Best Vegan Christmas Recipes

Here's a delicious roasted mushroom appetizer that can also be used as a first course for your Christmas dinner menu.

You can make this vegan cheese-y appetizer as a spread in no time, or let it set up into slices. I like it both ways and hope that you will, too.

One of my old favorites, this tasty spinach spread, with hints of dill and crisp cucumber, never loses its charm.

Here’s an old standby that never fails to please — a savory spread based on creamy white beans, accentuated with sun-dried tomatoes.

A knock-your-socks-off festive holiday beverage, this unique take-off on eggnog lights up with a tangy edge and an inviting powder puff pink color thanks to the season’s bountiful cranberry harvest.

Eggnog is the official beverage of December. It's rare to encounter it any other time, and it truly is Christmas spirit in a cup. We were so pleased when we whipped up this vegan eggnog recipe and created an egg-free version to sip with some spiced rum or on its own.

This simple mixed green salad with beets and walnuts makes a delicious light yet filling meal. Marinated beets add plenty of flavor to this winter salad, and the walnuts add a satisfying crunch!

Here’s a gorgeous salad of spinach, red cabbage, and oranges that adds a burst of color and nutrition to the plate. It's a quick salad for everyday meals and is equally welcome as part of a vegan Thanksgiving feast.

An American classic, Waldorf salad is a crunchy mixture of apples, walnuts and celery. This version is updated with vegan mayonnaise and a bed of baby greens.

This delicious coleslaw is easy to make with pre-shredded cabbage (make sure to get the kind with added carrots), though you're welcome to use a combination of fresh green and red cabbage, as suggested in the variation. This is welcome as an everyday salad, yet is festive enough to serve with holiday meals.

This colorful and naturally sweet slaw is a medley of cabbage, apples, and raisins with an appealing crunch. Make this recipe for everyday as well as holiday meals.

This Massaged Kale Salad with Cranberries and Cashews is luscious, festive, and just as welcome for every day as well as holiday meals. Its colors make it especially nice for a vegan Thanksgiving or Christmas meal.

This simple and beautiful massaged kale salad provides a gorgeous burst of color for every day or special occasion meals (festive enough to include in a vegetarian/vegan Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner menu).

This salad recipe has flavors that speak eloquently of autumn—pears, walnuts, bitter greens, and cranberries. It's a welcome addition to Thanksgiving and Christmas menus, as well.

Root vegetables are so abundant in the fall, and come in so many earthy hues. Since they taste just as good at room temperature as they do hot, they’re presented here in an altogether appetizing salad. 

This hearty wild rice salad, embellished with corn, black-eyed peas, veggies, and herbs, is an invigorating melange of flavors, textures and colors. It's an attractive dish to serve at room temperature, any time of year, at buffets, potlucks, and holiday gatherings.

This festive leek and corn stuffed peppers makes an attractive centerpiece for special occasion dinners like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Quinoa, black beans, and corn add up to a hearty filling for vegan stuffed peppers. A simple coleslaw or other slaw-style salad goes well with these, whether or not you serve with roasted vegetables. 

This hearty Roasted Seitan, Peppers, and Portobellos dish is super easy to throw together, yet festive enough for special occasions. It makes for a great centerpiece for vegan Easter dinner or a Christmas menu!

Everyone loves the nostalgic classic, vegetable pot pie. Many VegKitchen readers have let us know that this mild dish of hearty veggies enclosed in pie crust is on their regular cool-weather meal rotation; it's also a crowd-pleasing vegan option for a Thanksgiving or Christmas menu.

Sweet potato sauce for pasta? Try it and see! Serve with colorful sautéed bell peppers and zucchini for a more colorful, veggie-packed meal. This is a nice company dish, so if you'd like more servings, simply double the recipe.

This vegan shepherd's pie is a bit of a project but not at all difficult, and definitely worth it for a special occasion or holiday meal. This is a perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner!

