Living in an RV, I don't have much space to store holiday feast leftovers. But I do want SOME leftovers. The meal I'm going to tell you about below made enough for the two of us to have two dinner-sized meals and two leftovers burritos for Kevin. So this vegan holiday feast made 6 total meals. Not bad!
This meal is also made up of some dishes that are start-to-finish from scratch, some that use some pre-made ingredient assists, and some that are totally pre-made. This allowed me to work more efficiently in my small kitchen and also made the best use of my time. If you're limited by time, making use of some pre-made and quickly made dishes can really help speed things along!
Here's what I made and then I'll elaborate more on each: Celebration Roast, Crescent Rolls, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, and Sweet Potato Pie.
Dishes in this Vegan Holiday Feast
Field Roast Sage & Garlic Plant-Based Celebration Roast
This little Celebration Roast is perfect for small gatherings. You'll usually find it in the refrigerator section wherever you normally find vegan deli meats. Unlike many of the other roasts, this product is available year-round. To prepare it, I just sliced it and fried it in a non-stick frying pan.
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Kevin has strong feelings about having crescent rolls with a Thanksgiving meal. These are accidentally vegan. All you have to do is crack open the can, roll them up, and bake.
Stuffing
Even though the Celebration Roast has stuffing in its center, I made one as a side, too. Rather than making it fully from scratch, I grabbed a bag of Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing and veganized the recipe on the package. If you want to see what I did, here's the complete recipe. There are probably healthier options for stuffing mix, but this one is widely available. This flavor is vegan, but the other ones from Pepperidge Farms are not.
Green Bean Casserole
For the Green Bean Casserole, I went scratch and used Susan Voisin's recipe. For just the two of us, I halved the recipe and used frozen green beans to shorten the prep time. By the way, if you're looking for healthier recipes, browser Susan's site. I use her recipes all the time and they are always delicious.
Gravy
This simple brown gravy is my go-to recipe. (Scroll down, it's with the Loco Moco.) To make it more Thanksgivingy I added a pinch of sage and thyme but you could skip that. It's easy, fast, and has minimal ingredients.
Canned Cranberry Sauce
I do love a cranberry sauce made from whole cranberries but there's a certain amount of nostalgia associated with the canned stuff. I forgot it for the photo but it was definitely there!
Sweet Potato Pie
Last year in Baja I made a pumpkin pie. So this year I decided to try something different. If you've spent any time in the south, you're probably familiar with Sweet Potato Pie. I opted to make it with a gluten-free crust which is a little healthier but also include instructions for a traditional crust.
Did you know Reddi-wip makes almond and coconut whipped toppings? Just look for it where you find their other refrigerated whipped toppings.
I hope this answers the question what vegans eat for Thanksgiving or Christmas. What will your holiday meals be like this year? Giant family feasts or small intimate gatherings?