Our Best Thanksgiving Menus for Every Gathering Style

Casseroles galore! When you’re cooking for a large Thanksgiving crowd, your 13-by-9 pan will be your best friend. With this big-batch menu, there’s sure to be enough of everything to go around—and maybe even some left over! Finish off your Thanksgiving meal with a sheet cake, our favorite hack to make dessert for a crowd.

Recipes:

Smoked Turkey with Herb Rub

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Herbed Breadcrumb-Topped Macaroni and Cheese

Caramelized Onion Mashed Potato Bake

Classic Sweet Potato Casserole

Old-School Green Bean Casserole

Grits Dressing

Butter Pecan Sheet Cake

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Spiced Pecan Pie Bars

Go 90s-style this Thanksgiving with this vintage menu. From wobbly molded cranberry salad to classic candied yams, this meal will have you recalling the Thanksgiving meals of your childhood. Finish off the meal with one of our favorite lost pies of the South, old-school recipes that we’ve recently rediscovered.

Recipes:

Roasted Herb Turkey and Gravy

Aunt Grace’s Best Cornbread Dressing

Molded Cranberry Salad

Make-Ahead Yeast Rolls

Classic Sweet Potato Casserole

Old-School Green Bean Casserole

Classic Candied Yams

Sliced Sweet Potato Pie

Arkansas Black Apple Pie

If you want to stick to the all-time favorites, this menu is for you. From classic roasted herb turkey to Southern cornbread dressing and old-school green bean casserole, this menu includes all the essential components of a classic Thanksgiving feast. Choose from three classic pie offerings—apple, pumpkin, and pecan—or make all three. Even Grandma will applaud this spread.

Recipes:

Roasted Herb Turkey and Gravy

Classic Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Classic Sweet Potato Casserole

Old-School Green Bean Casserole

Angel Biscuits

Classic Cranberry salad

Classic Candied Yams

Ultimate Apple Pie

Southern Pumpkin Pie

Best Pecan Pie

If you’d rather spend more time with your family than wasting days prepping for the Thanksgiving meal, this casual menu is for you. It includes all the basics you need for a great Thanksgiving feast without all the fuss. This menu is ideal for a family of four or a smaller Thanksgiving party. Cap the meal off with a homemade sweet potato pie that’s sure to satisfy.

Recipes:

Smoked Turkey Breast

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Classic Sweet Potato Casserole

Old-School Green Bean Casserole

Savory Corn Pudding

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie

Get fancy this Thanksgiving with this menu that’s built to impress the guests (and the in-laws). Start off the night with elegant topped potato puffs as an appetizer, then move into a meal full of impressive specialty dishes, like roasted brussels sprouts and homemade herb biscuits. You’ll want to start preparing well in advance for this meal, but your guests won't soon forget it.

Recipes:

Roasted Herb Turkey and Gravy

Potato Puffs with Toppings

Hasselback Sweet Potato Casserole

Pecan-Herb Cornbread Dressing

Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust

Parmesan-Herb Angel Biscuits

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots

Slow-Cooker Collard Greens with Ham Hocks

Herbed Breadcrumb-Topped Macaroni and Cheese

Pumpkin Spice Magic Cake

Fudge Layer Cake with Caramel Buttercream

If you’ll be out all morning on Thanksgiving, watching a parade or attending a football game, there won’t be time to prepare an elaborate meal. So assemble the slow cookers and plan ahead with this make-ahead Thanksgiving meal! You’d be surprised just how much you can cook in your slow cooker, from green beans to sweet potatoes to cornbread dressing. This make-ahead menu is worry free and tasks can be easily divided up to make a potluck-style feast.

Recipes:

Citrus-Marinated Turkey Breast

Make-Ahead Gravy

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Slow-Cooker Green Beans

Make-Ahead Yeast Rolls

Slow-Cooker Sweet Potatoes with Bacon

Slow-Cooker Cornbread Dressing

Our Easiest Pumpkin Pie Ever

Uncle Jim’s probably been trying to convince you to let him fry the turkey for years—well, why not give it a shot? Southerners will deep-fry just about anything, and this deep-fried Thanksgiving menu is supremely indulgent. From hush puppies to skillet cornbread dressing, get a real taste of the South this Thanksgiving.

Recipes:

Deep-Fried Turkey

Root Vegetable Fritters

Alabama Hush Puppies

Skillet Cornbread Dressing

Pineapple Casserole

Fried Skillet Potatoes

Southern Fried Corn

Easy Skillet Apple Pie

If you’re spending the holiday at the shore, tailor your menu to match your environment. This beachside Thanksgiving menu is light and breezy. It incorporates seafood in ever-classic ways—like in our vintage Oyster Casserole—and keeps everything easy and portable in case you want to take it on-the-go or outdoors.

Recipes:

Citrus-Marinated Turkey Breast

Rustic Mashed Red Potatoes with Parmesan

Oyster Casserole

Pineapple Casserole

Mini Apple Pies

Mae Mae’s Ambrosia Salad

Tired of the basics? Really change things up with this eccentric potluck menu. These recipes use all the Thanksgiving ingredients in completely new ways. Assign a dish out to each of your guests to make a worry-free holiday and create an exciting varied spread. Just be sure to coordinate ahead of time so you don’t end up with three pecan pies!

