What to Cook for Thanksgiving This Year: 8 Recipes for Every Holiday Feast

Last year, my mom made one of Louisa’s recipes, and it was a huge hit. Wish I could take some kind of credit, but nope 😉. Well, actually, for the past few years I have been making Brussels sprouts for the family. Once daylight savings comes around, I start really looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner. And, even more than that, the leftovers the next day. Anyone else #teamleftovers?

What to Cook for Thanksgiving This Year: 8 Recipes for Every Holiday Feast

Guest post by Louisa from Living Lou

I think Thanksgiving is the best food holiday, and I think that’s why I love to create Thanksgiving recipes every year. My family is pretty traditional when it comes to our Thanksgiving meal—we don’t really change up the main pieces to a Thanksgiving meal, but we play around with different side dishes every year.

I start testing Thanksgiving recipes in the summer, so you’d think by the time it actually hits that I would be totally Thanksgiving’d out, but that’s definitely not true. My parents host Thanksgiving every year; I’m always in charge of building the cheeseboard (which is the best job). So you can follow my cheeseboard building guide if that’s your jam, and if not, you can try one of these seven Thanksgiving recipes. And if you aren’t able to make it home

For the big family dinner…

If you’re responsible for bringing a dish to the big family Thanksgiving dinner, these recipes will be the perfect place to start.

1. Sourdough Thanksgiving Stuffing

This is the recipe that my family makes every year (and a bunch of my friends have started making this too—I love that it’s becoming a tradition for them). This recipe has sausage, apple, mushrooms, and leeks in it and it is mind-blowing.

2. Thanksgiving Chopped Salad

This salad feeds a crowd and is the answer to your salad prayers, AKA when the host says ‘Oh, how about you bring a salad?’ and then you’re left trying to figure out what makes a salad special enough for Thanksgiving.

3. Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

If your oven is busy roasting stuffing and vegetables, use your slow cooker for one of the simplest and most delicious turkey breasts you’ll ever have.

4. Maple Sage Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Is it just me, or are Brussels sprouts not the best part of Thanksgiving? Make these with sage and maple syrup, they won’t disappoint.

5. Green Beans in Vinaigrette

Try adding a vinaigrette to lightly steamed green beans for a fresh side dish that is a good balance to all of the buttery goodness of every other Thanksgiving dish.

If you are away from family this year…

1. One-Pan Roast Turkey Breast with Brussels Sprouts and Carrots

Guys, this makes turkey dinner in one pan. It’s a magical recipe that I worked for months on, it’s the perfect turkey recipe if it’s your first time cooking turkey for a smaller crowd. Plus, the sage-maple butter that I created for the turkey is absolutely insane and should be the only way to cook turkey going forward.

2. Small Batch Vegetarian Stuffing

I realized that my go-to stuffing recipe makes so much, that it isn’t ideal for smaller crowds, that’s where this recipe comes in. It bakes up in an 8×8 square baking dish, so it’s basically half the amount of my other stuffing recipe (and it’s vegetarian!).

3. Pumpkin Pecan Pie

Let’s be real, the only desserts you need at Thanksgiving are pumpkin and pecan pie. Well, if you’re just a small group, you can enjoy both pies at once with my hybrid recipe.

What to do with all the leftovers…

If you have a ton of leftovers, this leftover turkey and wild rice soup is a definite winner, and this turkey pot pie uses puff pastry for the easiest pot pie ever.