Best Thanksgiving Recipes

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A list of our favorite , tried and tested Thanksgiving Recipes – find all the best Thanksgiving side dishes, Thanksgiving desserts and the best turkey recipe in one place! Plus tips and tricks on how to make preparing a Thanksgiving meal low-stress!

thanksgiving recipes on a plate - turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce.


Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Our family has the best traditions and we enjoy a day full of fun, food and moments together.

Here’s a list of all our favorite Thanksgiving Recipes, as well as tips and tricks on what can be made ahead of time to reduce the amount of work in the kitchen on Thanksgiving day!

thanksgiving recipes on a plate - turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce.

Tips on Making Thanksgiving Low-Stress

  • Choose recipes from trusted sources. Obviously I hope to be a great resource for you and all your Thanksgiving recipes, but there are many wonderful places to find delicious Thanksgiving sides, desserts, etc.
  • Make a list and check it twice! Once you’ve gathered the Thanksgiving recipes you will be cooking, make a shopping list of the ingredients required to make those recipes. Don’t forget to include the amounts of each – how much butter? how many Brussels sprouts? etc.
  • Read recipes thoroughly. In order to plan well, it’s important to know the steps in the recipes you choose. Which Thanksgiving recipes can be prepared or prepped the day before? This helps with the next step, which is to make a plan.
  • Make a plan. Create a game plan and choose the order in which you’ll prepare the Thanksgiving recipes. This helps ensure everything is ready to eat at the same time so nothing gets cold.
pumpkin pie on a plate in a roundup of Best Thanksgiving Recipes

Prepare Thanksgiving Recipes In Advance

I start preparing for Thanksgiving days in advance. Here’s a helpful flow of how I prepare.

  • 5 days before Thanksgiving (Saturday): Transfer turkey from the freezer to the refrigerator to begin thawing (we usually cook a 20 – 24 lb. bird so it needs days to thaw).
  • 4 days before Thanksgiving (Sunday): Prepare homemade dinner rolls and put them in the freezer to thaw and bake on Thursday.
  • 3 days before Thanksgiving (Monday): Get all the shopping done! I like to have 99% of the Thanksgiving shopping completed on Monday. Then if I need to send someone out for a few items that I forget later on in the week I’m certain I have mostly everything I need before it sells out.
  • 2 days before Thanksgiving (Tuesday): Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Wash, trim and cut vegetables (green beans, Brussels sprouts, etc). Make homemade pie crusts, wrap and chill to make pies the next day.
  • 1 Day before Thanksgiving (Wednesday): This is the day I am in the kitchen the longest. I prepare the sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, and stuffing – then store them in oven-safe containers in the refrigerator to re-heat on Thanksgiving. I bake all the pies or desserts (like this flourless chocolate cake). We also brine the turkey and let it sit in a cool place overnight.
  • On Thanksgiving: If I do all this prep work in advance, on the day of (after we run our morning 5K of course) all that’s left to do is roast the turkey, make gravy, roast Brussels sprouts, Saute green beans and warm/bake everything I prepared the days before. So easy.
sweet potato casserole prepared for thanksgiving

Leftover Recipes

Don’t forget to plan more food than you really need so that everyone can have their fair share of leftovers. What’s Thanksgiving without enjoying leftovers all week long? Here are some yummy ways to use leftovers.

Turkey Cranberry Sandwich

Best Thanksgiving Recipes - turkey cranberry sandwich

Potato Pancakes

Best Thanksgiving Recipes - potato pancakes

Turkey Pot Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes - turkey pot pie

Turkey Tetrazzini

Best Thanksgiving Recipes - turkey tetrazzini

Shepherd’s Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes - shepherd's pie

Turkey & Gravy

The main event on Thanksgiving is always the Turkey! Check out our recipe for the BEST roast turkey and turkey gravy.

Rost Turkey Recipe

Best Thanksgiving Recipes - roast turkey

Gravy Recipe (From Drippings)

Best Thanksgiving Recipes - gravy

Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Who else thinks the magic of Thanksgiving lies in the sides?! Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving side dish recipes.

