Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes, Hints & Videos

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Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday in that it is neither overly religious nor patriotic. Occurring on the third Thursday in November, it is often seen as the calm before the holiday season storm. And since no presents or other commercial paraphernalia such as candy, flowers and cards are required, it remains a simple holiday designed to get families together.

Traditional Thanksgiving dinners include turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. The great thing is you can add any other family recipes to the mix to make it uniquely your own. With that in mind we've put together a list of traditional Thanksgiving dinner recipes that you can expand on for your own family get-together.

Thanksgiving Dinner Turkey Recipes

Savory Roasted Turkey

This seasoning rub and stuffing is the perfect preparation for the holiday bird or an anytime family feast.

Ingredients

1 Tbs. Italian Seasoning

2 tsp. Seasoned Salt

1 tsp. dry ground mustard

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. black pepper

1 turkey (about 12 lbs.) fresh or frozen, thawed

2 bay leaves

2 stalks celery

1 onion, quartered

1 small orange, quartered

1 to 2 Tbs. olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine first 5 ingredients; set aside. Wash turkey and remove giblets. Place turkey on a rack in shallow baking pan. Sprinkle 2 tsp. of seasoning mixture inside the turkey. Stuff bay leaves, celery stalks, onion and orange inside turkey.

Rub oil and remaining seasoning mixture over entire surface of turkey. Loosely tent with foil. Bake 3 ½ to 4 hours or until meat thermometer reads 180 degrees F. in thigh. Baste several times with pan juices. Remove foil during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Serves 10 to 12.

More Thanksgiving Dinner Turkey Recipes:

Herb Butter-Roasted Turkey

Herb-Roasted Turkey with Citrus

Roast Turkey with Cranberry-Honey Glaze

Thanksgiving Dinner Potato Recipes

Delicious Mashed Potatoes

I make this for every holiday dinner. My grandchildren love it so I make extra and the next day I microwave the leftovers or use the rest to make Shepherd Pie.

Ingredients

6-7 lg. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

4 Tbs. butter

3 oz. cream cheese

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

warmed milk

2 tsp. white or cider vinegar

Directions

Boil potatoes until soft. Drain. Put potatoes back into the same pan and on low heat and stir until moist steam evaporates (takes about 3-5 minutes - this will make your potatoes fluffy!). Add butter, cream cheese and milk. Whip for 5 minutes. Add garlic, salt, pepper and vinegar and whip until fluffy. Note: add a pinch of baking soda to make them extra fluffy.

More Thanksgiving Dinner Potato Recipes:

Potato Gratin

Rustic Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Quick & Easy Old Fashioned Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

Thanksgiving Dinner Sweet Potato Recipes

Sweet Potato and Apple Bake

This is a wonderful side dish for Thanksgiving. I wanted to do something other than the traditional sweet potato and marshmallow dish. I came up with apples and sweet potato and then decide to throw in some Maple Syrup for the sweet part of this. I made this first for my children's school Thanksgiving Luncheon and everyone loved it!

Ingredients

4 lg. sweet potatoes

4 Tbs. butter, melted

1 C. maple syrup (I used #3 dark for baking)

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

cinnamon

ground cloves

1 C. apple juice

Directions

Microwave the potatoes until done. Allow to cool then peel and cut them into 1/2-inch slices. Oil a deep 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange half of the sweet potatoes on the bottom. Do the same with the apples. Pour 1/2 of the maple syrup on top and sprinkle with the cinnamon and cloves. Repeat the layers. Pour butter and maple syrup over the top layer of apples. Pour apple juice over all and sprinkle again with cinnamon and cloves. Bake for 40 minutes covered. Bake an additional 10 uncovered or until browned up.

Serving Size

8-10

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

50 minutes

More Thanksgiving Dinner Sweet Potato Recipes:

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweetest Orange-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Holiday Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving Dinner Stuffing Recipes

Cornbread Stuffing

This delicious recipe is the winner of the stuffing category for our Thanksgiving Recipes Contest! Cornbread dressing with fresh corn and thyme, flavored with celery and onion, and moistened with chicken stock and cream.

Ingredients

5 C. crumbled corn muffins or cornbread *

1/2 C. butter

2 C. fresh corn kernels (about 2 cobs)

1 C. finely chopped celery

1 C. chopped onion

1 1/2 C. chicken stock

1 1/2 C. cream

3 eggs

2 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)

1 Tbs. minced sage leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried sage)

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

2 tsp. salt

Directions

Place cornbread crumbs in a large bowl. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium low setting. Add corn kernels, celery, and onion. Sauté until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Spoon skillet contents over cornbread crumbs in bowl. and toss to combine.

Whisk together the chicken stock, cream, eggs, and seasonings. Pour over the cornbread mixture, and toss until everything is combined.

Spoon mixture into a buttered casserole dish, and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover. Bake 20-25 more minutes, or until golden brown on top. OR, use mixture to stuff a 12–14 lb. turkey, and roast as directed on the turkey packaging.

* Note: You can use unseasoned packaged cornbread dressing in this recipe, but you'll have to add additional liquid (about 1 C. stock or cream) or the stuffing will be dry.

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

40 minutes

More Thanksgiving Dinner Stuffing Recipes:

Sausage and Bread Stuffing

Gourmet Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Thanksgiving Herb Stuffing

Thanksgiving Dinner Dessert Recipes

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

This holiday favorite features fresh pumpkin puree that you scoop straight out of the pumpkin. No cheating with cans!

Ingredients

Pastry:

1 1/2 C. flour

1/4 C. salt

1/2 C. vegetable shortening, chilled

Filling:

1 1 1/2-2 lb. fresh pumpkin

2/3 C. sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Pinch ground cloves

1 1/2 C. evaporated milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

For pastry, sift flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add up to 5 Tbs. ice water as needed, 1 Tbs. at a time, mixing until dough holds together. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

For filling, cut pumpkin into large pieces, discarding seeds and pith. Fit a large pot with a steaming rack, add enough water to come just up to (but not over) the rack, and bring to a boil over high heat. Place pumpkin on rack, cover, and steam until pulp is soft, about 30 minutes. Cool, then scrape pulp from skin into a food processor and puree. Add sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, milk, eggs, and salt and pulse until mixture is very smooth.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out dough into a 12-inch round on a floured surface, then ease into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim edges, allowing a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold edge under and crimp or flute. Fill with pumpkin filling and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until filling is set, 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Yield: 4-6 servings

More Thanksgiving Dinner Dessert Recipes:

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

Southern Pecan Pie