Our Best Thanksgiving Recipes, Menus, Strategies, and Tips for 2024

If you ask us, the true pleasure of Thanksgiving comes in the bounty of Thanksgiving leftovers: A slice of pie for breakfast, a midnight turkey sandwich enveloped in a pillowy dinner roll. But these stolen moments can’t happen if you don’t first put out a delicious Thanksgiving day spread. Below, you’ll find our favorite ways to cook turkey, our best potato recipes, more autumnal desserts than you can make in a year, and plenty of tips to guide you along the way. Want to know our go-to pie crust recipe? Did your great-aunt just request a pumpkin cheesecake? Need a quick substitute for sour cream? Suddenly found out you need a gluten-free gravy recipe? We’ve got you. And when the brown sugar and breadcrumbs settle, we’ll be here to help you out with those leftovers, too.

The Star of the Table

The Simplest Roast Turkey

The key to this set-it-and-forget-it Thanksgiving centerpiece is buying a bird in the Goldilocks range of 14 to 16 pounds, which will feed at least 10 people. Cooking for more? Buy a second bird. Now: Can we interest you in some turkey gravy?

The Case for a Smaller Holiday Bird

Turkey might be traditional, but a simple roast chicken is the better bird for your wallet, stress levels, and leftovers game.

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The 18 Best Turkey Breast Recipes for Thanksgiving

Hosting a small gathering this year? Skip the whole bird in favor of these superlative turkey breast recipes.

We’re Just Here for the Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwiches

Build your whole holiday meal around these pastrami-spiced turkey sandwiches and no one will complain.

Skip the Whole Bird and Make Crispy Fried Turkey Wings This Year

Deep-fry flavorful turkey wings for a more casual main that’s juicy on the inside and incredibly crispy on the outside.

Turkey 101

Choosing the right Thanksgiving bird for your holiday gathering is one thing. But it’s also a good idea to brush up on a few essential techniques as you embark upon your holiday planning.

How to Thaw a Turkey

If you’re reading this on Thanksgiving morning, feel free to skip to the end of the article.

How to Dry Brine a Turkey

This super-easy, not-at-all messy brining method will deliver the juiciest Thanksgiving bird.

How to Cook a Turkey

You’ll never need to look up a holiday turkey recipe again.

How to Carve a Turkey With Ease

You’ve gathered the guests, conquered the cocktails, wrangled the side dishes, and roasted one heck of a turkey. Now it’s game time.

Foolproof Spatchcocked Turkey With Garlic-Thyme Butter

Moist meat, crispy skin—this spatchcocked turkey recipe gives you the best of all worlds.

Herb-Butter Turkey

Flavored with rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme, this turkey is something special.

Confit Turkey With Chiles and Garlic

With the texture of duck confit and deeper flavor than your average Thanksgiving bird, these turkey legs beg to fall apart with the push of a fork.

Turkey for Twenty

Cooking for a crowd? Skip the large bird. Instead, cut a couple of smaller turkeys into parts. Trust us.

Citrusy 3-Ingredient Roast Turkey

This is our simplest roast turkey yet.

Grilled Turkey Under a Brick

A foil-covered brick or cinder block presses the bird onto the grill for even heat exposure and extra-crispy skin.

Smoked Turkey Breast

Take a cue (get it?) from Southern BBQ traditions and toss that turkey on the smoker.

Garlic-Aioli Roasted Turkey

Skip the butter. Coat your turkey in garlic-spiked mayo for a gloriously glistening, super-moist, flavor-packed bird.

Non-Turkey Mains

There’s more to the holiday than roast turkey, and these mains prove it.

Classic Baked Ham

Never cooked a holiday ham? This guide will teach you everything you need to know.

Crisp Roast Duck

This perfect holiday centerpiece is surprisingly easy to cook.

Stuffed Squash With Preserved-Lemon Gravy

Inspired by Moroccan tagine, this vegan holiday centerpiece is stuffed with dried fruit, hearty barley, and fragrant spices.

