Vegan Mashed Potatoes & Gravy (Recipe)

Being vegan during Thanksgiving can be a challenge. Grocery stores, with their push for pre-order turkeys, make me cringe. What would a cruelty-free Thanksgiving look like? What if one year everyone decided to order a Tofurky Roast or just stick to a plant-based spread, and save a turkey? Ok, enough dreaming…

One thing I have always loved about Thanksgiving is mashed potatoes and gravy. Fortunately, these are simple to make vegan style. Amaze your friends and family and include something in the dinner that your vegan and even gluten-free friends can enjoy. For the mashed potatoes, simply substitute Organic Earth Balance or olive oil for the butter, and use a non dairy/vegan milk alternative like hemp or almond milk (plain not vanilla!), preferably homemade to avoid carrageenan. Add a couple of garlic cloves for extra flavor and an immunity boost. (If you’re feeling adventurous, try this vegan wasabi-ginger mashed potato recipe.)

Now what good are these delicious mashed potatoes without gravy? Well that’s where this recipe comes in. Please make as many of your ingredients organic as possible.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Half yellow onion
• 1-2 Tbsp of miso (any kind will do, it’s for taste and color. The darker the miso, the darker the gravy)
• 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast (don’t worry about Candida! It’s inactive!)
• 1/2 cup organic vegetable broth
• Sea salt and pepper (to taste)
• Rosemary (to taste)
• Sage (to taste)
• 2tbsp milled CHIA SEEDS (this is the key to this recipe)

Directions:

• Chop and sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat
• When the onions are translucent, add the nutritional yeast and stir that up
• Add a little salt and pepper (just a pinch) and the spices: rosemary and sage. These give that authentic Thanksgiving flavor to the gravy. Feel free to add your own favorites here.
• Add the broth and stir it up so it’s creamy
• Add 2 Tbsp CHIA SEEDS (stir quickly or it gets clumpy). It will get thicker and thicker over the next couple of minutes. Turn to low and let the chia become thicker and more gravy like. If after a few minutes, it isn’t thick enough, add more chia. If it’s too thick, add more broth.
• Finally, add 1-2 Tbsp miso at the end for taste and color
• Taste as you go, and add more spices to suit your taste, make it your own

Voila! You can now enjoy vegan mashed potatoes and gravy, and maybe even surprise your friends and family by how delicious it is.