Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas: Best Vegetarian Turkey Substitutes

If you're a vegetarian or if you'll be having vegetarian guests over for the Thanksgiving holiday, you may want a vegetarian turkey substitute for your Thanksgiving dinner menu. Vegetarian turkey substitutes are also a good option if you're concerned about your health or just don't want to cook a giant bird for Thanksgiving dinner. Fortunately, there are many different vegetarian foods that are very similar to turkey in flavor and texture. Vegetarian turkey substitutes are typically much lower in fat and calories than turkey. They're also delicious and very quick and easy to cook.

Tofurky

Often referred to as "Tofurkey," this vegan turkey substitute is the perfect entree for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. Tofurky is made from a combination of high protein tofu and wheat gluten. There are three Tofurky products sold specifically for the Thanksgiving holiday season. One is the Tofurky Roast, which contains a single vegan Tofurky roast pre-stuffed with vegetarian dressing made from whole wheat bread crumbs and wild rice. If you're buying the Tofurky Roast, you may also want to buy some Tofurky "Giblet" Gravy, which is available separately. There is also the Tofurky Feast, which comes with a pre-stuffed Tofurky roast, some "giblet" gravy, Tofurky Jerky Wishstix, organic chocolate cake and a Tofurky Day card and coupons. Complete instructions for cooking the Tofurky roast, along with a simple recipe, are on the Tofurky box.

There are also Tofurky deli slices available that are great for making sandwiches on or after Thanksgiving. The turkey-style deli slices come in Oven Roasted, Cranberry and Stuffing and Hickory Smoked varieties.

You can find Tofurky products at local health food stores such as Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe's. However, be sure to shop early for your Tofurky, as stores tend to sell out quickly.

Quorn

Quorn is a vegetarian meat substitute made from mycoprotein, which is derived from plants in the fungi family. Quorn also derives some of its protein and texture from egg whites. The Quorn Turk'y Roast is very similar to Tofurky, except that the roast is solid and doesn't come with its own stuffing. This makes it easier to cut the roast into slices for making sandwiches. Quorn also makes Turk'y Burgers, Cranberry and Goat Cheese Chik'n Cutlets, Gruyere Chik'n Cutlets, Naked Chik'n Cutlets, Garlic and Herb Chik'n Cutlets and Chik'n Tenders that would make delicious vegetarian entrees at Thanksgiving dinner.

If you cook Quorn for Thanksgiving, you'll need vegetarian stuffing to go along with it. Check out these delicious and easy vegetarian stuffing recipes.

Seitan

Seitan is a wheat gluten product which is high in protein and is very similar to turkey in its taste, texture and appearance. In recent years, it has gained popularity as a vegetarian meat substitute. You can find a variety of seitan products in health food stores. You can buy seitan pre-made in refrigerated packages or in an easy-to-prepare powdered mix. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you can make seitan into a Thanksgiving turkey-style roast complete with vegetarian stuffing inside. You can also surround seitan with a tofu skin to make it look more like roast turkey. You can also find an abundance of seitan recipes on vegetarian and vegan cooking websites such as VegWeb.com.

For more information on this topic, read Vegetarian Versions of Traditional Thanksgiving Recipes and Thanksgiving Dinner: Healthy Side Dishes for Special Diets.

Sources:

"SEITAN--THE VEGETARIAN WHEAT MEAT." VRG.org