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Most people serve turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner. Or ham, or maybe even a roasted chicken or meatloaf. No matter what main dish you’ve selected, here are a few of our favorite Thanksgiving Menu Ideas to serve on your table this year.
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas – Begin with Appetizers
Every Thanksgiving Dinner needs some sort of appetizer for your guests when they arrive, whether it’s a tray of fresh veggies and ranch dip or a cheese ball and crackers. Here are three suggestions to get you started!
Holiday Cheese Ball is a favorite family recipe that is so delicious and easy to put together. It uses two kinds of cheese and is flavored with Worcestershire sauce and onion, and then coated in chopped pecans.
Spinach Dip is another favorite for holiday gatherings. Frozen spinach mixed with vegetable soup mix and sour cream. Who knew that spinach could be so delicious! Serve with your favorite fresh vegetables or crackers.
Every winter, my grandma made Addicting Munchies Holiday Snack. The name is accurate as this is very addicting. At our house, we may go through 2-3 batches between Thanksgiving and New Years, to be enjoyed by all!
See more ideas for Appetizers Here.
Lets Move on to Our Soup and Bread Basket
When it comes to holiday meals that include a roasted turkey or ham, there is nothing quite like soft and delicious dinner rolls for your guests. Serve them up with softened butter (the real stuff, please), and some honey or homemade jelly, jam, or apple butter. So delightful! And don’t forget to serve them in a basket!
This Butternut Squash Bisque with Bacon is a delicious dish to serve your guests as an appetizer or soup course.
Onion Crescent Rolls is a fantastic recipe I like to make for my family that is amazingly easy to prepare. So light and soft–like little fluffy pillows! I hope you’ll take the time to try these and that you’ll love them as much as we do!
Oat Rolls are easy to make and so delicious. Soft, tender, with oatmeal goodness that turns it into a slightly sweet, hearty bread.
Sourdough Dinner Rolls are so light and delicious, they will melt in your mouth. I know you are going to love them and will want to make them every week!
Check out even more Bread Recipes Here.
A Few Favorite Side Dishes
So many of my favorite dishes at Thanksgiving are the side dishes. Sure, I like a little Turkey and Gravy and of course, the dinner rolls. But for me, bring on the side dishes, please!
Can you have Thanksgiving dinner without candied sweet potatoes? – No, ma’am. What about Green Bean Casserole or a corn casserole? – Yep! And it just wouldn’t be a holiday dinner without turkey’s sidekick, Mr. Dressing! – Bring on the Dressing!
Candied Sweet Potatoes is an old family favorite for the holidays. Tender sweet potatoes covered in butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon and topped with pecans and marshmallows. Yum!
Serve Fresh Green Bean Casserole is perfect for holiday dinners or a church potluck. Fresh Green Beans and mushrooms with or without a homemade gravy.
Slow-Cooked Creamed Corn is so delicious, you will want seconds and will secretly hope for leftovers this Thanksgiving. Creamy, lightly sweetened corn that doesn’t run all over your plate.
Cheesy Zucchini Casserole is a meal by itself. The cheesy stuffing goes well with roasted dinners and also barbecues or picnics. It’s loaded with flavor, and even people who normally wouldn’t eat zucchini have been known to enjoy it.
This Easy Thanksgiving Dressing is one I’ve tweaked based on my mother-in-law’s holiday recipe. Savory dressing with sausage, sweetened with dried apricots, with the crunch of pine nuts.
Now, Let’s Talk About Potatoes
If we’re going to have turkey and gravy, we’ll need to have some mashed potatoes. However, cheesy potatoes are really yummy, too, plus they feed a large crowd, so we might as well throw in some of those as well.
I enjoy making Refrigerator Mashed Potatoes for family gatherings or church potlucks. They are so easy to make and can be prepared a day ahead. I’ve been making this recipe for years and it’s still one of my family’s most requested potato recipe.
I love to make Easy Company Potatoes for family gatherings or church socials. It makes a lot and goes well with Country-Style Ribs or Holiday Ham. And it’s one of those “dump” recipes, so it’s easy to put together.
Browse my Side Dishes Here.
How About a Salad or Two or Three?
Most of us fill our plates to overflowing when it comes to holiday meals. At my mom’s house, we even have little bowls put there especially for salads–so that your gravy doesn’t mix with your fluffy salad!
We all have our favorites, whether they include Jello, marshmallows, whipped topping and fruits, or Miracle Whip and vegetables!
Ambrosia or what my family calls Five Cup Salad is an easy dish to make for a family gathering or church dinner. Full of fruit and mixed together with simple sour cream that melds together in a delicious fruity and refreshing salad.
Frog Eye Pasta Salad is made with a custard pudding and Acini di Pepe pasta, which when boiled, resembles frog eyes. Despite the name, it’s quite delicious and makes a large amount, perfect for upcoming holiday gatherings.
Grandma’s Pistachio Salad is especially nice for family gatherings or church dinners. This salad is also kid-friendly. Not only to make with little hands, but also to eat. Kids love to dip their spoons into this salad. In fact, it’s one of our grandchildren’s favorite dishes.
This Broccoli Raisin Salad is a great way to add green vegetables to the meal. It’s bright and colorful for your holiday table, too. One of our favorites!
This Cranberry Apple Gelatin Salad is a favorite family recipe we make every year for Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas. My grandma used to bring it to our family gatherings and now it is always on the menu.
Orange Carrot Gelatin Salad is another tried-and-true family recipe that you will see at our Thanksgiving table every year. Filled with juicy pineapple and mandarin oranges with shredded carrots surrounding it in an encasement of orange gelatin, it’s certain to please kids of all ages!
See more Salad Recipes Here.
Thanksgiving Desserts – Pies – Cakes
Okay, so we’ve stuffed ourselves so much that we cannot move. Seriously! Time to do a lap or two around the house and clean those tables. Do some dishes, clear the counter, and that’s right, you’re catching on now…set out more food.
This time, some of our favorite autumn desserts that fill our homes with warm spices and sweet scents. Apples, Nuts, Pumpkins, Cranberries. Oh my!
Our family loves this Bourbon Pecan Pie with Whipped Cream. Rich, buttery filling loaded with pecans and just a hint of bourbon flavor, topped with a light whipped cream. Simply delicious!
I could not leave out possibly the most favored dessert in our country. This Traditional Pumpkin Pie recipe is one we make every year at Thanksgiving. It has been adapted from my mom’s recipe in that I add more salt to our crust and cloves and fresh ginger to the pumpkin filling.
Our Homemade Apple Pie recipe is again, one of my mom’s recipes that our entire family loves. Apples are the perfect fall fruit to include on your Thanksgiving menu.
This dense, flavorful Carrot Cake with Pecans reminds me of my childhood and my favorite season, Autumn. It’s full of carrots, pineapple, nuts, and spices.
Cranberry Pound Cake with Almonds is amazingly colorful and moist, and I love the added sweet bites of cranberries. It’s a perfect holiday cake to serve your friends and family this Thanksgiving.
See more Dessert Ideas Here.
Congratulations! You made it through my Thanksgiving Menu Ideas. I hope this little post brings a smile to your face and perhaps gives you a few ideas for your upcoming holiday dinner. Thanks for hanging in there with me! And may your Thanksgiving bring you much happiness and joy this year. Don’t forget to enjoy the moments and find little things to be thankful for . . .
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