Teri’s Tips for Creating a Fabulously Easy Thanksgiving Meal
I’m sharing some fantastic updates and tips on traditional Thanksgiving recipes, and I’m sure you’ll love them as much as we do. The key to a fabulous Thanksgiving meal is one key ingredient: love.
Hearts Full and Plates Piled High: The Thanksgiving Meal Edition
Holidays are as much about food as they are about family, and there is a definite sweet spot where delicious holiday food and family meet in my memories. These traditional Thanksgiving dishes are part of the net of love my mom cast around our family, and they are woven into the fabric of who we are. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Why not celebrate family, gratitude, love, and delicious food?
Host with the Most: Teri’s Tips to Triumph This Year’s Thanksgiving Meal.
In my cookbook, I created a four-page guide (pages 234–237) for Thanksgiving success that offers a spectacular list of how to make your holiday more fun. You’ll love it! I am also sharing a few of my best tips here.
If hosting Thanksgiving feels overwhelming, I can help. Ultimately, it’s all about being prepared. And part of preparation is delegation! Get your guests involved. Everyone has their superpower. Encourage guests to bring their favorite side dishes, or assign them one of mine.
Delegate to Celebrate: Assigning Thanksgiving Roles with Flair
If you have a baker in the family, put them in charge of dessert. For a non-cook, it will be easy to pick up beautiful rolls from your favorite bakery. As a person who loves cooking far more than baking, I love to call my local bakery and purchase my desserts. That simple call takes an item off my to-do list, and they do a fabulous job. Designate a beverage manager to take charge of the bar, the ice, and figuring out what your guests like to drink well in advance. Their job will be to keep the bar stocked all day.
I love to do a signature cocktail, but if that’s not appealing to you, that’s another task you can delegate. You will also need a clean-up manager and a clean-up team. Your friends and family will enjoy being involved!
Fabulous Recipes for Every Part of Your Thanksgiving Meal.
Whether you are planning an entire Thanksgiving meal or just choosing which side dish to take to a holiday gathering, this Thanksgiving round-up has something for every type of eater.
Recipes for Thanksgiving Prep
Do-Ahead Turkey Drippings
Turkey drippings make gravy magnificent, so it’s essential to have an adequate amount. I don’t know about yours, but my Thanksgiving Day is always a little bit of a panic and is certainly the day I’m apt to ruin the drippings when I’m rushing. I make my turkey drippings well in advance, and you should to!
Click here to make my recipe for Turkey Drippings.
Turkey Stock
Turkey stock elevates your Thanksgiving dishes from ordinary to extraordinary!
I absolutely adore this recipe and use it again and again. Use it for your stuffing, gravy, and day-after turkey soup. By the way, save your carcass from Thanksgiving Day. We do two turkeys and a turkey confit, plus we ask the neighbors for their carcasses! This magic elixir is going to elevate your Thanksgiving dishes into over-the-top deliciousness. I make this once a year and freeze additional quarts to enjoy throughout the winter. If you haven’t tried my recipe, it’s a must.
Click here to make my recipe for Turkey Stock
Appetizers & Cocktails for Your Thanksgiving Meal
Crudités
Crudités are the centerpiece of any gathering, not only because they’re delicious and appealing to all kinds of eaters, but super easy to put together too. I love a bit of crunch and color, so I fill my crudités platters with in-season vegetables. And as a gal who loves a dip, I always include a few different Magic Elixirs for dipping.
Click here to make this Thanksgiving appetizer.
The Best Old School Cheeseball Recipe
I love to take an old school dish and create an updated version that evokes my childhood. A classic cheeseball recipe brings back memories of holiday gatherings, school events, and those potlucks where everyone eagerly waits for its appearance. A cheeseball is one of those delights that make me feel like I’m home for the holidays.
Click here to make this Thanksgiving appetizer.
Holiday Batch Cocktails for Friendsgiving
If you’re in charge of drinks at Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving, you can’t go wrong with either of my holiday batch cocktails. They have some of the same ingredients, so you aren’t breaking the bank for two totally different drinks, but you’re still offering great options. I think it’s always important to balance not going over the top while still making sure there is a good option for everyone.
Click here to make these Thanksgiving cocktails.
Recipes for Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Holiday Salad with Balsamic Poppyseed Dressing
As we get near the holidays, I am really loving the simple joys of cooking. For me, that means assembling an easy and beautiful salad. This holiday salad is made even easier using my new jar-shaken Balsamic Poppyseed dressing. It’s gluten-free, dairy free, and absolutely luscious.
Click here for this Thanksgiving side dish recipe.
Onion Spoon-bread Soufflé
This Onion Spoon-bread is an absolute must-do! It’s pillows of soft deliciousness, and it comes together in such a beautiful way. This has become a tradition for families who make it again and again over the years.
Click here for this Thanksgiving side dish recipe.
French Green Beans with Garlic and Pepitas
I love French green beans and was delighted to receive these beauties as a gift. After blanching, I typically sauté them in olive oil and slivered almonds so they come out crunchy. My family loves them, and we eat them like French fries. Here I’ve changed them up a bit and used pepitos, which are pumpkin seeds.
Click here for this Thanksgiving side dish recipe.
An Easy Sausage & Sage Stuffing Recipe From Roy
Strictly speaking, Roy’s stuffing is a twist on a treasure he found in the Chicago Tribune 33 years ago. Bacon, sausage, and a caramelized mirepoix make this stuffing so delicious!
