Let us help you plan your Thanksgiving dinner! We have put together all the best main dish ideas, Thanksgiving side dish ideas, potato dishes, fruit salads, pies and desserts to make your complete Thanksgiving menu a success.
Thanksgiving Dinner has always been a favorite of ours and we are ready to help you plan out your perfect Thanksgiving Dinner Menu!
This meal is one that we look forward to each year.
Scroll down to the bottom to see our full menu and what recipes we make for our Thanksgiving dinner.
We have over 100 recipes that you could use for Thanksgiving dinner. These recipes include:
- Best turkey recipes
- Other Main Dish recipes (that are not turkey)
- Potato dishes
- Sweet potato and yam dishes
- Rolls and breads
- Other side dishes
- Fruit salads
- Favorite pie recipes
- Desserts
- Thanksgiving desserts (that are not pie)
- Leftover turkey recipes
- PLUS – we included a menu of what WE SERVE FOR THANKSGIVING (scroll down to the bottom)
Let’s get started!
Popular Turkey Recipe Ideas for Thanksgiving:
Here are some of our favorite turkey main dish ideas for Thanksgiving:
- Mom’s EASY Thanksgiving Turkey (this is what we have with our family each year!)
- Slow Cooker Turkey Breast*
- Instant Pot Turkey Breast*
- Air Fryer Thanksgiving Turkey*
- How to cook a turkey in a Convection Oven
- Easy Marinated Turkey Breast *
- How to cook a turkey from frozen
- Cranberry Turkey Breast*
- Maple Glazed Turkey Breast*
- How to smoke a turkey
- How to deep fry a turkey
*Perfect for a small group
If you need the perfect gravy, here is how we make Turkey Gravy from scratch!
Don’t forget Homemade Cranberry Sauce!
How much turkey does each person need?
The first thing to think about is how much turkey do you ACTUALLY need to make.
To know how many people your turkey will feed, a good rule of thumb is that whatever your turkey weighs, that is approximately how many people it will feed (1 pound per person).
If you know you have a lot of small children, then you may be able to stretch it a little farther than that.
If you want to have leftovers, plan on 1 1/2 pounds of turkey per person.
This article from the HuffPost also is a great resource and gives you an idea of how much to cook per person.
Thanksgiving Main Dishes (Not Turkey)
While turkey is usually the classic go-to for the main course at Thanksgiving dinner, it doesn’t mean you have to serve it!
Here are some of our alternatives to turkey for Thanksgiving dinner:
- Slow Cooker Honey Baked Ham – fan favorite!
- Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
- The Perfect Pot Roast
- Fall Off The Bone Ribs
- Easy Homemade Lasagna
- Baked Salmon and Vegetables
- Grilled Lamb Kabobs
- Maple and Brown Sugar Pork Roast
- Cranberry Pecan Chicken Bake
Potato Side Dishes for Thanksgiving Dinner:
A Thanksgiving dinner isn’t complete with mashed potatoes and maybe one more cheesy potato dish . . . these are some of our favorites!
- Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes – fan favorite!
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Potato Casserole (Funeral Potatoes)
- Mom’s Cheese Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Parmesan Ranch Potatoes
- Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
- Bacon Cheese Potatoes
- Skillet Red Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Au Gratin Cheesy Potato Bake
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Sweet Potato and Yam Side Dishes for Thanksgiving Dinner:
Are they called sweet potatoes or yams??
Whatever you call them, they are a staple on our table for Thanksgiving dinner!
- Sweet Potato Casserole – fan favorite!
- Coconut Pecan Sweet Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Candied Sweet Potatoes
- Cranberry Pecan Sweet Potato Bake
- Maple Bacon Sweet Potatoes
- Mom’s Sweet Potatoes
- Our Family’s Classic Sweet Potato Casserole
- Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Best Candied Yams Recipe (without corn syrup)
Rolls and Bread:
Don’t let homemade rolls or bread intimidate you . . . these recipes are so easy!
- 30 Minute Homemade Dinner Rolls – fan favorite!
- Easy Homemade Rolls
- Homemade Lion House Rolls
- 3 Ingredient Parmesan Rolls
- Easy Homemade Cornbread
- Disneyland’s Sweet Cornbread – fan favorite!
- The Easiest Homemade French Bread
- Parmesan Knots
Other Side Dishes:
The side dishes are the stars of the dinner for us!
We love having each guest bring a side dish to share to our Thanksgiving dinner and then we have a huge assortment to choose from!
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese – fan favorite!
- Slow Cooker Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
- Homemade Cornbread Dressing – fan favorite!
