This Vegan Thanksgiving Dessert Board is great for a holiday treat and is packed with fun options! Including chocolate ganache & peanut butter mini tarts, stuffed dates, crisp apples, chocolatey popcorn and dried apricots, it has something for everyone!
This blog post is sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market
Are you getting ready for the holidays and starting to plan your menu? Look no further for a really fun and festive holiday dessert board! This Vegan Thanksgiving Dessert Board has all the decadent and light options to provide a perfect finish for your Thanksgiving or holiday meal.
Plus, this is SO simple to make. You can even get your family involved to help in the preparation! We loved shaping the mini tart crusts, drizzling the chocolate (as much or as little as you want!), and stuffing the medjool dates.
I was able to pick up all the goods needed for this dessert board at Sprouts Farmers Market. We found all our plant-based goodies here for this epic Thanksgiving board! I hit up the bulk department for popcorn, dried apricots and nuts; meanwhile, we snagged the amazing fresh apples from the produce department.
What I love about this board
There are so many options to make a dessert board on the healthier side, where everything is delicious while also making you feel good!
You can really have fun with all the options on a dessert board like this. If your family has certain preferences, you can tailor your treats to fit. For example, we love chocolate in this house, so I knew there needed to be a chocolate option for our board.
Another amazing option would be to fill the tarts with vegan whipped cream and top with sliced fruits and/or berries. You can even do half and half, for some additional variety!
Then for the stuffed dates, we stuffed ours with peanut butter and topped with dried apricots and chopped cashews. But as an alternative, you can stuff with any nut butter you like, and there’s so many options for dried fruits and nuts! They’re also delicious with pomegranate seeds too!
how this vegan dessert board comes together
We started with making these super tasty chocolate ganache & peanut butter mini tarts. The crust is a perfectly yummy shortbread that is a great pair with the rich and creamy filling for these tarts.
Simply combine the ingredients for the crust in a bowl, and mash together with a fork, then crumble with your fingers until the mixture will hold together when you press it. Then shape the dough into the mini tart pans – the recipe will make 4 of these mini tarts.
After you poke the tarts with a fork, bake for around 15 minutes until lightly golden brown as shown below. Then you’re ready to fill, once they cool!
The other fun parts of this board are yummy crisp apples and chocolate-drizzled popcorn.
There’s not much better than fresh fruits and freshly popped popcorn to really please a crowd at a gathering! You can add your favorite fruits and popcorn toppings as well. Here, we chose melted dark chocolate to top the popcorn. You can also use caramel and candies of choice.
other sweet treats for the holiday table
Vegan Sweet Potato Muffins
Vegan Apple and Blueberry Crumble
Vegan Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake
I hope you give this Vegan Thanksgiving Dessert Board a try! Make it your own and have fun with it! And most importantly, enjoy the holiday with family and friends.
Vegan Thanksgiving Dessert Board
Ingredients
Tart Crust:
- 1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. vegan butter
- 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 to 2 tsp. cold water
Tart Filling:
- ½ cup dark chocolate vegan
- 3 Tbsp. peanut butter
- 1 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 2 Tbsp. extra peanut butter to swirl
Other Ingredients:
- 3 large apples sliced
- 1 cup dried apricots
- 6-8 medjool dates
- 6-8 tsp. peanut butter
- 3 Tbsp. dried apricots finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp. chopped cashews
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels plus 2 Tbsp. oil for cooking
- 3 Tbsp. melted dark chocolate vegan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease 4 mini tart pans.
- In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the Tart Crust (1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour, 2 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave, ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. vegan butter, 1/8 tsp. kosher salt) except the cold water.
- Mash the butter into the flour with a fork until incorporated, then using fingers to further incorporate. Once incorporated, press some dough together and if it holds together, no water is needed. If needed, add a small amount of water and fully mix just until dough holds together.
- Split the dough the dough between the 4 mini tart pans. Press the dough into the sides of the tart pan first, then across the bottom. Try to make the dough in an even layer. Gently poke the bottom of the pans with a fork, then place the 4 tarts onto a baking tray and place in oven for 15 minutes or until they are just golden brown along the edges.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the Tart Filling ingredients (1/2 cup dark chocolate, 3 Tbsp. peanut butter, 1 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave, and 1/3 cup to ½ cup coconut cream) and mix together until a pourable consistency is reached, starting with 1/3 cup of coconut cream. Split filling between the 4 mini tart pans and add a small amount of peanut butter (the 2 Tbsp. total) in the middle of each tart and swirl with a knife.
- Put the tarts into the refrigerator for at least two hours.
- For the stuffed dates, slice them down the middle (but not sliced completely through) and add 1 tsp. peanut butter into the center of each date. Top the dates with the 3 Tbsp. (total) dried apricots and 3 Tbsp. (total) chopped cashews.
- For the popcorn, cook the 1/3 cup kernels in the 2 Tbps. olive oil over the stove, once the oil is hot enough to pop a few test kernels. Keep the lid on a gentle shake the pan around. Once popped, serve and top with melted 3 Tbsp. dark chocolate.
- To serve add the ¾ cup dried apricots to the board. Slice the apples and place them onto the board. Arrange the stuffed dates and the completed mini tarts.
Janet,
This is such a healthy and hearty Thanksgiving Dessert Board. You have been mindful and thoughtful about something for every one. Thank you and yes for chocolates and dates. Happy holidays!
Thanks so much for your kind words! It is a really delicious variety.