Thanksgiving
2220 recipes found
Min Jin Lee’s Corn Pudding
I was 24 years old when I married Chris, and his grandfather’s old friend Tony and his elegant wife, Sue, invited us newlyweds to their Fifth Avenue apartment for dinner. The meal was terrific, but in particular, I loved the corn pudding. The recipe was from Sue’s friend, and that friend had attributed it to someone named Babs. In my mind, Babs is Anonymous — that unheralded and unacknowledged writer of all reliable recipes we turn to when we are desperate for something tasty, easy and budget conscious. The original recipe was for half the volume, but because absolutely everyone at Thanksgiving likes it so darn much, I now double it for ease. Lastly, corn was the generous gift of the Wampanoag to the starving Pilgrims, and when I make it, I remember the history of the Indigenous people, Sue and Tony, and of course, Babs.
Pumpkin Spice Honeycomb Cake
This take on bánh bò nướng, a classic Vietnamese dessert, is spiced with comforting fall flavors and doused in white chocolate — and integrates pumpkin purée. Also known as honeycomb cake, this dessert has a dense, chewy interior, with a crusty exterior that makes it so snackable. Besides the irresistible flavor and texture, the recipe offers a delicious gluten-free option for your dessert table. The batter requires a few rounds of straining through a large fine-mesh sieve, so make sure to set up your work station for success, with two large bowls that can accommodate the batter. Try to not overmix, and use gentle stirring motions to prevent too many bubbles forming in the batter. A reliable nonstick Bundt pan will make unmolding the cake a breeze.
Stephen and Evie Colbert’s Beef Wellington
Every year you fret over keeping the turkey juicy. You dry brine; you wet brine; you slather with butter over and under the skin; you baste lovingly. But if you're the one with the anxiety, why does the bird get the spa treatment? With the help of this recipe from our cookbook, “Does This Taste Funny?,” plus store-bought pastry and a good meat thermometer, beef Wellington can be a surprisingly easy and elegant centerpiece to your Thanksgiving table. Wrapped in its bundle of crust, that juicy flavor is all tucked in.
Saag Paneer Lasagna
While writing her cookbook “Amrikan” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2024), Khushbu Shah became convinced that a spinach lasagna could be greatly improved by swapping in the flavors of saag paneer for the filling. It’s a dish she jokingly refers to as “lasaagna.” Ms. Shah uses a saag base made with warm spices, spinach, cilantro and dried fenugreek leaves (which are optional but highly encouraged, and add a beautiful earthy note to the sauce), and then adds fistfuls of grated paneer for an extra punch of cheese. Many of the lasagna’s components may be made ahead (see Tips), making assembly a breeze, especially when making this dish for a dinner party or as a vegetarian meal during the holidays.
Ruth Reichl’s Turkey Chili
The year Thanksgiving moved to my house, my father confided that he hated turkey. “But," he added, “Thanksgiving without the national bird just doesn’t feel right.” My solution: turkey disguised as chili — a recipe I shared in “Save Me the Plums.” One bonus: this is a dish that gets better with a little age, so you can make it three days ahead.
Ayesha Curry’s Crab Mac and Cheese
It’s hard to improve upon macaroni and cheese, but adding crabmeat is one good way to do it. This dish, adapted from my cookbook, “The Full Plate” (Voracious, 2020), is so surprisingly satisfying, even though many cooks don’t typically pair seafood and cheese. I like to use small, shell-shaped pasta; the curves in the noodles act as traps for the creamy sauce. Without the crab added, this is still a great version of a classic, but the crab makes it extra special. Lobster would be good, too.
Dry-Brined Thanksgiving Turkey With Chiles
It’s time for Thanksgiving turkey to take center stage again with this hot, blazing sun of a bird, leaning as it does on the savory, sweet and hot complexity of peppers. North and South America’s delicious native crop is used in both fresh and dried forms here. Inspired by a recipe from Niya Bajaj, a home cook who shared her turkey formula through Instagram, this dish takes full advantage of the different peppers’ flavor and heat, and celebrates its journey across the world. Turkey this assertively spiced — with coolness from mint, savoriness from cumin and fire from chiles — tastes excellent with mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and macaroni and cheese. Using a mix of chiles results in the most explosive taste, but be sure to warn your guests before they dive into the plate of turkey fat-confited peppers. Some might be blazing.