Smoky Dry-Rubbed Pork Steaks

A little sweet, a little spicy, a little smoky—these pork shoulder steaks are bound to steal the turkey’s thunder.

One-Stop Menu Planning

From vintage Gourmet classics to our best modern tips for getting your meal together, here’s how the staff of Epicurious pulls off Thanksgiving.

Holidays Events

Nothing Says Thanksgiving Like a Spreadsheet

Meet the people tackling the holiday dinner with colorful spreadsheets, elegant scrum boards, and very organized Google drives.

Shopping

I Can't Do Thanksgiving Without My Le Creuset Braiser

Shopping

Do You Have Enough Serveware for Thanksgiving?

A Very ’90s Gourmet Thanksgiving

We’ve hand-picked some of the best Thanksgiving dishes of the ’90s, from the pages of Gourmet.

A Cheap and Thrilling Thanksgiving Menu

Keep your holiday spread interesting and budget-friendly with this menu priced at less than $10 per person.

A Very ’70s Gourmet Thanksgiving

Looking for an excuse to dust off the Jell-O mold and silver platters? We’ve got the menu for you.

A Chef’s Thanksgiving at Home

Erick Williams of Chicago’s Virtue Restaurant shares his holiday menu.

Our Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes

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73 Side Dishes to Round Out Your Thanksgiving Table

October 28, 2022

Turkey and dressing are great, but you’ve got to get a vegetable on your plate. That’s where our favorite Thanksgiving side dish recipes come into play. Think garlicky roasted brussels sprouts, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots, and silky braised butternut squash.

Maple-Roasted Delicata Squash

A perfect combination of sweet, salty, crispy, and tender, maple-roasted delicata squash will have everyone reaching for seconds.

Cheesy Corn Casserole With Buttered Crunchies

This Mississippi-style corn pudding is a creamy, savory wonder with cheddar cheese and butter crackers.

Classic Cranberry Sauce

You can whip up this sweet, tart homemade cranberry sauce in just 20 minutes.

Roasted Carrots

This minimalist recipe for roasted carrots results in a showstopping side dish—don’t be surprised when everyone asks for more.

Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower

Cheese loves cauliflower, and cauliflower loves cheese right back.

Garlicky Green Beans

This perky green beans recipe gives you a side dish with an exuberant crunch—no ice bath required.

Our Favorite Mac and Cheese

We don't use the word “perfect” lightly, but this macaroni and cheese…well: It is.

Cranberry-Orange Relish

This mix of chopped raw cranberries, orange, sugar, and cinnamon is a bracingly fresh way to add the holiday's signature berry to the table.

Glazed Carrots

The buttery brown sugar glaze will hide the fact that this was a last-minute addition to your holiday line-up.

Creamed Corn

This dish is old-fashioned but simple and memorable. The uncomplicated sweet delicacy of fresh, juicy corn is the secret.

Buttered Green Beans

The quick stovetop preparation of boiling, shocking, and then coating these green beans in warm butter and parsley will save oven space this Thanksgiving.

Roasted Carrots and Parsnips With Honey

Roasted parsnips and carrots taste wonderful together, especially drizzled with a simple glaze.

Don’t Forget the Stuffing

Sure, you could keep the stuffing simple; but, you don’t have to. Here are a few of our favorite variations.

Garlicky Sausage Stuffing

Italian sausage and a heap of Parmesan cheese lend signature flair to this herby Thanksgiving stuffing recipe.

The Best Vegetarian Stuffing Ever

This fan-favorite stuffing recipe forgoes the turkey stock and sausage in favor of an autumnal mix of chopped apples, mushrooms, and dried cranberries.

Skillet Dressing With Cornbread and Biscuits

Toss torn leftover biscuits with cubes of cornbread for a sage-scented holiday side featuring two of the South’s best breads.

How to Make Thanksgiving Stuffing Without a Recipe

Master this simple ratio and technique and you can be the boss of your holiday stuffing this year and every year to come.

