What are some vegetarian alternatives for a holiday turkey dinner?

Question

If I start planning now, I may actually be prepared for Thanksgiving.

Answer 1

They actually make Tofurkey!! It's a meat-free turkey alternative! It comes out in around november mostly but you still might be able to get it right now (though it doesnt sound like you need it right this minute). I'd make some cranberry sauce to go along with it. There are also a lot of packaged gravies that aren't made from chicken or turkey fat, I know it's not fresh gravy but there are some great packaged ones that won't leave everyone missing the real thing! mashed potatos are usually made with milk, but you could make them with soymilk or rice milk might taste better...OR you could bake new potatos (which are those little red potatos, they are MUCH creamier than baked potatos) and you could season them and pour the gravy over those! As for things like yams...you could get and bake fresh yams (in case you are worried about butter)!

Answer 2

Ummmm... I prefer Triffids, meself, with Thousand Island or Bleu Cheeze kluptamin drippings. And you can always do McDonalds. No discernible meat there, unless the occasional inopportune rodent falls into the vat. For the traditionalist, I recommend strawberry wine, corn chips, banana rum, buffalo chips, and a wafffffer-thin after-dinner mint followed by Ye Olde Pukebucket. Anti-semitic charwoman played by Terry Jones optional.

I'm sorry I couldn't do better but I work graveyard shift and me braincellz beat me to bed by a good few hours.

Wow, Undead Sweetielocks, did you know you're the "Featured Question" right now? You've hit the Big Time! This is part of your fifteen minutes of Fame! Mine was when I broke into a gospel shop and passed out after "decorating" the walls. Lucky me. I've since sworn off tequila and Quaaludes and being dosed with PCP by unrepentent hillbilly poopsters.

I know this is your question, but do you know if one remains Kosher if one eats a vegetarian? Or is that only true if I eat Paris Hilton?

Which reminds me, whatever you have for Turkey Day, follow it once again with fava beans and a nice chianti.

Answer 3

Tofurky Roast is awesome it is available at the following locations or you can by online and look at the other products on.
www.tofurky.com

Salt Lake City Wild Oats 4695 S. Holladay Blvd [phone]
Salt Lake City Wild Oats 2454 S. 700 East [phone]
Salt Lake City Wild Oats 812 E. 200 South [phone]
Santa Clara Country Herbs 2711 San Clara Dr [phone]

Answer 4

The original "Moosewood Cookbook" has an excellent recipe for "Comprehensively Stuffed Squash" that I always make as an addition to Thanksgiving. For me it's the main dish and for the meat-eaters it's just one more side dish. It compliments the traditional Thanksgiving spread really well.

I've tried Tofurkey and Veat fake turkey and both left me feeling uncomfortably full after just a couple bites. So no meat substitutes for me on Thanksgiving!

Answer 5

As many others have mentioned, Tofurkey is a great substitute for a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. Many stores (Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Rainbow Blossom, etc.) offer a wide variety of Tofurkey products for a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast. Aside from the Tofurkey itself, you can buy Tofurkey drumsticks, gravy, and even a Tofurkey jerky wishbone! If you're curious about the taste, Tofurkey offers deli style vegetarian "turkey" year round at the above mentioned stores. It's not quite the same as the Tofurkey roast but will give you an idea of what to expect if you choose this route for your Thanksgiving dinner.

Answer 6

This warm salad has lots of textures and tastes bouncing off each other. Tahini is an oily paste made from pounded sesame seeds. It has a rich, nutty flavour and is used throughout the Middle East.
Ingredients
1kg/2¼lb pumpkin or squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp olive oil
250g/9oz cooked chickpeas, or 1 x 400g/14oz tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ small red onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tahini sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed to a paste with salt
3½ tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp tahini paste
2 tbsp water, to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Toss the pumpkin with the garlic, allspice, olive oil and some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on a tray in the oven for about 15-25 minutes or until soft. Remove and cool.
3. While the pumpkin is cooking, make the tahini sauce. Mix the crushed garlic with the lemon juice and add the tahini. Thin with water and olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. You should taste a balance between the nutty tahini and lemon.
4. To assemble the salad, place the pumpkin, chickpeas, red onion and coriander in a mixing bowl. Pour on the tahini sauce and toss carefully. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Answer 7

Leave the tofurkey be! You can make a great vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner without resorting to fake turkey (that isn't very good anyway).

Here's my suggested menu (I have cooked most of these thinks for holiday meals myself):
Homemade whole-berry cranberry sauce cooked with fresh orange zest, savory cornbread dressing with lots of celery and onions, baked sweet potatoes or boiled new potatoes tossed with hot pepper, sea salt and olive oil, baked homemade macaroni and cheese, okra and tomatoes, sauteed brussels sprouts with garlic and parmesean, homemade wheat rolls, fresh fruit and sweet potato pie or pumpkin pie for dessert.

Answer 8

OMG! Whatever you do, DON'T get Tofurkey!!! It is horrible and a waste of $!!! Best thing to do is make all the traditional stuff w/o meat products and look for a nice holiday-themed recipe for a main dish... Go with Moosewood or something equally classy... Most non-veg people still love that food; they do have problems if you go too "granola" though so don't use a recipe from one of the really "earthy" cookbooks...

Answer 9

Make a vegetarian lasagna. No need for turkey at all. I've tasted the tofu-turkey & it's gross. My grandma bought one, thank goodness it was small, to try. YUCK! Some other answers suggested a stuffed squash. That actually sounds tastier than tofu-turkey. My step-uncle's vegetarian & loved the vegitarian lasanga that I made. I used a soy-based cottage cheese in place of the ricotta. Everyone loved the lasanga & we had NO leftovers of it!

Answer 10

SOOOOOOOOOO much better than Tofurkey is "Quorn" brand turkey roast!!! ( i can only find this brand at Whole Foods Market in so Cal)
but with that turkey roast, and some vegetable boullion in place of chicken or ?? in your stuffing recipe, you can make quite the yummy thxgiving feast !

Add some good garlic mashed taters (just the instant type in the bag is SO yummy) along with some veg. gravy, and whatever else ya like...salad, corn, green beans etc. you will be happily surprised the next time you cook Thxgiving dinner and so will your guests!
Ive fooled many a meat eater with these dishes, its so yummy and sooo much healthier for ALL:)

Good luck!
Jill Anderson

Answer 11

I've done baked butternut squash with butter and brown sugar as an alternate entree' for a vegetarian guest.

That was on a budget in graduate school when I used to host a holiday meal for all the expatriates in the department.

Aloha