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Thanksgiving dinner ideas and tips will help you have a stress-free holiday. From planning, shopping, and cooking, to a whole list of recipe ideas—this post has everything you need to know about turkey day!
More Collections: Thanksgiving Appetizers, Thanksgiving Side Dishes, Thanksgiving Desserts
Who Doesn’t Love Thanksgiving?!
When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, it can be a little bit overwhelming knowing where to start, especially if you’re the HOST. But, don’t fret, we are sharing all the best recipes and tips to help you plan your Thanksgiving menu.
We’re here to help:
- Share the load. One of the things we like to do is to divide the work and assign each person to bring a dish (or two).
- Plan the menu. Whether you do a classic spread or something more unique, we’ve got you covered!
- From start to finish. Included are tips to get you organized and walk you through a tasty Thanksgiving dinner, prep, and all!
I’m helping you get prepped for Thanksgiving – from dinner ideas to appetizers and side dishes, we’ve got you covered!
Tips for Making Dinner Easy
Seasoned Thanksgiving cooks know the secret to a successful meal: ORGANIZATION. Whether you’re a first-timer or a pro, you need to have a plan to execute a successful Thanksgiving Feast.
I’ve gathered a few tips to help make an easy Thanksgiving dinner:
The Menu
From appetizers to desserts, plan out everything you want to serve (use our FREE Thanksgiving Menu Planner to help).
- How much to make. Get a head count then decide how much to make of each item. Add a new side dish for every 8-10 people attending.
- Allergies/limitations. Consider making accommodations, and be sure to label the dishes so guests know they are safe for them to eat.
- Ask for help. Most are happy to help! Consider assigning items that are easy to transport – or items that don’t need to be kept warm.
- Cooking for under 6 people. Cook a turkey breast! One half-breast or even a whole turkey breast makes more than enough for a small party of four to six. (And yes, you’ll still have plenty of pan drippings to make gravy.)”
More Tips
- Shopping. Don’t wait until the last minute. Plan the menu and purchase as much as you can in advance.
- Storage. Clean out the fridge the week before. Take note of any items that do not HAVE to be refrigerated to make room for other dishes.
- Plan a cooking schedule. Here are a few questions, and a bit of information that will help when planning your schedule:
- What are all the items that need to be cooked in the oven, and in what order?
- Which items need to be cooked on the stovetop, and in what order?
- Can anything be made in a crock pot?
- How can I keep items warm?
- Can anything be made ahead of time? Do they need to be reheated, and how?
- Ahead of time. Prep dishes such as pies, casseroles, and salads ahead to save time. Prep other ingredients beforehand, like making sure the turkey is defrosted, chopping veggies, and pre-measuring ingredients so they’re ready to be mixed.
- On the day of. Choose a dinner time, then figure out how long each item takes to cook or reheat and subtract that amount from the time dinner is served. This will give you a good idea of when to start the prepping.
Top Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes
Turkey is usually the main dish served at Thanksgiving. Other recipes to remember include: Turkey Brine, Turkey Gravy (no drippings), and Turkey Gravy (with drippings).
We’ve also included all of the classics you can find on any table in America on Thanksgiving day (Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Rolls, Cranberry Sauce, etc.), but there are even more to consider when building your menu.
1 How to Roast a Turkey
2 Crockpot Ham Recipe
3 Pot Roast Recipe
4 Honey Glazed Ham Recipe
5 Crockpot Roast Chicken Recipe
6 Swiss Chicken Bake Recipe
7 Prime Rib Recipe
8 Steak Marinade
9 Easy Meatloaf Recipe
10 Baked Salmon Recipe
Appetizers
We usually include 2-3 different appetizers in our Thanksgiving spread, so here are plenty of favorites to choose from!
Plan to serve 3-5 appetizers per person. If you only have 5-10 people coming, plan to serve 1-2 different appetizer dishes. Add another appetizer dish for every 5-8 people in attendance.
Check out our complete list of Thanksgiving Appetizers.
