49+ Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again, and with it often comes that little jolt of panic: “What in the world am I going to make for Thanksgiving dinner?” But don’t you worry one bit! I’ve rounded up all of my best Thanksgiving recipes in one easy, scrollable place. From show-stopping mains to cozy sides, crowd-pleasing appetizers, fresh salads, festive cocktails, indulgent desserts, vegetarian favorites, and plenty of easy options…there’s truly something here for everyone at your Thanksgiving table.

Or if you’re just here to figure out what to do with all those leftovers, check my the ultimate Turkey Sandwich and my super easy Turkey Chili recipes!

Let’s dig in!

Best Main Dishes for Thanksgiving (Turkey and Alternatives)

1

How to Carve a Turkey

Carve a turkey like a pro with these 10 easy steps, including a video to walk you through every move!

How to Carve A Turkey

2

Honey Mustard Chicken (in 30 Minutes!)

Juicy chicken thighs, slathered with homemade honey mustard sauce, this honey mustard chicken is a one-pan, 30-minute meal that’s the ultimate weekday dinner.

Honey Mustard Chicken Recipe

3

Juicy Air Fryer Pork Chops

I’m sold: air fryer pork chops are juicy on the inside with a caramelized crust on the outside. Don’t miss the wicked good marinade that’s included in this recipe!

Air Fryer Pork Chops

4

How to Cook Beef Brisket in the Oven

I have a BIG secret for you: amazing, flavorful, smoky, tender brisket can be made in your oven – no smoker required! This recipe includes a lip-smacking dry rub, mouthwatering smoking liquid (that’s also the perfect dipping sauce), and easy steps to make a crazy good piece of meat right in your oven.

Brisket in the Oven Recipe

5

BEST Braised Short Ribs Recipe

One of my favorite recipes of all time is this short ribs recipe. These short ribs are melt-in-your-mouth tender, braised in a red wine reduction sauce that’s absolute perfection. It’s seriously the best!

Short Ribs Recipe

6

Easy Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Layers of eggplant, marinara, and mozzarella cheese are baked and topped with crispy seasoned breadcrumbs. It’s the easiest eggplant parmesan you’ll ever make!

Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes

7

Dad’s Sausage Stuffing

Dad’s sausage stuffing is a holiday classic in our house, a perfect balance of savory herbs and veggies, sweet-tart notes from apples and dried fruit, and heaps of crumbled sausage. Each bite is moist and tender inside, with a satisfyingly crispy top. This generous recipe means there’s plenty to go around—though good luck stopping at just one spoonful!

Sausage Stuffing Recipe

8

Crispy Smashed Potatoes (Easy!)

What’s the secret to crispy potatoes? Smash them! These smashed potatoes are perfectly crispy little morsels, seasoned however you please.

Smashed Potatoes Recipe

9

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Creamy, decadent, and flavor-packed, these garlic mashed potatoes will have everyone going back for seconds! They are seriously the best!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

10

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

If you’ve found this cauliflower mashed potatoes recipe, you’re probably looking for a healthy alternative to the real stuff! This mashed cauliflower recipe is surprisingly delectable without the carbs or bad fats. It’s a side dish dream.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

11

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes (With Bacon & Apples)

Scalloped potatoes are a fan favorite for any crowd! But this cheesy version is loaded with bacon AND apples?! Top-notch.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

12

BEST Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese

Extra cheesy, creamy, and baked to golden perfection, this homemade mac and cheese hits all the right notes. It’s the ultimate crowd-pleaser for potlucks, family dinners, BBQs, and holiday spreads!

Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe

13

Best Easy Cornbread Muffins

Moist, tender, sweet but not too sweet, and buttery, these 30-minute cornbread muffins (AKA corn muffins) are the best around.

Cornbread Muffins Recipe

14

Parker House Rolls Recipe

Parker House Rolls are soft and tender, and rich in yeasty, buttery flavor. You’ll want to make these homemade rolls every week…they’re irresistible.

Parker House Rolls Recipe

15

Herb Roasted Root Vegetables

It’s a fall and winter classic and a holiday staple: roasted root vegetables tossed in fresh herbs and olive oil. You don’t need a lot to make root veggies delicious to serve with most any main dish.

Roasted Root Vegetables Recipe

16

Roasted Honeynut Squash

With its charming small size, honey-like sweetness and creamy flesh, honeynut squash is bound to become your new favorite this fall!

