The Final Thanksgiving Menu Planner (Plus Recipe Concepts)

Little-known reality: my profession began in catering. Once I moved to Austin at 21, I scored a job as an occasion planner for a catering firm, completely unaware of how a lot I’d fall in love with the fun of pulling off high-pressure occasions. I used to be new to the town, staying up late at a neighborhood espresso store, sketching out menus that felt balanced and considerate—comforting classics alongside dishes with simply sufficient creativity to shock company.

To today, Thanksgiving menu planning brings out the identical spark for me. Designing the meal has change into my favourite method to kick off the season—equal elements creativity, technique, and slightly instinct. And when you’ve ever discovered your self questioning what dishes actually matter, how a lot meals you want, or methods to hold issues manageable (and scrumptious), you’re not alone. I hear from so lots of you every fall who need Thanksgiving to really feel joyful—not overwhelming.

That’s the place my tried-and-true Thanksgiving menu components is available in. It helps me create a balanced meal that checks all of the bins for custom, taste, and ease—with out cooking sufficient to feed the neighborhood.

Contemplate this your blueprint to plan a Thanksgiving menu that feels considerate, seasonal, and stress-free.

My largest tip: instinct + a strong construction.

Thanksgiving is deeply nostalgic—everybody has a dish which means one thing to them. So sure, honor the household must-haves. But additionally give your self permission to edit. For a smaller crowd, you do not want each dish on the desk. A considerate mixture of flavors, textures, and colours will at all times win over amount.

Over time, I’ve landed on a easy components that retains me on observe and ensures the meal feels plentiful, balanced, and achievable (particularly when you’re internet hosting and delegating!).

Use this as your information, and fill in every class along with your favourite recipes—or scroll beneath for mine.

My Foolproof Thanksgiving Menu System

Right here’s the construction I return to each single yr. Fortunately, most of my relations are nice cooks, so I additionally use this components to divvy up what individuals will deliver potluck-style.

1. Turkey: Fried, roasted, or smoked. Generally we do two—one for the desk, one for leftovers.

2. Gravy: Even when it’s not your favourite, it belongs right here. Friends anticipate it, and it ties every part collectively.

3. Potatoes: Mashed, scalloped, or crispy roasted. (A silky mashed potato by no means disappoints.)

4. Dressing/Stuffing: Cornbread, sourdough, wild rice, oyster—select your model and don’t overthink it.

5. An Orange Vegetable Aspect: Candy potatoes, butternut squash, honeynut squash, roasted carrots.

6. A Inexperienced Vegetable Aspect: Brussels, inexperienced beans, broccolini, sautéed kale, or collards.

7. Bread or Rolls: I often outsource this half—nice bakery rolls or a easy selfmade focaccia do the trick.

8. Dessert: No less than one pie (pumpkin or pecan are classics), however be happy so as to add a wild card—apple, buttermilk, or chocolate pie are at all times welcome.

Internet hosting tip: Should you’re having a smaller gathering, choose your favourite 5 – 6 classes and let go of the remaining. Considerate simplicity > an overcrowded desk.

Planning Logistics

Let’s speak technique. Nice Thanksgiving menu planning isn’t nearly what you serve—it’s when and how you put together every dish. A little bit planning goes a great distance, and whenever you map out portions and make-ahead steps, you’ll step into the vacation relaxed, assured, and really capable of benefit from the day.

Beneath, I’m sharing a easy information to portioning your meal and prepping forward so your kitchen feels intentional, not chaotic.

How A lot Meals to Make for Thanksgiving

One of many largest questions I get yearly: How a lot meals do I actually need? Right here’s a easy cheat sheet I depend on:

• Turkey: 1–1.5 lbs per individual (nearer to 1 lb for boneless, 1.5 lbs if bone-in otherwise you need leftovers)
• Stuffing/Dressing: ½–¾ cup per individual
• Mashed Potatoes: 1 cup per individual
• Gravy: ¼–½ cup per individual (extra when you’re staff “gravy on every part”)
• Veggie Sides: ½ cup per facet, per individual (select two and also you’re set)
• Bread/Rolls: 1–2 per individual
• Pie: 1 slice per individual (however we at all times make sufficient for 2…)

Internet hosting tip: Should you love leftovers, construct that into your parts. Should you’d quite not eat turkey sandwiches for every week, lean towards the decrease finish of those estimates.

What You Can Prep Forward of Time

The key to a clean Thanksgiving? Don’t do all of it on Thursday. Right here’s a useful breakdown:

2–3 Days Earlier than

• Chop onions, herbs, and aromatics
• Prep stuffing base (bread dried + aromatics sautéed)
• Make cranberry sauce (it will get higher because it chills)
• Bake any pies that maintain properly (pecan, apple, chess pies)

Day Earlier than

• Put together casseroles (inexperienced beans, candy potatoes) and refrigerate unbaked
• Make salad dressing + prep greens
• Assemble your cheese or snack board components
• Set the desk and label serving dishes

Morning Of

• Roast turkey (or reheat when you cooked it the day earlier than—sure, it really works!)
• Bake/reheat casseroles
• Heat rolls
• Toss salad and end garnishes
• Gentle candles, activate music, pour a glass—the enjoyable half begins!

Sanity saver: Label every serving dish with a sticky word (e.g., “mashed potatoes”) so that you don’t overlook what goes the place when it’s go-time. Small element, large payoff.

Able to construct your menu? Beneath, you’ll discover my favourite Thanksgiving recipes—from mains to sides to pies. Combine and match one dish from every class utilizing the components above and also you’ll have a whole, foolproof Thanksgiving menu with zero guesswork.

Scroll, choose, and begin planning essentially the most scrumptious day of the yr.

