24 Thanksgiving Recipes You'll Want to Make Forever

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Published on November 4, 2023

Herb-Roasted Turkey

You’re guaranteed to please your crowd every single year with these highly-rated Thanksgiving recipes. From roasted mains to classic sides and desserts, these four- and five-star dishes will leave your guests craving your cooking for months after the holidays. Recipes like our reliable Herb-Roasted Turkey and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese & Pomegranate are fragrant, flavorful and festive recipes everyone will be asking for this Thanksgiving.

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Herb-Roasted Turkey

Herb-Roasted Turkey

This easy method produces all the good looks and moist flavor you dream of in an oven-roasted turkey. Make sure you show this beauty off at the table before you carve it. Garnish your serving platter with fresh herb sprigs and citrus wedges for a showstopping Thanksgiving turkey.

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No-Sugar-Added Sweet Potato Casserole

Instead of loading up this comfort food side with tons of brown sugar and marshmallows, we have turned to sweet spices, vanilla and inherently sweet dried fruit to enhance the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. A topping of pecans and pepitas replaces traditional marshmallow topping to keep it healthy and add texture and color for a beautiful casserole.

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Beet Salad

Beet Salad — Photographer / Victor Protasio, Food Stylist / Karen Rankin, Prop Stylist / Kay Clarke

This simple beet salad recipe uses just a handful of ingredients to create a delightful side dish. Roasted beets add a sweet, earthy and aromatic flavor that shines in this side salad.

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Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

This easy vegan pumpkin pie gets its structure from aquafaba (the leftover water from a can of chickpeas) whipped up into a meringue-like foam. When it's combined with pumpkin and poured into a gluten-free pecan crust, you would never know beans had anything to do with this vegan pumpkin pie recipe.

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Instant Pot Garlic & Rosemary Roast Pork Loin

Instant Pot Garlic & Rosemary Roast Pork Loin — Julia Estrada

Using an Instant Pot is a game changer for this pork loin recipe. The gravy is rich and flavorful, the meat is moist and perfectly cooked, and it all comes together in a fraction of the time compared to oven roasting.

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The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce

This is our go-to recipe for homemade cranberry sauce. It's simple (just five ingredients!), is lightly sweet without being too sugary and has just the right amount of zesty flavor from orange peel. Plus, it's so easy--it goes from stove to table in just 20 minutes!

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Carrot Casserole

a recipe photo of a Carrot Casserole — Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Rishon Hanners, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless

Carrot casserole is a great holiday side dish that’s both creamy and savory with just a touch of sweetness from the carrots. Coriander and dry mustard add lovely background flavors to the cream sauce. Microwaving the carrots gives them a jump-start in the cooking process and ensures that they’re cooked through. The carrots should all be sliced thinly so they cook evenly. If you have one, a mandoline can make quick work of the slicing, but a good sharp knife will also do the trick.

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Kale Salad with Cranberries

Kale Salad with Cranberries

This easy holiday salad gets its flavor from a sweet citrus dressing that's infused into the kale by massaging the greens and the dressing together with your hands. We like a mix of kale for this recipe, but any type of kale will work.

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Diabetes-Friendly Carrot Cake

With this luscious take on an all-time favorite, you can fit this low-added sugar cake into your eating pattern.

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Fennel & Meyer Lemon-Stuffed Salmon

For this simple baked salmon recipe, just order the right size whole salmon from your grocery store or fish market and have them clean and scale it. You can also use two smaller fish (1 to 2 pounds each) and reduce the roasting time by about 10 minutes. If you like, you can opt for other species, such as striped bass, snapper or tilapia.

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

What could be more satisfying than mashed potatoes? In this garlic mashed potato recipe, the potatoes are flavored with poached garlic, thinned with chicken stock and enriched with a small amount of sour cream. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you're cooking for a crowd--say for Thanksgiving dinner.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese & Pomegranate

a photo of the Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese & Pomegranate — Brie Passano

This gorgeous warm salad with nutty roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet-tart pomegranate seeds and creamy goat cheese is perfect for any winter meal—from a weeknight dinner to Christmas dinner or any other holiday celebration. The recipe is easily doubled if you are entertaining a crowd: just be sure to spread the sprouts out (use 2 pans if necessary) so they roast instead of steaming.

