vegan Christmas recipes

Are you looking for some new vegan recipes to make 2020's Christmas dinner table better than ever? Maybe you're a new vegan wondering where to start with Christmas meals. Or maybe you have vegan guests coming for the holidays and you have no idea what to prepare. No matter why you're here, I'm glad you are!

I've put together the best of my time-tested, tried and true vegan Christmas recipes right here for you. From Christmas breakfast to sugar cookies to holiday dinners, you'll find a recipe that you and your family will love!

Toss out that store-bought frozen vegan lasagna. Scrap all the other vegan lasagna recipes you've tried. Yes, this vegan lasagna recipe is that good.

Before we get to the recipe, I need to mention that the flavor of a good lasagna is highly dependent on the sauce you use. So if you don't make your own, I strongly recommend that you use a high-quality sauce, like Rao's or the Silver Palate. (Although these brands are pretty expensive, I can often find one or the other on sale at Whole Foods, and I stock up when I see them).

My favorite childhood Christmas memories include cookies. Each member of my dad's side of the family would make one or two types of cookies each year and bring them to my grandmother's house. In the basement were two long folding tables with endless tins of cookies of all types. After dinner, my grandmother would let us go downstairs and pick whatever cookies we wanted.

We also got to participate in making some of the cookies. As children, that usually meant roll-out sugar cookies that we got to decorate.

French toast is another one of my lazy weekend brunch favorites. It's pancakes' quicker and easier cousin. But both are equally delicious!

When I set out to make this vegan French toast recipe, it was important to me to get both the flavor and the texture right. That means I needed a little bit of a savory egg-like flavor, a touch of cinnamon, a firm toasted exterior, and a soft, chewy center. The nutritional yeast in this recipe helps to create the savory flavor, while ground flax and aquafaba create the perfect texture. (Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans.)

When I was in college and learning to cook, the first dishes I perfected were Italian pasta dishes, like lasagna, fettuccine alfredo, and of course, stuffed shells. Stuffed shells are a delicious comfort food for me, but they're made with cheese and eggs. Fortunately, I've managed to create delicious vegan ricotta from tofu, and stuffed shells are once again on the menu in my kitchen. A little bit of flour helps to bind everything together in place of an egg.

These vegan stuffed shells are so easy to make, they can be made any day. But they are also perfect for holidays like Christmas and Easter, or family gatherings.

My favorite food is pretty much any kind of roasted vegetable. Roasted vegetables are so easy to prepare, they're healthy, and they taste amazing. When Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas come around, I like to give my roasted vegetables a little something extra.

The carrots in this recipe get some added flair with a glaze made from vegan butter, maple syrup, and lemon juice, and a cashew-tahini sauce with a delicious blend of spices. Rainbow carrots add a colorful wow factor (but plain orange carrots work too!)

Back when I was first teaching myself to cook, in my late teens, one of my favorite dishes to cook was a butternut squash casserole with goat cheese. It was simple, but delicious. Today, my version of butternut squash casserole has morphed into something a little more complex, and 100% vegan. But it's the most delicious version of it that I've ever made. To get to this masterpiece, I took some inspiration from this Epicurious (non-vegan) recipe, and this recipe from Oh She Glows.

This butternut squash casserole recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, or you can make it any time. It works as a side dish, but it's also great as a main course.

You've planned your entire Thanksgiving feast. But did you plan on what you and your family are going to snack on while Thanksgiving dinner's being prepared? In years past, we've snacked on my delicious spinach & artichoke dip. This year, I'm adding vegan cranberry and cashew goat cheese crostini! (This recipe is also a great option for holiday parties.)

The most time-consuming portion of these crostini is the cranberry sauce, but that can be made ahead. (You could also double or triple up the cranberry recipe and serve the cranberry sauce along with Thanksgiving dinner). Then, when you're ready to serve, you can just toast the baguettes for 4 minutes under the broiler, and assemble the crostini!

Apple crisp is one of my favorite desserts of all time. The tangy apples, sweet brown sugar and cinnamon, combined with a crumbly, crunchy oat topping make the perfect companion to my non-dairy vanilla ice cream.

Today I live in Miami, where it's warm year-round. But when the calendar reads October, I start daydreaming of picking apples at the apple orchard and taking hayrides in the crisp fall air. And, of course, making apple crisp.

I started making lentil loaf for Thanksgiving two years ago. Over time I've rotated ingredients and measurements to turn it into what I think is the perfect vegan loaf recipe!

This loaf is the most-requested holiday dish I've ever made. Vegans and meat-eaters alike devour it and come back for seconds and thirds. I'm sure your family will love it as well!