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You only need minimal holiday changes for Celiac or Lactose Intolerant guests, but most people are are mystified by what to serve Vegetarian or Vegan guests.

Don’t buy a Tofurky. Seriously, folks. They’re vile.

The thing about Thanksgiving is you really don’t need a meat substitute. Thanksgiving is all about delicious sides. None of that changes when you subtract a difficult to prepare oversized bird most people consider dry and stringy.

Make dressing (in a pan of its own) instead of stuffing. This will be your vegetarian or vegan guest’s main dish, so make sure you use vegetable broth and substitute olive oil for butter.

For vegetarians, that’s the only real change you need. As long as you don’t add bacon to your mashed potatoes or oysters to your dressing, everything else on the table should already be vegetarian friendly.

Vegans are a little more challenging. Most holiday recipes involve a lot of butter. Ask your vegan guest to bring some seasoned, roasted potatoes to share. Those can take the place of creamy, buttery mashed potatoes.

Instead of candied yams, you can try mashing yams with orange juice and brown sugar.

Substitute the butter in carrots and green beans with a splash of olive oil and a few pinches of spice (basil flavored oil with garlic and black pepper are great on green beans). This is also a great way to keep the calories down for the dieters at your table who’ll be groaning over butter drenched veggies.

The hard part will be the pumpkin pie. Instead of trying to make a ton of substitutions, try serving an apple or berry pie instead. It’ll be vegetarian, vegan, and lactose friendly.

If in doubt, ask your guests about their dietary restrictions. Most people are more than happy to explain what they can and can’t eat as well as bring a dish or two to share.

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Thanksgiving celebrations don’t need to be difficult for your lactose intolerant or milk allergic guests.

Most households only have a few lactose products on the Thanksgiving, but they’re good ones. Mashed Potatoes and Pumpkin Pie come to mind.

While creamy mashed potatoes made with real butter and heavy cream are traditional, there are tons of tasty ways to mash up some milk free spuds. You can substitute in chicken or veggie broth instead of milk. You can substitute soymilk for the milk. You can use all vegetable butter substitutes. Alternately, you could skip mashed potatoes entirely and go for some oven roasted potatoes instead this year.

Pumpkin Pie is a little more of a challenge. Most pumpkin pie recipes are basically thick custards. If you’re making the pie from scratch, you can try substituting soymilk in the place of actual dairy.  Try the vanilla flavored ones. They’re sweeter and do a better job hiding the nutty flavor.

Finally, make sure there’s a lactose free margarine on your table in case people want to butter rolls or potatoes on their own. A lot of the cheaper margarines are made entirely from vegetable oils. When in doubt, ask the guest you’re buying for what they use at home.

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