I’m newly vegetarian, or more accurately, pescatarain, since 2021, and I haven’t actually been to a proper Thanksgiving dinner since giving up everything but fish. Last year we had a Covid exposure, and the year before it felt too risky to be inside with my 90-year-old grandmother with Covid running rampant. So this year will be the first time that I’ll be sitting at the table and not having any Turkey. My dad has been vegetarian my whole life, but he always brought his own pizza dough to make his own meal rather than try and fill up on side dishes. So I haven’t really had an example of what a vegetarian main dish might look like other than homemade pizza (which, to be honest is one of my favorite traditions).

But this year, it’ll be my husband’s first proper Thanksgiving with my family, and since he and I are both non-meat-eaters, I want to make sure it’s special. Now every family does it different with the sides, and ours is pretty traditional. We have the classic rolls and usually some pumpkin bread, a green bean casserole that my step-dad makes, mashed potatoes and gravy, and then some sort of fruit salad with whipped cream and coconut (do other people do this, or is it just us?). Sometimes there’s a little veggie tray with carrot sticks, celery, cherry tomatoes and some olives. But when it comes down to it, if you’re primarily vegetarian, there’s not a source of protein in the meal for you.

So this year, I’m thinking of getting creative and bringing a meatless ‘main’ dish so to speak that my family and my husband will also enjoy that has a little protein for us. And I also want to bring a veggie-forward side and an appetizer of some sort that most others can enjoy. My family has a breadth of dietary restrictions— we cover the bases with gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and pescatarian, so it’ll be hard to please everybody. These are a few ideas, inspired by some other amazing cooks and recipe creators that I am thinking of trying out this year:

For the main:

This incredible Pumpkin Kale Lasagna. I’ve made it probably 5 times at this point and the flavors are unmatched, it literally feels cozy, warming, and in tune with the fall season.

For the veggie side:

A kale salad modified from this recipe with a maple dijon viniagrette dressing, topped with apples, roasted sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and optional feta

For the appetizer:

Baked brie with cranberry sauce and some fun dipping crackers, likely from Trader Joe’s

Are you scheming up what to make for this year’s feast? Let me know if you have any ideas in the comments.