The Complete Thanksgiving Menu and Recipe Guide (2024)

Hosting Thanksgiving this year? Whether you have a full house or are limiting it to just your family members, this full Thanksgiving Dinner Menu and Recipe Guide is here to make planning and cooking on the biggest food day of the year a breeze.

These are some of the star dishes I plan on serving on Turkey Day, and I hope you do, too!

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thanksgiving menu and recipe guide

Like any holiday, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of family, good food, and cheer. But it can also be stressful — especially if you’re hosting.

Taking the time to plan ahead will make your job as host easier and allow you to enjoy the days leading up to Thanksgiving as well as Thanksgiving day, even if you spend most of it in the kitchen.

Below are my go to dishes to serve during the holidays! They are all very easy to make an include step by step pictures as well as variations to make it your own!

Thanksgiving Courses

  • Cocktail hour: Get everyone in high spirits for the big meal with drinks like my Pomegranate Cranberry Champagne Punch!
  • Appetizers: One of my favorite parts of thanksgiving is snacking throughout the day. My family and I always have a couple of appetizers around to snack on while the turkey is roasted in the oven!
  • Entree: It’s not Thanksgiving without a roasted turkey! We’ve perfected our recipe to yield a juicy, tender, crispy-skinned bird that will be the star of your holiday meal.
  • Sides: Some argue that the best part of Thanksgiving is the sides, and we won’t hate it! We’ve included some of our favorite side dishes like homemade cranberry sauce and creamy mashed potatoes that will round out your holiday spread.
  • Breads: You need some sort of bread on your Thanksgiving plate to sop up all of that goodness from your meal!
  • Dessert: No feast is complete without something sweet at the end. These recipes are sure to leave your family smiling and content after such a delicious meal!

Cocktails

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  • Red Sangria Recipe: Simple and Fruity, this Red Sangria Recipe is perfect for sharing! Made with fresh fruit, red wine, brandy, and pomegranate juice, this delicious cocktail can be doubled or tripled to make entertaining a breeze!
  • Cranberry Margaritas: These vibrant Cranberry Margaritas are the perfect marriage of tart and sweet.
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  • White wine sangria:Made with strawberries, peaches, and mango juice. It’s perfectly sweet (thanks to the fruit) with a hint of citrus from the limes and oranges.

appetizers

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  • Deviled Eggs: Made in the Instant Pot! These eggs couldn’t be easier and peeling them is a breeze!
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  • Baked BLT Dip: A creamy dip made with sour cream, mayonnaise and cream cheese. Topped with lettuce, tomato and bacon!
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  • Caramelized Onion Dip: It’s packed with savory and sweet caramelized onions, sour cream, cream cheese and balsamic vinegar.

main dishes

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  • Roast Turkey: You can’t have a Thanksgiving Menu without the turkey! This homemade roasted turkey is juicy, tender, flavorful with a crispy-skin — what everyone wants in a Thanksgiving bird!
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  • Gluten Free Turkey Gravy: Made with no flour, butter or oil! Just veggies and leftover turkey drippings!

Sides

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  • Mashed Sweet Potatoes: Your Thanksgiving Menu won’t be complete without mashed sweet potatoes! Made with butter and cream to make them super rich! I’ve included two fun variations below to serve these potatoes: A sweet option and a savory option!
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  • Creamy Corn Pudding: Made from scratch with brown butter, heavy cream and corn. No boxed jiffy corn mix or canned corn needed!
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  • Easy Sausage Stuffing: Loaded with fresh herbs, carrots, celery, onions and garlic. The perfect side dish to go with your Thanksgiving meal!
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  • Broccoli Rice Casserole Recipe: Is made with a rich cheese sauce and loaded with tender broccoli then topped with melty cheddar cheese. This casserole is great on it’s own as a main course or as a stellar side dish.
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  • Homemade Green Bean Casserole: With a homemade mushroom cream sauce and crunchy panko onion topping! No canned mushroom soup needed!
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  • The BEST Sweet Potato Casserole: Creamy sweet potatoes baked with a crunchy pecan streusel topping! The perfect easy side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas!
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  • Creamy Mashed Potatoes: Make the perfect side dish to go with any meal! Loaded with sour cream, butter, heavy cream AND milk these potatoes are rich, creamy and fluffy!
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  • Creamed Corn: Skip the can and make delicious, flavorful creamed corn at home with a few pantry staples. Trust me, you’ll never go back to the pre-made stuff after you try this recipe! It’s perfect for weeknight dinners or holiday meals.
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  • Honey Roasted Carrots: Only 3 Ingredients and made with brown butter and honey then roasted until golden brown. The perfect side dish!
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  • Creamy Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese: Made with canned pumpkin puree! This creamy Mac and cheese is actually healthy! It’s made with half the amount of butter, flour, milk and cheese!
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  • Cranberry Sauce: Fresh cranberries are cooked with orange zest, orange juice, and brown sugar to create a thick, colorful, sweet, delicious fruit reduction that your guests are sure to love.

bread & Rolls

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  • Fluffy Homemade Dinner Rolls: They are buttery, flakey and perfectly golden brown on the outside. They are the perfect roll to serve alongside your holiday meals, soups or favorite dinners!
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  • Corn Muffins: Perfect grab and go corn muffins. Soft and buttery on the inside with a crisp exterior!Perfect alongside soups and main courses.
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  • One Hour Focaccia Bread: This no-knead focaccia bread recipe comes out soft and fluffy on the inside and golden and crisp on the outside. It’s the perfect bread to serve alongside your Thanksgiving table.