Recipes:

Cajun Smoked Turkey

Hot Potato Salad

Diane’s Southwestern Cornbread Salad

Macaroni Pie

Home-Style Green Bean Casserole

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie

Stay light and lean this Thanksgiving with our healthier menu. from low-calorie green bean casserole to fresh, light ambrosia salad, this menu proves that just because it’s healthier doesn’t mean it can’t be indulgent. It’s sure to satisfy without inducing a food coma that’ll last all night.

Recipes:

Citrus-Marinated Turkey Breast

Healthy Turkey Lasagna

Skillet Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Home-Style Green Bean Casserole

Savory Sweet Potato Casserole

Collard Green Creole Dirty Rice

Grilled Asparagus with Bacon and Mushrooms

Mae Mae’s Ambrosia Salad

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

While we love to honor holiday traditions, sometimes you just want to shake it up a little. This menu will help you bounce out of your Thanksgiving creativity rut and brainstorm new ways to honor the holiday. No dry, flavorless turkey here: The star of the show is the sweet-and-spicy roast turkey, packed with flavor and coated in a honey-hot sauce glaze. With stunning sides like goat cheese mashed potatoes, herbed wild rice dressing, and sweet potato-and-collard green gratin, this menu pays homage to a traditional Thanksgiving spread while venturing outside the box.

Recipes:

Sweet-and-Spicy Roast Turkey

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Herbed Wild Rice Dressing

Brussels Sprouts with Cornbread Croutons

Sweet Potato-and-Collard Green Gratin

Butterscotch-Spice Trifle

Persimmon Pie with Pecan Streusel

Fire up the smoker! This Thanksgiving is getting a barbecue-style makeover. Smoking your turkey adds so many new dimensions of flavor to the dry bird—you’ll never want to go back to the traditional roast. Like the Thanksgiving turkey, barbecue is best served with lots of indulgent sides. Serve the smoked turkey with our best-ever mac and cheese, Southwestern-style spoonbread dressing, and savory corn pudding. This BBQ-Style Thanksgiving is a home run.

Recipes:

Herb-Rubbed Smoked Turkey

Twice-Baked Potatoes

Savory Corn Pudding

Best-Ever Macaroni and Cheese

Smoky Sausage-and-Grits Casserole

Southwestern-Style Spoonbread Dressing

Sweet Potato Cobbler

Kentucky Bourbon Pie

Who said you need to have turkey on Thanksgiving? Load up on the veggie sides with this vegetarian Thanksgiving menu. Slow cooker lentil soup acts as the hearty main, but the sides are really the stars of the show. With lemon-almond green bean casserole, breadcrumb-topped mac and cheese, and scalloped potatoes, this vegetarian-friendly menu proves that you don’t need meat to make a fantastic meal.

Recipes:

Slow Cooker Lentil Soup

Classic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes

Herbed Breadcrumb-Topped Macaroni and Cheese

Lemon-Almond Green Bean Casserole

Vegetarian Slow-Cooker Collard Greens

Twice-Cooked Sweet Potatoes

Mae Mae’s Ambrosia Salad

Chocolate Silk Pie

If there will be more kids than adults in attendance at your Thanksgiving feast, this kid-friendly menu is the way to go. It includes all the essential components of Thanksgiving—from the turkey to the potatoes—in an easy, digestible form that kids will love. All the kids will go crazy for the cheese cracker-topped squash casserole (and it’s a sneaky way to convince them to eat their vegetables). This menu is easy to prepare and easy to love!

Recipes:

Citrus-Marinated Turkey Breast

Classic Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Cheese Cracker-Topped Squash Casserole

Best-Ever Macaroni and Cheese

Make-Ahead Yeast Rolls

Corn Pudding Casserole

Our Easiest Pumpkin Pie Ever

When you’ve got leftovers taking up all the space in your fridge, it’s time to get creative. These day-after-thanksgiving recipes help you make use of all that extra turkey meat in soups, sandwiches, and casseroles. You’ll never tire of turkey with this variety of leftover recipes.

Recipes:

Turkey Tetrazzini

Turkey pot pie with Cranberry-Pecan Crusts

Turkey and Pimiento Cheese Club Sandwich

Turkey, Pesto, and Fresh Mozzarella Sandwich

Turkey Grilled Cheese with Gruyere and Caramelized Onion

Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili

Turkey-and-Collard Green Stew

With slight twists on the classics, this Thanksgiving menu dresses up all your time-tested favorites in new ways. The ever-classic green bean casserole earns a crispy leek crown, and squash casserole gets a whimsical, kid-friendly topping. Ditch the sweet potato casserole for an elegant sweet potato soufflé to round out this old-made-new meal.

Recipes:

Roasted Herb Turkey and Gravy

Green bean Casserole with Crispy Leeks

Cheese Cracker-Topped Squash Casserole

Cornbread Dressing with Sausage and Fennel

Caramelized Onion Mac and Cheese

Sweet Potato Soufflé

Apple Cranberry Pie