Cornbread Stuffing With Chorizo and Sweet Potatoes

This flavor-packed holiday side feeds a crowd of 20 and takes care of both the stuffing and the sweet potatoes.

Skillet Stuffing With Sausage and Mushrooms

Thanksgiving stuffing in less than an hour? Believe it. Cooking and baking the stuffing in the same skillet not only saves time, it cuts down on dishes.

Our Favorite Stuffing With Cornbread and Sausage

A mix of country bread and cornbread, plus savory breakfast sausage and plenty of fresh herbs, makes this stuffing truly irresistible.

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30+ More Stuffing Recipes We Love

Call it stuffing or call it dressing; what’s important is that everyone knows it’s the best part of Thanksgiving dinner.

Just How Important Are Potatoes?

Absolutely Everything You Need to Know About Thanksgiving Potatoes

October 31, 2019

Start here for all the advice you need, since potatoes are very important, indeed.

Recipes & Menus

Our Favorite Mashed Potatoes

These perfect mashed potatoes are light and fluffy yet rich and creamy, with just a hint of garlic and thyme.

Expert Advice

For the Crispiest, Crackliest Roasted Potatoes, You Need Egg Whites

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Ingredients

The 12 Types of Potatoes You May Encounter at Thanksgiving

Twice-Baked-Potato Casserole

All of the best parts of stuffed potatoes, that beloved holiday side dish, in a format fit for a crowd.

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Silky mashed potatoes in an Instant? It can be done.

Hasselback Potatoes

Roasting potatoes that are just-nearly sliced through creates a contrast in textures that is undeniably delicious.

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

Crisp on the outside and cheesy on the inside, hash brown casserole is an easy dish that will always please a crowd.

Cheesy Potato Soup With Bacon

This hearty homemade potato soup owes its richness to plenty of melted cheddar cheese and a topping of crispy bacon.

Creamy Potato and Leek Gratin

Cutting leeks into large pieces gives them a presence equal to disks of potato in this elegant and rich holiday side.

Lyonnaise Potatoes

Brown sliced Yukon Golds in butter, toss with caramelized onions, done.

Two Potato Sauté

The crucial tool to pull off evenly-sized globes of both sweet and starchy potatoes? A melon baller.

Sweet Potato Casserole With Candied Pecans

Brown sugar and chopped pecans form a crackly topping as this sweet potato casserole bakes.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Spiced Maple Glaze

A simple side dish of roasted sweet potatoes, sweetened with maple syrup and spiced with red pepper and cinnamon.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Six ingredients (including salt and pepper) stand between you and what may just be the world’s most perfect side dish.

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More of Our Best Sweet Potato Recipes

Is there anything this magical tuber cannot do? Answer: Nope.

Would You Like Some Bread With That?

Skillet Cornbread

Proof that the best cornbread isn’t necessarily the most complicated, this easy recipe gets it on the table in 30 minutes.

Parker House Rolls

This recipe for Parker House rolls produces a golden brown crust, a fluffy interior, and a buttery flavor that makes the buns perfect for any occasion.

Flaky, Buttery Biscuits

For this buttery biscuit recipe, you fold and stack the dough to create the flaky layers.

Pull-Apart Bread With Pumpkin and Spinach

Forget the standard dinner rolls this Thanksgiving—what your table needs is this gorgeous flavor-packed bread.

Somewhere That’s Green

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87 Thanksgiving Salads to Round Out Your Meal

We love to have a little something leafy on our plates, even if that leafy thing is bathed in cream or glazed in honey.

Quick and Easy Collard Greens

A quick and easy version of often ong-braised Southern favorite.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

With crispy edges and deep caramelization, these streamlined brussels sprouts are the ultimate addition to holiday meal.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic and Pancetta

As this whole dish bakes, the salty pancetta fat will melt over the sprouts, imparting luscious porky flavor as the pancetta crisps.

