12 Unique Vegan Side Dish Ideas For The Holidays You’ll Crave Long After Christmas

With the holiday season in full swing, I'm sure there are lots and lots of dinner parties in your future — whether they're ones you're invited to, or ones you're throwing yourself. If you're the head honcho in your kitchen like I am, I'm sure you've been thinking long and hard about what to put on the menu for your Christmas feast — and what to include as far as vegan options go. For me and my family, entertaining a dinner party has to include all things gluten-free, sugar-free, vegetarian, and holiday vegan side dishes, so I'm always looking for ideas.

It's not impossible, trust me, I've done it. It just takes a bit of planning, maybe one or two (or three of four) trips to the grocery store and bonafide prep-time in the kitchen to pull it off, but hey, planning is half the fun right!? Trying to look at the upside here.

So as you start to plan your menus for the holidays and including everything from vegan Irish Colcannon mashed potatoes to masala mac and cheese, check out this list of heavily researched vegan recipe ideas for some side dish ideas that will really wow your guests this holiday season.

Rich And Tomatoey White Bean Gratin

I'm gonna kick this list off with a little inspiration from my girl and queen of all things vegetarian and vegan Amuse Your Bouche. This tomato and white bean gratin is the perfect holiday side dish with a winning combination of flavors, textures and ease. That's right, this one is so straight forward it might as well be called the lazy girl's gratin. You can find the recipe here.

French Lentil & Buckwheat Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings

I know what you're thinking. This photo looks like it's straight out of a magazine, and you're never gonna be able to make this. And while, yes, it is definitely pleasing to look at, it's also totally doable. This one comes to us from food blogger and butternut squash extraordinaire Pure Ella and is just screaming all things holidays between the butternut squash, lentils, pomegranate seeds and cranberries. And the best news of all, it's completely vegan! You can find the complete recipe at Pure Ella.

Colcannon Dairy-Free Irish Mashed Potatoes With Greens

You can't have a holiday without mashed potatoes and this pretty vegan and dairy free recipe courtesy of Wallflower Kitchen does the trick. Colcannon, which is a nod to the bloggers Irish heritage, is a tradition dish that is typically served up with mashed potatoes, kale and/or cabbage, milk and butter or cream however this recipe subs the milk and butter with soy and dairy free butter making it completely vegan! You can find the recipe here.

Middle Eastern Roasted Vegetable Rice

I'm loving this totally non-traditional all vegan rice dish courtesy of my girl and goddess of all things Jewish cooking Tori Avey. While this dish may look easy to make, it's actually somewhat time consuming the bloggers warns, but don't worry, your efforts will be worth the reward. You can find the complete recipe right here.

Individual Vegan Pot Pies

Brace yo' selves vegans because this one's a definitely crowd pleaser. These individual vegan pot pies come to us from food blogger My Darling Vegan is are just a delight to look at. I mean, who doesn't love a good pot pie right? You can find the entire recipe at My Darling Vegan.

Masala Mac & Cheese

Mmmmm. Mac and Cheese. And Masala! It's like a cheesy love affair of flavors that I want to be a part of asap. This lovely little vegan side dish has come in to our lives from food blogger Vegan Richa and can even be made GF if you have the GF noodles! Check out the whole recipe here and enjoy!

Gluten Free Kisir

This beautiful and traditionally Turkish dish comes to us courtesy of Wallflower Kitchen. Kisir, which is a popular side dish in Turkish cuisine, is also relatively simple to make, so that's another win. You can find the complete recipe here.

Aloo Palak Spinach And Potato Curry

There's nothing better than potatoes and curry on a cold winter day and this completely vegan spinach and potato curry recipe courtesy of The Pretty Bee will be sure to warm you right up. You can find the complete recipe here.

Spaghetti Squash With Green Lentils

This butternut beauty courtesy of Pure Ella really takes the vegan cake — I mean, look at those colors! Gorgeous! You can find the complete recipe right here.

Vegan Stuffed Peppers

This recipe, from Simple Vegan Blog, is the perfect side treat for any holiday party and the best part is, as the name suggests, it's easy to make! You can find the complete recipe here.

Vegan Butternut Squash Apple Stuffing

Nothin' says holidays like stuffin' and I'm absolutely loving this butternut squash and apple stuffing completely vegan alternative. You can find this recipe right here.

Vegan Rainbow Israeli Salad

Tori Avey knows what's up when it comes to all things holiday cooking, and this recipe for a gorgeous all-vegan Rainbow Israeli Salad is no exception. You can find the complete recipe right here.