Maple-Roasted Squash With Charred Lemon
This colorful roasted squash dish is both bracing and sweet. Charred bits of lemon balance the maple syrup, which almost candies the squash as it roasts, while cardamom and coriander add a perfumed, sophisticated touch. Using a mix of winter squashes will give you the most interesting flavors and textures since they’re all a little different. Any combination of delicata, butternut, honey nut and kabocha works very well. The only variety to avoid is acorn, which has a starchier texture that doesn’t absorb the syrup as well as the others.
Sour Cream Pound Cake
This pound cake — with its fine, tender texture and inviting, rich vanilla flavor — gets its height from the mixing method, the number of eggs and the reaction between the sour cream and baking soda. The sour cream, less dense than cream cheese, also adds some tanginess. Be sure to take your time when creaming the butter and sugar so the air pockets that are created will expand and cause the cake to rise in the oven.The cake can be baked in a bundt pan or a tube pan. It’s perfect just as it is, but feel free to add the simple glaze or serve with a scoop of ice cream.
Cranberry Pudding
Think of this dessert as a more colorful, autumnal version of banana pudding. This pudding uses cranberries in place of bananas as its main flavor component. With layers of tart, silky cranberry curd, dollops of sweetened whipped cream and soft vanilla wafers tucked between, it’s a dessert to remember. At first glance, the number of steps might seem intimidating, but all you’re really making from scratch is the cranberry curd, which simply involves blending the simmered cranberries, mixing them with eggs and butter, then cooking until thickened. Serve the pudding cold, scooped into dainty little serving bowls.
Croissant Bread Pudding
This bread pudding is a cozy dessert that makes smart use of store-bought croissants. Opting for croissants instead of French bread lends an extra buttery and rich base for this dessert. Though bread pudding is traditionally made with leftover, stale bread, which absorbs more liquid than fresh, feel free to use fresh croissants – the soak time should compensate for the fact that they have a little more moisture. The optional rum sauce adds a caramel-like finish to the dessert but a scoop of ice cream would also pair well.
Turkey Stuffing Meatballs
The classic combo of turkey and stuffing, all rolled into one. These turkey meatballs use cubed bread as their binder. The bread is joined by olive oil, chicken stock, minced vegetables and seasonings to make them extra moist and flavorful. The meatballs come together much faster and easier than roasting a stuffed turkey, which makes them an easy win for when you have all the Thanksgiving leftovers except for turkey. Perfect for more than just Thanksgiving, these meatballs can be served with gravy and cranberry sauce, stuffed inside of a sandwich, on top of a salad, or as an appetizer. Feel free to swap ground turkey with chicken or pork and the bread cubes with packaged herb or cornbread stuffing or even any leftover stuffing if you have it.
Air-Fryer Turkey Breast
Succulent, flavorful turkey breast that cooks up in less than 45 minutes is possible with an air fryer. And with the air fryer method, no babysitting basting time is required. Starting with a simple dry rub infuses the turkey as it chills overnight, ensuring that every bite is tastier than the last. This super easy recipe is perfect for an oven-free Thanksgiving feast or for creating a week's worth of delicious turkey sandwiches.
Bhel Puri for a Party
Bhel puri — a type of chaat made with puffed rice, chutneys and various toppings — is the ultimate entertaining dish, whether you are hosting or bringing a dish to a potluck. Most of it can be prepared in advance, leaving mostly the assembly which allows you to really put on a show for your guests. You can make a good chaat with store-bought chutneys and bhel mix. But it’s the homemade chutneys and fried tortilla strips that make this exceptional, providing the sweet-salty-fresh-crunchy combination that is the hallmark of chaat. The ingredient list is long, but after you make the chutneys, you are 80 percent of the way there. When you have the components prepared, set them out in bowls, invite all your guests to gather around, and make your chaat live, tasting and tossing for everyone to see.
Brussels Sprout Salad With Pomegranate and Pistachios
This autumnal side, inspired by tabbouleh, swaps the usual parsley and tomatoes for shaved brussels sprouts, scallions, chopped fresh mint, juicy pomegranate seeds and roasted pistachios, all tossed together in a tangy sumac-lemon dressing. The traditional bulgur remains, ensuring this salad has enough heft to stand out as a great vegan option at the Thanksgiving table and beyond, though the jeweled bowl is sure to attract omnivores, too. Perfect for potlucks, it can be assembled ahead of time, and, since it’s served at room temperature, it can easily be packed up and carried wherever you might be heading.
