Our 37 Best Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes

This cheesy baked polenta would be a perfect side dish, or even main. If you'd like to pair it with wine, go for a Bourgogne Rouge.

Pears and parsnips create a sweet-savory topping for these tartines. Toasted briefly under the broiler, the tartines are best eaten hot, while the parsnips are still crisp and the Fourme d'Ambert (a mild blue cheese) is gooey.

These delicious stuffed shells get flavor from a mixture of two kinds of cheese and vegetables.

This vegetarian quinoa salad would make a great first course for Thanksgiving. As a bonus, you can prepare the quinoa and sweet potatoes ahead of time and refrigerate them for up to two days.

In this satisfying lasagna, store-bought fresh pasta sheets are layered with wild mushrooms in a creamy wine sauce.

Both sweet potatoes and baking potatoes appear on this flatbread, which is baked until the edges of the potatoes crisp and the cheese starts to melt.

"This classic northern-Italian combo of sage-Parmesan-gnocchi-brown-butter is one of my top five desert-island dishes," Andrew Zimmern says.

Chef Carla Hall layers red beets, sweet potatoes, Yukon Golds and turnips for her fantastic vegetarian gratin, which she tops with a crispy Parmesan cheese crust.

No need to roast fresh pumpkin for this dish (although you certainly could), because using canned unseasoned pumpkin puree is much quicker, and works just fine. Like most lasagnas, this one is easier to cut if left to set for 10 minutes or so before serving.

A mix of five different alliums—shallots, scallions, and sweet, yellow, and red onions—give this classic caramelized onion dip with layers of flavor. Yellow and red onions give it bite, while Vidalia onion and shallots lend a pleasant sweetness. Taking the time to cook the onions slowly over low heat concentrates their flavor, while adding scallions halfway through cooking keeps them just fresh enough to serve with chips, toasted bread, or vegetables like endive, steamed fingerling potatoes, and roasted Broccolini.

Japanese korokke are the basis for these cheesy squash fritters, which can be made with freshly steamed kabocha squash or canned pumpkin puree. A drier squash, kabocha has a sweet flavor and cooks down into a custardy texture that's still dry enough to fry into these crispy two-bite appetizers. Serve them with a shortcut dipping sauce, a blend of fresh garlic, bright yuzu juice, and silky Kewpie mayo.

Biscuit pro Chadwick Boyd's biscuits get an upgrade from a thyme-infused mash of potatoes, celery root, and cream. Substitute in one and one half cups of mashed potatoes, if desired. Run your hands under very cold water and dry well before working butter into flour in step two and working the dough in step three. "This is the granny method," says Boyd. "It's the tactile way of merging the butter and flour—with your hands. You literally snap it between your fingers and thumb."

Made with a combination of grated cold butter for flavor and vegetable shortening for tenderness, chef Carla Hall's biscuits owe their towering, flaky layers to her classic laminating technique.

Tucked in among the tender lettuce leaves, fragrant fennel, sweet-tart Granny Smith apple, and toasty hazelnuts add a refreshing crunch to this fall salad.

Resplendent with mixed citrus and jewel-toned roasted beets, this peppery arugula salad gets elevated to holiday status courtesy of crispy halloumi croutons.

This refreshing salad features bright cherry vinegar and sweet roasted cherry juice. Dukkah—a blend of spices, herbs, and nuts—grounds the flavor and adds an earthy crunch.

Baking pumpkins whole traps steam inside the vegetable, resulting in a lush, velvety pumpkin puree, and making the skins easy to remove. In this recipe from chef Christian F. Puglisi, a simple reduction of dry white wine mingles with butter to balance the sweetness of the pumpkin.

A quick whirl in a food processor is all it takes to make this fresh-tasting sauce—no cooking required. For a savory boost, stir in finely-ground toasted coriander.

"Spicy, sweet, savory with a nice crunch … What more could one want or expect from a side dish that deserves to be at the center of the table?" Food & Wine Cooks contributor David McCann says of this recipe.

A duo of alliums—shallots and pearl onions—becomes irresistibly sweet when roasted, making them the ideal partner to slightly bitter brussels sprouts. Bacon, the usual star in recipes like this, is replaced with lardons made from king oyster mushrooms.

This riff on the Thanksgiving classic features tender-crisp green beans in a silky vegetarian sauce. With incredible crunch and intense nutty flavor, almost-burnt almonds take this dish to the next level; carefully cut one almond in half after the initial bake to make sure it's browned all the way through.

