36 Vegan Thanksgiving Sides That Will Wow Friends and Family

Thanksgiving sides are the spice of life. They add color, texture, and a delicious medley of flavor to support every kind of entrée. One could easily make a satisfactory and indulgent meal simply out of sides, and if sweet potato casserole is one of them, even dessert is covered.

Make room on your stovetop, clear out the fridge, and assemble every pot, pan, and serving dish you own. Here are 36 delightful vegan Thanksgiving sides. 

Lauren Lovatt

1 Vegan Roasted Sweet Basil Squash

Sweet, caramelized, and basil-scented, these thick crescents of onion squash could make for a meal. This particular recipe pairs them with a wild rice and mustard greens salad, but the squash slices are exceptional on their own. 
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Peggy Brusseau

2 Vegan Pumpkin & Parsnip Soup

Need something simple to throw together? This six-ingredient (seven, if you count black pepper) recipe is straightforward and can be made in under an hour. Want to save even more time? Buy canned pumpkin. 
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Julieanna Hever and Ray Cronise

3 Healthy Vegan Tarragon Mustard Brussels Sprouts

Consider this fresh rendition of Brussels sprouts as a palate cleanser between heavier bites of non-dairy mac and cheese and gravy-loaded biscuits. In lieu of the traditional maple syrup-coated and roasted preparation, these tiny cabbages are covered in a bright sauce that will wake up everyone’s taste buds. 
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Little Pine

4 Crispy Herb-Roasted Maitake Vegan Crostini With Walnut Pesto Aioli

This multi-dimensional amuse-bouche will set the stage for the rest of the meal. Straight from the kitchen of the esteemed Los Angeles vegan restaurant Little Pine, this recipe will lay high expectations for the dishes to come. 
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Vegan Richa

5 Zesty Roasted Cauliflower With Safflower and Radishes

A whole roasted head of cauliflower is impressive, but just like a turkey, it can be intimidating to slice and serve. Florets are certainly more shareable. Unlike most Thanksgiving dishes, these cruciferous veggies pack in a little kick—a welcome twist to a spread dominated by cream, sage, and rosemary.  
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Andrea Soranidis

6 Easy, Creamy Pumpkin Soup With White Beans

Pro tip: make a creamy soup without dairy by adding white beans (cannellini or navy work best). Just a half cup of beans blended into eight cups of roasted pumpkin will lend a velvety, indulgent texture. No heavy cream required. 
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Audrey Fitzjohn

7 Flaky Vegan Mushroom Turnovers

Depending on how many you eat, these wonderful little hand pies could turn into a meal. Serve with gravy and cranberry sauce, and your guests will never want to stop devouring these umami bombs. 
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So Vegan

8 Garlicky Vegan Mushroom Swirls

This recipe is similar to the turnovers in that it involves carbs and shrooms, but instead of a flaky crust, you’ll bite into a tender, buttery dough. If making the bread from scratch seems a bit too daunting, store-bought pizza dough will yield similar results. 
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9 Vegan Warm Butter Beans With Roasted Red Peppers

Tired of green beans? This elegant white bean dish breathes new life into the obligatory Thanksgiving bean side. It’s warming, comforting, and complex in flavor. Make it for the big day or any evening you’re looking to impress your guests.
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Hannah Kaminsky

10 Best Ever Vegan Mac and Cheese

What defines the best mac and cheese? To us, it’s a thick cheese sauce, baked breadcrumbs, a super soft and silky center, and just-shy-of-burnt edges. This is another side that could make a meal on any day other than Thanksgiving.
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Moku Foods

11 Vegan Nut and Herb-Crusted Cheese Ball

Those who take pride in going above and beyond for Thanksgiving don’t simply buy vegan cheese—they make it. This is a fabulous make-ahead side that will satisfy your guests’ munchies before the dinner begins. Serve with vegan crackers, slices of crusty baguette, or crudité. 
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Ashley Hankins

12 Vegan Crab and Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

If something is creamy, baked, and breadcrumb-topped, it qualifies as a Thanksgiving side. Serve these savory bites to keep family entertained as you prep the main meal. 
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Barb Musick

13 Foolproof Buttery Vegan Cornbread

Do you take your cornbread sweet or savory? It’s a polarizing question. This particular recipe leans heavily toward sweet, but you can balance it out by adding sliced jalapeños or pulling back a smidge on the sugar (not completely, though, as it’s necessary for texture here). Serve with your favorite non-dairy butter.  
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Celine Steen

14 Sour Cream Onion Scones

Level up the basic biscuits or bread rolls with these savory scones. This recipe calls for a homemade sour cream, but when you’re preparing seven other dishes, it’s totally appropriate to settle for store-bought (it gets baked in, anyway). Make these a few days ahead, freeze them, and simply reheat them in the oven minutes before dinner. 
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Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby

15 Shaved Brussels Sprouts With Creamy Mustard Sauce

Technically a salad, this light side is ideal for those who don’t love chomping into a thick piece of Brussels sprout. Even the kiddos will gobble up this festive fall side. 
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Ashley Madden

16 Vegan Tahini Caesar With Smoked Chickpeas

Hostess tip: make extra of this salad and eat the leftovers when your body craves something green after a long day of eating. Thanks to the sturdy kale, it holds up well in the fridge for a few days.
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Ashley Madden

17 Easy Cheesy Broccoli Potatoes 

Yes, there is room for more than one potato dish on the Thanksgiving table. Serving as a textural contrast to the classic creamy mash, these potatoes are charred, crispy, and studded with roasted broccoli florets. 
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Danielle Keith

