Vegan Sheet Pan Dinner for the Holidays

A full Vegan Sheet Pan Dinner cooked in the oven that you can use for Thanksgiving or Christmas. One main and four hearty sides cook in just 45 minutes.

I’m going to tell you a secret. I hate cooking for the holidays. As someone that does cooking for a living, I want my holidays to be fuss free and holiday meals don’t always promise that. So now that this is not so much a secret anymore, I do have a less stressful dinner idea that provides you a main and all the fixings. And you just need to roast everything in the oven at the same time.

Not only that, we’re taking classics and making them more flavorful and unique. So this is what’s on the menu:

• Roasted Cranberry Sauce
• Garlic Miso Mashed Potatoes
• Pistachio Lime Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Slices
• Candied Roasted Butternut Squash

Why You’ll Love This Holiday Vegan Sheet Pan Dinner

• Your whole Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner roasts on sheet pans all together in the oven in just 45 minutes. Less dishes, less stress and you still get a yummy meal at the end.
• A full meal with sides. You get 1 protein-rich main along with 4 hearty sides. You can also add easy to whip up sides and add a dessert to make it even more complete.
• Cozy holiday meal with simple ingredients. The base ingredients are all inexpensive and include replacements in case you aren’t the biggest fan of them. The best part, no need to buy an expensive holiday roast especially if you are on a budget.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

Cornmeal Crusted Tofu

• Tofu: For this recipe I recommend either using extra firm tofu or super firm tofu for the best texture.
• Cornmeal: Choose stone-ground cornmeal. I like fine cornmeal as it sticks and coats the tofu more evenly.
• Nutritional Yeast: This ingredient is used again for the mashed potatoes. Gives some extra umami flavor, but can be left out if needed. Just replace with same amount of cornstarch and an extra 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce.
• Soy Sauce: Opt for gluten-free soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos as needed.
• Fresh Herbs: I used a blend of sage, rosemary and thyme. Just make sure to mince finely.

Mashed Potatoes

• Potatoes: For the best results use baby gold potatoes. They are nice and creamy in texture and also have a great potato taste to them.
• Plant Milk: Use either soy or almond based milk and make sure it is unsweetened.
• Vegan Butter: Use your favorite brand of a vegan butter. I find using either Earth Balance or Country Crock works best.
• Miso Paste: This will provide the potatoes more depth of flavor. I use a white or yellow miso paste.

Butternut Squash

• Butternut Squash: If not a fan of butternut squash, this can work well with other winter squashes or even sweet potato. Note, if using sweet potato, you may need to roast longer until softened.
• Cinnamon: Optional, but a little cinnamon helps to bring out the sweetness in the butternut squash.

Cranberry Sauce

• Cranberries: Fresh whole cranberries are needed. You can also try this with frozen cranberries.
• Maple Syrup: You can add more or less depending on your preference.
• Orange Juice: I use orange juice that has no pulp added. You can also use apple juice as an alternative. Make sure to add it in after roasting so it doesn’t get bitter.
• Cinnamon Stick: Just one cinnamon stick is enough to help enhance the natural sweetness of the sweeteners, which helps us use less sugar overall. You can also replace with 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon.

Brussels Sprouts

• Brussels Sprouts: You can save time by buying prechopped brussels sprouts that are already cut in halves. If not a fan of brussels sprouts, you can also make this work with roasted broccoli, just note that you will want to cook the broccoli for just 10 minutes.
• Shallot: A nice sweeter onion option, but can be replaced with some thinly sliced red onion.
• Pistachios: Just chop finely. This can still work with pepitas for a nut free option or you can choose another nut like pecans for a more buttery taste.
• Lime: Use fresh limes as you need both the juice and zest.
• Parsley: You can do a mix of parsley and cilantro if desired or replace it all with cilantro.

How to Make the Full Holiday Vegan Sheet Pan Dinner

Set Up the Trays

For the Cranberries. To an oven safe ramekin add in your cranberries, maple syrup, water, vanilla and cinnamon stick. Cover the container tightly with foil and place on the corner of one of the smaller baking trays.

For the Potatoes. To the same tray of cranberries, add the potatoes. Toss with oil to coat and sprinkle with salt. Place this tray in the oven on the top rack for 15 minutes.