Grandma Pat’s Stuffing
My Mom’s Stuffing is another Patty Turner Thanksgiving special. Simple, delicious, and certainly high-calorie, this recipe is my idea of nirvana. She used saltines rather than bread.
When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of my mother, who was up early that morning, making this recipe.
Click here for this Thanksgiving side dish recipe.
Mashed Potatoes
We love these mashed potatoes with a burning passion, and we absolutely don’t wait for Thanksgiving to come around in order to make them, in fact, they are a bi-monthly staple around here.
Click here for this Thanksgiving side dish recipe.
Easy Holiday Corn Soufflé
Even though my mom’s been gone 23 years, her Corn Soufflé is one way we remember her. It’s a delicious, easy old-school Thanksgiving recipe, comfort food at its absolute finest. Depending on where you live, this Thanksgiving side dish may be called Corn Pudding, but whatever you call it, this traditional Thanksgiving recipe is truly a crowd-pleaser.
Click here for this Thanksgiving side dish recipe.
Easy Gluten-Free Corn Soufflé
My mom’s Corn Soufflé is a delicious, easy, old-school Thanksgiving recipe, comfort food at its absolute finest. Depending on where you live, this Thanksgiving side dish may be called Corn Pudding, but whatever you call it, this traditional Thanksgiving recipe is truly a crowd-pleaser.
Vegan Risotto
While I am definitely a carnivore, I fully embrace vegetable-forward cooking. With some vegans in the family, I love having more elaborate vegan dishes. This year, I really wanted to offer some ideas for a vegan Thanksgiving.
This Vegan Risotto would be perfect for a holiday feast, or for a lovely meal the whole family will enjoy.
Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad
This crazy delicious salad from G Free Foodie is easy to make…and even easier to eat. It’s fancy enough for a holiday table, but quick enough for a weeknight meal. Plus, you can make it in advance – perfect for meal prep too!
Click here for this Thanksgiving side dish recipe.
Raspberry Jello Mold
This delicious raspberry jello came from my sister Patty Sue’s kitchen. It’s a little nod to our cranberry sauce and I know it’s jello, but it’s absolutely wonderful. It’s well loved and reminds me of home.
Click here to make this Thanksgiving side dish recipe.
Fall Salad
This simple sweet and savory side from Cook by Color really packs it all in with great nutrition, flavor, color, and texture in these prime seasonal ingredients. Beets, butternut and pomegranate are all beautiful fall season crops packed with antioxidants and vitamins.
Click here for this Thanskgiving side dish recipe.
Thanksgiving Main Dish Recipes
Pork Roast with Prune Wine Reduction
This recipe is next-level, juicy, moist, and a magnificent way to cook a pork roast. It’s such a treat: festive, sweet and savory, with a lovely rich sauce that is, surprisingly, free of butter or cream. You can’t go wrong adding this main dish to your Thanskgiving meal.
Click here for this recipe for Thanskgiving.
Thanksgiving Style Chicken
Thanksgiving is my holiday. It’s basically my super bowl and I have a move for every play! If you happen to be hosting a smaller gathering you can still have all of the great qualities of Thanksgiving, but downsized. Enter: the Thanksgiving Chicken! I am so delighted by this recipe. It gets all of the luscious flavors of the turkey in a smaller setting!
Click here for this recipe for Thanksgiving.
Apple Brined Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
The secret ingredient for This Mess is Ours’ Roasted Turkey Breast With Dried Apple Brine lies in the dehydrated apple chips. These easily accessible chips, crushed into a fine powder, infuse the turkey with a unique blend of flavors, alongside sage and thyme, making it a standout dish that’s simple to prepare.
Click here for this recipe for Thanksgiving.
Recipes for Thanksgiving Dessert
Holiday Orange Gluten-Free Bundt Cake
This cake is what dreams are made of. I’m not the best baker, but Fernanda from the nocrumbsleft team absolutely is. She developed this incredible gluten-free bundt cake. I cannot get over how moist and delicious this cake is. You will make it for every holiday party and pretty much every week in between. It is just the best.
Click here to make this Thanksgiving dessert recipe.
Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers
Turkey Soup
In keeping with tip-to-tail, I absolutely delight in making my annual homemade turkey soup. This soup that my family has been waiting for all year is the reason I do two Thanksgiving turkeys and all those confit turkey legs. I place all the bones and carcasses (picked clean) in a large pot, cover them with water, and add goodies like onions, carrots, and cilantro then gently cook for several hours before the arduous task of draining, straining, and removing. Delicious and worth the wait.
Click here to make this with your Thanksgiving leftovers.
Grape, Apple, and Walnut Turkey Salad
You’ve gobbled till you wobbled, and now you’re left staring at a mountain of leftovers. Fear not! California Grown has the perfect solution; their turkey salad with diced celery, apples, red grapes, walnuts, all tossed in a lemony dressing. This recipe is easy, fast, and keeps for days too!
Click here to make this with your Thanksgiving leftovers.
What are your plans for this year’s Thanksgiving meal? Leave a comment and let me know what you are up to. If you’re looking for more inspiration, sign up for our Friday Favorites newsletter, and follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok to join in all the fun!
Lon the Thanksgiving guide I don’t see your gravy recipe. I would love to try it if you can share it.