Best Dinner Rolls

Best Thanksgiving Recipes dinner rolls

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Best Thanksgiving Recipes cranberry sauce

Sausage Stuffing

Best Thanksgiving Recipes sausage stuffing

Garlic & Herb Mashed Potatoes

Best Thanksgiving Recipes mashed potatoes

Candied Yams

Best Thanksgiving Recipes candied yams

Easy Mac & Cheese

Best Thanksgiving Recipes mac and cheese

Au Gratin Potatoes

Best Thanksgiving Recipes au gratin potatoes

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Best Thanksgiving Recipes mashed sweet potatoes

Corn Pudding

Best Thanksgiving Recipes corn pudding

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Best Thanksgiving Recipes roasted brussels sprouts

Sweet Potato Casserole

Best Thanksgiving Recipes sweet potato casserole

Roasted Green Beans

Best Thanksgiving Recipes roasted green beans

Baked Mac & Cheese

Best Thanksgiving Recipes baked mac and cheese

Cinnamon Apples

Best Thanksgiving Recipes cinnamon apples

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Best Thanksgiving Recipes brussels sprouts and bacon

Winter Fruit Salad

Best Thanksgiving Recipes fruit salad

Cheese Biscuits

Best Thanksgiving Recipes cheese biscuits

Roasted Beets Recipe

Best Thanksgiving Recipes roasted beets

Baked Mac & Cheese Cups

Best Thanksgiving Recipes mac and cheese cups

Homemade Breadsticks

Best Thanksgiving Recipes homemade breadsticks

Cornbread Dressing

Best Thanksgiving Recipes cornbread stuffing

Homemade Biscuits

Best Thanksgiving Recipes biscuits

Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Best Thanksgiving Recipes cream cheese mashed potatoes

Sautéed Green Beans

Best Thanksgiving Recipes sautéed green beans

Brussel Sprout Salad

Best Thanksgiving Recipes brussel sprout salad

Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Best Thanksgiving Recipes cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes

Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Best Thanksgiving Recipes sweet potatoes and apples

Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole

Best Thanksgiving Recipes healthy sweet potato casserole

Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash

Best Thanksgiving Recipes roasted butternut squash

Butternut Squash Soup

Best Thanksgiving Recipes butternut squash soup

Cornbread Recipe

Best Thanksgiving Recipes cornbread

Sweet Potato Soup

Best Thanksgiving Recipes sweet potato soup

Cornbread Muffins

Best Thanksgiving Recipes cornbread muffins

Butternut Squash Mac Cheese

Best Thanksgiving Recipes butternut squash mac and cheese

Thanksgiving Desserts

What’s Thanksgiving without delicious pies and all the flavors of fall? My motto is, there’s always room for dessert! Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving dessert recipes.

Pumpkin Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes pumpkin pie

Classic Apple Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes apple pie

French Silk Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes french silk pie

Sweet Potato Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes sweet potato pie

Apple Crumb Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes apple crumb pie

Homemade Whipped Cream

Best Thanksgiving Recipes homemade whipped cream

Chocolate Pudding Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes chocolate pudding pie

Cherry Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes cherry pie

Oreo Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes oreo pie

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Best Thanksgiving Recipes pumpkin cheesecake

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes dairy free pumpkin pie
Best Thanksgiving Recipes cookie pie

Brownie Pie

Best Thanksgiving Recipes brownie pie

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Best Thanksgiving Recipes pumpkin cupcakes

Pumpkin Cake

Best Thanksgiving Recipes pumpkin cake

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Best Thanksgiving Recipes pumpkin pie bars

Flaky Butter Pie Crust

Best Thanksgiving Recipes pie crust

Apple Galette

Best Thanksgiving Recipes apple galette

Apple Crisp

Best Thanksgiving Recipes apple crisp

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Best Thanksgiving Recipes pumpkin cookies

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Best Thanksgiving Recipes flourless chocolate cake

Pumpkin Roll Cake

Best Thanksgiving Recipes pumpkin roll cake

Molten Lava Cakes

Best Thanksgiving Recipes chocolate lava cakes

Apple Pie Bars

Best Thanksgiving Recipes apple pie bars

Apple Cake

Best Thanksgiving Recipes apple cake

I hope you love them!

I hope you love all of our Thanksgiving recipes! Let me know in the comments which one(s) you’ve made or want to make.




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2 Comments

  1. I’m hosting my first Thanksgiving and basically making a joyfoodshine Thanksgiving! Love your site and I make a lot of your stuff! Question. When you prepare the stuffing and sweet potatoes, do you bake them on that Wednesday? Or just prepare then bake on Thursday?

    1. Hey Justine! That is so kind of you! Hosting for the first time is so exciting! For both recipes, you can do it either way. I usually bake the stuffing on Wednesday and just reheat it on Thanksgiving. And I usually bake the sweet potato casserole on Thanksgiving, just assemble it on Wednesday and refrigerate it overnight. I hope this helps! Please come back and ask me any other questions you might have, I’m happy to help!