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Wild Rice Stuffing with Apple & Sausage

Wild Rice Stuffing with Apple & Sausage

This amazing wild-rice stuffing recipe is bursting with fall flavors, including rye bread, sausage, apples, dried cherries, pecans and fresh herbs.

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Cranberry Buttermilk Pie

Cranberry Buttermilk Pie

This custard filling is what takes this buttermilk pie recipe to the next level. It tastes like a panna cotta with a bit of attitude from the tang of the buttermilk and a generous sprinkling of cranberries on top.

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Spatchcock Turkey with Sage & Thyme

Spatchcock Turkey with Sage & Thyme

When it comes to cooking a whole turkey quickly and evenly, spatchcocking--removing the entire backbone from the bird and splaying it open--is a great technique. This skin on this spatchcocked turkey gets crispy and browned because nearly all of the skin is exposed. This recipe uses a simple blend of oil, fresh herbs and spices for classic roasted turkey flavor. Look for a small turkey, about 12 pounds, as it fits better in most roasting pans.

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Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

a recipe photo of the Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad — Photographer: Stacy K. Allen; Prop stylist: Julia Bayless; Food stylist: Ana Kelley

Sweet cherries complement the tart goat cheese in this easy shaved Brussels sprouts salad. Pistachios add an extra layer of crunch. A sharp chef's knife works well to slice the Brussels sprouts thinly. A microplane grater is best for finely shredding the goat cheese.

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The Best Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

This healthy mashed sweet potato recipe has just 5 ingredients and is dinner-ready in 20 minutes. Using sweet potatoes for this classic side dish adds color to your plate along with a little sweetness and a boost of vitamin A. With classic and simple flavors, it can easily be paired with any of your favorite dishes.

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Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

The genius hack in this recipe: topping sweet potatoes with marshmallows while they're still piping hot from the slow cooker yields a baked marshmallow topping that's typical with baked sweet potato casseroles.

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Cranberry-Balsamic Chicken Thighs

Cranberry-Balsamic Chicken Thighs

To round out this healthy chicken dinner recipe, put some farro on to cook before you start cooking the chicken. Add some steamed broccoli and serve with a glass of pinot noir.

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Apple, Onion & Cranberry Stuffing

Apples and fresh cranberries add a unique twist to this variation on the classic stuffing. Use fresh sage or rubbed sage in this healthy stuffing recipe; the ground version is too bitter.

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Balsamic Oven-Roasted Carrots

Balsamic Roasted Carrots

Roasting carrots in the oven brings out their sweetness, which is enhanced further with a tangy balsamic and maple glaze. Serve these balsamic roasted carrots as an easy weeknight side dish.

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Vegan Scalloped Potatoes

These scalloped potatoes are surprisingly rich and creamy even though they're made with no dairy (milk, butter or cheese)--vegan comfort food at its best. We use almond milk, herbs and spices to make a flavorful sauce and finish the dish with a crunchy almond topping. This makes a satisfying side dish if you're cooking for dairy-free or vegan diets.

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Apple & Pecan Stuffed Butternut Squash

Apple and pecan stuffed butternut squash

Let this cute little vegetarian stuffed squash side dish steal the show at the dinner table! Butternut squash is stuffed with a sweet and savory filling that gets a crispy finish under the broiler. If you can't find small butternut squash, honeynut squash is a great alternative. Shaped much like a butternut squash (but smaller), the honeynut squash has a deep orange skin and sweet flesh.

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Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Now everyone can enjoy classic Thanksgiving favorites, like this dairy-free green bean casserole. We make a homemade vegan cream of mushroom soup using almond milk for the creamy base that's combined with fresh green beans. Top it off with classic french-fried onions (we have a vegan recipe for that, too!) for a side dish everyone will devour.

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