Top Five Vegan Holiday Cookbooks!
I love vegan food.
I love entertaining.
Therefore, I freaking love the holidays! Nothing makes me happier than getting in the kitchen to prepare food for others. I love the anticipation: Planning the menu, picking out the table settings, prepping the basics in the weeks leading up the gathering, testing out exactly the right dessert. It makes me feel alive.
When you’re this passionate about something, you tend to do your research. Which in my case means a lot of Pinteresting tablescapes and hoarding holiday cookbooks. After a decade of cooking up vegan holiday spreads, I can definitively say the following list is the best!
5) Vegan Holiday Kitchen, by Nava Atlas
This book starts off right: Thanksgiving. There might be a football game on in the background and Black Friday ads scattered across the coffee table, but food is the focus of the day. Vegan Holiday Kitchen has over thirty Thanksgiving recipes, including an entire subsection on dressings! The Polenta, Sausage, and Mushroom Stuffing recipe is phenomenal. Don’t forget to cap the meal off with Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Hint of Chocolate!
The Christmas section is equally as impressive. Featuring plenty of cookie and mini loaf recipes (perfect for gifts!) and appetizers such as Hot Artichoke and White Bean Spread. You’ll be armed with recipes for holiday cocktail parties and cookie exchanges, as well as a lovely dinner feast. Non vegans all around will be impressed. I have made the Kale and Carrot Strudel for both mine and my husband’s family Christmas dinners and they’ve gobbled it right up.
Vegan Holiday Kitchen also showcases a large chapter on Jewish holidays. No one needs to miss out on Matzo Ball Soup! The Citrus Roasted Tofu in the Easter Section is delectable. The tail end of the book features loads of recipes for the summertime grilling season and dishes suited for potlucks of all kinds.
4) The Vegan Table, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
While not specifically a holiday cookbook, but rather presenting itself as an entertaining book, it still checks all the marks of a great holiday cookbook. Organized by party size- dinners for two, small gatherings, or large crowds, you’ll always be able to cook exactly what you need without any waste. Each chapter is further broken down by season, so you’ll always be cooking with fresh ingredients at their peak.
The Spring Vegetable Risotto is the perfect addition to an Easter spread. There’s even a recipe for Passover Pizza! You’ll always have something up your sleeve for summer shindigs with Smokin’ BBQ Tofu and Summer Fruit Bruschetta.
The French Onion Pie is always welcome on the Thanksgiving table. It became my go-to main dish for about three years straight! The Tempeh and Eggplant Pot Pies are perfect as a main or hearty side dish at Christmastime. The book also features desserts for all seasons. Bonus: Check out Colleen‘s The Joy of Vegan Baking for the best Pumpkin Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust ever!
3) Chloe’s Vegan Desserts, by Chloe Coscarelli
We all know it’s not a holiday if there’s no dessert!
Every Thanksgiving since its purchase I’ve made the Easy Apple Pie, Pecan Bars, and the Absolutely Perfect Pumpkin Pie. You certainly can’t serve pie without a big ol’ scoop of Chloe’s Vanilla Ice Cream or Coconut Whip Cream! The Spiced Applesauce Cake and Rosemary Ice Cream also make a lovely addition to a Thanksgiving spread. I don’t believe anyone would turn down the Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze, served with a cup a hot coffee, on the holiday morning while The Macy’s Day Parade plays across the TV.
At Christmastime, the Chewy Ginger-Molasses Cookies, Snowball Cookies, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge always make an appearance in our home. The Nuts for Hot Cocoa recipe tends to sneak into a thermos whenever we head out to hunt for the perfect Christmas tree.
In regards to other holidays, the Chocolate Beer Cupcakes with Irish Whisky Buttercream are the perfect St. Patty’s Day sweet. The Raspberry Lemon Tart is suited for a Mother’s Day Brunch. And, the Mixed Berry Shortcake with Coconut Whip makes the best Independence Day dessert!
2) Vegan Christmas, by Gaz Oakley
Gaz Oakley may just be the most innovative vegan chef of our time.
If you don’t believe me, check out out his sensational YouTube Channel and get back to me.
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Gaz this past year at his author talk and book signing in Seattle during his press tour for this cookbook. Hearing how he went from a young chef working in professional kitchens to a vegan social media sensation was fascinating. It also explains how his professional background has helped him create some of the best holiday dishes around!
What makes Gaz’s book so unique is his ability to recreate mains you thought you kissed goodbye when you gave up meat. He made it possible for vegans everywhere to have Stuffed “No Turkey” Wrapped in Gaz’s Streaky “Bacon” on their Thanksgiving tables last year. His magic with seitan doesn’t stop there- because you know the ingredients for the Rosemary, Red Wine, and Garlic “Beef” with Rich Jus are flying onto your shopping list for Christmas dinner! Prefer vegetables to be the star main dish? Then try the Stuffed Squash Roast or Stuffed Aubergine (aka eggplant) Platter.
Vegan Christmas also showcases chapters on Christmas morning, appetizers for all your holiday parties, impressive sides and sweets. The real extra treat of the book though is the chapter dedicated to leftovers! Gaz gives us recipes on what to do with that leftover “No Turkey” when you just can’t eat the same meal for the third day in a row. The leftovers are of varied cuisines as well, so you don’t find yourself feeling like you’ve tasted the same four spices over and over again.
The book may have Christmas in the title, but you’ll find yourself reaching for it year round!
1) The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook, by Isa Chandra Moskowtiz
This. Is. It.
The book to end all holiday cookbooks. Vegan or otherwise.
It boasts a full two hundred and thirty-one recipes! Twenty-three Thanksgiving recipes. Twenty-eight 4th of July recipes. Nineteen Super Bowl Party recipes (because yes, this book is just that extra).
You will never lack recipes for the classic holidays. You are beyond covered at Christmas with Spinach & Pine Nut Stuffed Cheesy Roast for dinner. Isa doles out Gingerbread Waffles or Banana Eggnog Pancakes to enjoy on a cozy holiday morning. You’re doing yourself a giant disservice if you don’t serve up a tray of Candy Cane Fudge Cookies at your party.
Jewish? Great! So is Isa! Which means you’ve got loads upon loads of recipes for Passover, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah. You’ll be up to your ears in recipes for kugels and latkes. Desserts will always be on point with Jelly Doughnuts, All the Rugelach, and Hamantaschen. She even has a recipe for Challah French Toast!
The Easter chapter provides recipes suited for brunch or dinner. The Sweet & Smoky Glazed Tofu Ham has become my go-to Easter dinner dish! You’ll also discover familiar favorites such as Cream of Carrot Soup and Devilish Potatoes.
What makes Superfun Times so special however, is how above and beyond it goes. Did I mention the Super Bowl chapter?! It’s filled with beauties like Cheeseburger Pizza and Philly Cheesecake Casserole. Need some Chinese New Year meals? Steamed Chicky Dumplings and Peking Portobellos are here for you! There’s Cauliflower & Shiitake Etoufée, Andouille & Cannellini Jambalaya, and King Cake for your Mardi Gras celebration. I cannot sing enough praises about the Corned Beet & Cabbage recipe in the St. Patty’s Day Chapter! You’ll always have something fancy to whip for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day with the Porcini-Crusted Tofu.
This book also provides chapters for Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s & Father’s Day, Oscars Parties, and Halloween. I could genuinely write an ode to each and every chapter of this holiday cookbook. Next to Isa Does it, which holds the number one spot on my Top Five Vegan Cookbooks for Beginners list, this book probably sees the most use in my household. It’s a real gem and worth every single penny!
Your holiday guests will thank you for this purhcase!
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. Any and all opinions expressed are my own.