Vegetarian Recipes

Thanksgiving Bowls

I love a hearty salad with a variety of delicious toppings and a homemade dressing…and these Thanksgiving Bowls are just that! They’re one of my favorite salads to make after the holidays and are the best way to use up leftovers and odds and ends of ingredients. Throw some harvest veggies and sides on top of fresh greens and wild rice, and give your body a break from the heavy foods (until Christmas!). This Thanksgiving salad is the perfect base to add anything your heart desires and is great for meal prepping, too!

Overhead view of thanksgiving salad in two bowls.

What is a Thanksgiving Bowl?

This recipe is one of the easiest salads you’ll ever make. It’s also one of my favorite tips for making something fresh, healthy, and delicious after Thanksgiving using ingredients you already have on hand! Thanksgiving salad bowls are simple to throw together and a great vessel for all your holiday leftovers. And you really can add anything you like to these salads—the more toppings, the better!

For my bowls, I roast sliced sweet potato and turnip, then pile them onto a bed of leafy greens and wild rice with diced apples, shaved Brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, candied pecans, and whatever else I have in the fridge. Then, I top it all off with a tangy homemade maple cinnamon dressing. It’s fresh and flavorful, and as written, this recipe is also totally gluten-free and vegan!

Here’s what I use to make my easy Thanksgiving salad bowls:

Wild Rice: These little grains are packed with protein, fiber, and essential nutrients. They also add a nutty flavor and slightly chewy texture. However, did you know that “wild rice” isn’t actually rice!? It’s a type of grass seed, but it gets its name from its rice-like appearance! You cook it the same way, though, and I’ve shared some tips below for perfectly cooked wild rice.
Sweet Potato & Turnip: Slice them into thin medallions, coat them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast until tender. I love the creamy sweet potato and slightly earthy turnip combination, but any roasted veggies will work here.
Celery: Adds a nice crunch and refreshing flavor.
Brussels Sprouts: A classic Thanksgiving side dish, but they also work great in this salad. I like to finely shave them for a more delicate texture.
Dried Cranberries: These are the perfect festive touch and add a sweet-tart flavor.
Frozen Peas: What do you do with the leftovers from a bag of frozen peas? You add them to this salad! See the recipe card notes for preparation tips.
Gala Apple: Adds a crisp, juicy sweetness. You can use any apple variety you like!
Red Onion: I julienne (finely slice) half a red onion and toss it in this salad for extra zing.
Candied Pecans: You can buy pre-made ones, but I used our candied pecan recipe and skipped the egg whites/oven step to save time.
Baby Greens Salad Mix: Buy a package of mixed baby greens (or your favorite salad mix) for a quick and easy base.
Maple Cinnamon Vinaigrette: Mix Dijon mustard, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, minced garlic, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil to make THE most delicious dressing. I’ll be drizzling this on all my salads this season!

What Else Can I Add?

You really can’t go wrong with this salad. Any leftovers or random ingredients you have in your fridge can be added to this already delicious mix. Just keep in mind some leftovers may need reheating first for safety and taste, e.g., sausage stuffing. But that said, here are a few ideas to get you started:

Roasted butternut squash or acorn squash
Crumbled blue cheese, goat cheese, or sliced cheese from your cheese board
Leftover turkey breast
Sliced avocado
Leftover shaved Brussels sprouts salad
Any nuts, seeds, or dried fruit you like
Pomegranate seeds or cranberries
Homemade croutons made from leftover dinner rolls

You don’t need to soak wild rice, but I do recommend rinsing it before cooking.
Wild rice will either triple or quadruple in volume once cooked. The ratio of wild rice to water is typically 1:4. I use ½ cup of wild rice in this recipe to yield around 1 ½ cups cooked.
You’ll know your wild rice is done when it appears to be split down the center. I usually taste a few grains here and there towards the end of the cooking time, so I can take it off the heat once it’s done to my liking.

Meal Prep It!

I love meal prepping a big, hearty salad with lots of toppings like this. They’re already a complete meal in themselves (my Niçoise salad is another example of this!), and, depending on what you add, they don’t need reheating. As written, these Thanksgiving bowls will last up to 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. However, this time frame is totally dependent on how fresh your ingredients/leftovers are when you make them.

I like to keep my toppings and dressing separate until just before serving. The dressing will separate as it sits, so give it a good shake or whisk before drizzling it over your salad. I also recommend tossing your diced apples in lemon juice to slow down the browning process!

