Rate Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Thanksgiving is the biggest dinner of the year at my house, so here is my whole menu in one place: the turkey, the sides my family fights over, the family classics we never skip, plus desserts, drinks and something sweet for Thanksgiving morning.

Pick a main, a few sides, a cornbread and a dessert, and you have a full table. Then scroll to the bottom for my make-ahead timeline, so you’re not doing everything on Thursday.

Table of Contents

The Mains

Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Roasted Cajun Turkey Recipe

Roasted Cajun Turkey Recipe

My viral Cajun butter turkey: dry brined, rubbed with compound butter and roasted under butter-soaked cheesecloth. The timing chart and thawing guide are in the post.

Pernil

Pernil

Garlicky, slow-roasted pork shoulder. It’s on my family’s table every holiday.

Orange Glazed Ham

Orange Glazed Ham

A sweet, sticky orange glaze for when one main isn’t enough.

Three baked lamb chops on a plate with mashed potatoes.

Oven Baked Lamb Chops with Balsamic Glaze

Tender, juicy lamb chops with a sweet and tangy balsamic glaze, for a main that feels special.

The Sides

Mac & cheese themoodyfoody Toni Chapman

Creamy Mac & Cheese

Four cheeses, no roux, no egg. Assemble it up to 2 days ahead.

Turkey gravy from drippings is poured over sliced turkey breast for serving.

Turkey Gravy from Drippings

Made right in the roasting pan from your turkey drippings.

Creamy garlic mashed potatoes in a green serving dish for serving.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Creamy, garlicky and made for gravy.

A spoon scoops fresh green bean casserole from a dish for serving

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Made with fresh green beans, not the can.

A spoon scoops out a serving of sweet potato casserole from a white rectangular baking dish.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble

Silky sweet potatoes under a crunchy pecan crumble.

A spoon scoops cheesy au gratin potatoes from a baking dish for serving.

Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

Thin-sliced potatoes baked in a cheesy cream sauce.

Southern fried cabbage in a cast iron skillet for serving.

Southern Fried Cabbage

Smoky, buttery fried cabbage.

Arroz con gandules (puerto rican rice with pigeon peas) in a serving dish for serving.

Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice with Pigeon Peas)

Savory rice with pigeon peas, the side we never skip.

Cornbread and Dressing

A close up photo of a slice of honey butter cornbread with honey butter drizzled on top

Honey Butter Cornbread

My viral cornbread, finished with a warm honey butter glaze.

Two pieces of sweet potato cornbread stacked on a plate.

Sweet Potato Cornbread

Cornbread with sweet potato baked right in.

A serving utensil holds a piece of jalapeno cheddar cornbread on top of a wooden cutting board for serving.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

A little heat and a lot of cheese.

Cornbread dressing on a plate with turkey, cranberry sauce, greens and mashed potatoes.

Cornbread Dressing

Homemade cornbread, broth and herbs, baked until golden.

A baking dish with baked seafood stuffing with a scoop removed.

Seafood Stuffing

Rich, loaded with seafood, and made to impress.

Appetizers

Stuffed Shrimp

Stuffed Shrimp

An easy, elegant bite while everyone waits for dinner.

a white dish with spinach artichoke dip and a piece of toasted bread with the cheesy dip on it.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Hot, cheesy and gone in minutes.

Deviled eggs with candied bacon sit on a serving platter for serving.

Easy Deviled Eggs with Candied Bacon

Classic deviled eggs with sweet, crispy candied bacon.

Desserts

Homemade banana pudding in a white baking dish with a piece taken out after eating.

Easy Banana Pudding

The classic, layered with fresh bananas and wafers.

A piece of pumpkin tres leches sits on a white plate with a spoon off to the side for serving.

Pumpkin Spice Tres Leches Cake

Tres leches meets pumpkin spice.

Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings on a white plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings

Easy apple dumplings made with crescent rolls.

An apple hand pie split into two pieces sits next to a whole apple hand pie on a plate for serving.

Easy Apple Hand Pies

Flaky little apple pies you can eat with your hands.

No Bake Banana Pudding Cheesecake on a cake serving plate sitting on a countertop. Bananas and extra vanilla wafers are in a bowl on the side.

No Bake Banana Pudding Cheesecake

Banana pudding and cheesecake in one no-bake dessert.

Brown butter sweet potato banana bread sliced on parchment paper with glaze dripping down the sides.

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Banana Bread

Nutty brown butter, sweet potato and banana in one loaf.

Drinks and Thanksgiving Morning

Rum punch in a pitcher sitting on a wooden cutting board.

Rum Punch

A big-batch punch for the whole table.

A bottle of coquito labeled and with a piece of cinnamon tied around it.

Coquito

Creamy coconut eggnog to kick off the holiday season.

Pumpkin cinnamon rolls in a dish for serving after baking and spreading with cream cheese frosting.

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

Soft, gooey rolls to start the day before the cooking marathon.

My Thanksgiving Timeline

The secret to a calm Thanksgiving is doing most of the work before Thursday. Here’s how I plan mine.

  1. One week before: Lock in your menu and guest count, shop for everything that keeps, and order your turkey tools (cheesecloth, injector, meat thermometer), since stores sell out.
  2. 4 to 5 days before: If your turkey is frozen, start thawing it in the fridge. Allow about 1 day for every 4 to 5 pounds (see the chart in my Cajun Butter Turkey post).
  3. 2 days before: Assemble the mac and cheese (don’t bake it yet), make the honey butter for the cornbread, and make any dessert that needs time to chill.
  4. The night before: Dry brine the turkey, make the Cajun compound butter, and bake your cornbread.
  5. Thanksgiving morning: Take the turkey out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking, pat it very dry with paper towels, and get it in the oven.
  6. While the turkey rests (45 minutes to an hour): Bake the mac and cheese, warm the cornbread, and make the gravy from the drippings.

Tag me @themoodyfoody when you make anything from this menu. I love seeing your tables!

You may also like:

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *