5 Oktoberfest Plant-Based Recipes to Make This September
FOOD & HOME
5 Oktoberfest Plant-Based Recipes to Make This September
By: Tanya Flink
Image by Yummy Pic via istock photos
If you’re waiting for October to celebrate Oktoberfest, you’re already running late. This internationalized German holiday officially begins on September 18 and runs through October 2, 2021. Don’t panic if you’re reading this after these dates—US celebrations tend to run all October long. For those flummoxed by the name of this beer-centric festival (why not Septemberfest, then?), here’s a bit of history. Plus, no proper Oktoberfest is complete without celebratory libations. You provide the beer, we’ll provide the plant-based recipes to make you raise your frosty pint and yell, “Prost!”
The History of Oktoberfest
There is some validity in this festival’s name—Oktoberfest did begin in October as a mass celebration of royal nuptials. The Bavarian Crown Prince married Princess Therese Saxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810, and the entire city of Munich was invited to join in the revelry. The festivities concluded with horse races, which were continued the following year (though they no longer take place today). Throughout the nineteenth century, additional amusements were added to the event in the form of a carousel, swings, and beer stands for thirsty patrons. The casual beer stands evolved to match the ever-growing, fair-like attractions, and by the late 1800s, it had become the norm for brewers to erect halls with mass seating, balconies, and stages for live music.
Today, the original Oktoberfest in Munich attracts an estimated six million visitors annually, and an equally astonishing amount of beer and roast chicken is consumed. While you can’t re-create the festival’s iconic ferris wheel at home, you can certainly don a pair of lederhosen and make yourself some delicious plant-based food after a makeshift parade/pub crawl with friends—all without eating animal products. Here are five stellar plant-based Oktoberfest recipes to celebrate the season.
5 Plant-based Oktoberfest Recipes
1. Spaetzle with Chick’n
Part noodle, part dumpling, there’s nothing like a deep bowl of these hearty German carbohydrates to soak up a day of drinking. The recipe below includes instructions for basic spaetzle without sauce. Spend an afternoon making the dumplings, then when it’s time to serve, toss with Abbot’s Butcher Slow Roasted Chick’n and serve with your favorite plant-based gravy.
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2. Pretzels
Not any soft and salted pretzel will do for a proper Oktoberfest spread. You need Bavarian pretzels—deeply browned twists of chewy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside dough speckled with coarse sea salt. Serve with spicy brown mustard or a dairy-free beer cheese dip. Gild the lily by topping that cheese dip with warmed Abbot’s Butcher Ground “Beef” seasoned with German curry powder and paprika.
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3. Currywurst
This German rendition of curry combines a spiced, tomato-based sauce that traditionally smothers pan-seared pork sausages. We’ve taken to making the sauce and stir-frying it with our Ground “Beef” or Slow Roasted Chick’n. Like many traditional animal-based dishes, it’s more about the seasoning and the sauce than it is about the meat.
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4. Reiberdataschi (German Potato Pancakes)
While not unique to German culture, potato pancakes are universally adored for their belly-warming simplicity. They’re traditionally served with sour cream, applesauce, or sauerkraut, but their neutral flavor makes for a blank canvas for a number of different accompaniments. To add a bit of spice, top a tower of these savory pancakes with a mound of Abbot’s Butcher Spanish Smoked “Chorizo.” Sure, it’s unorthodox, but so is celebrating Oktoberfest in October.
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5. Gingerbread Hearts
One of the sober attractions of Munich’s Oktoberfest involves custom-made, giant gingerbread hearts. Recreate this kid-friendly activity at home by whipping up the recipe below and shaping your cookies into hearts the size of your head. Just note to adjust the baking time—the bigger the cookie, the longer it needs in the oven.
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For more mushroom recipes and further culinary inspiration, check out the other posts in Our Journal.