21 Best Thanksgiving Recipes And Dinner Party Ideas
It is that time of the year when we are busy finding the best Thanksgiving recipes for dinner parties during the festive season. We just don’t want to repeat what we did last year. Who wants old stuff? Not me and I am sure you are also looking for the latest Thanksgiving dinner recipes.
I won’t take any more time and let’s dive into
The Best Thanksgiving Food Recipes This Year
1. Green Bean Casserole
Green Bean Casserole looks just delicious and it is the perfect recipe for Thanksgiving. The recipe will take your Green Bean Casserole to the next level.
Bacon gives the smoky flavor and it complements the mushroom. You can either go for fresh green beans for their tenderness or canned ones for their firmness. It can be a make-ahead recipe too. I prefer button mushrooms but if it’s not available, go for Baby Bella.
It takes fifty minutes including 20 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of cooking time but you will lick your fingers for sure. You need a 9×13 baking dish.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. The ingredients include bacon, button mushrooms, canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, garlic, milk, and French-fried onions.
2. Make Ahead Turkey Gravy
It is one of the best Thanksgiving side dishes and certainly one of the most popular. The best thing is you can make it ahead of time, even freeze it for 3 months.
A Dutch oven is a must for this recipe. It takes 3 hours including 15 minutes of prep time and 2 hours and 45 minutes of cooking time. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I prefer to have a dark brown recipe. It tastes much better.
You need turkey wings, celery stalks, carrots, pepper, flour, vinegar, and butter. You can also use turkey necks or turkey legs even drumsticks. If the gravy is thin mix cornstarch with water.
3. Apple Cider Turkey Brine
The most important thing for a yummy Turkey is that it should be moist. You need to get all the brine ingredients and then cool it. The most important ingredient for this recipe is unfiltered apple cider. It is subtly sweet and balances out the savory flavor of kosher salt.
Brining helps the turkey to remain moist when you cook it. It takes around 20 hours to brine a turkey. You can use a large pot to brine the turkey but a brining bag ensures even distribution of brine. The equipment needed are a water canning pot, a brining bag and a saucepan.
Now let’s come to the ingredients which include turkey, oranges, apple cider, ice, bay leaves, black peppercorns, and cloves. This is the yummiest turkey for fall Thanksgiving recipes.
4. Parmesan Butternut Squash Gratin
This is one of the most classic-looking Thanksgiving recipes. It takes little more than an hour to make including 25 minutes of prep time.
It is a make-ahead recipe which is a plus. Even the pickiest of eaters is going to love this. It is a perfect side dish. You need a 13×9 glass baking dish and a cooking spray.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. The ingredients include garlic, pepper, parsley, grated Parmesan cheese, squash, panko breadcrumbs, and butter. While choosing butternut squash long for the ones that are heavier for their size.
5. Roasted Carrots With Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese
Though you must have seen them in big restaurants, the recipes used here can be easily prepared at home and they will be on par with any chef-made item.
It is rich in flavor and taste. Its sweet and savory flavor makes it a perfect Thanksgiving side dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes 15 minutes of prep time and an hour of cooking time.
For roasted carrots, you need carrots, unsalted butter, pepper, salt, thyme, brown sugar and crumbled goat cheese. For candies pecans, the ingredients include brown sugar, pecan halves, butter, salt, and maple syrup.
If you want to be a little spicy then add cayenne pepper, for vegans use vegan feta instead of goat cheese. You can replace pecans with almonds or walnuts.
The recipe is best served fresh but can can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and it will be good for up to 3 days.
6. Bourbon Honey Baked Ham
The recipe is perfect for holidays. The recipe requires 30 minutes of prep time, 2 hours of cooking time, and 20 minutes of resting time.
The ingredients include fully cooked half ham, butter, brown sugar, honey, and bourbon. For the glaze, you need a mix of honey, bourbon, butter, and brown sugar.
Preheat the oven to 325°F and bake the ham for 20 minutes. For doneness check if the internal temperature is 140°F. Let it rest for 20 minutes and then serve.
7. Thanksgiving Stuffing
This is one of the best stuffings I have ever tasted. You can even make it 2 days in advance. You need a 9×13 casserole dish.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 45 minutes. For seasoning the sausage use a mix of garlic, poultry seasoning, pepper and salt.
