Vegan Holiday Recipes + My Tips For Navigating the Holidays as a Vegan – Oh She Glows (2024)

Vegan Holiday Recipes + My Tips For Navigating the Holidays as a Vegan – Oh She Glows (1)

While many of you in the US are putting the finishing touches on your Thanksgiving plans, many of us Canadians are already starting to think about our December menus. Here are some of my favourite vegan holiday recipes that could suit many holiday meals, or perhaps simply a comforting dinner on a cold night!

See below for my tips on navigating the holidays as a vegan.

Soup & Salad:

Mushroom Millet Soup with Cheezy Garlic Bread

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Holiday Soup for the Soul

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Spiced Red Lentil, Tomato, and Kale Soup

Holiday Salad with Cranberry Apple Orange Vinaigrette

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Main Course:

Glazed Lentil Walnut Loaf

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High Protein Mashed Potatoes (also see my red lentil version on VegNews)

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Cranberry, Apricot and Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf

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This Ain’t Grandma’s Sweet Potato Casserole

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Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Rosemary and Garlic

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Roasted Butternut Squash with Kale and Almond Pecan Parmesan

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Dessert!

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Serve with Whipped Coconut Cream if you’d like…

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Sinless Sticky Toffee Pecan Pudding

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Pumpkin Gingerbread with Spiced Buttercream

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Pumpkin Pie Brownies

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Breakfast:

What to do with leftover pumpkin pie? Meet Vegan Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Casserole!

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Baked Apples Stuffed with Cinnamon, Date, Pecan Oatmeal

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Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole

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Gift Ideas:

Slow Cooker Naked Apple Butter

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Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter with Hemp, Flax, and Chia or 2-Minute Apple Cinnamon PB

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Homemade Pumpkin Butter From Scratch (or from a can)

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I’ve received many questions over the years about how to navigate the holidays as a new vegan. The first year I was “coming out” as a vegan, I recall being so anxious about holiday get togethers! It was the first time I was seeing many family members and I was nervous about explaining it to everyone. Thankfully, I anticipated it to be much worse in my own mind than it actually was, but that isn’t to say that I didn’t have my fair share of critics, comments, and questions too.

Here are some of my tips for navigating holiday dinners as a vegan:

1. If you will be eating at a family members house, let them know well in advance that you eat a vegan diet so there aren’t any surprises on the day of. Don’t be afraid to explain it clearly as it’s not unusual for someone to think a vegan still eats butter or eggs. It’s also helpful to remind them what you DO eat! Often people can assume that vegans have a super restrictive diet, so it’s helpful to let them know all the foods that you do eat – vegetables, fruit, legumes, beans, grains, nuts/seeds, oils, soy, herbs/spices, etc or remind them of foods that are naturally vegan.

2. After letting the hosts know, offer to bring a couple vegan dishes so they don’t feel like they have to scramble to find vegan recipes. A couple good options are the lentil loaf and the Cranberry, Apricot and Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf. For the lentil loaf, I suggest slightly undercooking it the first time if you plan on reheating it in the oven just before serving (so it doesn’t dry out). If you are traveling from afar, offer to help prepare a couple vegan dishes the day before. This again would be helpful to plan out before you arrive.

3. What if you are hosting the meal as a new vegan? When I hosted my first vegan Thanksgiving back in 2010, I let my guests know that the meal would be 100% vegan – and of course delicious! If you don’t want any animal products at your meal, make this clear in advance or you might find Uncle Ted showing up with his turkey the morning of.

4. Challenge some of your open-minded guests to “veganize” one of their favourite recipes and bring it to the dinner. Make this into a competition for the “best vegan dish” at your holiday meal and award a prize to the winner each year! How fun would this be?

5. What to do about naysayers? There will always be naysayers, comments, or questions about why you eat a vegan diet – and it’s good to be able to explain it to others in a few words. Just like they tell entrepreneurs to be able to describe their business in a single sentence, it’s important to be able to communicate why you are a vegan. Plan for these questions and you won’t be thrown off by them at the dinner table. If you are feeling really uncomfortable or cornered by a critic, you can always suggest that you discuss it after the meal. It’s easy to feel outnumbered as a vegan around the holidays, so I like to keep my sense of humour. Crack a joke right or sarcasm right back to a naysayer. It doesn’t need to be so serious.

