30 Tried-and-True Vegan Holiday Recipes

Does your holiday menu need a little bit of help? These are my favorite vegan holiday recipes that are perfect for your vegan Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year’s Eve spreads!

Table of Contents

• Vegan Holiday Recipes
  • Appetizers and Side Dishes
  • Vegan Holiday Main Dishes
  • Vegan Holiday Desserts
  • Vegan Holiday Cocktails

Vegan Holiday Recipes

I grew up in a house that celebrated all of these holidays, and for me, holiday food is a mashup of dishes that all have one thing in common: they are total comfort food. As an adult, I am always looking for vegan holiday recipes that aren’t necessarily traditional but are definitely hearty and cozy.

Instead of dividing the list below by holiday, I’m dividing it by course to make meal planning a bit easier. Take a gander and build your ideal vegan holiday menu from the recipes below!

Air Fryer Roasted Butternut Squash

Air Fryer Roasted Butternut Squash is a perfect holiday side dish. Especially with plenty of earthy mushrooms, savory green onions, and sweet-tart dried cranberries in the mix!

Appetizers and Side Dishes

1. Air Fryer Roasted Butternut Squash – Free up some oven space and roast your winter squash in the air fryer instead. It takes half the time to yield just as delicious results.

Holiday Kale Salad with Warm Ginger Cranberry Dressing

A hearty, warm, holiday kale salad recipe starring seasonal fruits and veggies.

2. Holiday Kale Salad – The warm ginger-cranberry dressing on this festive kale salad really takes it to the next level. The fresh cranberries in the dressing turn it vibrant, hot pink!

Easiest Vegan Cheeseball Ever

Who says party food has to take more than 10 minutes to make? Not this amazingly easy Vegan Cheeseball! 

3. Easiest Vegan Cheese Ball EVER – This super easy cheese ball takes only five to 10 minutes to make, and it’s a total hit with vegans and omnivores. I’ve been serving this recipe at my holiday parties for over a decade, and it’s one friends always request.

Vegan Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Here's my secret to making Vegan Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes for someone who super loves mashed potatoes.

4. Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes – Mashed cauliflower is nothing new, but this is the cauli mash that I serve my potato-loving family. Get my recipe, and don’t forget to top it with plenty of No-Cook Miso Gravy (below)!

Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms with Homemade Tofu Ricotta

Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms are a perfect party finger food or appetizer and a snap to make! The creamy basil tofu ricotta filling comes together in minutes.

5. Tofu Ricotta Stuffed Mushrooms – Stuffed mushrooms are classic vegan holiday fare, and what I love about this recipes is that you can make it in advance. Stuff your mushrooms the day before, then just pop them in the oven when you’re ready to serve.

Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip with Garlic Cashew Cream

This Vegan Spinach-Artichoke Dip recipe doesn’t use any mayo, cheese, cream cheese, or sour cream, but it’s just as decadent. Promise!

6. Spinach Artichoke Dip – Quick and easy garlic cashew cream replaces the cheese and mayo in this stellar party dip. This is another long-time fave. It’s adapted from a recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid, and it’s spot on!

7. Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Hazelnuts and Dried Cranberries – Only seven ingredients and 15 minutes stand between you and this sweet-and-savory holiday salad from Amy at Veggies Save the Day!

8. Vegan Mushroom Stuffing – I don’t usually make stuffing from scratch, so I love that Ginny’s mushroom stuffing keeps things simple by using pre-made stuffing as the base, then layering on plenty of richness with added mushrooms, herbs, and spices.

9. Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes – My family eats mashed potatoes at least once a week, so you can bet that they’ll be on our holiday table. Kristina at Spabettie makes deliciously simple mashed potatoes starring an entire head of roasted garlic!

Mandarin Orange Cranberry Sauce

Mandarin Orange Cranberry sauce was always a staple at holiday meals when I was a kid, and this year I grilled my pops for the recipe!

