Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes With Fresh Fall Vegetables

By Melissa Roberts
October 20, 2011
Credit: John Kernick
Step aside turkey. This year, make nutritious, fresh vegetables the real star at your Thanksgiving table with these healthy holiday recipes.
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Healthy Thanksgiving recipes

This year, make healthy fall produce the real star at your Thanksgiving table. Not only are they delicious, but fall's best vegetables (sweet potatoes, beets, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, and more) are colorful, sweet, and packed with nutritional power. Here, our favorite healthy Thanksgiving recipes that let the season's best veggies take center stage.

RELATED: 5 Ways to Have a Healthier Thanksgiving

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Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Try this recipe: Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

Control your kick! Leave the seeds in the chipotle if you like your soup very spicy.

Ingredients: Unsalted butter, yellow onion, fresh oregano, garlic, all-purpose flour, chicken broth, sweet potatoes, chipotle pepper in adobo, adobo sauce, orange zest, kosher salt, cinnamon, creme fraiche or sour cream, toasted pumpkin seeds

Calories: 255

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Miso-Glazed Carrots

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Try this recipe: Miso-Glazed Carrots

Stick with white miso (fermented soybean paste) for this dish. The red kind is stronger and will overwhelm the carrots.

Ingredients: Carrots, honey, rice vinegar, white miso, unsalted butter, cilantro, salt, sesame seeds

Calories: 113

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Roasted Root Vegetables

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Try this recipe: Roasted Root Vegetables

Veg out: You can change up the mix of vegetables in this dish. Just keep the total weight about the same.

Ingredients: Red potatoes, parsnips, carrots, turnips, golden beets, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper

Calories: 219

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Celery Root and Cauliflower Mash

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Try this recipe: Celery Root and Cauliflower Mash

Overlook its looks: Celery root may be unlovely, but it tastes like a delicious mix of celery and parsley.

Ingredients: Celery roots, cauliflower, russet potatoes, fresh lemon juice, bay leaves, unsalted butter, kosher salt, white pepper, nutmeg

Calories: 97

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Lentil Stew with Root Vegetables

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Try this recipe: Lentil Stew with Root Vegetables

Fill up! One serving of this hearty stew has more than half your daily fiber.

Ingredients: Unsalted chicken broth, bacon, French lentils, unsalted butter, kosher salt, black pepper, turnips, rutabaga, carrots, yellow onion, fresh thyme, garlic, spinach leaves, balsamic vinegar

Calories: 337

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Triple Beet Salad with Pistachios and Goat Cheese

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Try this recipe: Triple Beet Salad with Pistachios and Goat Cheese

Beets help boost endurance, lower blood pressure, and fight disease.

Ingredients: Baby red beets, baby gold beets, shallot, sherry vinegar, fresh thyme, kosher salt, Dijon mustard, black pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, watercress or arugula, baby Chioggia beets, goat cheese, unsalted pistachios

Calories: 206

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Two-Potato Tart Gratin

Credit: John Kernick

Try this recipe: Two-Potato Tart Gratin

Ingredients: Cooking spray, all-purpose flour, trans fat-free ready-made pie crust, egg white, heavy cream, 2% reduced-fat milk, freshly grated nutmeg, salt, garlic clove, pepper, Yukon Gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, grated Parmesan cheese, unsalted butter

Calories: 212

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Balsamic Braised Cippolini Onions

Credit: John Kernick

Try this recipe: Balsamic Braised Cippolini Onions

Ingredients: Cippolini onions, unsalted butter, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, rosemary, bay leaf, salt, pepper

Calories: 121

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Orange Glazed Carrots

Credit: John Kernick

Try this recipe: Orange Glazed Carrots

Ingredients: Orange and/or purple carrots, unsalted butter, orange juice, pure maple syrup, fresh thyme, salt, teaspoon pepper

Calories: 137

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Beets and Farro With Smoky Almonds

Credit: John Kernick

Try this recipe: Beets and Farro With Smoky Almonds

Ingredients: beets, dried farro, cider vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, baby arugula, smoked almonds

Calories: 232

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Roasted Cauliflower With Olive Vinaigrette

Credit: John Kernick

Try this recipe: Roasted Cauliflower With Olive Vinaigrette

Ingredients: Cauliflower, olive oil, black pepper, garlic clove, brine-cured pitted olives, lemon zest, fresh lemon juice

Calories: 145

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Wild Mushroom Stuffing

Credit: John Kernick

Try this recipe: Wild Mushroom Stuffing

Ingredients: Cooking spray, dried porcini mushrooms, whole-wheat bread, hazelnuts, unsalted butter, olive oil, shallots, wild mushrooms, celery ribs, fresh sage, salt, medium-dry sherry, flat-leaf parsley, low-sodium chicken broth, eggs, pepper

Calories: 220

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Duo of Celeriac and Beet Soup

Credit: John Kernick

Try this recipe: Duo of Celeriac and Beet Soup

Ingredients: Leeks, unsalted butter, olive oil, fresh ginger, finely chopped, salt, celeriac (celery root), Granny Smith apple, red beets, low-sodium chicken broth, pepper, celery leaves

Calories: 103

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Sauteed Kale With Chorizo and Crispy Garlic

Credit: John Kernick

Try this recipe: Sautéed Kale with Chorizo and Crispy Garlic

Ingredients: Lacinato kale, vegetable oil, garlic cloves, Spanish chorizo, salt

Calories: 131

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Provencal Goat Cheese in Endive

Credit: John Kernick

Try this recipe: Provencal Goat Cheese in Endive

Ingredients: soft mild goat cheese, 2% reduced-fat milk, honey, Herbes de Provence, salt, red endive leaves

Calories: 78

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