Overhead view of Thanksgiving bowls in meal prep containers.

Thanksgiving Salad Bowl

These Thanksgiving Bowls are the perfect salads for using up all your holiday leftovers. Fresh, healthy, and great for reducing food waste!

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Total Cost ($13.67 recipe / $2.73 serving)

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 20

Total Time 1 5

Servings salads (2 cups per serving)

Calories 464kcal

Author Jess – Budget Bytes

Equipment

Baking Sheet
Pyrex Glass Meal Prep , optional

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients

½ cup wild rice (yield is a little over 1 ½ cups cooked) $1.24
1 turnip $0.82
1 sweet potato $1.06
4 stalks celery $0.32
½ cup dried cranberries $1.09
1 cup frozen peas, cooked and chilled** $0.49
½ cup Brussels sprouts, shaved or finely chopped* (about ¼ lb whole) $0.74
¼ cup candied pecans*** $1.60
1 gala apple $0.69
½ red onion (about ½ cup when finely sliced) $0.53
1 Tbsp olive oil $0.19
½ tsp salt $0.01
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.02
6 oz bag of baby greens salad mix $2.73

Maple Cinnamon Vinaigrette Ingredients

1 tsp Dijon mustard $0.02
1 tsp cinnamon $0.08
½ tsp salt $0.01
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.01
3 cloves garlic, minced $0.09
1 Tbsp maple syrup $0.24
¼ cup apple cider vinegar $0.14
½ cup olive oil $1.55

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook wild rice according to package directions. Fluff and let cool.****
Prepare vegetables: peel and slice turnip into medallions, slice sweet potato into thin medallions, dice celery, gather dried cranberries, candied pecans, and shaved Brussels sprouts, cook and cool peas, small dice apple*****, and julienne (finely slice) red onion.
Toss potatoes and turnips with olive oil, salt and black pepper.
Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets and roast in the oven for 20 min or until tender (but not mushy!)
Remove turnips and sweet potato medallions from oven and let them cool while you make your dressing.
Whisk together Dijon mustard, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, minced garlic, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar, streaming the olive oil last to create a temporary emulsion.
Once sweet potatoes and turnips have cooled, toss all salad ingredients together with the lettuce mix. Either portion it out for meal prep with the dressing on the side, or scoop equally into bowls and dress to serve.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*The leftovers from my shaved Brussels sprouts salad are amazing added to any mixed greens salad like this one!

**The FDA recommends all frozen vegetables be fully cooked before consuming. I like to scoop out the amount of frozen peas I need and put them in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave on high for 2-4 minutes with a little bit of water added, so they are just covered.

***I used the Budget Bytes recipe but omitted egg whites and skipped the oven time!

****I like to cook until the rice is tender but still has some resistance when you bite it. I also like to add 1/8 tsp of cinnamon to the cooking water or veggie broth, but that’s completely optional!

*****To keep your apples from browning, you can toss them in a little lemon juice while you’re prepping the other components for this salad.

Nutrition

how to make Thanksgiving Bowls – step by step photos

Sliced onions, shaved sprouts, chopped apple, dried cranberries, cooked wild rice, candied pecans, and frozen peas on a chopping board.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook ½ cup wild rice according to package directions. Fluff and let cool.

Prepare vegetables: peel and slice 1 turnip into medallions, slice 1 sweet potato into thin medallions, dice 4 stalks celery, gather ½ cup dried cranberries, ¼ cup candied pecans, and ½ cup shaved brussels sprouts, cook and cool 1 cup frozen peas, small dice 1 gala apple, and julienne (finely slice) ½ a red onion.

Sliced turnip and sweet potato in a bowl with salt and pepper.

Toss potatoes and turnips with 1 Tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper.

Sliced potatoes and turnips on a baking sheet.

Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets and roast in the oven for 20 min or until tender (but not mushy!)

Baked slices of sweet potato and turnip on a baking sheet.

Remove turnips and sweet potato medallions from oven and let them cool while you make your dressing.

A whisk mixing ingredients for maple cinnamon vinaigrette in a bowl.

Whisk together 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp maple syrup, and ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, streaming ½ cup olive oil last to create a temporary emulsion.

Once sweet potatoes and turnips have cooled, toss all salad ingredients together with 6 oz bag lettuce mix. Either portion it out for meal prep with the dressing on the side, or scoop equally into bowls and dress to serve.

