comfort-food flavor, without all the hassle!
#4: Butternut Squash Soup – This Butternut Squash Soup is simple, clean, and is loaded with all the festive, fall flavors. It’s also pureed, making it the perfect soup to make ahead of time.
#5: Hasselback Potatoes – If you’re looking for a stunning potato dish for a holiday dinner, this Recipe for Hasselback Potatoes are it! Move over mashed potatoes, hasselback potatoes are here to shine. The best part, they are so EASY to make!
Image courtesy of Aimee Niedosik/Clean Cuisine
4 Delicious Easy Vegan Recipes for Dessert
I LOVE desserts, but they must be delicious. These vegan thanksgiving recipes for dessert are perfect for the holiday or enjoy anytime this holiday season.
#1: Pumpkin “Cheesecake” Shooters – A creamy pumpkin spice cheesecake layer made with creamy homemade cashews, topped with a rich chocolate mousse pair together to make the most delicious combination! These Pumpkin Cheesecake Shooters is a perfect end to your Thanksgiving dinner.
#2: Magic Cookie Bars served with Coconut Ice Cream – A chewy crust base topped with ooey gooey layers of sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, peanut butter, coconut flakes and chopped nuts… I simply can’t get enough! Too good to pass up, I created a Recipe for Magic Cookie Bars that’s totally gluten, dairy, and refined-sugar free!
#3: Persimmon Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Crust – This amazing Persimmon Pumpkin Pie recipe is gluten free, grain free vegan and naturally sweetened with agave and coconut sugar. Plus, the coconut crust makes this easy vegan recipe for Thanksgiving sinfully desirable and oh so pleasing to your taste buds.
#4: Thanksgiving Risotto – This Recipe for Thanksgiving Risotto is a healthy take on your classic risotto recipe. And while most risotto recipes aren’t all that bad for you, we created this one free of dairy and arborio rice for a super clean version. We also added quinoa for an extra nutritional boost!
Image courtesy of Aimee Niedosik/Clean Cuisine
Tips for Vegan Ingredient Substitutions
Here are a handful of easy vegan recipes to help you make vegan substitutions in your recipes. Looking for more simple swaps? Check out these Dairy Free Alternatives to classic ingredients.
#1: Swap Dairy Milk with Nut-based Milks
Not only are nut-based milks more delicious, but making them at home is healthier too. All you need is a high speed blender, organic raw nuts and filtered water. Try this Almond Milk Recipe using almond butter or try this Coconut Milk Recipe made from unsweetened coconut flakes.
#2: Make Homemade Coconut Whipped Cream and Toss the Store Bought!
A quick and easy, three ingredient recipe, this Whipped Coconut Cream Recipe is a staple in our house, especially for the holiday season.
#3: Vegan Cheese Made with Macadamia Nuts
Swap out recipes that call for cheese with this Vegan Cheese Recipe. Many vegan cheese recipes require a dehydrator, not mine. Just a few simple ingredients and your vegan cheese will be ready to enjoy.
#4: Swap Out Sour Cream with Homemade Vegan Sour Cream
Made with cashews, this creamy Vegan Sour Cream Recipe is the perfect 1-for-1 replacement in any recipe calling for dairy sour cream. Easy to make in a high speed blender, this sour cream recipe will store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