10. Mandarin Orange Cranberry Sauce – This family recipe takes minutes to make. It’s the cranberry sauce I ate growing up, and now I’m sharing the recipe with you!

Vegan Pot Pie with a Biscuit Crust

Vegan Pot Pie is super easy to make when you use this total cheater method for the crust on top. It’s packed with veggies and perfect for the holiday table.

Vegan Holiday Main Dishes

11. Vegan Biscuit Pot Pie – This super simple family favorite takes less than an hour to make but is hearty enough to be the star of your vegan holiday meal! It’s packed with tofu and veggies and topped with a totally-not-homemade biscuit crust.

Pineapple-Ginger Glazed Tofu Cutlets

Pineapple-Ginger Glazed Tofu Cutlets are sweet and savory with a perfect texture. They’re a great vegan Christmas dinner recipe, and sneakily simple to make! 

12. Pineapple-Ginger Glazed Tofu Cutlets – This flavorful baked tofu entree stars a no-simmer pineapple-ginger glaze. You make your glaze in the blender, and it thickens up while the tofu bakes in the oven. Such a tasty time-saver!

Vegan Aquafaba Latkes

These latkes are perfectly crisp on the outside and melt-in- your-mouth on the inside. The added potato starch increases their crispiness, but it is not essential. Some russet potatoes tend to be on the drier side, but to be safe, place them in a lint-free kitchen towel, fold up the edges and give them a good wring to remove excess water. Serve this the traditional way, with nondairy sour cream and applesauce.

13. Vegan Latkes – I made these vegan latkes for my whole, huge, Jewish family last Hanukkah, and they devoured them with plenty of applesauce and vegan sour cream on the side. They’re a bit time-consuming to make, but they’re also so, so worth the effort.

Baked Tofu Chops with Miso Gravy and Boozy Broccoli

Baked Tofu Chops in No-Cook Miso Gravy are a decadently simple supper that would even work on the holiday table. Boozy Broccoli braised in red wine goes perfectly alongside!

14. Baked Tofu Chops – This decadent vegan holiday recipe is actually based on my husband’s favorite way to make pork chops from back before he stopped eating meat. It’s ridiculously easy and a total holiday hit!

Quinoa Loaf with Ketchup Glaze

The prep time includes the time it takes to make the lentils in the pressure cooker and quinoa on the stovetop. You can mix up the ketchup glaze and the rest of the loaf dough and preheat the oven while those are cooking.

15. Quinoa Loaf – Vegan loaf recipes are pretty common, but what makes this one stand out is the sticky ketchup glaze. This is another no-cook glaze. For this one, you just whisk a few ingredients together in a bowl. Boom.

Orange Cranberry Holiday Tofu

This festive, cranberry-studded Holiday Tofu is easy to make and so, so flavorful. It's a real sweet, tart flavor explosion!

16. Orange Cranberry Tofu (coming 12/2/2019) – This sweet-tart holiday tofu recipe will knock your socks off, and it’s so easy to make!

No-Cook Miso Gravy

Y'all, this miso gravy could not be simpler to make, and it's freaking delicious.

17. No-Cook Miso Gravy – Speaking of that gravy, here’s the recipe! This recipe takes approximately five minutes in your blender, and it’s lovely anywhere you’d pass some gravy on the side.

Creamy Pumpkin Baked Orzo

No one needs to know how easy this creamy, Pumpkin Baked Orzo recipe is. You can serve it on a busy weeknight or at the holiday table.

18. Pumpkin Baked Orzo – This simple holiday entree is a little bit offbeat and super satisfying. The best part is that it tastes fancy without taking a ton of time and effort. You can even make it ahead and bake it up day-of!

19. Portobello Pot Roast – Mel at A Virtual Vegan has cracked the vegan pot roast code! This dish is a cozy addition to your vegan holiday spread, and it’s a lot easier to make than you’d think!

