I have hosted a handful of Thanksgiving dinner where almost all of the cooking was up to me. I wanted my Thanksgiving table to be full of my favorite things, but I also wanted to enjoy my day! With a little bit of strategy and prep ahead of time, it really is doable!
Logistically, the only hang up is roasting your turkey and baking your sides at the same time. You have a few options here:
- Roast your turkey to finish an hour or two early and keep warm wrapped in foil.
- Ask a friend or a guest if they can stick some things in their oven.
- Cook your turkey on the grill or the Traeger!
The less you have to do on the day of, the better. So let’s talk game plan for cooking a Thanksgiving dinner that is delicious and doable! I’ve gathered my favorite recipes and my preferred timeline for getting dinner on the table and still being grateful about it when Thanksgiving dinner is finally here!
2 weeks before
• Plan your menu
Decide what’s most important to you to have homemade and your way. If you’re cooking completely on your own, you may want to buy a few things you don’t care as much about pre-prepared to lessen your load. If you have guests coming, delegate some side dishes to them, saving your favorite family recipes to prepare yourself.
When I’ve been preparing Thanksgiving dinner on my own, here’s what on my table:
Turkey
I have used this recipe from Our Best Bites to roast my turkey several times. It is the best turkey I’ve ever had! In recent years, we like to buy boneless skinless turkey breasts and smoke them on the Traeger!
Cranberry Sauce
Half of my family prefers the stuff from the can. I love the cranberry sauce from Honey Baked Ham. I almost never spend the time making it, because it’s not one of the important things to me.
Gravy
Our Best Bites nails it again with this gravy recipe.
Rolls
Rolls are my favorite part of Thanksgiving! Mama Robin’s Rolls are the beloved favorite at my Thanksgiving table, but these One Hour Dinner Rolls are great too!
Stuffing
It’s gotta be my favorite Italian Sausage Stuffing!
Corn Casserole
You could serve just a side of corn, but Corn Casserole is even better!
Mashed Potatoes
Follow my directions for Mashed Potatoes in the Instant Pot to make them perfectly and effortlessly!
Sweet Potato Casserole
My Granny’s Sweet Potato Casserole is the only one my heart beats for.
Green Bean Casserole
If I’m in charge, you can bet I’ll be making my absolute favorite green bean casserole from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe .
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Like pumpkin pie and cheesecake had a delicious baby! Plain pumpkin pie doesn’t do it for me, but I’ll take seconds of this incredible Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake.
Apple Pie
This recipe from All Recipes is my favorite apple pie. For me and my table, I’m good with Pumpkin Cheesecake and Apple Pie. And if my guests want pecan pie or other types of pies, those are likely coming from the store. Aint no shame in the store bought game, y’all! Thanksgiving is meant to be enjoyed!
1 week before
Go grocery shopping
- Make a complete list of every thing you will need to cook all of your dishes. Go through your pantry to make sure you have everything you think you. Nothing worse than a day-before-Thanksgiving trip to the grocery store when you realize you’re out of brown sugar!
4-6 days before
Thaw your Turkey
- The general rule of thumb is to plan for 24 hours in the refrigerator for every 5 lbs of your bird. So, If you have a 25 lb turkey that bad boy needs to be in the fridge 5 days before Turkey Day.
3 days before
- Make pumpkin cheesecake. Store caramel pecan sauce separately.
- Make stuffing and store in fridge
2 days before
- Make corn casserole and store in fridge
- Make green bean casserole and store in fridge
1 day before
- Brine turkey
Day of
- 3-6 hours before you want to eat- Start your turkey! The general rule of thumb is to roast for 20 minutes for every pound of your turkey.
- 2-4 hours before dinner: Make potatoes and keep in instant pot on “keep warm” until dinner
- 2 hours before: Make rolls
- 1 hour before: Prepare gravy.
- 1 hour before: Put sweet potatoes and corn casserole in oven, at 350. 15 minutes later, add stuffing and green bean casserole.
Whether you’re only in charge of bringing a pie, or in charge of the whole shebang, I hope this Thanksgiving is full of food, people you love, and a feeling of gratitude! It’s my favorite holiday of the year. Food is my language of love, and I’m so grateful to share food with people I love!
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