- Slow Cooker Stuffing
- Grandma’s Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Green Bean Casserole – fan favorite!
- Green Bean Casserole WITHOUT Condensed Soup
- Brown Sugar and Bacon Green Beans
- Green Beans with Candied Pecans
- Oven-Roasted Green Beans
- Easy Instant Pot Green Beans
- Parmesan Crusted Asparagus
- Instant Pot Honey Glazed Carrots – fan favorite!
- Orange Glazed Carrots
- Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad
- Deviled Eggs
- Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
- Butternut Squash Bake
- Vegetable Dill Dip
- Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board – great appetizer!
Fruit Salad Recipes:
These fluffy fruit salads could be a side dish or dessert – you decide!! 🙂
- Strawberry Fluff Jello Salad – fan favorite!
- Orange Fluff Jello Salad
- Grandma’s 5 Cup Creamy Fruit Salad
- 5 Minute Pistachio Fluff Salad
- 5 Minute Strawberry Jello Salad
- Raspberry Cheesecake Fluff Salad
- Smooth Orange Jello Delight
- Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad
- Mom’s Frog Eye Salad – fan favorite!
- 12 Layer Jello Salad
- Creamy Grape Salad Recipe
- Blueberry Fluff Salad
- Fluffy Cranberry Salad – popular for Thanksgiving!
- Cherry Whip Salad
Thanksgiving Pie Recipes:
The best part of Thanksgiving dinner: DESSERT!
We love traditional pies and not-so-traditional pies.
- Simple Pumpkin Pie
- Caramel Pecan Turtle Pumpkin Pie
- Easy Double Layer Pumpkin Pie
- Graham Cracker Crust Pumpkin Pie
- Best Homemade Apple Pie
- Dutch Apple Pie (Crumble Topping)
- Disney’s Apple Caramel Pie
- Slab Apple Pie
- Easy Pecan Pie
- Chocolate Pecan Pie
- German Chocolate Cream Pie
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Banoffee Pie
- Mini Berry Pies
- 5 Minute Creamy Key Lime Pie
- Peanut Butter Cloud Pie
- Oreo Pudding Pie
- Easy Banana Cream Pie
Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes that are not pie:
Want to switch it up and bring a dessert that isn’t pie? These are our go-to Thanksgiving desserts!
- The Best Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- No Bake Pumpkin Pie Truffles
- Pumpkin Pie Cake
- Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
- Caramel Pumpkin Poke Cake
- Apple Cider Dump Cake
- Mom’s Famous Pumpkin Roll
- Best Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
- Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Pecan Pumpkin Cobbler
- Cinnamon Roll Cake
- Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Peach and Berry Crisp
- Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Turtle Brownies
- Lemon Bar Cookie Cups
Leftover Turkey Recipes:
Hopefully you have lots of leftover turkey so that you can make one of our yummy turkey recipes!
- Turkey Corn Chowder
- Turkey Cranberry Wrap
- Thanksgiving Dinner Casserole
- Turkey Enchiladas
- Cranberry Turkey Salad
- Turkey Mexican Casserole
- White Turkey Lasagna
- Kneaders Cranberry Turkey Salad
Six Sisters’ Sample Thanksgiving Menu:
If you have ever wondered what the Six Sisters’ are having at their Thanksgiving feast, this is what our menu looks like (we have a LOT of family at our dinner, so we do a lot of food):
- Mom’s EASY Thanksgiving Turkey
- Turkey Gravy
- Slow Cooker Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Easy Homemade Rolls
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Grandma’s Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Green Bean Casserole
- Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board (this is what we let everyone snack on while dinner is cooking)
- Orange Fluff Jello Salad
- Easy Double Layer Pumpkin Pie
- Disney’s Apple Caramel Pie
- Mom’s Famous Pumpkin Roll
Tips for cooking Thanksgiving dinner:
- Plan your menu about 2 weeks ahead.
- Delegate side dishes to guests who may be coming – don’t feel like you need to cook it all if you are feeding a crowd!
- Buy your turkey about 2 weeks in advance for the best selection. Keep it in the freezer until 3-4 days before you cook it (it’s going to take that long to thaw!).
- Prep whatever food you can in advance (such as rolls!), then freeze and thaw the day before or day of Thanksgiving.
- For a more detailed Thanksgiving plan, check out this Thanksgiving Planning Guide!
If you need some ideas of what to talk about at the dinner table, check out our 50 Dinner Conversation Starters!
If you have an Instant Pot, be sure to check out our 28 Thanksgiving Recipes that can be made in an Instant Pot!