6. A delicious vegan dish can tame even the toughest critic. Win them over with the food. ‘Nough said!

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well! Do you find it difficult to navigate the holidays as a vegan? What tips would you give to new vegans?

Vegan Holiday Recipes + My Tips For Navigating the Holidays as a Vegan – Oh She Glows (2024)

FAQs

Is Angela Liddon vegan? ›

Angela Liddon is the writer, photographer, and recipe developer for Oh She Glows, an award-winning healthy vegan recipe website.

What is Angela Liddon doing? ›

Liddon continues to inspire both men and women to make healthy lifestyle choices. She has recently released the Oh She Glows app which contains healthy plant-based recipes, many of which are the result of experimenting with different ingredients and modifying family recipes to make them vegan-friendly.

How to gradually go vegan? ›

Start gradually
  1. Start by eliminating two animal-based foods and replacing them with a healthier alternative. ...
  2. Increase consumption of whichever fruits and vegetables that you love or already have at home. ...
  3. Try new fruits and vegetables that you don't eat regularly, adding one or two a week.
Aug 8, 2023

How to eat vegan for a month? ›

You could start by removing meat or dairy one day a week and go from there. Or you could try changing one meal at a time, having vegan breakfasts during your first week, adding a vegan lunch during week two and so on.

Is oh she glows still vegan? ›

The Oh She Glows Recipe App

With more than 180 vegan recipes (including over 150 gluten-free recipes), meal prepping has never been easier or more tasty!

Is Bieber A vegan? ›

While the pop star enjoys a plant protein-packed shake at home and previously worked with Schmidt's to create a vegan deodorant, it is not confirmed that Justin abstains from animal products.

Do you age slower on vegan diet? ›

A vegan diet won't necessarily make you age slower – but it may help you look younger and get around many of the aches, pains, and degenerative diseases that affect us as we get older instead.

What snack foods can vegans eat? ›

Try These Popular Vegan Snacks (Chips, Cookies, and More)
  • Vegan Rob's Chips.
  • Rivalz Extra Chedda' Mac.
  • Outstanding Foods PigOut Pigless Pork Rinds.
  • Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars—Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate.
  • Trader Joe's Almond Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets.

Is peanut butter vegan? ›

The bottom line. Most types of peanut butter are free of animal products and can be enjoyed as part of a vegan diet. However, some varieties are made in facilities that also process animal products or contain refined sugar that was produced using bone char or non-vegan ingredients like honey or fish oil.

How much weight can you lose in 2 weeks on a vegan diet? ›

Vegan diet to lose weight

Studies have shown that a vegan diet can reduce your weight by an average of 5.6 pounds in 18 weeks, or less or more than a third of a pound per week!

How to eat vegan for beginners? ›

  1. Make Vegetables the Stars of Your Meals. ...
  2. Eat a Variety of Foods. ...
  3. Choose Whole Grains. ...
  4. Discover New Plant-Based Proteins. ...
  5. Don't Assume Vegan Food Products Are Healthier. ...
  6. Focus On Fish-Free Omega-3s. ...
  7. Don't Forget About Vitamin D. ...
  8. Pump Up Your Iron.
Sep 30, 2022

How long does the average vegan stay vegan? ›

2% of the U.S. population 17+ is a vegetarian or vegan. 84% of vegetarians/vegans abandon their diet. About a third (34%) of lapsed vegetarians/vegans maintained the diet for three months or less. Slightly more than half (53%) adhered to the diet for less than one year.

How to start a vegan diet for beginners? ›

Start off with simple plant-based dishes such as hearty bowls of oatmeal topped with fruit and nuts; roasted veggie hummus wraps; peanut butter and banana sandwiches; and veggie stir-fries with brown rice, she suggests.

How long does it take your body to adjust to vegan diet? ›

How long before your body adjusts to the effects of a plant-based diet? Adjusting your body to a plant-based diet might take up to four to six weeks.

How do you detox before going vegan? ›

Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to support the detoxification process and help alleviate some of the common side effects. Gradual Transition: Consider gradually transitioning to a vegan diet rather than making an abrupt change.

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