How to Cook an Inexpensive Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving dinner can be expensive, but it does not have to empty your wallet. There are many cost-saving strategies you can use to produce a delicious but inexpensive Thanksgiving dinner. A vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner is naturally frugal as long as it does not include commercial meat substitutes--and you can realize additional savings by using in-season produce and cooking from scratch. With some planning, you can make a satisfying vegetarian Thanksgiving meal for just a few dollars per person. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Vegetarian turkey substitute (tofu, seitan, lentil loaf)
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Flour
- Butter or oil
- Green beans (or other vegetables)
- Canned or processed pumpkin for pie
- Graham crackers for pie crust
- Water
Instructions
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Prepare and cook an inexpensive main dish--use baked tofu, pan glazed seitan, or lentil loaf instead of commercial vegetarian turkey alternatives.
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2
Mash peeled and boiled potatoes with olive oil or canola oil instead of butter. Use one tablespoon of oil for each large potato. Season with salt and pepper.
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3
Make your own vegetarian gravy from scratch. Make a roux with flour and butter, oil, or margarine. Add in vegetable stock or water and soy sauce. Season with chopped onions, garlic, or mushrooms. Add dried herbs, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer the mixture until the gravy is thick.
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4
Roast green beans with olive oil in the oven. Top them with slivered almonds or parmesian cheese.
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5
Mash peeled and steamed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and brown sugar. Top with dried fruit and nuts.
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6
Bake dinner rolls from scratch. Make the dough the day before Thanksgiving to save time on the holiday.
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7
Bake a pumpkin pie--and make a standard or graham cracker pie crust from scratch to save even more money.
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Tips & Warnings
Write out your meal plan and shopping list three weeks before Thanksgiving. Refer to your shopping list when clipping coupons and looking at grocery store sale fliers.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Green beans image by Christopher Martin from Fotolia.com
