What are some tasty thanksgiving alternatives for those families who don't eat turkey?

Pie.
and that is all….maybe a beer ;)

There’s always ham, duck, cornish hens, prime rib roast or pork roast. I know that tofurkey exists for our vegetarian friends, but I have no idea what it tastes like.

Scotch and silent, angry brooding toward the family that had you over for a fucking turkey-free Thanksgiving.

@tedibear Tofurkey! Now why does that word tickle my giggle muscle? Sounds like someone has a foot fetish….or maybe not.

Tofurky is a pretty decent-tasting analog to turkey that sold very well where I used to work. Also, I used to hear about vegetarians who would stuff and roast a big squash, something like this.

My sister makes a mean vegetarian lasagna with veggies from her garden.

I can’t improve on the excellent answer that @Blondesjon put up. I’m toasting (with iced tea) in silent awe. While waiting for the turkey to finish roasting.

But the vegetable side dishes can be a pretty good meal in themselves: green bean casserole, baked beans, succotash, several kinds of potato, squash, stuffing, cranberry jelly / sauce, and as @lucillelucillelucille remarked… several kinds of pie.

Meatloaf with stuffing in the middle! YUM! Tastes like….meatcake! ;)

I used to make a really good casserole/loaf when we were vegetarian, rice and bread, veggies and seasonings of the season, with a gravy.

French bread, spinache dip, olives and champagne…a meal I enjoyed the other night! lol

Thanks for those. I myself don’t mind a bit of turkey, prefer chicken though.

@laureth That sounds delicious! It works as an entree that’s big enough for the entire family, and you stuff and roast it just like a turkey. One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner is the side dishes, especially things that remind you of the harvest. (I love wild rice with mushrooms, sweet potatoes, squash roasted with a little olive oil, and root vegetable salad with apples.) Awesome idea.

Ham is a commonly served meat on thnaksgiving. Vegetarians have no problem because so many sides are made for the meal, unless they are vegan, then that is a different story, almost everything traditional has some dairy in it, but they can be tweaked or prepared differently to accomodate vegans as well.

I just returned from dinner with my mother at her facility. She had the works… I am amazed at what a 95 yr old woman can scarf down…and I had the side dishes.

All quite tasty.
Sautéed fresh yellow squash
Sautéed fresh green beans
Baked sweet potato
Cranberry sauce

Pretty decent green salad with a side of coleslaw.

I had green bean casserole, baby carrots, mashed potatoes, stuffing and mango pudding. All delicious and tremendously filling.

Vege dumplings, steamed beans, candied yams, three nut salad (chopped cashews, walnuts, and pecans, mixed in with chopped spinach, mandarin oranges, and raspberry dressing), “cranberry chutney“http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cranberry-Chutney-I-2/Detail.aspx, and whole wheat biscuits.