Roasted Honeynut Squash Recipe

17

Italian Roasted Green Beans

Turn green beans from boring to brilliant by roasting them until they start to caramelize, along with some lightly pickled shallots and a generous handful of melted parmesan cheese. They’re easy enough to make on a weeknight and fancy enough for special occasions too!

Roasted Green Beans Recipe

18

Crispy Brussels Sprouts (With Cider Glaze)

Elevated with a homemade garlic and apple cider vinegar glaze for a tangy, sweet edge, these roasted Brussels sprouts are crispy and caramelized just the way they should be! Talk about a perfect appetizer or side dish!

Crispy Brussels Sprouts Recipe

For more sides, check out my Thanksgiving Side Dishes post!

Thanksgiving Appetizers

19

Balsamic Glazed Mushroom Tart

These puff pastry tarts are so easy to make as an appetizer or main course. Topping pre-made puff pastry with mushrooms that have been sautéed in a delicious balsamic bath and then layered on melty cheese, these tarts are hard to beat!

Mushroom Tart Recipe

20

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

These bite-sized stuffed mushrooms are loaded with Italian sausage, ricotta and parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs. Make them as an easy, crowd-pleasing appetizer for your next gathering!

Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

21

Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed acorn squash with Italian sausage and crispy pancetta is the ultimate comfort food, complete with fresh sage, sweet leeks, and a little gooey Gruyère cheese for *chef’s kiss*.   

Stuffed Acorn Squash

22

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

A bowl of creamy butternut squash soup is the epitome of comfort food during the cold weather season!

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

23

White Bean Soup (in 30 Minutes!)

My favorite recipe during soup season is this super easy white bean soup, that’s made in just 30 minutes. It’s creamy, hearty, nourishing, and packed with flavor from garlic, onion, spinach, and finished with a squeeze of lemon and grated parmesan cheese.

White Bean Soup Recipe

24

BEST Bacon Jam Recipe

You’ll be beggin’ for this bacon jam. Slow-simmered bacon and caramelized onions meld together into a smoky, sweet condiment that completes any breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s simply the BEST recipe!

Bacon Jam Recipe

25

Easy Candied Bacon Recipe

Sweet, salty, crispy and chewy: candied bacon is sometimes called million dollar bacon for a reason. It’s heavenly, and easy too!

Candied Bacon Recipe

26

Cheesy Bacon Mini Quiche Recipe

This mini quiche recipe is an easy, crowd-pleasing appetizer or hors d’oeuvre to serve with a brunch spread or before dinner. Bacon, parmesan cheese and chives in little phyllo pastry shells are so crispy and delicious that you’ll want to double the recipe!

Mini Quiche Recipe

Check out my Thanksgiving Appetizers blog post for even more ideas!

Thanksgiving Salad Recipes

27

Crisp Apple Salad

Arugula, sharp cheddar cheese, and finely chopped walnuts are an apple salad’s best friends. There’s no bad time for it either! Apple salad is a crowd-pleasing appetizer, side dish, lunch or dinner!

Apple Salad Recipe

28

Easy Chopped Kale Salad Recipe

This is the BEST kale salad recipe, using tender baby kale, a flurry of parmesan and finely chopped walnuts, all tossed in the most delicious lemon garlic dressing. Even better yet, make it in just 15 minutes!

Kale Salad Recipe

29

Brussels Sprout Salad (With Parmesan & Lemon)

The most underrated way of serving brussels sprouts is raw! Shred brussels sprouts in a food processor and toss with buttery marcona almonds, parmesan cheese and fresh lemon juice for a delicious and easy salad.

Brussels Sprout Salad Recipe

30

BEST Antipasto Salad

This is everything you want on an Italian antipasto platter is tossed into a salad with greens and a zesty homemade vinaigrette to make an antipasto salad!

Antipasto Salad Recipe

31

Pear Salad (With Bacon and Walnuts)

This salad is everything a fall salad should be! A blend of arugula, sweet pears, nutty parmesan cheese, smoky bacon and buttery walnuts will make this a favorite salad recipe for the whole family!

Pear Salad Recipe

32

Best Beet Salad Recipe

With sweet beets, juicy oranges, and pickled onion, all tossed in an orange vinaigrette and topped with feta and pomegranate seeds, this beet salad is delicious as a side dish, appetizer, or even main course!