Take the 6 cloves of garlic, peel and place on a small sheet of foil. Drizzle with oil then seal the foil over the garlic and set to the side.

For the Brussels Sprouts & Squash. Add the brussels sprouts and shallots to one side of the large baking tray and the cubed butternut squash on the other side. Drizzle both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Toss and coat the brussels sprouts and place as many halves cut side down on the tray. To the butternut squash, sprinkle with cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup and give a good toss to coat.

For the Tofu. Cut the tofu into your desired shapes. If cutting into triangles, spread the tofu out on the last small baking tray. To a small bowl, combine the cornmeal, nutritional yeast, fresh minced herbs, garlic and onion powder, oil and soy sauce. Whisk the mixture to combine and spoon equal amounts of it onto each tofu slice. With clean hands, spread the mixture evenly all over each tofu slice and place back on the baking tray.

Bake the Remaining Trays

Place the foil wrapped garlic from earlier on a small corner of the tofu tray. After the initial 15 minutes of baking elapses, place the tofu tray on the top rack with the potatoes and cranberries. Place the large tray with the vegetables on the bottom rack. Roast everything for an additional 25 minutes. Remove the vegetables after 25 minutes and allow the potatoes and tofu to continue cooking for 5 additional minutes.

Prepare the Cranberry Sauce

When the cranberries come out of the oven, carefully peel back the foil and remove the cinnamon stick. Add 2 tablespoons of orange juice and a small pinch of salt and carefully mash with the back of a spoon. If the mixture is too thick add the remaining orange juice and give a good mix, then set aside to cool.

Prepare the Brussels Sprouts

Add your roasted brussels sprouts and shallots to a medium sized mixing bowl. Top with the pistachios, parsley, lime zest and juice, grated garlic and maple syrup and give a good toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.

Prepare the Mashed Potatoes

Heat up your milk and vegetable broth in the microwave for 15-30 seconds until hot. Whisk the miso paste into the vegetable broth until fully dissolved and set aside.

Add the potatoes to the bowl and with a potato masher, begin to carefully mash up the potatoes. Once mostly mashed, add the vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, butter, roasted garlic and half of the milk. Mash everything together again with your potato masher until uniform and creamy. Adjust the consistency by adding the remaining milk and continue to mash as needed.

Expert Tips

• To make this meal efficient, prep some items in advance. You can buy pre-chopped butternut squash and brussels sprouts or clean and trim both the night before making this meal. You can also chop up the shallots and pistachios in advance to save some prep time. Another option, prep each sheet pan tray, cover and place in the fridge the night before so you can just pop it in the oven when it’s ready to cook.
• Make sure you have all your ingredients out. Make a check list and pull out all the ingredients then pre-measure and group ingredients together, so prepping doesn’t take longer than it needs to.
• If you want super fluffy and creamy potatoes, peel and rice your potatoes. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, just peel off the skins and put them through a potato ricer. Alternatively, my grandmother would peel her potatoes, mash them with a potato masher, add the milk and butter then whip the potatoes using a hand mixer. I personally love them with the skins and it’s also less work, so you do you.
• If using foil to cover your oven safe baking dish, make sure to place on a baking tray. Your cranberries will bubble, so just to be safe keep it on a baking tray incase any of it bubbles over and drips.
• To have everything cook at the same time in the oven, use 2, 9 in x 13 in baking trays to fit on the top rack and a larger 15-in x 21-in baking tray to cook the vegetables on the bottom rack.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Serve

The great thing about this meal is that you can serve it as is or add some small touches to your plate. You can buy some store bought vegan gravy or stuffing. Totally okay to also make both from scratch too if you are willing.

And don’t forget dessert! With more time you may want to prep this Double Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake in advance, it is a dream! But, for a quick last minute fuss free idea, definitely check out the Puff Pastry Pear Galette.

For a full grocery list, helpful prepping tips and vegan brands to try, feel free to download the full pdf guide.

More Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes to Try

• Vegan Cranberry Chili Meatballs
• Lentil Vegetable Wellington
• Brown Sugar Glazed Tofu
• Moro de Guandules
• Vegan Miso Mushroom Gravy
• Fresh Baked Cranberry Sauce

Print

If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.

★ Catherine

This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase from those links. I only recommend and share products that I know, trust and personally use myself!