The 71 Best Essential Thanksgiving Recipes for a Traditional Meal in 2023

updated Nov 17, 2023

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Baking pan filled with Thanksgiving stuffing — Credit: Joe Lingeman

Thanksgiving is just around the corner — do you have your menu planned? Whether you’re cooking for two or 20, we have over 70 Thanksgiving essentials that cover the classics and also offer something a little new.

You can make classic mashed potatoes, or give them an extra-indulgent twist with some cream cheese. Bake a classic pumpkin pie or spice it up with extra ginger and a graham crust. Green bean casserole, or green beans with lemony almond topping? Take your pick.

From the bird to the side dishes, desserts, and drinks, we’re sharing the essential recipes you need for a memorable and delicious holiday dinner, and a few new ideas that will bring an extra dash of delicious to your Thanksgiving celebration.

Credit: Joe Lingeman

How to Make a Quick Turkey Gravy

Turkey Recipes

From the traditional method (put it in the oven and roast until it’s done) to a more innovative approach (spatchcocked! grilled!) we have you covered. Either way, though, consider dry-brining your turkey for maximum juiciness and flavor.

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Classic Roast Turkey for Thanksgiving

Here is our super basic, super simple, super easy recipe for roasting a super beautiful turkey.

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Roasted Turkey Breast

Turkey breasts are a cinch to roast — no flipping, no basting, no fuss. Here's a recipe to show you how to cook it, step by step.

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Sweet and Smoky Turkey Tenderloin

If boneless, skinless chicken breasts are regularly featured on your weeknight menu, consider turkey tenderloin as an equally versatile alternative.

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Easy Turkey Gravy

The deeply browned and rich scrapings from the bottom of the roasting pan can turn into the perfect turkey gravy.

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Bourbon-Glazed Roast Turkey

A recipe for turkey roasted with a brown sugar and orange compound butter and finished with a bourbon whiskey glaze.

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Black Pepper & Maple Roast Turkey

Spicy black pepper and sweet maple syrup mix together in a compound butter to flavor this easy roast turkey.

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Bacon-Wrapped Turkey

Bacon-wrapped turkey makes a flavorful turkey and creates a stunning, crispy “skin”

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Grilled Spatchcocked Turkey

Even if you live in a colder climate, don’t let the weather stop you from trying grilled turkey; it’s both easy and delicious.

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How to Roast a Turkey in an Oven Bag

A step-by-step guide on how to season and roast a turkey in an oven roasting bag.

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Roast Stuffed Turkey with Cornbread Chestnut Dressing Recipe

The aroma of roasted chesnuts combined with cornbread, sage, thyme, and a hint of bay leaf is just as magical as it is delicious.

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Deep-Fried Turkey Recipe

Because turkeys cook twice as fast as deep-fried (than when traditionally roasted), you will never eat juicier, tender meat wrapped with delicous crackling skin.

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Smoked Turkey Recipe

Smoking your turkey gives the mild-flavored meat a boost of flavor, the low cooking temperature helps retain the juices, and smoking frees up your oven for other dishes.

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Miso-Butter Spatchcocked Turkey with Mushroom Gravy Recipe

This turkey is spatchcocked, flavored with a miso butter, then cooked on high heat for a flavorful Thanksgiving bird that's ready in an hour.

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Citrus-Herb Roast Turkey

A citrus and fresh herb compound butter flavors this easy roast turkey and also turns the tasty drippings into gravy.

Credit: Joe Lingeman

Thanksgiving Sides

The trimmings get the same traditional/traditional-with-a-twist treatment here. A few simple and classic recipes, and then ones with a little something new.

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The Best Easy Stuffing

The easiest 5-ingredient stuffing, thanks to smart supermarket shortcuts.

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How To Make Stuffing

Like the boxed stuff, but so much better. This is the only stuffing recipe you'll need on Thanksgiving — or any day.

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Gluten-Free Stuffing

Gluten-free stuffing has nearly the same DNA as traditional stuffing: onions, celery, butter, fresh herbs, broth, eggs. Only here, we use gluten-free sandwich bread instead of wheat bread.

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How To Make Stuffing in a Slow Cooker

Classic stuffing made in the slow cooker, filled with homey flavors and plenty of crispy, toasty edges.

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This herby, buttery stuffing recipe is a plant-based delight that can deliciously cater to everyone at the table.

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How To Make the Best Sausage and Herb Stuffing

Savory sausage, toasted sourdough bread, and fresh herbs make this stuffing is the best part of the holiday meal.

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How To Make Wild Mushroom Stuffing

This stuffing is packed with in-season wild mushrooms and an earthy blend of herbs, and is so cozy and comforting it will warm you right up.

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Classic Corn Bread Dressing

You won't find an ounce of added sugar in this classic cornbread dressing! This cornbread dressing tastes of corn, butter, and a little tang from buttermilk.

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Grilled Bread Dressing with Cranberries and Leeks

This stuffing is inspired by Judy Rodgers’ legendary warm bread salad served with her perfect roast chicken at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco.

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Oyster Dressing

Oyster dressing is a Southern-style side with briny Gulf oysters, savory mushrooms, and crusty bread.

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The Best Mashed Potatoes

Here's our recipe for how to make the best classic mashed potatoes, with recommendations for potato type, dairy additions, and mashing methods.

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Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Cream cheese upgrades classic mashed potatoes into the creamiest, dreamiest side.

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Mash tender Yukon Gold or russet potatoes with garlic-infused milk and melted butter for the creamiest garlic mashed potatoes.

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Vegan Mashed Potatoes

These garlicky potatoes are so creamy and lush — without a single drop of cream or butter.

