thanksgiving

The Kitchn Editors’ Favorite Thanksgiving Dishes

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was The Kitchn's founding Design and Lifestyle Editor as well as Managing Editor of Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s late '00s green living site. She now thinks a lot about design, kids, and designy kids' things. She lives with her two daughters and their father in St. Paul, MN.
published Nov 24, 2015
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(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl)

Everyone has a favorite dish at Thanksgiving, and it’s never the turkey — sorry, turkey! I polled my fellow editors to learn the must-have-or-will-die dishes they count on every Thanksgiving. Stuffing? Gravy? Rolls? Here’s what they said.

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl)
(Image credit: Hali Bey Ramdene)

Hali Ramdene, Food Editor

The Thanksgiving meal my family shares changes every year. (We’ve gone at least five years now without a turkey!) The one thing that’s always on the table, however, is a bowl of
Sour Cream Balsamic Sweet Potatoes — roasted, peeled sweet potatoes mixed with sour cream, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar and beaten until creamy. That combination of sweet and tangy flavors is absolutely expected on Thanksgiving — even when the turkey is not.
(Image credit: Emma Christensen)

Emma Christensen, Associate Food Editor

Stuffing, dressing — I don’t care what you call it, I love it. Stuffing is the glue that holds Thanksgiving dinner together. Any one component eaten on its own is majorly boring — the turkey, the green beans, the mashed potatoes … yawn. But smoosh it on a fork with some stuffing, and now you’ve got a party.
(Image credit: Lauren Kodiak)

Lauren Kodiak, Production Editor

After my grandparents moved away to Florida, my family started our own Thanksgiving tradition: ordering Thai take-out. I love the fact that we can hang out at my parents’ house, in comfy clothes, and just enjoy each other’s company. No one is scrambling to make a big meal, and the cleanup couldn’t be easier!

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl)

Ariel Knutson, Engagement Editor

Hands down my favorite Thanksgiving dish is mashed potatoes. (Don’t even try and convince me otherwise.) Nothing is more luxurious to me than a creamy pile of taters with lots of butter and gravy. No lumps, please.

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl)
(Image credit: Kelli Foster)

Kelli Foster, Assistant Food Editor

I’d be heartbroken if stuffing was missing from our Thanksgiving spread. Growing up my grandpa made the best stuffing! Like, when I think of my childhood Thanksgivings, that stuffing is the first thing that comes to mind. His was a classic bread stuffing, like this one, filled with plenty of goodies, like apples, raisins, walnuts, and sometimes sausage.

(Image credit: Christine Gallary)

Christine Gallery, Food Editor-at-Large

My favorite thing is gravy drowning everything on my plate. I’ve had to roast turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving for work, so I always squirrel away the bones and make a dark turkey stock to make gravy like this. I make it ahead of time so I know it’s perfect and I don’t have to stress out on the big day.

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl)

Anjali Prasertong, Editor-at-Large

Thanksgiving is not Turkey Day — it’s Stuffing Day. My love of stuffing runs deep. Although I grew up with Stovetop Stuffing, soggy from being baked in the bird, I now love making it from scratch and in a separate casserole dish because I can get the maximum amount of crispy, craggy stuffing edges that way.

(Image credit: Faith Durand)

Faith Durand, Executive Editor

Let’s be honest: Stuffing is the best. But since most of the team has that pretty well covered, I want to address my other favorite, and the one dish that my family would cancel Thanksgiving without: My mom’s dense, intensely delicious potato dough rolls. With or without the suggested lemon zest, these fluffy balls of carb perfection taste like Thanksgiving.

(Image credit: Cambria Bold)

Cambria Bold, Editor-at-Large (me!)

I’ve made Parker House rolls for my family’s Thanksgiving meal for at least a decade, and I can’t imagine the holiday without them. Soft, chewy, buttery, and the best thing ever when smothered in gravy. A close second? Classic green bean casserole in all its salty goodness.


Readers, your turn! What are your favorite Thanksgiving dishes?

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