We have been looking at the best easy Allergy Friendly Thanksgiving recipes. These are perfect for hosting the big holiday dinner with dishes that are top 8 allergens free. Gatherings can be really tough when you start out on a strict elimination diet. It can also be hard celebrating with family there are allergies in your immediate family. You worry that the holidays just won’t be the same.
Don’t worry, we have got you covered!
Jump to:
- Other Allergen Friendly Thanksgiving Recipe list resources
- Choosing a Main Course
- Main Course Recipes
- Potato Dishes
- Step by Step Mashed Potatoes
- Potato Dish Recipes
- Vegetable Dish Recipes
- Side Dish Recipes
- Bread Roll Recipes
- Salad and Stuffing Recipes
- Cranberry Sauces
- Desserts
- Leave a comment below! We love hearing from you and which recipes you have made.
- Disclaimer
We hope you can find a few new favourite holiday dishes. Our hope is some of our favourites will become yours and be made year in and year out. The recipes are not just on our site but also on other sites. The recipes are top 8 free but their sites may not be so do keep that in mind.
We went to a few other food bloggers and asked them for their favourite Thanksgiving recipes. Then we checked to see if they fit the requirements we have. All the recipes listed here are dairy, wheat, egg, soy, nut, tree nut, fish, and shellfish free. Here is what we found!!! The results were overwhelmingly abundant.
Other Allergen Friendly Thanksgiving Recipe list resources
If you are a host for Thanksgiving and don't have allergies but are cooking for those that do we highly recommend checking out the comprehensive list from The Strength and Sunshine Blog as well as this one. They have excellent tips on what to keep in mind when guests have special dietary restrictions.
Choosing a Main Course
From scouring the posts in allergy groups we noticed that there were a lot of people concerned this year. They are worrying about what they can make that was top 8 free for their family’s newly diagnosed allergies. Two things in particular are being asked a lot. Can we eat Turkey if we are top 8 free? And how to make mashed potatoes without dairy?
One question that came up a fair amount is:
“Is it safe to eat a turkey with top 8 allergies and will what they are fed matter?”
The best person to ask is your medical team to see if this is an issue for you. This is a question for your allergist, doctors, and a registered dietitian knowledgeable in allergies. They would have the best answers for you as it is medical advice and everyone is different.
Farm Fresh
If they say it is okay or say you can with stipulations, here are some tips. I would look for a local farmer. One who raises animals like turkeys. That way you can buy from them and talk to them about what they are fed, how they are raised, processed, etc. We have “Lamb Lady Linda” that we get all our lamb and chickens from. She is perfect for us as we know how the animals are raised and what they are fed. It is not necessary for us to be particular for allergy reasons. We simply just love what she farms. Knowing where our food came from was important to us.
Supermarkets
For those like us that can buy from a supermarket, always check the ingredients on the packaging and with the manufacturer. This is done to check for cross contact issues in processing and packaging. We cannot have some hams as they contain or may contain mustard for example. Don’t buy stuffed turkeys as they may contain stuffing that has allergens such as wheat, dairy, and egg.
It is not recommended for those with allergies to shop at the meat counter case, if it has stuffed, seasoned meats or is shared with fish and shellfish. We have an amazing butcher shop in town where we get our premium meat cuts. They are happy to work with us and cut our meat first thing to reduce any cross contact with other products.
Main Course Recipes
These Thanksgiving main dishes are tops on our list. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Potato Dishes
Potatoes are a really common side dish that is served at Thanksgiving. They can be served so many different ways, mashed, scalloped, roasted, boiled. It is really easy to convert this holiday staple to an easy allergy friendly Thanksgiving recipe.You also have the choice of a white potato, yams or sweet potatoes. Some people have all of them at theirs others don’t. We are going to look at how to make a simple mashed potato and then give you our favourite alternative potato dish options.
Mashed Potatoes
Not too long ago I was talking with someone who was concerned about how to make mashed potatoes from scratch as they had only ever made them from a packet. This reminded me that what may seem simple to many may in fact be something that other have never tried to make. Not all cultures make mashed potatoes and not everyone grew up with a family that had a fairly British food background like I did. We had mashed potatoes and yorkshire puddings with every beef roast.
Which Type of Potatoes Are Used?
To start, the kind of potatoes chosen will affect the feel of the mash. I personally prefer a starchier potato as I find it is a lot more creamy and less lumpy when made. I usually use a Russet or Idahoan potato that has been peeled and diced. Others do theirs with a waxier potato and leave the skins on, a red potato is perfect for this. The waxier potatoes will give a less smooth and more granulated mashed potato in our experience.
How many potatoes to use?
This is a tricky bit. In our house the kids eat adult sized portions of mashed potatoes, while I only eat the smallest smidge. Usually the ratio of potatoes to guests is a quarter of a pound per person or ⅔ a regular sized Russet potato person. This guide from the Sobey’s grocery store has great info on how many potatoes to use for different dishes.
Equipment Needed
You will need a large pot to boil the potatoes iin lightly salted water that covers them by at least 2 inches until they can be pierced by a fork. A vegetable or potato masher is one of the most common utensils to use in making this side dish. After the potatoes have boiled until they are soft and cooked through, the water needs to be drained off.
