Side dishes are the best part of Thanksgiving. This isn’t an issue of turkey vs Tofurky, it’s just a solid fact that the real MVPs are found on the sidelines for this holiday. Give me a plate piled high with stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and at least two or three other dishes that I had absolutely no intention of taking until I saw them from across the table. It’s that abundance to the point of excess that defines a happy Thanksgiving.
When you’re making your annual autumnal feast, the sides shouldn’t feel like supporting actor because really, they’re the main event. The riot of colors and textures is a seasonal showcase, shining a spotlight on all the best the harvest has to offer. If it happens to be lavished in a bit more vegan butter and brown sugar than usual, so be it.
Whether you’re hosting, bringing a dish to the table, or just looking for a few new ways to fill out the holiday spread, these are the recipes you’ll want to have in your back pocket. Some are classics that belong on the table year after year, while others put a welcome twist on tradition. Together, they make a Thanksgiving menu that has something for everyone, and gives you plenty of reasons to go back for seconds.
25 Best Vegan Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Forget the holiday roast; the real stars of Thanksgiving are on the sidelines. These vegan sides bring all the flavor, decadence, and abundance your holiday table deserves.
Honey Butter Potato Chip Rolls
Inspired by the addictive sweet and salty contrast of honey butter potato chips, these golden dinner rolls combine a tender, fluffy crumb with a crunchy potato chip crust on top. Be careful when you serve them, because they're destined to steal the spotlight from every main course.
Einkorn Stuffing
Whole einkorn berries glisten between flecks of sage, sweet-tart pomegranate arils, and tender bites of celery and carrot. Each spoonful offers a gentle chew, a pleasant resistance that gives way to buttery richness and herbaceous depth. It'll be hard to go back to wild rice after you try this modern take with a beloved ancient grain.
Rainbow Sweet Potato Tarte Tatin
Colorful rainbow sweet potatoes transform the traditional upside-down apple tarte tartin into a seasonal spectacle, elegant yet effortless, as the crowning jewel to any autumnal meal.
Sweet & Spicy Wild Rice Stuffing
Bring wild rice back to the table with a bold new approach. Fresh jalapeño and Thai bird's eye chili bring the heat, tempered by the sweet citrus flavor of orange juice, juicy red apples, and a touch of maple syrup. Aromatic and herbaceous, it's an ideal guest for any seasonal celebration.
Potato Pavé
Paper-thin slices of potatoes meet sweet and spicy vegan hot honey for the ultimate Thanksgiving side dish. Air fried to a crispy finish, it's a time consuming but luxurious way to elevate the humble spud.
Creamy Leek Gratin
Baked until they practically melt in your mouth in a savory sauce laden with cheese, this creamy leek gratin is the unassuming side dish that complements every meal. It's so creamy and luscious, it's almost like if mac and cheese and creamed onions had a love child. There's even a bread crumb topping to finish each bite with a satisfying crunch.
Make-Ahead Chickpea Gravy
Becoming more flavorful the longer it sits, this gravy is your new best friend for Thanksgiving. Feel free to double or triple the amounts, because there's no such thing as too much gravy.
Green Bean Casserole Fries
Get all the comforting flavor of a classic green bean casserole in a crispy, dippable appetizer! A light coating of crushed fried onions gives them a naturally gluten-free crunchy finish.
Browned Butter Mushroom Stuffing
Tangy sourdough and umami mushrooms are the foundation of this hearty, comforting stuffing. Infused with autumnal herbs and nutty browned butter, it's the best side dish you could invite over for Thanksgiving dinner.
Thanksgiving Smashed Potatoes with Gravy Aioli
Buttery smashed potatoes are baked until crispy and then drizzled all over with rich gravy aioli. It's the ultimate Thanksgiving side dish.
Ube Biscuits
Soft as butter itself, with equally tender yet flaky layers and a subtly sweet flavor, these alluring magenta biscuits are the perfect fusion of southern comfort and southeast Asian flair.
Toasted Warm Quinoa Salad with Browned Butter Vinaigrette
Breathe new life into Thanksgiving leftovers. Nutty, toasted quinoa bolsters roasted Brussels sprouts and crisp persimmons, lavished with a warm vegan browned butter dressing. Even if you have to start from scratch, it's worth the effort!
Sichuan (Szechuan) Green Bean Casserole
Meet your new Thanksgiving tradition in a casserole dish. Combining the standard green bean casserole with an infusion of spicy sichuan peppers, the results are just hot enough to make your lips tingle but still keep the savory soul of the dish baked right in.
Garden Herb Biscuits
Fresh herbs and a healthy handful of vegetables liven up this simple staple, making it ideal for serving with soups, smothered in gravy, or just eaten solo
Cheeseburger Stuffing
Served for Thanksgiving or any day at all, this hotdish combines the best parts of classic cheeseburger, from hearty meatless ground beef to sesame buns, and of course a generous topping of shredded vegan cheese.
Alligot
These are no mere mashed potatoes; these spuds are far richer and more decadent, to be doled out in small portions for special occasions that demand such lavish excess.
Autumn Cobb Salad
Elevate your salad game with a hearty Autumn Cobb Salad that swaps traditional ingredients for vibrant, seasonal, and vegan alternatives.
Creamed Crosnes
Speckled with both black and aleppo pepper, bathed in a creamy mustard-spiked sauce, fresh crosnes are immersed in a warm, creamy sauce, better than anything you'd find in a steakhouse.
Hasselback Honeynut Squash
Homemade vegan honey penetrates these tiny winter squash through wafer thin slits, balancing out a sweet and savory marinade. Scattering a handful of crisp sliced almonds on top brings in a world of textural contrast, but and chopped nut would be equally satisfying.
Kamut and Kale Salad
Toothsome, high-protein kamut, known in some circles as Khorasan wheat, is the backbone of this winter salad. Restorative and soothing when served warm, it’s just as satisfying prepared in advance and served chilled, for those unpredictable spikes in temperature as spring grows nearer. Transform it into a one-bowl main dish by tossing in cooked beans of any sort, and ramp up the rainbow of vegetables by adding thinly sliced radishes, shredded carrots, and/or diced avocado.
One-Pan Baked Macaroni and Cheese
When you're craving comfort food, this is the dish you're looking for. Beautifully baked slabs of cheesy, gooey mac and cheese with a crisp breadcrumb crust on top make it the ultimate recipe for everyday indulgence.
Radicchio and Roasted Purple Potato Salad
This salad is a bold study in contrasts. Fresh radicchio provides a tender-crisp bite against the creamy flesh of purple sweet potatoes, buttery chestnuts, crisp green apples, and crunchy pine nuts. It's a seasonal celebration that will make you love your veggies.
Butternut Potato Puffs
Inspired by my grandpa’s classic potato puffs, my rendition lightens the potato load with golden butternut puree. Pumpkin could effortlessly slip into that same role as well, if canned butternut is hard to come by. Crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, these tiny mountains of mashed potatoes finally introduce the textural interest that plain old smashed spuds lack.
Onion Creek Casserole
Meltingly tender, sweet onions slowly baked with savory spices make a brilliant standalone side dish, topping, or addition to your favorite meals.

I wish I could try all the recipes! What would be the two ones you recommend? :)
Tough call! If I could ONLY pick two… I think I would be happiest to see the Honey Butter Potato Chip Rolls and Hasselback Honeynut Squash on my table.