Sticky Toffee Loaf Cake
This soft and tender loaf is an ode to sticky toffee pudding, the decadent classic British dessert. Brown sugar date cake is swirled with toffee sauce before baking, and it buckles and absorbs the sauce as it cooks in the oven. A sprinkle of flaky salt pleasantly offsets all that sweetness, as does the toffee-yogurt topping (a simple combination of extra toffee sauce and Greek yogurt), which is served alongside for dolloping onto each slice, making this cake as well-suited for a brunch spread as it is for dessert.
Fire Crackers
This spicy, savory snack, also known as Alabama fire crackers or comeback crackers, is of unclear origin but beloved in the South. Though fire crackers are traditionally prepared using saltines, oyster crackers are also common — and the choice here because they’re fun to devour by the handful. Classic fire crackers are marinated with store-bought ranch seasoning and red pepper flakes then baked until crisp and golden. This version calls for a quick, homemade ranch-inspired blend. These crackers will stay fresh for up to one week, making them ideal for impromptu holiday gatherings and gifting alike.
Cornbread Stuffing With Esquites
Esquites are a Mexican antojito, or snack, sold in local markets and by street vendors across Mexico and the United States. Corn is typically cooked with an herb called epazote, onion and chiles and is served in cups or corn husks and topped with mayonnaise, dried chiles, queso and lime. Here, esquites amps up the corn flavor of a southern-style cornbread stuffing. Half of the corn mixture is added, along with chorizo, to toasted cornbread to make the stuffing, and the remaining esquites is used to top the finished dish. A drizzle of crema and a sprinkle of queso fresco and chile de árbol accent this fun and festive Thanksgiving side.
Herby Cottage Cheese Dip
Cottage cheese provides a rich and creamy base for this herb-packed dip that makes a perfect appetizer, snack or light lunch along with crudités and bread or crackers. A handful of browned onions give the dip a depth of flavor more impressive than the work it took to achieve it. Salt levels vary quite a bit from brand to brand of cottage cheese, so make sure to taste as you go and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.
Cheddar-Smothered Sweet Potatoes
Even before getting cozy under a Cheddar blanket, these sweet potatoes are packed with flavor. They're tossed with butter, coated in spices, then placed in the oven without preheating. This allows them to warm up slowly, maximizing their sweetness and creamy texture. The tender sweet potato halves are then smothered in a thick, garlicky Cheddar sauce before broiling until bubbly and barely blackened. Serve as a side on your holiday table or as a main with a simple salad alongside.
Pumpkin Biscuits With Honey Butter
These moist, buttery, pumpkin-y biscuits are the perfect use for that last bit of pumpkin purée in the can. They boast crunchy tops, soft centers and a flavor that lands somewhere between sweet and savory. They come together in no time at all, with just a bowl and a spoon, and their cheery orange hue makes them a perfect addition to any holiday table. The biscuits are best warm from the oven but can be reheated in a low oven or toaster oven just before serving. Don’t forget the sweet and salty honey butter on the side, which makes these biscuits extra special.
Easy Roasted Carrots and Crispy Kale
Tender and sweet caramelized carrots and crisp-edged roasted kale make a delicious pair in this simple side. The two are roasted on every cook's favorite baking pan, a large rimmed baking sheet, also known as a half-sheet pan. The carrots get a little head start to make sure they are caramelized and sweet, and the kale is sliced thinly and massaged with oil and salt before cooking, ensuring that it roasts quickly and procures some prized crispy edges that contrast nicely with the tender carrots. A squeeze of lemon at the end brightens the whole dish.
Sour Cream and Onion Mashed Potatoes
Double the potatoes, double the fun: Creamy Yukon Gold potatoes are studded with tender bites of skin-on red bliss potatoes in this texture lovers’ mash. The tanginess of sour cream coupled with the grassy bite of scallions keeps things light and fresh, making this an ideal side for richer dishes, like fried chicken and steak (and also welcome at any sweltering summer dinner).
Gingerbread Layer Cake With Mascarpone Cream
This moist gently spiced cake would be delicious on its own but slathered with an extra-creamy mascarpone frosting it becomes divine, each cutting the richness of the other in just the right way. A classic cream cheese frosting would also be good, adding a slight tang to the overall cake. Be sure to use regular, unsulphured molasses. Blackstrap molasses is too strong for most baking and its use will result in a dense, unpleasant cake. For easy cleanup, measure the vegetable oil before the molasses and honey — the residual oil should help the sticky ingredients slide out with ease.