Vegans and vegetarians used to be limited to just side dishes at the holiday table, but now, vegan Thanksgiving sides & salads are delicious companions to your plant-based holiday entrees.
Here’s an abundant listing of delectable sides and salads to embellish the holiday table with lots of seasonal produce. After all, the original intent of Thanksgiving was to express gratitude for the harvest.
Here you’ll find an abundance of vegan Thanksgiving sides and salads — dishes featuring Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, squash, corn, cranberries, and other good-for-you ingredients that add color and flavor to your menu. There’s even a vegan update of the classic green bean casserole!
More Thanksgiving round-ups on this site
- 21+ Vegan Thanksgiving Main Dishes (including holiday roasts)
- 15+ Tasty Vegan Stuffings
- 16+ Delicious Vegan Pumpkin Desserts
THANKSGIVING SIDE DISHES
Classic Cranberry Apple Sauce: Vegan Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners call out for an easy classic cranberry apple sauce made from scratch with two fresh fruits.
Spiced Orange Cranberry Chutney:Embellished with apple, dried apricots, ginger, and sweet spices, this may just become your go-to cranberry sauce.
Vegan Green Bean Casserole: Green bean casserole is a fall and winter favorite, especially for Thanksgiving. Here’s a recipe that easily updates the comfort food classic, making it one of your go-to vegan Thanksgiving sides.
Kale & Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Almonds: Kale and Brussels sprouts are a compatible pair in this very green side dish. A flexible recipe, you can use other greens instead of kale.
Brussels Sprouts with Chard or Other Leafy Greens: Brussels sprouts with chard (or other leafy greens) synergize nicely in a simple side dish. They taste and look fantastic together.
Roasted Collard Greens with Brussels Sprouts & Polenta: Roasted collard greens and Brussels sprouts are embellished with polenta in a simple and hearty side dish. This could be used as a gluten-free alternative to bread-based stuffing.
Maple-Glazed Baked Onions & Brussels Sprouts: Slow-baked maple-glazed onions and Brussels sprouts is a fantastic cool-weather side dish. Perfect for holidays or as a delicious, everyday way to use up surplus onions.
Balsamic & Maple-Roasted Vegetables: In this medley of maple roasted vegetables, a touch of maple syrup and balsamic vinegar heighten the natural sweetness of roots and Brussels sprouts.
Smashed Potatoes with Mushroom Gravy: Smashed potatoes with vegan mushroom gravy — yum! And so much easier to make than traditional mashed potatoes.
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Here’s an easy way to elevate a classic side dish. Roasting a whole head of garlic makes it buttery soft and tempers its bite, leaving a soft, smoky flavor.
Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Pecans: Subtly sweetened and topped with crunchy toasted pecans, maple mashed sweet potatoes is a perfect Thanksgiving side dish, though you need not wait for a special occasion.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Leeks & Walnuts: Try this festive side dish of mashed sweet potatoes with leeks and walnuts to dress up the fall and winter holiday table, or any other special occasion.
Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes: Here’s a holiday-sized portion of maple roasted sweet potatoes in a preparation that enhances the natural sweetness of this well-loved vegetable.
Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Apples: Maple roasted sweet potatoes and apples is a side dish that’s as welcome for fall and winter holiday meals as for everyday fare.
8 Roasted Vegetable Dishes that Hardly Need Recipes: Here are some easy roasted vegetable dishes that barely need a recipe to make. Use these ideas as a springboard for your own. That’s the nice thing about roasted vegetables — you need not slavishly follow a recipe.
Red Quinoa Pilaf with Kale & Corn: Red quinoa pilaf with kale and corn is packed with tasty and good-for-you ingredients. It’s a perfect grain side dish for Thanksgiving. And of course, you can substitute any other color quinoa.
Easy Quinoa Pilaf with Salsa Verde: Salsa verde, AKA tomatillo salsa, makes a bold flavor statement in this easy quinoa pilaf. It has a somewhat smoky aspect that adds a distinctive flavor to dishes.
Vegan Scalloped Corn Casserole: Just one simple tweak is needed to convert the classic side dish into vegan scalloped corn — simply swap in plant-based substitutes for the dairy.
Forbidden Black Rice Pilaf with Corn & Cranberries: This forbidden black rice pilaf is made colorful with corn, cranberries, and herbs. It’s easy enough for everyday meals and festive enough to serve as a winter holiday side dish.
Wild and Brown Rice Pilaf with Apples and Pecans: A festive side dish, this makes a generous amount and is perfect for fall and winter holiday or special occasion meals.
THANKSIVING SOUPS
Coconut Butternut Squash Soup: Once you’ve got the squash baked, this coconut butternut squash soup comes together quickly. It’s a fitting soup for the fall and winter holidays, yet easy enough to make for everyday meals.
Carrot-Ginger Soup (with a Parsnip Variation): Carrot-ginger soup is made easier by using baby carrots, eliminating the need for a lot of peeling and chopping.
SALADS FOR THANKSGIVING DINNER
Kale and Butternut Squash Salad with Apple & Cranberries: This gorgeous kale and butternut squash salad has “fall” written all over it. It’s a lively composition of seasonal fruits and vegetables that’s perfect for the holiday table.
Kale Salad with Cashews & Cranberries: Here’s a simple massaged kale salad with cashews and dried cranberries, that’s festive enough for holidays and easy enough for everyday meals.
Apple & Kohlrabi Coleslaw: Colorful and crisp, this slaw is great any time of year, especially welcome in the fall. A wonderful selection that goes well with typical vegan Thanksgiving fare, this recipe is from Chef Bryant Terry’s book, Vegetable Kingdom.
Jícama & Fennel Salad: A tasty autumnal dish using two often-neglected vegetables, jícama and fennel salad gets a lovely citrus lilt from fresh oranges and a lime dressing.
Quinoa & Fennel Salad with Walnuts & Cranberries: Quinoa and fennel salad features the anise-flavored vegetable, and is made festive with toasted walnuts and dried cranberries.
Avocado & Radicchio Salad with Lime Vinaigrette: Sometimes, it’s the combination of ingredients rather than a lot of ingredients than makes a great salad. Case in point, this simple yet stunning avocado and radicchio salad.
Roasted Butternut & Arugula Salad: Roasted butternut squash salad tossed with arugula (or other baby greens of your choice) and embellished with pumpkin seeds proves that a few well chosen ingredients can produce a wow factor.
Crunchy and Colorful Cabbage & Apple Slaw: This colorful and subtly sweet and tangy cabbage and apple slaw has an appealing crunch. And it might just be the kind of salad that older kids and teens will actually enjoy eating!
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad: Since they taste just as good at room temperature as they do hot, roots are presented here in an appetizing roasted root vegetable salad.
Black Bean & Corn Salad for a Crowd: Here’s a classic black bean and corn salad recipe featuring avocado and grape tomatoes, dressed in lime vinaigrette. It’s an economical salad for when you’re feeding a crowd, or if you need to take a dish to share.
Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Black Beans & Corn: In a similar theme to the salad above, black beans, corn, and avocado come together in a hearty southwestern quinoa salad that’s good as a main dish for everyday meals or as a side salad at the holiday table.
If this selection isn’t enough for you, here’s another great resource to explore for vegan Thanksgiving sides.
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