Here are some easy and delicious Thanksgiving recipe ideas to enjoy during your Thanksgiving feast.

Side dishes:

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with garlic and Pancetta from epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
• 2 oz. pancetta, visible fat discarded and pancetta minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Toss together brussels sprouts, pancetta, garlic, oil and salt and pepper to taste in an 11- by 7-inch baking pan and spread in 1 layer.
3. Roast in upper third rack of oven, stirring once halfway through roasting, until sprouts are brown on the edges and tender, about 25 minutes total. Stir in water, scraping up brown bits. Serve warm.

Herb biscuits from BitterSweet

Ingredients: 

• 2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 ½ tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. coarse Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
• ¼ tsp. freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp. fresh Chopped Parsley
• 2 tbsp. fresh Chopped Chives
• 1 ½ tsp. fresh Thyme
• ¼ cup Non-Dairy Margarine
• 4 oz. (½ Package) Vegan “Cream Cheese”
• 1 cup finely grated carrot or zucchini (or Both)
• ¾ cup plain non-dairy milk
• 1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and fresh herbs.Evenly distribute throughout mixture. Cut the margarine and “cream cheese” into tablespoon-sized pieces before adding them in next, using a fork or pastry cutter to further incorporate the two. Once you achieve a coarse consistency with only small chunks, toss in the carrot and/or zucchini shreds. Finally stir in both the non-dairy milk and vinegar at once, and mix with a wide spatula just until the thick batter comes together. You can also mix by hand.
3. On a lightly floured surface, pat out the dough to about 1 – 1 ½ inches tall. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits, and space them out equally across your prepared baking sheet. Gather up any scrapes, pat back into shape, and cut again, until the dough is all used up. You should get 6 – 8 tall biscuits out of the mix.
4. If desired, brush a small amount of melted margarine across the tops of the biscuits for an extra buttery flavor, and then pop them into the oven. Bake for 18 – 22 minutes, until golden brown all over. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before eating, just so that you don’t burn your mouth!

Appetizer:

Smoky Mac-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from Vegan Yack Attack

Ingredients:

• 4 ½ lb. sweet potatoes 
• 1 ½ cups dried pasta
• 1 cup baked pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• ½ cup vegetable broth
• ⅓ cup raw cashews soaked for 1-2 hours or 20 minutes in boiling water
• 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1 clove of garlic
• ½ tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp. chipotle flakes
• ½ tsp. smoked paprika
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ¼ tsp. turmeric
• 1 cup kale with stems removed
• ¾ cup diced tomato
• ⅓ cup corn kennels
• ¼ cup scallions diced (optional for garnish)

Dessert:

Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Ingredients for cupcakes:

• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 ½  tsp. cinnamon
• ½  tsp. ginger powder
• ¼  tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½  tsp. baking soda
• ¼  tsp. salt
• ⅓  cup vegetable oil or canola
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½  cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¾  cup pure pumpkin
• ⅓  cup milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line muffin pans with muffin papers, you’ll have about 18 cupcakes.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl beat together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth (about 1-2 minutes).
4. Mix in the pumpkin. 
5. With a mixer on low speed, mix in the flour mixture about ½  at a time alternating with ½ of the milk.
6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each about 2/3 full. 
7. Bake in the center rack of your oven for 16-19 minutes, or until the tops feel slightly firm to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Ingredients for cream cheese frosting:

• ⅔ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 6 oz. cream cheese
• 1-1 ½  tsp. cinnamon 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 – 3 ½  cups powdered sugar
• 1 – 2 tbsp. cream, as needed

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy for about two minutes. Then, beat in cream cheese.
2. Add in the cinnamon and vanilla extract.
3. Beat in powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, starting with the mixer on low speed. If the frosting seems too thick, beat in whipping cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. Frost the cooled cupcakes using a flat knife or piping bag.