18 Vegan Cheesy Cauliflower Potato Casserole

Here is yet another creamy, baked, and breadcrumb-topped dish to plonk on the table. Be sure to grab a canister of gluten-free breadcrumbs to make this dish allergen-friendly. 
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Matthew Pritchard

19 Cheesy Vegan Asparagus Straws in Buttery Puff Pastry

Store-bought puff pastry is a magical ingredient. It can turn anything into a fancy appetizer with the most minimal effort. This recipe uses asparagus, but almost any veggie would do here. 
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Terry Hope Romero

20 Vegan Potato Leek Soup With Broccoli Gremolata

Give garlic a break—leeks are the often underutilized allium. Like garlic, they’re potent, flavorful, and play well with other ingredients. We’ll be sipping on this soup all winter long. 
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Ilene Godofsky Moreno

21 Vegan Holiday Stuffing Flavored Hummus

Hummus is an every-occasion food. Sure, you may associate it with dipping baby carrots into your own personal hummus tub while lounging in sweats on the couch, but it can also be gussied up and served as a sophisticated Thanksgiving side. The one thing we know for certain is that hummus is universal. 
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Akhtar Nawab

22Crispy Brussels Sprouts With Tamarind and Cashews

Tamarind offers an unsuspected yet pleasant sour note to any Thanksgiving spread. This side kicks it up another notch with spicy chilies and a good amount of garlic. Serve over mashed potatoes to cool down your palate. 
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Mareya Ibrahim

23Charred Brussels Sprouts With Black Garlic

Brussels sprouts are like tofu—the sprout- and tofu-averse just haven’t had them prepared the right way. When you char these tiny cabbages and pair them with deliciously unctuous black garlic, they’re irresistible. 
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Lauren Hartmann and Julie Grace

24 Vegan Baked White Mac and Cheese

For the die-hard fans of the lesser-known white cheddar mac and cheese, this recipe is for you. Made dairy-free with a decadent blend of cashews, tahini, silken tofu, mustard, and nutritional yeast, it’s an unexpected but not unwelcome detour from the traditional yellow-orange pasta. 
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Kate Jacoby

25Roasted Asparagus With Hazelnut Picada

Fresher than a green bean casserole, this side is still belly-warming and comforting. The asparagus is perfectly tender while the hazelnut breadcrumb mixture provides that crunch we all crave.
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Terry Hope Romero

26Vegan Cornbread Loaf

Looking for a less-sweet cornbread recipe? This is it. Exceptional when slathered with vegan honey butter or savory gravy, this cornbread is versatile and easy to make.
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Brian L. Patton

27 Sweet Potato Swirl Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are a must, but they can be very one-note. This spud-focused dish adds a touch of sweetness and a bit of a pop thanks to the addition of allspice and ginger. Plus, it looks prettier than the traditional white blob of mashed russets. 
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Simon Smith

28 Hasselback Potatoes With Cheese Sauce

Hasselback veggies look far more complicated than they actually are. For those who crave crisp rather than cream, this potato preparation is the way to go. Each little slice and crevice gets mouthwateringly crispy and simultaneously serve as deep crevices for cheese sauce. Genius. 
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Hollan Hawaii

29 Vegan Holiday Dinner Rolls

Calling all bread bakers, this is your time to shine. All these fluffy white rolls need is a thick pat of butter—no other adornment necessary. 
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Kate Lewis

30 Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

When it comes to Brussels sprouts, this six-ingredient recipe is about as minimal as they come. Don’t worry—the flavor isn’t jeopardized by the lack of fussy ingredients. This recipe allows the Brussels sprouts to stand on their own, ever-so-lightly supported with aromatic garlic and bright balsamic vinegar. 
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Miyoko’s Creamery

31Baked Miyoko’s Cheese Wheel En Croute

This is one of the most deceptively simple yet impressive sides on this list. All you need is three ingredients: jam, a wheel of gourmet vegan cheese, and puff pastry. Spread the jam in the center of a puff pastry sheet, place the cheese on top, spread with another layer of jam, and fold the pastry over the top. It’s easy enough for a novice cook, and it can be made within an hour of dinnertime. Just be sure to serve it hot and with a very sharp serrated knife. 
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Hollan Hawaii

32Vegan Creamed Corn

Not every family is a creamed corn family, but you know who you are. It’s not the easiest dish to veganize, which is why we were thrilled when we came across this magical recipe. Coconut creamer and cornstarch provide the decadent cream factor without making the entire dish taste like a tropical vacation. 
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Jeremy Patton

33 Vegan Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

All you need is four pantry ingredients to make vegan buttermilk biscuits your grandmother will be proud of. Serve piping hot with a boat of mushroom gravy and all will be right with the world. 
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Rachel Morris

34 Vegan Warm Kale Salad With Roasted Sweet Potato

Get something fresh and green on the table to balance out the decadent mains and sides. Thanks to the kale and sweet potato, this salad is hearty without being heavy. 
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Lauren Toyota

35 Vegan Gravy

This silky-smooth gravy achieves the perfect pourable consistency. Drizzle it on everything listed above—from the hand pies to the biscuits and the Brussels sprouts to the potatoes. Maybe not the mac and cheese, but you do you. 
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Simon Smith

36 Cranberry Orange Sauce

Every year, we change up our solid cranberry sauce recipe with a different fruit. Sometimes apples, other times pears, but this year, we’re opting for oranges. Spiced with cinnamon and ginger, there’s so much more to this Thanksgiving staple that it’s good enough to eat on its own. 
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