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Cranberry Sauce

A recipe for simple cranberry sauce made with fresh or frozen cranberries, sugar, and water.

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Citrus-and-Fig Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Citrus and figs amp up this bursting-with-flavor cranberry sauce.

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Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce

This is a classic "dump it and forget it" recipe that will show you how to make the easiest batch of cranberry sauce to feed the whole crowd.

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Classic Green Bean Casserole

Learn how to make green bean casserole using the right grocery store shortcuts to rival the classic back-of-the-box recipe.

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Lemony Green Beans With Almond Breadcrumbs

Here’s a Thanksgiving-worthy alternative that’s fresh, zippy, and a nice counterpoint to all the other rich foods on the holiday table.

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Vegan Green Bean Casserole

The fall time casserole we know and love gets dairy-free makeover, and a grown-up upgrade with homemade crispy shallots. The number of pans required to make it? Just one.

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The Absolute Easiest 5-Ingredient Sweet Potato Casserole

You know and love sweet potato casserole. Here's how to make it even easier.

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Stovetop Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Maple and Pecans

This is an easy way to make sweet potatoes that are really intense in flavor. The toasty maple drizzle really is the star of the show, and the pecans are a perfect match for it.

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Sour Cream Balsamic Sweet Potatoes

With brown sugar, balsamic, and sweet potatoes, these potatoes lean on the sweeter side, but the tang of balsamic and sour cream give it a rich balance.

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Mashed Sweet Potatoes

An easy, step-by-step guide to making creamy mashed sweet potatoes sweetened with maple syrup.

Credit: Lauren Volo

Thanksgiving Slaw

Breads and Salads

A bread basket is always welcome on the Thanksgiving table. And don’t forget salad — it’s rarely something with a serious tradition attached, so you can do whatever you like.

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Parker House Rolls

These buttery, tender Parker House rolls are perfect for your holiday bread basket.

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How to Make Soft & Tender Dinner Rolls

A step-by-step guide to foolproof dinner rolls.

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Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

These tender rolls get their pale orange hue and delicate sweetness from mashed sweet potatoes.

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Easy Buttery Crescent Rolls

Flaky, buttery crescent rolls ready in less than an hour.

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Buttermilk Biscuits

The terms “tender” and “flaky” are often used together to describe baked goods like pie dough and biscuits, but very few biscuits are both. These are.

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Potato Dough Rolls

These are simple, enriched rolls, tarted up with butter, eggs, and sugar, which means they are never dry.

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Thanksgiving Slaw

This easy, colorful slaw won’t wilt like other green salads and can sit out for a while, making it a great addition to the Thanksgiving buffet.

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Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples, Hazelnuts & Brown Butter Dressing

This salad takes a little more time to make than the usual shaved sprouts salad, but the extra work is worth the flavor and texture combination.

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Thanksgiving Lentil Salad

A hearty recipe for lentil salad with butternut squash, red onion, and kale tossed in a roasted garlic vinaigrette.

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Roasted Cabbage Slaw with Hazelnuts & Lemon

This salad is warm and roasted, with the sweet, smoky edge that a detour under the broiler brings to cabbage.

Credit: Joe Lingeman

Desserts

There are a few classic essentials for the Thanksgiving dessert table — pumpkin pie, pecan pie. But why not switch one up this year and make an extra-spicy pumpkin pie, or pecan pie bars instead of the traditional?

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Easy Pumpkin Pie

With only five ingredients, this pie might actually be easier than buying one.

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How To Make Classic Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving

Four steps lead to pumpkin pie bliss. Here's how to master each to bake the perfect pumpkin pie for your Thanksgiving table.

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Ginger Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

A new favorite take on pumpkin pie made with a graham cracker crust and a heaping spoonful of fresh ginger.

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How to Make Pecan Pie

We've streamlined the process of making a classic pecan pie to create this easier version that's just as delightful.

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Maple Pecan Pie Bars

These maple pecan pie bars bring you all the flavor of pecan pie, with none of the fuss.

Credit: Perry Santanachote

The Drinks

Wine may be the traditional tipple on Thanksgiving but we have some more ideas. Sangria, hot punch, and a honey-rye pitcher cocktail are all welcome at a Thanksgiving happy hour.

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The secret to this ultimate make-ahead cocktail is peak-season fruit.

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Sparkling Apple Cider Sangria

The recipe looks sophisticated but it’s simple, and that’s something we can all be grateful for with the endless to- do list during the holidays.

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Mulled Cranberry Apple Cider

A recipe for hot mulled cider that is made in the slow cooker and perfect for fall and winter gatherings.

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The Rye & Honey

This pretty pitcher drink is a serious sip that captures the golden brown colors (just like the leaves!) and warm spicy notes of fall.

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Autumn Sweater Cocktail

Made with applejack, maple syrup, and Angostura bitters, this fall-inspired cocktail is a seasonal twist on an old-fashioned.

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Harvest Manhattan Cocktail

This fall-inspired cocktail adds pumpkin pie spice and apple cider to a classic Manhattan.

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Classic Old Fashioned Cocktail

This step-by-step guide to making the best Old Fashioned cocktail in the comfort of your own home.

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Maple Roasted Pear and Apple Mocktails

Infused with fall spices and made with sweet roasted pears and apples, this mocktail is topped off with bubbly ginger beer.

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Cranberry Margarita

The tartness of the cranberries pairs beautifully with the classic margarita trifecta: tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice.

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Pitcher Cocktail Recipe: Sparkling Rosemary Cider

An easy, 3-ingredient recipe for a pitcher cocktail made with vodka, sparkling apple cider, and fresh rosemary.

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