This vegan sweet potato variation on shepherd's pie makes a festive holiday centerpiece, especially for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

This delicious classic casserole, a vegetable-filled shepherd's pie may not qualify as a quick dish to make when you come home from work, it’s a comforting weekend meal. It’s substantial and filling.

This mac and cheese is 100% vegan and so healthy! The ‘cheese’ in this recipe is a combination of roasted sweet potato, mustard, and nutritional yeast. The result is a nostalgic mac and cheese with a grown up edge and a rich, creamy, and satisfying dish!

This easy vegan broccoli quinoa casserole of made out of quinoa, broccoli, and vegan cheese makes for a dish that's both nourishing and comforting.

Here’s a deceptively rich-tasting version of scalloped potatoes. Simple and comforting, it's a great Thanksgiving dish for the vegans in the family, especially if you have your potatoes prepared beforehand.

Here's one of my earliest comfort food favorites, a casserole-like dish of mashed potatoes and melted cheese, now veganized, from Vegetariana.

A superb fusion of flavors permeates this nourishing harvest dish of sweet potatoes and chard. Serve like a stew in shallow bowls, accompanied by warm flatbread.

This makes a great stuffing for squashes or peppers, as well as serving as a hearty side dish for 8 or more at the vegan Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner table.

This pilaf combines two companionable ingredients—cauliflower and quinoa. If you can plan ahead, having cooked quinoa and chopped cauliflower makes this dish a breeze to put together.

Lots of peas and toasted almonds combined with quinoa add up to a tasty and nourishing pilaf.

This wine-scented dish of red cabbage and onion is a cheering winter recipe, and a simple side dish for everyday and holiday meals.

This roasted butternut squash is tossed in a flavorful soy and maple glaze. It's a little bit sweet, a little bit savory, and a whole lot of delicious.

The garlic in these Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes adds a big yum factor to a comforting classic.

This recipe for Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes with Rosemary makes an appealing side dish for winter holiday meals or company dinners.

This is a great way to use beets when they're plentiful at the farm market or from your home garden. They're great in the winter, too.

This delectable dish of black or wild rice, corn, and cranberries is a festive eyeful, but it’s too good to save for only special occasions, and too simple not to make for everyday meals. It makes a gorgeous holiday side dish, or, stuffed into small squashes, a great vegan main dish.

This delicious grain dish, studded with celery, black lentils, cranberries, and pistachios, is as welcome for everyday meals as it is for the holiday table.

This simple side dish is easy enough to serve at everyday meals, and festive enough for the holiday table.

This attractive dish has a subtle sweet flavor and the crunch of toasted walnuts. Double this recipe for a great winter holiday grain dish—it's perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners.

Slow-baking onions gives them a mellow sweetness. Glazed Baked Onions make a nice side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Rich with chocolate chips and pears, this melt-in-your-mouth vegan treat is delicious as a dessert or tea bread. Easy enough as an everyday dessert, yummy enough for holiday fare.

These delicious and healthy vegan muffins or mini-loaves prove that pairing orange and cranberry makes for a lively flavor combination in baked goods. For winter holiday baking or giving, this batter is nice made into mini-loaves.

If you want to end a holiday dinner with a lighter dessert, this Pineapple-Orange Ambrosia is a nice choice. It also makes a fabulous fruity finish for a casual brunch.

In this light dessert, pears are lightly cooked in red wine and apple juice and gently spiced with cinnamon and allspice.

If you'd like an alternative to pumpkin pie for fall celebrations like Thanksgiving, or everyday meals, this pear and apple crumble is a welcome dessert.

This delicious and very pretty cake is a lovely dessert to serve at for winter holiday meals, but you need not wait for a special occasion to make and enjoy it.

This simple and pretty combination of winter fruits — pears, apples, oranges, and pineapple, spiced with crystallized ginger — can be a refreshing Christmas dinner dessert.

This totally delectable, moist vegan chocolate cake is our family’s favorite for special occasions.