Vegetarian Christmas Recipes

This take on a green bean casserole from José Andrés features perfectly cooked green beans in a mushroom sauce made with real cream. Andrés even gives the traditional canned french-fried onions a run for their money with some freshly frizzled shallot rings. Serve for Thanksgiving or as a side for roast beef or roast chicken.

Russets are our potato of choice for this garlicky mashed potato recipe because they cook up super-fluffy.

Serve this low-carb side dish with roast pork, roast chicken or a firm white fish, like halibut or cod. No microwave? Bake squash halves cut-side down at 400 degrees F until tender, 40 to 50 minutes.

You've never made a snowman like this! These cute lightened-up cookies are awesome on their own, or float one in a cup of hot chocolate and watch it melt away. When making meringues, make sure that your bowl and beaters are clean and that there is not a trace of yolk in the egg white; the smallest amount of fat will prevent the egg whites from forming meringue. Depending on the humidity in your kitchen, the baking time might vary considerably. Check to make sure your cookies are crisp throughout before removing them from the oven.

You won't believe how easy it is to make these seriously impressive cookies. Hard candy melts when crushed into the center of these festive sugar cookies, making a gorgeous stained glass effect. Use any shape cookie cutter you like, just make sure you have two--a big one for each cookie, and a slightly smaller one for the hole in the middle.

Coconut oil stands in for butter in this dairy-free, eggless cookie recipe for completely mouthwatering gingerbread cut-outs. Decorate cookies with a simple vegan icing or sanding sugar.

Diced sweet potato, bell peppers and apples make a vegan stuffing inspired by the flavors of sausage. To add that savory flavor, we use poultry seasoning (don't worry, there's no actual poultry in it!). Piled into portobello mushroom caps, it creates a beautiful and filling plant-based main dish--perfect for the holidays.

Juggling space in the oven on Thanksgiving is always a challenge. This stovetop version of a classic favorite casserole made with fresh green beans has all the traditional flavors, but doesn't take up any precious oven space.

This recipe mash-up marries the sweet, subtle flavor of pumpkin with the nuttiness of pecans. Not only do the pecans create a beautiful pattern on top, their addition to classic pumpkin pie also creates an amazing textural combination of creamy and crunchy. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream to make it even more delicious.

Make this classic comfort food side dish in an electric pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, to get the potatoes soft and tender in a jiff! This easy, 5-ingredient recipe is perfect for the holidays because it's all done in one pot and doesn't take up any extra oven or stove space.

Thanks to an electric pressure cooker like your Instant Pot, this fix-it-and-forget-it cranberry sauce is sure to free up some room on your stove. This Thanksgiving dinner essential has just five ingredients and is super easy, hands-off and ready in 30 minutes.

Gluten-free flour stands in for regular flour in these crisp, festive cut-out cookies that taste amazing. To decorate, dust cookies with sanding sugar before you bake them or drizzle and pipe on royal icing once they've cooled.

Instead of topping your apple pie with a full crust, cover the dough in cinnamon sugar, roll it up and slice it like cinnamon rolls to make beautiful cinnamon swirls to top the pie. The fragrant cinnamon bun-like topping makes homemade apple pie even more special!

Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, now this classic side dish is available to everyone. We love the deep flavor of cornbread in this entirely plant-based recipe. Our secret to getting that traditional flavor without chicken broth or turkey stock is adding in poultry seasoning--despite the name, there is no poultry in it!

The highlight of this gorgeous vegan holiday main dish recipe is the surprisingly rich dairy-free mushroom gravy. The roasted cauliflower is also pleasantly delicious thanks to a little caramelization while roasting. Smother a side of vegan mashed potatoes with any extra gravy.

Honeynut squash looks just like mini butternut squash, but on the inside you'll find an even sweeter, deeper orange flesh. This winter squash has only been available at farmers' markets and in select grocery stores for a few years. If you see it, grab a few to try! This simple roasting method enhances the natural flavor of the squash with butter and spices.

Now everyone can enjoy classic Thanksgiving favorites, like this dairy-free green bean casserole. We make a homemade vegan cream of mushroom soup using almond milk for the creamy base that's combined with fresh green beans. Top it off with classic french-fried onions (we have a vegan recipe for that, too!) for a side dish everyone will devour.

Oven-frying lightly battered onion slices produces the kind of crispy onions rings we all love, but with less fat and fewer calories. Plus, we use almond milk to make this crispy onion topping dairy-free and vegan--perfect for topping a vegan green bean casserole!

Instead of loading up this comfort food side with tons of brown sugar and marshmallows, we have turned to sweet spices, vanilla and inherently sweet dried fruit to enhance the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. A topping of pecans and pepitas replaces traditional marshmallow topping to keep it healthy and add texture and color for a beautiful casserole.

Most cranberry sauce recipes add tons of sugar to mask the tart taste of the cranberries. In this simple cranberry sauce, we lighten things up by skipping the sugar and opting for a healthier combination of dates and apple cider which adds just enough sweetness without overpowering the cranberry flavor.