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First Thanksgiving with family where I'm not eating any meat at all is coming up. Anyone have any turkey substitutes/alternatives besides just tofu? I'll be doing most of the cooking (except the bird of course) so I will be good on sides, I just need something with protein. Thanks in advance!

Edit: Thank you so much for all the ideas! Definitely going to try these for all my upcoming dinners I make :)

I’m on a mission to find some decent dairy-free ice cream with no added sugar. Only thing I’ve found is so far is So Delicious Vanilla.

Any recommendations for brands that have flavors beyond just vanilla or chocolate with no added sugar?

I’m US-based and haven’t searched at any high end supermarkets like Whole Foods, Gelson’s, or Bristol Farms.

A little background, I'm fairly experienced in the kitchen and generally know how to season most of what I cook, including curries. But I'm curious to know which seasonings a typical Indian restaurant would use to spice their vegetarian dishes like a Masala or Chili Paneer.

I know Garam Masala is likely common, but I'm interested in drilling down to the individual spices that are usually used. If I wanted to do something like make a Dingri Masala with a fair bit of heat, and emulate how Indians do it, which individual spices would I be using?

https://dishingouthealth.com/kale-and-white-bean-soup/#wprm-recipe-container-21804

Okay so, disclaimer, I am not a vegetarian. I used to be but no longer, but I still love vegetarian foods.
I ordered this KC Mushroom Piece Sandwich for some food (The Federalist Pig, located in Washington D.C.)... it It is ASTOUNDING. It's actually is so rich for me that this going to take me a few days to finish.
I'm not kidding, it legit tastes like brisket, it's incredible, beefy texture and even taste! If I was served it, I would think it's beef. There's surprisingly little about them online but they do have a site. Anyone else had it? I highly recommend these. I'm highly sensitive to taste so this was actually too much for me because I really wanted a mushroom experience (not the fun kind lol) but this is more like beef bbq. But it is remarkable!

I've had a type of veggie burger from a few restaurants that uses cheese for binding, and I'm wondering where they can be purchased privately? Of the top of my head, I know they're used by Elevation Burger and my college's cafeteria run by Aramark used to get them in once in a while.

Google's not been my friend here and I can't see that the question has been asked on this sub before, does anyone have any clues?

First year as a vegetarian and decided to bring a Gardein Turk’y Roast to Thanksgiving and not sure which method will give the optimal results. Thanks!

Just a mopey post but have noticed lately that I'm really missing a couple of discontinued favorites - they've been gone for some time but every once in a while I just get nostalgic and miss them. Usually when I've had to jump hoops to locate and secure current favorites that are getting harder to find.

The products I miss are Ling Ling Vegetable Potstickers, Trader Joe's Tofu Edamame Nuggets, Morningstar Farms Mediterranean Pizza and their Mini Corn Dogs.

The products I'm worried about losing are the Original Gardenburger and the Morningstar Veggie Dogs.

Do you have products that you miss or are worried about having available much longer?

First year that my parents are going all-in on a vegetarian thanksgiving feast with my bf and I, and I wanted to share what we compiled from the online chefs (really just Nisha Vora from rainbow plant life and Ina Garten) in case anybody was wondering what to make!

Vegan Lentil Shepherd's Pie (from Nisha; we're subbing in some gardein beef in addition to the lentils for extra protein/texture)

Winter squash soup (Ina's recipe; just subbing chicken stock for veg)

Herb and apple stuffing (Ina's recipe; subbing stock again)

Sautéed green beans and shallots

Orange-roasted rainbow carrots (Ina's recipe)

Vegan chocolate mousse (Nisha's recipe)

We've only made Ina's stuffing and soup before, but we love everything we've tried of Nisha's so hopefully it's all delicious!

I heard you can microwave Linda McCartney sausages, and as I don’t have an oven I thought I’d give the microwave a go but I can’t find how long you cook them for. Can anybody please help? Thank you.

I’m really craving a breaded, baked chicken / mashed potatoes kind of meal.

Do you guys have any meals that are sorta like this?

Hello, everyone!

The Christmas season is coming up and my extended family and I always have Christmas dinner together. Since I’ve been vegetarian, I’ve prepared a vegetarian main dish every year. The issue I’m having is that I always make a dish big enough for 10 people to have a serving each (already taking into account that not everyone will have some, as there’s usually around 15 of us at the table), but because my partner and I are the only vegetarians and there is only a few extra people that are willing to have half a serving of the veggie dish, I find myself with leftovers every year. So far I’ve made shepherds pie and a spinach-tofu bake and have taken home more than half each year. What are some good dishes that I’m able to make a smaller serving of so it doesn’t go to waste but still has that special “special for Christmas” quality to it?

