The humble potato makes its way to the Thanksgiving dinner table in many forms. Of course, there are the classic mashed potatoes and sweet potato casseroles, but there are plenty of other creamy, baked delicious dishes made using the versatile starch. Many of these dishes are traditionally made with plenty of butter, cream, and cheese. However, there’s no reason that people looking for plant-based options should miss out on these indulgent delights on the most glorious of food holidays!
We’ve thought long and hard about which potato and sweet potato recipes to share with you all this Thanksgiving. This list has a little something for everything; we pulled both traditional, nostalgia-inducing classic recipes and more innovative ones as well from our lovely Food Monster App.
1. Easy Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole With Pecan Topping
Source: Easy Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
Few dishes are more iconic of Thanksgiving than sweet potato casseroles that balance sweet and savory flavors. This paleo Easy Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping by Taylor Kiser is the best side dish for Thanksgiving. Vegan-friendly and gluten/grain/dairy/egg/sugar-free! The pecans add a satisfyingly crunchy layer over the otherwise smooth and silky potatoes.
2. Root Vegetables Roasted in Coconut Milk With Salted, Toasted Macadamia Nuts
Source: Root Vegetables
Viktoria Radichkova‘s recipe for these Root Vegetables includes sweet potatoes and yams cooked in creamy coconut milk with an optional pinch of warming spices, like cinnamon, and are then topped with salty, crunchy macadamia nuts. This simple side requires minimal work; just chop your vegetables, throw them in a pan with coconut milk, oil, and spices (if using), then top them with macadamia nuts. Perfect for potlucks, this unforgettable Thanksgiving side is one for your recipe book.
Gratitude: Plant-Based Thanksgiving Cookbook
No other holiday captures the spirit of home cooking the way Thanksgiving does. This is why you need the ultimate Thanksgiving cookbook, One Green Planet’s Gratitude: Plant-Based Recipes to Create your own Thanksgiving Tradition! In the cookbook, you’ll find our 100 most popular plant-based Thanksgiving recipes like Soft Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts, Spiced Apple Cake with Cashew Frosting, Sweet Potato Chocolate Pudding with Nut Crumble Topping, Cinnamon Apple Hand Pies, and hearty entrees like Roast Root Vegetable Stack With Dukkah, Vegducken: Butternut Squash Stuffed With Eggplant, Zucchini, and a Mushroom Lentil Stuffing, and Seitan Roast With Sausage and Pear Stuffing and Apple Cider Gravy and so much more!
3. Scalloped Sweet Potatoes in Cauliflower Sauce
Source: Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
Rich, creamy, and oh-so-very comforting, these Scalloped Sweet Potatoes by Taylor Kiser are a delicious addition to any Thanksgiving celebration. This healthy carb meal is composed of thinly sliced sweet potato layered in between a velvety and garlicky Alfredo-like sauce made with cauliflower and almond milk. After some time in the oven, the potatoes become tender and the thick sauce becomes golden brown on top. Sprinkle with parsley and pepper and serve it steaming hot!
4. Sweet Potato Casserole With Almond Sauce and Candied Pecans
Source: Sweet Potato Casserole
When you make this Sweet Potato Casserole by Florian Nouh, it’ll fill your home with the aroma of fall. Warming flavors of cinnamon and maple syrup are combined with sweet apple, hearty and comforting mashed sweet potato, and a creamy almond sauce that ties it all together. It’s topped with crunchy, buttery candied pecans to make a wonderful, fall-approved, and satisfying side dish.
5. Stuffed Mushrooms With Toasted Onion Mashed Potatoes
Source: Stuffed Mushrooms With Toasted Onion Mashed Potatoes
Peffe Stahl‘s Stuffed Mushrooms With Toasted Onion Mashed Potatoes are a beautifully paired duo that can function as either an appetizer or a side for the holiday. It’s surprisingly simple, so you can use this recipe if you need to whip something up in a pinch. The mashed potatoes take only 6 ingredients and 4 steps.
6. Potato and Eggplant Bake
Source: Potato and Eggplant Bake
This warm and cozy Potato and Eggplant Bake by Katie Culpin and Josh Bailey is guaranteed for any family gathering or party this Thanksgiving. Thinly sliced potatoes and eggplant are slathered in thick coconut cream, layered on one another, topped with bread crumbs and herbs, and then baked in the oven until crispy on top. Creamy and nourishing goodness at its finest!