The ingredients needed are pork breakfast sausage, butter, celery, onion, turkey broth, mushrooms, bread dumplings, milk, and eggs. If you want to omit mushrooms then add more bread cubes. Let it rest for 15 minutes before you serve it.
8. Sweet Potato Casserole
It looks irresistible. I could not control myself when I was served this for the first time. The marshmallow topping takes the recipe to the next level. The best thing is it can be made ahead of time.
It requires 15 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of cooking time. Preheat the oven to 375°F. You need a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake it for 15 minutes.
The ingredients include packed brown sugar, sweet potatoes, marshmallows, vanilla extract, ground cloves, eggs, and cinnamon. Let it cool for 10 minutes before you serve. It is best served with oven-toasted turkey breast.
9. Orange Cranberry Sauce
This orange-flavored sauce is tart and sweet. It tastes great with leftover turkey sandwiches. The Cranberry Sauce Recipe will complement your turkey. You can also enjoy it with oatmeal or smoothies. It’s delish.
I used mandarin oranges and when you peel them, remove the white pith as it’s bitter. Make it in advance and let it chill in the fridge.
It requires 5 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cooking time. You need cranberries, mandarin oranges, sugar, water, and orange extract.
Keep it in the fridge in an airtight container and it will be good for a week. You can also freeze it for 3 months.
10. Sauteed Green Beans
I always love green beans and it is a great side dish for Thanksgiving. You can either have fresh or frozen green beans.
It takes 15 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cooking time. Blanching the green beans is one of the most important steps to get the right flavor.
You need Dijon mustard, pepper, green beans, olive oil, mustard, salt, and onion. You can also add bacon.
11. Cranberry Almond Slaw
It is a must on your Thanksgiving menu. This is refreshing and can be a make-ahead recipe. I have added apple cider vinegar for sweet and tangy flavor. To bring out the nutty flavor I have added almonds.
It takes only 20 minutes to make. For apple cider vinaigrette you need a mix of black pepper, extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, salt, and garlic.
For cranberry almond slaw the ingredients include green cabbage, almonds, cranberries, onion, and parsley. The recipe is best served with onion and sage stuffing or sweet potato souffle casserole.
12. Strawberry Pretzel Salad
It is one of the most gorgeous Thanksgiving desserts I have ever seen. You can either use pretzel sticks or pretzel twists. I preferred cool whip but you can use whipped cream too.
The most important tip to make this salad is to let the first layer chill before you put the next layer. You can make them in advance and keep them in the fridge for 3 days.
For the recipe, you need a hand mixer, a 9×13 baking pan, and mixing bowls. It takes 20 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cooking time.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. The ingredients include crushed pretzels, strawberries, cream cheese, sugar, and butter.
13. Maple Walnut Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
This is one of the most delicious sweet potatoes. To make it sweet use Greek yogurt otherwise use sour cream. I have used pumpkin spice but you can also use ground cinnamon.
If you don’t like nuts then use rolled oats instead. It requires 15 minutes of prep time and 45 minutes of cooking time. Preheat the oven to 400°F. The ingredients include Greek yogurt or sour cream, salt, maple syrup, sweet potatoes, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.
For the topping, you need a mix of chopped walnuts (you can use pecans too), brown sugar, and butter.
14. Millionaire Cranberry Salad
This is a delicious complimentary side dish for turkey. I prefer to call it a dessert salad. To start with you can make a cranberry sauce or buy it from a store.
You can make it ahead of time, a day in advance would also be good. It requires 15 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cooking time. The ingredients include flaked coconut, sour cream, marshmallows, pineapple titbits and pecans.
To make the cranberry sauce you need a mix of cinnamon sticks, water, cranberries, and granulated sugar. This homemade version will be a little tart and it will balance out the other ingredients used in the recipe. It is one of the best Thanksgiving appetizers.
15. Chipotle Bacon Mac And Cheese
This is one of the most popular recipes. You require a Dutch oven for this recipe and a 13×9 baking dish. It needs an hour and 20 minutes to make. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
The ingredients include cavatappi pasta, heavy cream, salt, cheddar cheese, corn oil, butter, onion, all-purpose flour, half and half, ground white pepper, bacon, chipotle chile pepper, and Japanese breadcrumbs.
Make it for 15-20 minutes, once you see it turned golden, your dish is ready to be served.
16. Butternut Squash Gnocchi With Sausage
This is one of the best recipes for a busy weeknight and works well for holidays too. Before making this recipe make sure you have already made butternut squash puree.
