From vegan Wellingtons to seitan schnitzel, the holiday table looks a little different when the centerpiece isn’t a turkey. But Boulder County vegans say they still manage to fill a plate and savor the day just as much as anyone else.
Prairie Mountain Media asked around for vegan Thanksgiving dishes and grocery-store finds, and Boulder County Redditors and community members delivered an inside look at what they’re serving — and where their holiday meals are coming from — this year.
Vegetarians avoid meat, poultry and seafood while sometimes eating eggs or dairy. Veganism goes further, skipping all animal products — including eggs, dairy and honey — and often extends that approach into lifestyle choices, avoiding things like leather or animal-tested cosmetics.
Grocery shopping
Grocery stores such as Safeway and King Soopers now routinely carry vegan ingredients, making it relatively easy to build a plant-based meal without hunting across town. Major chains stock tofu, tempeh, seitan and an assortment of dairy-free milks, cheeses, cream cheeses and butters.
Community members noted that Sprouts generally offers at least one vegan “turkey” or roast, with products from brands such as Gardein, Field Roast, Tofurky, Big Mountain Foods and Vegetarian Plus listed on its website. Whole Foods also carries a range of vegan roasts, cheeses, desserts and specialty items; and discount grocer Esh’s came up as a spot where plant-based ingredients can be found.
Many vegans skip the imitation roasts altogether and simply adapt the classics: mashed potatoes with plant milk, roasted vegetables cooked in oil or dairy-free butter, eggless breads and pies, and stuffing made with meatless sausage.
Vegans don’t have to skip the charcuterie board, either. Community favorites for vegan cheese included Treeline, Rebel Cheese and Miyoko’s. Follow Your Heart, Daiya and Violife are also brands commonly found in grocery stores.
Homemade recipes
Every household has its own Thanksgiving quirks — the nonnegotiable sides, the handed-down recipes, the one dish someone insists on making every year. Vegans are no different, bringing their own staples to the table.
Boulder resident Melissa Carmon relies on a few pantry standbys she calls “game-changers”: soy curls and Butler Chik-Style Seasoning, dried chickpeas, and Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base, which she says adds depth to marinades and broths. Homemade tahini, she added, finds its way into everything “from dressings to desserts.”
Her longtime holiday staple is a gingery cranberry relish adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe, and in recent years her family has mixed in dishes like last year’s surprise hit: homemade vegetable samosas with tamarind chutney inspired by The Curry Guy Cookbook Series.
Another Boulder resident, Sasha C., builds her ideal Thanksgiving around what she describes as “a great big veggie bowl” composed entirely of sides. Her family’s spread includes green beans, garlicky mashed potatoes, yams with pecans, corn pudding, roasted Brussels sprouts, vegan mac and cheese, cranberry dressing, rolls, and both apple and pumpkin pies — which double as “Thanksgiving breakfast” with nondairy whipped cream or vegan ice cream, she said.
And of course, in the age of the internet, no one is limited to whatever recipe card survived in the drawer. If you want to try something new, just give it a Google — there’s a vegan version of almost everything out there.
Ordering in
Boulder has a handful of vegan and vegan-friendly Thanksgiving take-home options each year, though Denver continues to offer a broader landscape for those willing to make the trek.
Some offerings are annual events that have already sold out or passed the pre-order deadline. Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant in Boulder typically prepares a plant-forward Thanksgiving take-home menu, though the restaurant’s website says it is already sold out for the 2025 holiday. Zero-waste grocer Nude Foods Market in Boulder also sells pre-made vegan dishes — including a holiday Wellington and gravy — with orders due by today.
In Denver, WongWayVeg had meals available for preorder until Nov. 21, and Edible Beats offered vegan dinner kits through Tock until Nov. 23.
Other vegan restaurants in Denver — The Easy Vegan, Watercourse Foods, Savage Beet, Vegan Van and Next Level Veggie Grill — surfaced as community recommendations, though holiday-specific menus aren’t offered at all of them.