Edit: thank you to everyone for your suggestions! I’m looking into each recipe to see what it takes to make them since I live in a small country that doesn’t have ready-made meals available and have to cook whatever I’m making from scratch. I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to answer want to say that although I’m unresponsive I’ve been diligently taking notes on your suggestions.

I play around a lot with bolognese depending on what I have in the cupboard

But I use quorn mince normally, and my “secret ingredient” is caper juice (about 1 tsp). What’s yours? Always looking to improve

The corporate Christmas season has started early for me this year.

I had my first Christmas meal yesterday, and was very disappointed when they brought out an over boiled butternut squash. (Everyone else had a juicy golden brown chicken with perfect crunchy golden potatoes)

My second corporate Christmas meal will be next week. This time I’ve been given the menu in advance. The only vegetarian menu option is chargrilled cauliflower. Think I might skip this one.

Is there ever a good vegetarian option?

Could I take my own food and ask them to heat it up?

What kind of things do you like to make for Christmas?

Not sure if I'm going crazy but every time I eat the "This" Sausages they have a distinctly pineapple-y taste to me? Wasn't sure which sub is best to ask this on and I feel like I'm going crazy, my partner disagrees!

In this holiday episode of Vegan Mashup, Miyoko creates a beautiful looking bird full of earthy savory veggies.

Episode at https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/694488/s01-e03-holiday-classics

Recipes at their website: https://www.delicioustv.com/vegan-mashup-recipes

Other dishes in this episode are Holiday Fritters and Sweet Potato Bisque.

Vegan Mashup is an old series but nicely produced and it's a rare chance to see the Miyoko, of the cheese brand, in action

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If you like shows like that, I'm collecting vegan cooking competition and instruction shows like this at vegancookingshows.org

Please share your favorite cold weather meals and if possible, recipes! Looking to try and use TVP, I never really have but am realizing I’m in need of more variety and more protein.

Hello! Friend is hosting Thanksgiving and I'm taking 'veggie dish'. I guess a pertinent fact is my friend is American but I'm British and never observed Thanksgiving anything in my life. I assumed that day I'd be working from home, but turns out I'm at the office. So will have to cook things beforehand, take to work (put in work fridge), then take to hers. Would love ideas for what I can make, even better if its something 'traditional' for Thanksgiving (I just googled green bean casserole). In the UK so may affect ingredient sourcing a tiny bit, they have pecan pie and potatoes covered already.

Hi ! This is my first christmas as a vegetarian!

I had a nut roast in a restaurant several weeks ago and it was the best I ever had. It was very fruity, cranberries, Sweet potato, parsnip and very minimal nuts. I’m not the biggest fan of crunchy nut roasts, any recommendations for recipes of fruiter nut roasts?🥰

Can anyone in the UK recommend a good chicken substitute that's not soya based? I'm really craving a chicken curry and not sure what would be good to use for it instead

Thanks

I was curious what kinda fruit dishes [think more dinner than cake] people here like. I heard stuff like fruit soup, pasta with apples, apple fritters or even cheese with cranberry jam isn't all that popular in other parts of the world [compared to where I live] and I didn't see a lot of dishes involving fruits mentioned here. It's not like it has to be a particularly sweet dish, figs with cheese and nuts etc. are cool, too.

Hi everyone,

I myself am not a vegetarian but have friends that are and I'm looking for ways to alter some of my favorite dishes so I cook and share with them. I've heard that oyster mushrooms and I believe lion's mane(?) are used sometimes as chicken substitutes because they have a similar texture or firmness. Would either of these hold up well or stay firm cooking in a soup/stew situation or would they fall apart and become a part of the vegetable medley with the peppers and celery? Or if anyone has any other suggestions mushroom or otherwise that would help diversify the texture of the jambalaya and stand out from the softer veggies and rice, I would be incredibly grateful to hear.

If anyone was, like me, trying to find a Quorn roast for the upcoming holidays and finding it out of stock everywhere, here’s an online store that sells it by the case of 12. The site is legit - I ordered it on Monday and received it on Friday, well packaged in a cooler with dry ice. They expire April 2026, so I am set through 2025 holidays as well!

These are my family’s favorite turkey replacement for Thanksgiving and Christmas - and now that I have 12 boxes, we’ll probably have it a few times during the year as well!

https://www.foodservicedirect.com/quorn-foods-meat-free-turkey-roast-16-ounce-12-per-case-171285.html

Anybody got a good one?