desserts

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  • Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars: Made with graham crackers and crushed up gingersnap cookies. Topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon, it is the perfect dessert for fall!
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  • Apple Crisp: Topped with a crunchy oat streusel and filled with fresh baked apples, this is sure to be your favorite fall-inspired dessert!
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  • Pumpkin Coffee Cake:Tender spiced cake topped with a thick buttery streusel topping. Perfect for dessert or for a snack!
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  • Pecan Pie Bars: Made with a buttery shortbread crust and a gooey maple pecan filling.
The Complete Thanksgiving Menu and Recipe Guide (2024)

FAQs

What was on the menu at the first Thanksgiving answer key? ›

Although turkeys were indigenous, there's no record of a big, roasted bird at the feast. The Wampanoag brought deer and there would have been lots of local seafood (mussels, lobster, bass) plus the fruits of the first pilgrim harvest, including pumpkin. No mashed potatoes, though.

What are the 10 traditional Thanksgiving foods? ›

Here are our favorite traditional Thanksgiving dishes that are delicious and easy to make.
  • Creamy Mashed Potatoes. Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Serves: Up to 4 people. ...
  • Stuffing. ...
  • Green Bean Casserole. ...
  • Sweet Potato Casserole. ...
  • Baked Corn. ...
  • Mac and cheese. ...
  • Peas & Water Chestnuts. ...
  • Fresh Rolls.
Oct 28, 2021

What is the perfect Thanksgiving menu? ›

Best Thanksgiving Menu Ideas for a Crowd
  • Thanksgiving Salad. ...
  • Mac and Cheese. ...
  • Charcuterie Board. ...
  • Chickpea Pumpkin Fritters. ...
  • Potatoes Au Gratin. ...
  • Apple Pie. ...
  • Roasted Brussels Sprouts. ...
  • Shepherd's Pie.
Jul 25, 2024

What are 3 items that were most likely on the first Thanksgiving menu but probably aren t on most menus today? ›

So while our Thanksgiving dinner table has a big ol' turkey plated in the center, the first Thanksgiving table was likely filled with ducks, geese, eels, lobster, and venison.

What was on the original Thanksgiving menu? ›

But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

What 3 foods did they eat on the first Thanksgiving? ›

So, to the question “What did the Pilgrims eat for Thanksgiving,” the answer is both surprising and expected. Turkey (probably), venison, seafood, and all of the vegetables that they had planted and harvested that year—onions, carrots, beans, spinach, lettuce, and other greens.

What is a traditional Black Thanksgiving dinner? ›

You will likely be eating roast turkey, barbecued turkey, deep fried turkey, glazed country ham, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes mashed and covered with marshmallows, corn, cornbread, yeast/potato rolls, black eyed peas, rice, gravy, potato salad, cranberry sauce from ...

What is the most common food to eat on Thanksgiving? ›

At Thanksgiving dinner, turkey is served with a variety of side dishes which can vary from traditional, such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, to ones that reflect regional or cultural heritage.

How many sides should a Thanksgiving dinner have? ›

How many dishes should I serve with the turkey? For 4 people, choose 1-2 appetizers and 3 sides. For 8 people, choose 1-3 appetizers and 3 sides. For 16 people, choose 2-3 appetizers and 3 or more sides.

What is a true Thanksgiving dinner? ›

Traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes but the First Thanksgiving likely included wildfowl, corn, porridge and venison.

What is the best order to cook Thanksgiving dinner? ›

For the big day, we've figured out just the right order to pull together the rest of the feast.
  1. Defrost premade bread. ...
  2. Chill wine and beer.
  3. Prepare the stuffing stuffing. ...
  4. Roast the turkey. ...
  5. Prepare other side dishes while the turkey roasts. ...
  6. Remove the fully cooked turkey from the oven and rest it for 1 hour.
Oct 20, 2021

What food was missing from the first Thanksgiving? ›

It is also worth noting what was not present at the first Thanksgiving feast. There were no cloudlike heaps of mashed potatoes, since white potatoes had not yet crossed over from South America. There was no gravy either, since the colonists didn't yet have mills to produce flour.

What was not served on the first Thanksgiving? ›

Oddly enough, a few contemporary Thanksgiving powerhouses didn't make an appearance at the original holiday table. Neither white potatoes nor sweet potatoes had yet been brought to North America from South and Central America, respectively.

What was at the first Thanksgiving feast? ›

Massasoit sent some of his own men to hunt deer for the feast and for three days, the English and native men, women, and children ate together. The meal consisted of deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat, different from today's traditional Thanksgiving feast. They played ball games, sang, and danced.

Did they eat seal at the first Thanksgiving? ›

The eels were probably a slimy side course at the 17th-century version of the Thanksgiving feast. We're not sure how the eels were prepared, but they were plentiful. Another possible side dish was seal. But the most likely centerpiece of the first Thanksgiving meals was deer.

Did they eat lobster at the first Thanksgiving? ›

While turkey is the staple for Thanksgiving today, it may not have been on the menu during what is considered the First Thanksgiving. The First Thanksgiving meal eaten by pilgrims in November 1621 included lobster. They also ate fruits and vegetables brought by Native Americans, mussels, bass, clams, and oysters.

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