Iceberg With Dried Oregano Dressing and Creamy Sheep’s Milk Cheese

There is something really good about crunchy lettuce and a bright shallot dressing filled with the flavor of dried oregano completed by creamy feta.

Dive Into These Classic Desserts

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Our Best Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

With so many mouthwatering Thanksgiving dessert ideas, how will you choose just one?

Our Favorite Apple Pie

This classic apple pie recipe makes the perfect holiday dessert with a flaky, buttery crust and a tender, perfectly cooked fruit filling.

Shoofly Pie

Shoofly pie starts with a classic pie crust that cradles a dense and sticky molasses filling.

Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie

This easy dessert is loaded with nuts and gets a little verve from orange zest.

Sweet Potato Pie

This alternative to pumpkin pie has an optional caramelized pecan praline topping. Pro-tip: Don't consider it optional.

Banana Cream Pie

Timeless and undeniably crowd-pleasing, this banana cream pie recipe will have everyone reaching for seconds.

Simple Bread Pudding With Melted Ice Cream Sauce

An easy dessert with an even easier sauce.

Pear Tart With Dulce de Leche

This tart looks fancy, but we promise, it's easy. The signature red hue of Starkrimson pears and a drizzle of make-ahead dulce de leche do the hard work for you, and the crust is one of the best you'll ever try.

Pumpkin Roll With Cream Cheese Filling

This swirled, cinnamon-spiced fall dessert is a total showstopper.

Pear and Hazelnut Frangipane Tart

This elegant holiday tart comes from the pages of Gourmet.

Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Our favorite carrot cake is moist, full of shredded carrot and fragrant spices, and topped with an extra-tangy cream cheese frosting.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

This pie gets a tangy yogurt crust and a splash of rum to balance the sweet, rich chocolate-pecan filling.

The Easiest Buttermilk Pie

The filling for this easy buttermilk pie recipe comes together in just under 10 minutes.

Molasses Cookies

These old-fashioned molasses cookies stay soft and chewy days after making them.

Chocolate Cream Pie

This easy chocolate pie recipe is a dream: creamy chocolate custard piled into a chocolate cookie crust and topped with whipped cream.

Pear Pie With Lattice Crust

This vintage pear pie recipe from Gourmet was inspired by the classic 1940s film Mildred Pierce.

Fried Apple Pies

This Southern delicacy wraps the warm flavors of cinnamon-spiked apple pie into a buttery handheld crust.

Apple Sticky Toffee Pudding

Give each slice of this extra-moist and rich apple cake a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of toffee sauce for a holiday showstopper.

Basque-Style Sweet Potato Cheesecake

This subtly spiced marvel borrows from the Basque cheesecake tradition. It's baked until its exterior is a deep copper, with a pale interior.

Chocolate Pots de Crème

Making these chocolate puddings isn’t quite as easy as pouring cream into jars, but it’s not far off.

Pumpkin Bread

Forget lackluster loaves—apple cider brings big autumnal flavor to this tender pumpkin bread.

Explore Even More Desserts

Sweet tooth still not satisfied? Get the desserts you crave below, or go straight to our best pie recipes or our full collection of fall desserts. Oh, and don't forget the whipped cream.

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Our 31 Best Pumpkin Pie Recipes

From old-school to new-fangled, our favorite recipes for this holiday icon include tarts, pumpkin-swirled cheesecakes, and more.

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43 Thanksgiving-Ready Cakes

Who says Thanksgiving is a pies-only affair?

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48 Thanksgiving Cookie Recipes

Because it's never a bad idea to have a plate of festive, fall-spiced cookies around for Thanksgiving snacking.

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43 Gluten-Free Desserts for Every Occasion

Everyone deserves a little something sweet at the end of a holiday meal. With this collection of gluten-free favorites, you won't have to skimp on the goods.

Thanksgiving Recipes for Everyone at Your Table

It's easy to go gluten-free at Thanksgiving. Ditto vegetarian—and even vegan. And if you seek still more Thanksgiving dinner recipes, try out our holiday recipe finder.

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