Usually milk and butter are used to add creaminess to the potatoes, you will need plant based ones. Then use the masher to press down on the potatoes until they fall apart in a paste. This is easiest when done with the pot on a trivet on a flat surface you can get a bit of leverage on and not on the stove. Keep mashing and stirring the mashed potatoes into the milk and butter with the masher as you get all the lumps out.
Some people will push their potatoes through a ricer or potato press to get ultra smooth potatoes with zero lumps. Others will use a handheld mixer with beaters on the end to whip the milk and butter into the potatoes.
Milk and Butter Replacements
It goes without saying that You won’t be using regular milk and butter as they are both dairy products. They are easily replaced with plant alternatives. We find that gluten free oat milk with lots of fat in it works best as it adds creaminess to the potatoes. We use either plant based buttery spread, like Earth Balance (soy free) or butter-like sticks of butter, such as Melt Organics. Either will work well.
Alternative liquid options are adding back in a bit of the potato water that was drained off and mixed until soft. Chicken or vegetable stock are also great choices for adding in at this point. Some will boil the potatoes in chicken stock to add extra flavour to the potatoes.
Instead of a buttery spread, dairy free sour cream or plant based cream cheese (soy free) are sometimes used in place of butter. If we are making garlic mashed potatoes we love to use Plant Based Boursin Spread.
Always make sure the ingredients are safe for you and all your guests. We strongly encourage contacting the manufacturer regarding shared lines and cross contact risks.
Don’t Throw out the Water
The potato water is full of starch and many use it to thicken gravy, to help cream mashed potatoes or in other dishes. Save at least a cup of the starchiest water when draining in case you need it in other parts of the meal.
Step by Step Mashed Potatoes
- Peel about 1.5 potatoes per 2 people.
- Large dice the potatoes.
- Place the potatoes in a large stock pot and cover with water. Make sure there is about 2 inches more water than potatoes. The water line should be at least 2-3 inches from the top of the pot.
- Lightly salt the water. About ½ -1 teaspoon of salt
- Heat the filled pot over high heat until at a rolling boil.
- Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil for about 20-25 minutes.
- Check to see if the potatoes can be pierced easily by a fork.
- Turn off the heat and drain the potatoes from the water using a colander. Save the starchy potato water for gravy thickening.
- Return the drained potatoes to the empty pot.
- Place it on a large flat trivet on a flat area suitable for mashing.
- Add in ⅔-1 C Full Fat Gluten Free Oat Milk and ¼-½ C Soy Free Plant Butter for 6 - 8 servings. Add a little bit slowly and mash using a vegetable masher. Add a bit more plant milk and butter until all the potatoes are mashed and the mashed potatoes are as smooth and creamy as you would like.
- Sprinkle in Salt and Pepper to taste and mix well. Keep covered until serving.
- If you have leftover mashed potatoes check out our Dairy Free Shepherd's Pie recipe to use them up.
Check out these amazing recipes on how to make guest wowing Thanksgiving mashed Potatoes:
Potato Dish Recipes
No allergen friendly Thanksgiving recipe compilation would be complete without a potato section. If you would like to make a different potato dish we highly recommend trying one of these top 8 allergen free potato dishes:
Vegetable Dish Recipes
These vegetable side dishes are so fantastic even the kids will be eating them! They are perfect for large gatherings and are all allergy free Thanksgiving recipes.
Side Dish Recipes
Side dishes for Thanksgiving can vary from family to family, or region to region. We hope that these dishes will cover just about all the traditional side dishes you may have been hoping to find.
Bread Roll Recipes
If you are looking to make your own top 8 free bread rolls for an easy allergy free Thanksgiving dinner then the crew over at the Living Abundantly Blog have got you covered. They have a fluffy and moist gluten free and top 8 free recipe that is sure to be a winner for your gathering.
Salad and Stuffing Recipes
Salads are often an unsung hero of Thanksgiving dinner. They are full of flavour and colour as well as making sure the kids get all the veggies we would like them to. Stuffing is a must for holiday dinners. It is a dish that is synonymous with Thanksgiving.
The allergy friendly Thanksgiving recipes for salads and stuffing recipes we love are:
Cranberry Sauces
Cranberry sauce is the trimming are what imbue our meals with flavour. It is these easy to make sauces that make our list of allergy friendly Thanksgiving recipes complete.
Desserts
When we think of Thanksgiving we often picture the beautiful array of desserts. Top 8 allergen free desserts are just as amazing as we can imagine with the Allergen Friendly Thanksgiving Recipes in this list.
We hope that these recipes can help you plan and host the most amazing Thanksgiving gathering. These top 8 allergen free recipes will help to keep Thanksgiving as close to what used to be the traditional Thanksgiving menu.
Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
Leave a comment below! We love hearing from you and which recipes you have made.
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Disclaimer
We have to remind everyone that we are not medical professionals or dietitians, so these recipes are for information purposes only. Please discuss any dietary concerns, changes, or proper nutrition and your allergies with your medical team.
Always check the labels for any products to make sure they are right for you. We also encourage you to contact the manufacturers in addition to checking that the process of manufacturing is also safe for you, and that there aren’t shared lines. One product or ingredients may be safe for one person but not another. Always check the products and ingredients before purchasing.
Have you made this recipe? Please leave a comment and us know how much you liked it.