Turkey

Potatoes

The Solely Mashed Potato Recipe You’ll Ever Want

No Thanksgiving desk is full with out silky mashed potatoes, and this vegan model delivers all of the buttery, creamy goodness everybody craves—plus, you may make them just a few hours forward so that you’re not speeding when the remainder of the feast hits the desk.

Fake Parmesan Cauliflower “Potatoes”

As a mashed potato purist, I used to be skeptical of cauliflower mash—till this model from Helene Henderson’s Malibu Farm Dawn to Sundown proved it could possibly look and style identical to the true factor, delivering that wealthy, tacky, traditional taste with out compromise.

Orange Vegetable Aspect

Squash & Farro Salad With Apples, Goat Cheese, & Pecans

Roasted squash, nutty farro, crisp apples, creamy goat cheese, and toasted pecans come collectively in a hearty fall salad that’s equal elements cozy and contemporary—an unexpectedly standout facet that balances the richness of the Thanksgiving desk superbly.

Roasted Honeynut Squash with Sizzling Honey, Pecans, and Rosemary

All the pieces about this roasted honeynut squash recipe makes it a top-tier choice on your Thanksgiving menu planning choices. Topped with pecans for the right crunch and scorching honey for a little bit of a kick, company shall be raving over this distinctive and flavorful facet.

Charred Candy Potatoes With Dates

Candy potatoes are an apparent selection for an orange Thanksgiving facet dish, however this salad is something however primary. Pomegranate seeds deliver a tangy distinction to the savory flavors of the autumn root veggie, and caramelized dates encapsulate the right candy salad topping.

Mashed Candy Potatoes With Brown Sugar Cornflake Crunch

Should you love a nostalgic tackle recipes, this traditional Thanksgiving facet dish was made for you. The filling is manufactured from contemporary mashed candy potatoes and topped with a crunchy, brown sugary topping for the last word mix in textures. One chew will deliver you proper again to your golden youthful days watching Saturday morning cartoons and consuming a giant bowl of cornflakes. 

Roasted Delicata Squash With Feta, Almonds, and Herbs

Candy, caramelized delicata squash meets salty feta, crunchy almonds, and a bathe of contemporary herbs on this easy facet that feels rustic, elegant, and completely at residence on a Thanksgiving desk.

Charred Carrots with Honey-Lime Yogurt, Dates, and Almonds

Smoky charred carrots get a vivid, tangy elevate from honey-lime yogurt, then completed with candy dates and crunchy almonds for a facet dish that’s equal elements earthy, vibrant, and unexpectedly show-stopping.

Roasted Acorn Squash

In relation to Thanksgiving sides, Tieghan Gerard, aka Half Baked Harvest, completely nailed this roasted acorn squash. Squash is at all times a filling facet that everybody loves, however isn’t at all times prepped to its fullest potential. It’s balanced, candy, and slightly bit nutty. What extra might you ask for?

Blood Orange & Beet Salad

Have you ever ever seen a prettier shade combo? Carry the beets and oranges in a bowl separate from the yogurt, then prepare on a platter simply earlier than serving.

Dressing/Stuffing

Skillet Cornbread Stuffing With Caramelized Onions

This vegetarian cornbread stuffing skips the additional loaf-baking step and folds the onions, kale, and seasonings proper into the batter earlier than baking in a cast-iron skillet, making it faster, less complicated, and irresistibly rustic to serve.

Inexperienced Vegetable Aspect

Winter Kale Salad with Apple & Gruyère

Crisp winter kale pairs with candy apples, nutty Gruyère, and a vivid French dressing on this cozy-yet-refreshing salad that cuts via the richness of the vacation desk and provides simply the correct amount of crunch.

Vacation Chopped Kale Salad With Mustard-Shallot French dressing

This jewel-bright chopped kale salad—tossed with a zippy mustard-shallot French dressing and studded with seasonal gems like pomegranate and roasted squash—brings crunch, shade, and freshness to the desk, and simply would possibly change into your new potluck signature.

Candy & Bitter Cider Brussels Sprouts

These Brussels sprouts are tossed in a tangy-sweet cider glaze and roasted till caramelized and crispy—an irresistible combo that turns even the skeptics into superfans.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Lemon French dressing

This shaved Brussels sprout salad delivers vivid lemony taste, crunch, and a contact of sweetness—an energizing, crowd-pleasing facet that steals the present on even essentially the most festive desk.

Pies & Tarts

Maple Pecan Pie

This maple pecan pie comes straight from my mother’s kitchen—wealthy, gooey, buttery, and kissed with heat maple sweetness. It’s a real household traditional, and when you style it, it simply would possibly change into a Thanksgiving custom in your home, too.

Brûléed Pumpkin Pie

This bruléed pumpkin pie takes the traditional up a notch with a crackly caramelized sugar high—creamy, spiced filling meets brûlée-style crunch for a vacation dessert that feels acquainted, however unforgettable.

Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust

This pumpkin pie with a spicy gingersnap crust is the one I request each single Thanksgiving—silky, warmly spiced filling meets a crisp, cookie-like base for a dessert that’s traditional, slightly sudden, and really the perfect.

My Mother’s Traditional Buttermilk Pie Recipe

This traditional buttermilk pie from my mother’s recipe field is straightforward, tangy-sweet, and impossibly silky—an understated Southern favourite that at all times earns a spot at our Thanksgiving desk.

Apple Ginger Pie

This apple-ginger pie layers tender spiced apples with a heat ginger kick for a comfortable, aromatic twist on the traditional—an irresistible slice we look ahead to all Thanksgiving season.

This put up was final up to date on November 5, 2025, to incorporate new insights.