11 Turkey Veggie Tray Recipe
12 Spinach Puffs Recipe
13 Deviled Eggs Recipe
14 Cranberry Brie Bites Recipe
15 Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Recipe
16 Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe
17 Bacon Wrapped Smokies Recipes
18 Dill Veggie Dip Recipe
19 Brie Phyllo Tarts Recipe
20 Burrata Board Recipe
21 Fruit Dip Recipe
Sides
When planning our menu, we like to include 1-2 potato dishes, a veggie dish, and of course, rolls!
Plan about 6 ounces of potatoes per person, and 4 ounces of veggies per person. For every 5-8 people attending, add another dish to the menu. Plan to serve 1.5 rolls per person.
Check out our complete list of Thanksgiving Side Dishes.
22 Funeral Potatoes Recipe
23 Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots Recipe
24 Creamed Corn Recipe
25 Green Bean Casserole Recipe
26 Mac and Cheese Recipe
27 Dinner Rolls Recipe
28 Homemade Stuffing Recipe
29 Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows Recipe
Recipe Video
Get the recipe30 Best Mashed Potatoes Recipe
31 Mashed Potato Gravy Recipe
32 Corn Casserole Recipe
33 Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe
34 Cheesy Potatoes Recipe
35 Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Dessert
We like to have an entire table dedicated to dessert, and we load it up! It’s going to be hard to narrow down what you make there are so many tasty treats to choose from.
Although pie is the most common dessert for Thanksgiving, there’s nothing wrong with serving other desserts—especially ones with seasonal flavors, like pumpkin!
Check out the complete list of Thanksgiving Desserts.
36 Homemade Pumpkin Pie Recipe
37 Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Bars Recipe
38 Pumpkin Delight Recipe
39 Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe
40 Pumpkin Lasagna Recipe
41 Apple Pie Recipe
42 Easy Apple Cake Recipe
43 Pecan Pie Cheesecake Recipe
44 Pecan Pie Recipe
45 Buttermilk Pie Recipe
46 Pumpkin Roll Recipe
47 Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe
48 Pretzel Salad Recipe
Drinks
It’s fun to have a fancy drink, it’s like the cherry on top of a tasty meal. Enjoy these favorites!
49 Apple Cider Recipe
50 Wassail Recipe
51 Hot Chocolate Recipe
52 Easy Eggnog Recipe
53 Holiday Punch Recipe
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR THANKSGIVING TURKEY?
Do you like it fried? Baked? With Gravy? Without?
No matter how you like it, we wanted to share our go-to Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe. This herb-glazed turkey is simple and is the perfect recipe for the big day.
Here’s the recipe:
TOP Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas – Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
Ingredients
for the turkey:
- 1 (14-16) pound turkey thawed and brined
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 Granny Smith apples cored and cut into slices
- 2-3 carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 onion cut into pieces
- 5-6 stalks celery cut into 1 inch pieces
for the glaze:
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 cup honey
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons dried sage leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Brush the olive oil all over the skin of the turkey and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place about ⅔ of the vegetables and apples in the bottom of a roasting pan with an elevated rack in it.
- Place the turkey in the roasting pan and stuff the remaining vegetables inside the turkey. If the turkey's legs are not already tied together, tie them with kitchen twine.
- Roast the turkey uncovered in the oven for 30 minutes, then cover loosely with foil. Reduce the heat to 375°F and roast for an additional 2 – 2½ hours. The turkey is fully cooked when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F.
- To finish the turkey, whisk together the glaze ingredients. Brush the glaze over the turkey, and return the turkey to the oven uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until golden.
- Remove from oven, discard the vegetables, and let rest 10-20 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Holiday Dinner Planning!
When it comes to food Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday for serving your very best, and these recipes are all sure to impress!
We hope you enjoy these Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas!!
More Collections: Easy Leftover Turkey Recipes, Holiday Drink Recipes, Crock Pot Side Dishes
Kristyn,
May you and your family have the Happiest Thanksgiving. You have some great recipes, that I copy for later.
God bless all of you.
Thank you!! Hope yours was wonderful as well!
This is such a great all-in-one-stop for Thanksgiving recipes! These recipes are fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
So many great recipes to choose from!! I’ve got all of mine printed and ready to go.