Hearty autumn greens take on new life when braised in a miso butter–laced broth. These richly flavored greens make a versatile side dish for everything from turkey and fish to sweet potatoes and squash.

A quick, high-temperature oven roast on a baking sheet yields crispy, golden brown brussels sprouts and almost-charred, smoky broccoli. Tossed in a sweet and tangy sauce studded with tart cranberries, Fresno chiles, and shallots, the vegetables become an easy, elegant side dish.

"A sprinkling of marash chile flakes and curry leaves with coconut oil add a bit of heat and an intoxicating fragrance, while the black mustard seeds add a hint of nuttiness," cookbook author Nik Sharma says of this butternut squash recipe.

With brown sugar, vinegar, and liquid aminos, these sweet potatoes are the best balance of savory and sweet. You'll know they are perfectly cooked when they are tender but not falling apart.

These mashed potatoes are a speedy, nearly effortless dish thanks to a flavor-packed special ingredient: a garlic-and-herb-flecked spreadable cheese (such as Boursin). For a colorful twist, use purple Peruvian potatoes instead of Yukon Golds to make vibrant, violet mashed potatoes.

Pressing the boiled potatoes through a wire baking rack is a neat trick for easily peeling and coarsely crushing them all at once. A trio of toasted and ground seeds—caraway, fennel, and coriander—mixed with extra-virgin olive oil gives these potatoes a delicately fruity but warmly spiced flavor. Because of the generous amount of olive oil in this recipe, the potatoes are great served warm or at room temperature.

Swiss chard lends a pleasant earthiness to this hearty stuffing; meaty chestnuts add texture and richness. Choose high-quality crusty bread for this recipe to ensure a fluffy texture and crisp top.

Tangy, crusty sourdough creates a dressing with contrast: chewy center pieces that have soaked up the stock and crispy, toasted edges. To ensure a balance of flavors and textures, keep stirring the mixture until stock and eggs have absorbed into the bread completely and none is pooled at the bottom of the mixing bowl.

Made with Lisa Ludwinski's Sister Pie All-Butter Pie Dough, the golden, crispy pastry encasing these savory hand pies shatters almost like a croissant. Lightly mashed sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, tangy sour cream, and aged cheddar make up the creamy-cheesy filling. It's a simple mixture, but it tastes like a handheld bite of Thanksgiving. If the brussels sprouts are large, quarter them instead of halving.

A riff on creamed spinach, this cheesy gratin is studded with buttery toasted gnocchi. Swiss chard adds an earthy bite, while a duo of nutty Gruyère and salty Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses brings richness and depth to the béchamel. Store-bought gnocchi help this gratin come together in a flash; toasting them in butter instead of boiling adds a compelling crunch.

Macaroni and cheese is always a crowd-pleaser. This version features a combination of fontina for optimal gooey texture and cheddar for its tangy flavor. A crispy, bright mix of toasted panko, parsley, lemon, and garlic complements the richness of the ultra-creamy baked shells.

Inspired by älplermagronen— Alpine farmers' macaroni—this Swiss twist on a Thanksgiving classic gets rich flavor from Gruyère and a lush creaminess from raclette. Traditional versions of this dish are served with applesauce, and as a nod to that flavor play, we've added some shallots that are quickly pickled in apple cider vinegar to balance the cheesy richness.

With a super-flaky crust (the secret: frozen grated butter) and a lightly spiced sweet-savory winter squash filling, this rustic galette from Food & Wine's Justin Chapple makes a perfect vegetarian meal; serve it with a green salad.

Chef Kate Williams' beautifully layered carrot steaks at the now-shuttered Lady of the House in Detroit were a mainstay on her menu. Here, she's shared an at-home riff using large horse carrots, balancing their natural sweetness with plenty of salt and lemon. The silky hollandaise drizzle comes together easily using a blender, which virtually guarantees an effortless sauce.

With its earthy sweetness and dense texture, butternut squash makes a hearty vegetable steak. Chef Damian Sansonetti highlights its complexity with his chorizo spice mix. He blooms the blend of cumin, Pimentón, and coriander in oil to release each ingredient's aroma, which provides a smoky foundation for this shoulder-season dish.

Inspired by Cassie Piuma's squash spanakopita at her restaurant, Sarma, in Somerville, Massachusetts, this stuffed pumpkin is filled with a nutty, creamy blend of Gruyère and feta cheeses; sweet, anise-scented fennel; and hearty green lacinato kale for a stunning vegetarian main dish fit for any holiday table.