Beet Salad Recipe

Best Thanksgiving Cocktails & Drinks

33

Classic Negroni Recipe

This Negroni recipe is an Italian cocktail staple. I’ll show you how to make the perfect Negroni with the classic four ingredients: gin, sweet vermouth, Campari, and a twist of orange peel!

Negroni Recipe

34

Classic French 75 Cocktail Recipe

Celebrate any occasion with a French 75, a classic cocktail made with gin, lemon juice, a little simple syrup, and topped with champagne (or prosecco). It’s refreshing, elegant, and a crowd favorite!

French 75 Recipe

35

Apple Martini Recipe (Appletini with Cider)

This apple martini, or appletini, isn’t ordinary in the slightest! Made with apple cider instead of juice, vodka, and prosecco for a more complex and effervescent cocktail, you’ll be celebrating your favorite occasion in a matter of minutes!

Apple Martini Recipe

36

Best Espresso Martini Recipe

Nothing beats an espresso martini that you can enjoy right at home! This easy espresso martini recipe is the best, with tips and tricks along the way to make that restaurant-quality, showstopping frothy finish, and deliciously balanced coffee flavor.

Espresso Martini Recipe

37

Best White Russian Recipe

The perfect ratio of cream cascading through a blend of coffee liqueur and vodka creates the best White Russian. Whip up this cocktail like a master bartender in only 5 minutes!

White Russian Recipe

Thanksgiving Dessert

38

Easy Apple Crisp Recipe

With its saucy, sweet-tart cinnamon apple filling and buttery brown sugar oat topping, this apple crisp is easy to make for the holidays or whenever a craving for comfort strikes!

Apple Crisp Recipe

39

Best Apple Crumble Recipe

A crunchy, crumbly, buttery topping that gets just a little soft when it touches that cinnamon apple filling, forms the perfect apple crumble that’s easier to make than pie, and maybe even more fabulous.

Apple Crumble Recipe

40

Baked Apples Recipe (In Microwave!)

You won’t be able to find an easier baked apples recipe. Why? Rather than using the oven, we’re baking apples in the microwave! They’ll come out warm and just soft, scented with cinnamon and topped with your favorite granola and other toppings.

Baked Apples Recipe

41

Easy Tarte Tatin

This take on a classic French apple pastry dessert, tarte Tatin, is easy enough to make any night of the week!

Tarte Tatin Recipe

42

Easy, Creamy Rice Pudding Recipe

This 45-minute recipe from start to finish is super easy and will yield the best, creamy rice pudding you’ve ever had!

Rice Pudding Recipe

43

Chocolate Pie (With Shortbread Cookie Crust)

This chocolate pie is next-level. A buttery shortbread cookie crust is filled with a creamy, velvety chocolate custard filling. It’s a chocolate lover’s dream dessert!

Chocolate Pie Recipe

44

Peanut Butter Pie

With a thick, no-bake Oreo crust, creamy peanut-butter filling, and chocolate ganache drizzle, this peanut butter pie will always be a favorite!

Peanut Butter Pie Recipe

45

Best Ever Oatmeal Cream Pie

Secret ingredient homemade cream filling sandwiched between soft, chewy oatmeal cookies create the best oatmeal cream pie on this planet. Little Debbie would be proud!

Oatmeal Cream Pie Recipe

46

Mom’s Pie Crust Cookies

You can only imagine how buttery and flaky my mom’s pie crust cookies are until you make them. With layers of cinnamon sugar in between homemade pie crust, these cookies are perfect for the holidays.

Pie Crust Cookies Recipe

47

BEST Snickerdoodle Recipe

With no chill time required, this perfectly chewy, slightly tangy snickerdoodle recipe is a riff on my popular sugar cookies. Rolled in cinnamon sugar, best of luck having just one!

Snickerdoodle Recipe

48

Baked Pears With Honey Butter

These baked pears only require 5 ingredients and are perfectly caramelized, infused with honey and vanilla, and finished with a crunchy chopped walnuts topping.

Baked Pears Recipe

49

Grandma’s Butterscotch Icebox Cake

An impressive no-bake dessert that can be made-ahead and still knock your socks off? Sold! Enjoy the magic of Grandma Memere’s icebox cake with layers of butterscotch pudding and homemade whipped cream.

Icebox Cake Recipe

If you’ve tried any of these Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas or any other recipe on my website, please let me know in the comments below. I love hearing from you. Please consider leaving a 🌟 star rating while you are here!