This easy Thanksgiving salad is a fresh and delicious way to reduce food waste and nourish your body at the same time!

Leftover Stuffing Muffins

Thanksgiving Leftovers Tortilla Wrap

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

$8.94 recipe / $2.24 serving

Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls

$6.73 recipe / $1.68 serving

The post Thanksgiving Bowls appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

If you’re not familiar with homity pie, let me introduce you:

Homity pie is a traditional British recipe, which is essentially a cheesy potato and leek pie. It’s just the sort of thing we Brits do perfectly – simple ingredients, combined to make incredible comfort food. Say what you like about British food, but it’s hard to argue with buttery sautéed leeks, cheesy crushed potatoes, and a flaky shortcrust pastry case.

A slice of homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie).

I’m not going to lie, this homity pie is a bit of a labour of love. It’s not a quick weeknight meal like most of my recipes – this cheesy pie is definitely one to save for a special occasion (it would be perfect for a vegetarian Christmas dinner!).

Since cooking this pie takes a bit of time and patience, don’t try to cook it against the clock. Give yourself plenty of leeway – perhaps an afternoon where you’ve not got much else on. That way, it doesn’t matter if the potatoes have to sit for a little while so you can finish cooking the leeks, or if the pastry case is ready to fill before the filling is actually cooked – you can just potter away at your own pace, and it can all be assembled when you’re ready.

Overhead shot of a cheesy pie with a slice pulled away.

What’s in Homity Pie?

There are three parts to this recipe:

garlicky sautéed leeks and onion
buttery crushed potatoes (with a cheesy topping)
a crispy pastry case

These 3 elements can all be prepared simultaneously, or one at a time, depending on how good you are at multitasking. I’ve written the recipe in 3 separate parts, but if the timings work out (or if you have someone else helping you in the kitchen), you can prepare them all at the same time.

Once all three parts of the recipe are ready, they can be assembled, and baked one last time to complete your cheesy homity pie.

And by the way, I am 100% not a pastry expert. You may think my homity pie looks decidedly… rustic. But I like it that way If I wanted it to look perfect, I’d have saved myself a couple of hours, and bought one in a shop.

Becca’s Top Tip

Any extra scraps of pastry can be baked on their own, and eaten spread with strawberry jam – my kids love it when I cook with pastry as they always get little jam tarts!

Cheesy Vegetarian Bakes ebook on an ipad screen.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

leek – It’s hard to get the scale from the picture, but the leek I used was absolutely enormous – a proper monster (probably as big as my forearm!). If your leeks are a more normal size, you’ll probably need at least two.
potatoes
shortcrust pastry – I used a ready-rolled sheet of shop-bought pastry, as making pastry is not my forte. Feel free to use homemade pastry if you prefer!
cheddar cheese – If possible, use freshly grated mature cheddar cheese rather than the pre-grated stuff, as it melts more nicely.
onion – I used red onion, but regular onions would also be good.
fresh parsley
egg
garlic – I used pre-minced garlic from a jar because I hate chopping large amounts of fresh garlic.
curry powder (optional, but it does add a lovely hint of warmth)

Becca’s Top Tip

If you’re using shop-bought pastry, take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you need to use it. This helps it to soften a little, and means it’s less likely to crack as you unroll it.

Recipe Video

Equipment

I like to use a loose bottomed springform cake tin for homemade pies. It works really well because:

The clip on the side and the loose bottom make it so easy to remove the pie from the tin once it’s finished baking.
It gives a nice tall pie, which looks great, and also gives a wonderfully thick layer of filling.
The metal heats up nicely and helps to crisp up the pastry.

You can use a shallower pie tin to make homity pie if that’s what you have, but I would always recommend a cake tin if you have one.

Here’s a similar one on Amazon, with great reviews:

8-Inch Springform Cake Tin

I love using a loose-bottomed springform cake tin to make homemade pie. If you’re in the UK or Australia, click ‘Buy on Amazon’ to view a local product.

A slice of homity pie with sautéed leeks, potatoes and cheese.

Printable Instructions

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

How to make the classic British recipe homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie!) – a tasty vegetarian pie made with shortcrust pastry.

Course Main Course

Cuisine British, English

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 30

Servings people

Calories 427kcal

Author Becca Heyes