Last Thanksgiving, I made a gluten, soy, and dairy-free meal to accommodate my husband’s celiac disease and my younger daughter’s milk and soy intolerances. We still had the traditional dinner–I just made minor adjustments to each dish to meet our dietary requirements. The following are the alterations I made to accommodate my family’s food allergies.
Turkey
Surprisingly, the turkey is where I found hidden dairy in the ingredients! I looked at four different brands of turkeys before finding one that did not contain any dairy. I then brined and prepared my turkey as I normally would, except I used olive oil instead of butter.
Stuffing
To make the stuffing allergen friendly, I used Udi’s white bread for the bread and used homemade chicken stock in my recipe. All the brands of chicken stock or broth my grocery store carries contained soy, so I subbed in my homemade broth.
Sweet Potato Casserole
I found a paleo version of sweet potato casserole that uses canned coconut milk and coconut oil to make this dish allergen friendly.
Cranberry Sauce
This dish is naturally allergen friendly, so I did not have to make any modifications to my recipe.
Green beans with Cranberries and Almonds
With a 3 month old and a 2 year old, there was no way I was going to make a green bean casserole from scratch (including frying gluten-free onions and making a dairy-free cream of mushroom base) so I simply roasted green beans with olive oil, salt, and pepper. When the beans looked like they were getting close to being done, I tossed in some dried cranberries and sliced almonds.
Pumpkin Custard
My mother-in-law has perfected making gluten-free pie crusts. Me, not so much, so I made the filling for the pie and baked it in ramekins instead. I subbed in full-fat canned coconut milk for the milk in my pie filling recipe. I used SoDelicious’s Cocowhip as a topping.
Unfortunately, I am a mashed potato purest and have not found a dairy-free recipe for mashed potatoes that meets my standards, so we went without. With a few minor modifications I was able to make a Thanksgiving dinner that included almost all our favorite dishes and met all our dietary restrictions.
Becky Nagel is a stay-at-home mom to two girls, a three year old and a one year old, in Denver, CO who enjoys cooking for her family, running, and hiking.
