Vegan Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving is around the corner, but this type of gathering can be daunting for vegans. So, what can we eat? Well, today’s post is a Thanksgiving Vegan Feast focused on Puerto Rican cuisine: arroz con gandules, ensalada de coditos, pasteles & avocado.

Vegan | Soy-free | Gluten-free

Everybody loves Holiday Season food & all of the parties! However, this season can be daunting for us vegans, as most holiday foods tend to be very unhealthy and animal-based. Especially here in Puerto Rico where our holidays revolve around lechón asado or roasted pork, pasteles made with ground beef, and morcilla (literally the worst) pork intestines stuffed with rice and blood, yes blood. Talk about gross…

That’s why today’s recipe is more than just one recipe, it’s a Thanksgiving Feast that you can enjoy with a glass of last week’s Coquito! I put together of all of the vegan-friendly Puerto Rican Holiday foods so you guys can enjoy a Thanksgiving Feast that everybody can enjoy!

So, what’s in this feast?

First is the arroz con gandules, as your main dish. This rice is a staple in our Holiday seasonal feasts. You can find it at any Puerto Rican Holiday party; however, even though it doesn’t need any meat, some people insist on adding hamm.

Then as a side dish, you’ll have ensalada de coditos which is an elbow pasta salad. It’s a combination of pasta, vegan mayonnaise, red onion, garlic and bell peppers.

Pasteles, this is it, the staple of our Holiday Season. Similar to a tamale, but the dough is made out of green plantains and it’s stuffed with a ground of your choice. Sorry guys, this feast doesn’t include a recipe for pasteles. I’m no expert and I’m very fortunate to still have my grandmother around and makes them vegan for me. However, if you know someone that makes pasteles, just ask them to change the milk for your milk of choice, and prepare your own stuffing out of ground soy or veggies.

Avocados! The avocado season is still going strong, and I need a slice of avocado in every meal that I eat! So make sure to have some avocado for your feast.

Other things that you can make: roasted potatoes, squash soup, sweet potatoes, vegan mac & cheese, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, pumpkin sauce pasta, etc.

For dessert, you’ll have to wait until next Friday for the recipe! I prepared a delicious pumpkin pie cheesecake with the most exquisite crust. Stay tuned…

Notes:

• If you don’t like vegan mayonnaise, you can always substitute with olive oil or some cashew sauce.
• Do you want vegan pasteles? You can contact Atabey’s Vegan Shop in Puerto Rico to 787-460-0396.

Recipe:  Vegan Thanksgiving Feast

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients

For Arroz con Gandules:

• 1 ½ cup medium-grain rice, rinsed
• 1 cup of pigeon peas
• 2 cups (approx) water or veggie stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sofrito
• 1 tbsp ground or minced garlic
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Optional: recao

For Ensalada de Coditos:

• 1 cup elbow pasta
• ½ red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ yellow bell pepper, chopped
• ½ green bell pepper, chopped
• ¼ red onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2-3 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
• Salt  & pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients:

• Avocado
• Tostones
• Vegan Pasteles

Procedure

For rice:

1. Heat up the olive oil in a boiling pot, lower heat to low and combine in the sofrito, garlic & tomato sauce.
2. Add in the salt, pepper & recao, and mix in low until fragrant.
3. Stir in the rinsed uncooked rice, mix well for about 2 mins. Then add in the pigeon peas.
4. Add in 1 ½ cups of water or stock, and bring to a boil. Stir ONCE and place the lid on; let sit for 20 minutes on low-medium.
5. If after 20 minutes the rice is still a bit undone, add the rest of the liquid, mix once & place the lid back on for another 10 minutes.

For pasta salad

1. Cook pasta according to instructions.
2. After the pasta is al dente, allow cooling completely.
3. Then add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix until everything is combined.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve the arroz con gandules with the pasta salad with fried plantains, pasteles & avocado. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe? I would love to know how it turned out for you! Tag me in your Instagram creations for a chance to be featured in my insta stories! Use @veggiejeva and the hashtag #veggiejevaskitchen.

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