Pumpkin Spice Air Fryer Baked Apples

Pumpkin Spice Air Fryer Baked Apples are a healthy treat that come together in a fraction of the time it takes in the oven.

Vegan Holiday Desserts

20. Air Fryer Pumpkin Spice Baked Apples – If you’re looking for a healthier holiday dessert that’s still a total crowd-pleaser, this is the one! Baked apples cook up in half the time in your air fryer, and the flavorful pumpkin spice filling is ah-mazing!

Vegan Cherry Cheese Danish

I won’t tell anyone how easy it was to make this sweet, creamy, Vegan Cherry Cheese Danish if you don’t!

21. Cherry Cheese Danish – These festive little bites are super simple to make and a total hit at holiday parties! Premade crescent roll dough is the shortcut secret to these vegan cheese danish.

Vegan S’mores Cream Pie

A vegan s’mores cream pie: all of the goodness of s’mores in pie form. You can make your own crust, using the included recipe, or you can use store-bought. Do what works best for your time budget!

22. Vegan S’mores Cream Pie – Creamy chocolate filling and a toasty marshmallow topping make this an unforgettable vegan holiday dessert. You do need a kitchen torch for this recipe, but it is totally worth it.

23. No-Bake Peach Cheesecake Bites – These fruity little mini cheesecakes from Gwen at Delightful Adventures might not be super traditional, but they are super delicious! If fresh peaches aren’t looking good where you are, you can substitute frozen in this recipe. You can even make them ahead and freeze until you’re ready to dish them up.

24. Vegan Caramel Apples – Dianne from Dianne’s Vegan Kitchen has nailed the caramel apple. And the best part? They’re date-sweetened, so they’re sneakily a lot healthier than the traditional.

25. Lasso the Moon Cookies – Cadry’s chocolate-kissed vegan butter cookies are based on the movie It’s a Wonderful Life! It doesn’t get more Christmas-desserty than that. Don’t be intimidated by her cool chocolate “lassos,” they’re actually very easy to make!

Roasted Pear Not Buttered Rum

Not buttered rum may not have any dairy in it, but it’s still a strong, sweet, rich drink that’s perfect on a chilly fall or winter evening.

Vegan Holiday Cocktails

26. Roasted Pear Not-Buttered Rum – Spiced, buttery, roasted pear puree served hot with a splash of rum is a decadent after-dinner drink on a chilly holiday.

Ginger Cranberry Fizz

Sweet-and-spicy ginger syrup plus tart cranberry juice and bubbles. You can serve this ginger cranberry fizz with our without a splash of booze.

27. Ginger-Cranberry Fizz – You can make this festive holiday drink as a cocktail or a mocktail. You mix these up one at a time, so everyone can have exactly what they want.

Vegan Eggnog Recipe

This rich, decadent, spiced vegan eggnog recipe only takes 15 minutes to make. You’ll never miss the eggs and cream!

28. 15-Minute Eggnog – Serve this quick, easy vegan eggnog with or without a splash of booze. This recipe is as rich and creamy as its eggy cousin, but no animals harmed!

Mulled Apple Cider

You can make this mulled apple cider up to two days ahead. Once it’s cooled, just transfer to a large glass pitcher. On the day that you’re going to serve, pour it into a pot, and heat it up again.

29. Mulled Apple Cider – Not only is a batch of mulled cider basically required by law around the holidays, but it makes the house smell amazing! Serve this up with or without a splash of booze.

Hard Apple Cider Cocktail with Smoked Sage

A hard apple cider cocktail with smoked sage and a splash of gin is a sweet, herbal combination that’s surprisingly refreshing.

30. Hard Apple Cider with Smoked Sage – If you’re looking for some wow factor at your holiday party, this cocktail brings it. Season the glass with smoked sage – yes, you light it on fire! – then pour on plenty of hard cider and a touch of gin. It’s super easy to make but also feels super fancy.