7. Mashed Potato Casserole With Broccoli and Cauliflower Gravy
Source: Mashed Potato Casserole With Broccoli and Cauliflower Gravy
Jennifer Harmon‘s Mashed Potato Casserole combines two classic Thanksgiving sides: mashed potatoes and sweet potato casseroles. has a layer of mashed potatoes, then a layer of cauliflower gravy, then a final layer of minced broccoli. The mashed potato layer has an undetectable can of white beans mixed in for protein. The gravy is made of puréed cauliflower as well as mushrooms.
8. Creamy Scalloped Potatoes With Thyme
Source: Creamy Scalloped Potatoes With Thyme
These Creamy Scalloped Potatoes With Thyme by Lisa Lotts are simple, but they deliver. Homey and comforting, this dish is made by layering thinly sliced potatoes and onions, adding plenty of bechamél (non-dairy, in this case), and seasoning with mustard, salt, and thyme. The result is a warm, flavorful, and tender dish that goes perfectly with any main.
9. Holiday Sweet Potato Bake
Source: Holiday Sweet Potato Bake
Katrina Nixon‘s Holiday Sweet Potato Bake has just the right amount of sweetness to be a crowd hit. Apples and pecans are coated in a blend of holiday spices, to give them a palette-pleasing depth of flavor. They’re then layered with sweet potatoes and baked to perfection, ready to serve alongside roasted green vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
10. Mixed Root Mash With Mushroom Gravy and Greens
Source: Mixed Root Mash With Mushroom Gravy and Greens
This hearty Mixed Root Mash by Christine DesRoches has a rich mushroom-based gravy, and steamed greens to balance it all out. This recipe is naturally gluten-free and grain-free! The combination of potatoes, parsnips, and turnips is healthier than ordinary mashed potatoes while still being starchy and comforting, especially with this rich mushroom gravy on top.
11. Sweet Potato Mash With Roasted Garlic and Cashew Cream
Source: Sweet Potato Mash With Roasted Garlic and Cashew Cream
Mashed yellow or white potatoes always make their way to the Thanksgiving table, but what about mashed sweet potatoes!? This simple Sweet Potato Mash by Bianca the Green Creator has the deep flavors of roasted sweet potato, onion, and a whole head of garlic. The cashew cream makes this dish feel like a guilty pleasure, with its unsurpassed creaminess.
12. Sweet Potato Casserole With Crunchy Oat Topping
Source: Easy Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole With Pecan Topping
Taylor Kiser‘s Sweet Potato Casserole is a little sweet, a little salty, and super nourishing for you. The tender sweet potato cubes and warm bursts of cranberries are balanced out with crunchy almonds and a generous sprinkle of salt. This tasty entrée also has a unique medley of flavors from fresh rosemary and ground ginger to maple syrup and vegan butter. It all melds together beautifully under the crunchy roof of berry oat granola.
13. Potato and Celery Root Mash
Source: Potato and Celery Root Mash
The typical holiday mashed potato recipe contains nearly a stick of butter. But of course, you can make great mashed potatoes without any dairy at all. In Cathy Elton‘s Potato and Celery Root Mash, celery root is added, which makes these potatoes quite a bit lower in carbs and adds a subtle celery undertone. On Thanksgiving day, these potatoes will leave you feeling perfectly satisfied, but not overstuffed.
14. Cheesy Potato Casserole
Source: Cheesy Potato Casserole With Cream of Celery Soup
With this recipe by Chris Bartis for Cheesy Potato Casserole With Cream of Celery Soup, you get two Thanksgiving sides or appetizers in one! The combination of a hearty, carby casserole with light, yet filling soup is a real winner. After you make the soup, the rest of this recipe is a snap — it’s all just a matter of combining everything in a dish and baking it in the oven until it’s crispy on top and completely warmed through.
15. Shepherdess Pie
Source: Shepherdess Pie
Sasha Gill‘s Shepherdess Pie is a hearty, somewhat atypical, Thanksgiving option for those looking for something a bit more substantial. You can scoop out some of the dish and enjoy it as a side or you can serve it as an entrée. The filling for this hearty meal is made from savory lentils, tender peas, and perfectly cooked carrots topped with a creamy mixture of mashed sweet potatoes, garlic, and vegan cream cheese.