I would recommend you remove the casings of Italian sausage and then slice it. Preheat the oven to 375°F, roast butternut squash for half an hour. It requires 20 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of cooking time.
The ingredients include Italian sausage, black pepper, heavy cream, potato gnocchi, chicken broth, and butternut squash puree. It is best served with a simple salad or bread.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and it will be good for up to 5 days, you can also freeze it for 3 months.
17. Cauliflower Casserole
It is one of the most delicious dishes for Thanksgiving dinner. It is a healthy low-carb side dish and even people who don’t like vegetables will love it.
You can use mayonnaise or sour cream but I wanted to keep it healthy without sacrificing the taste so I opted for nonfat plain Greek yogurt. The tools required are a sheet pan, cheese grater, and a casserole dish. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
It requires 15 minutes of prep time and 35 minutes of cooking time. The ingredients include bacon, Greek yogurt, extra virgin olive oil, bacon, Gruyere cheese, chives, cauliflower, Parmesan cheese, and nutmeg.
You can keep the leftovers in a container with a lid and it will be good for 3 days, it also freezes well for 3 months.
18. Citrus Herb Roast Turkey Breast
This is juicy and a flavorful dinner recipe and certainly a crowd-pleaser. You require a parchment paper and a rimmed baking sheet.
It requires 10 minutes of prep time, 40 minutes of cooking time, and 20 minutes of resting time. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
The ingredients include half-breast turkey, thyme, rosemary, onion, salt, extra virgin light oil, orange, and pepper. For doneness check if the internal temperature is 165°F.
19. Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
It is one of the best recipes for Thanksgiving dinner, perfect for potlucks and other parties too. I prefer rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken for this salad recipe.
It is an easy and quick recipe and takes only 15 minutes. You can make it 2 days in advance. It works as a great stuffing in sandwiches.
You require a mix of pecans, cooked chicken, apple, mayonnaise, cranberries, and onion. To make it more crunchy you can add walnuts or slivered almonds. It is best served with potato soup.
You can replace mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt and lemon juice. For the dressing, mix homemade mayonnaise, kosher salt, cracked pepper, and garlic powder. Keep the leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container, it will be good for up to 5 days.
20. Classic Sweet Potato Casserole
The recipe requires 20 minutes of prep time and 35 minutes of cooking time.
The ingredients include vanilla extract, sweet potatoes, eggs, salt and evaporated milk.
20. Thanksgiving Turkey
Is there a better centerpiece than a roasted Thanksgiving turkey on Thanksgiving day? To get the best flavor of the recipe make sure you don’t overcook it. It has to be a juicy and moist turkey.
The size is a major concern so let me make it easy for you, it should be 1.5 pounds of turkey per person. Thaw the turkey for at least 24 hours. Never wash your turkey, clean it with a paper towel and cook it.
If you are getting a wild turkey then brine it otherwise skip the step. It takes almost 4 hours including a prep time of 20 minutes and three and a half hours of cooking time.
The ingredients include turkey, thyme, lemon, rosemary, apple, onion, and sage. To make the herb butter you need a mix of garlic, butter, salt, herbs and black pepper.
To check the doneness use the instant read digital thermometer and the internal temperature should read 165°F. After cooking the turkey let it rest for at least half an hour. I love to serve it with mashed potatoes or broccoli casserole.
21. Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows
The recipe requires 20 minutes of prep time and 25 minutes of cooking time.
The ingredients include vanilla extract, pecans, sweet potatoes, marshmallows, and cinnamon.
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20 Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas You Must Try
From Thanksgiving turkey and bourbon honey baked ham to green bean casserole and sauteed green beans, make the best Thanksgiving recipes for dinner
Ingredients
- Green Bean Casserole
- Make Ahead Turkey Gravy
- Apple Cider Turkey Brine
- Parmesan Butternut Squash Gratin
- Roasted Carrots With Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese
- Bourbon Honey Baked Ham
- Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Orange Cranberry Sauce
- Sauteed Green Beans
- Cranberry Almond Slaw
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- Maple Walnut Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Millionaire Cranberry Salad
- Chipotle Bacon Mac And Cheese
- Butternut Squash Gnocchi With Sausage
- Cauliflower Casserole
- Citrus Herb Roast Turkey Breast
- Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
- Thanksgiving Turkey
Instructions
- Choose your favorite Thanksgiving recipe
- Gather all the ingredients
- Make the recipe
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