Our Favorite Traditional Recipes To Serve on Thanksgiving
From classic mains to crowd-pleasing desserts, these traditional Southern dishes deserve a spot on your Thanksgiving menu. They're the tried-and-true stars of Thanksgiving spreads each year for a reason. Many of the recipes can be made ahead or prepared in the slow cooker to make getting your Thanksgiving meal on the table a little less stressful. With many dishes to prepare and only so much oven space, these make-ahead recipes can be life savers.
We can't imagine a Thanksgiving spread that didn't include roasted turkey with all the fixings, a smorgasbord of creamy casseroles, and of course several pies (we're talking pecan, pumpkin and sweet potato). Don't forget buttery rolls, cranberry sauce, or corn pudding either. We've rounded up our list of holiday must-have dishes below to make sure you and your guests will enjoy all the classics at your Thanksgiving dinner. If you're lucky, there might even be leftovers to enjoy the next day!
Roasted Turkey
Recipe: Roasted Herb Turkey
A traditional Thanksgiving menu wouldn't be complete without the star of the meal, a roasted bird.
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Our Easiest Pumpkin Pie Ever
Recipe: Our Easiest Pumpkin Pie Ever
If you thought homemade pumpkin pie was difficult to pull off, think again. This easy pie can be prepared and stored in the fridge up to two days before serving.
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Classic Candied Yams
Recipe: Classic Candied Yams
You can assemble this dish up to three days in advance of your holiday meal.
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Cornbread Dressing
Recipe: Classic Cornbread Dressing
This traditional cornbread dressing recipe can be made up to a month ahead of time and stored in the freezer.
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Turkey Gravy
Recipe: Turkey Gravy
Your roasted turkey wouldn't be complete without this homemade gravy. You'll also want to drizzle it on your mashed potatoes, dressing, and more.
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Classic Cranberry Salad
Recipe: Classic Cranberry Salad
With a short ingredient list and just 25 minutes of hands on time, this easy cranberry salad is the perfect companion for your Thanksgiving turkey.
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Yeast Rolls
Recipe: Yeast Rolls
To ease cooking time on Thanksgiving Day, you can make the dough the night before and let it chill in the fridge overnight.
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Classic Bread Dressing
Recipe: Classic Bread Dressing
Sourdough bread is the star of classic bread dressing. It's given plenty of holiday flavor with parsley, thyme, celery, leeks, and garlic.
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Buttermilk Spoon Bread
Recipe: Buttermilk Spoon Bread
The consistency of spoon bread is more like a savory pudding, rather than a bread. It makes the ideal side for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
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Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots
Recipe: Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots
Bacon adds plenty of flavor to traditional roasted Brussels sprouts.
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Angel Biscuits
Recipe: Angel Biscuits
The dough for these biscuits can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days before baking.
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Savory Corn Pudding
Recipe: Savory Corn Pudding
This old-school favorite makes one of our favorite vegetables into a creamy casserole that everyone will enjoy.
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Cheesy Broccoli-and-Rice Casserole
Recipe: Cheesy Broccoli-and-Rice Casserole
There won't be any leftovers of this cheesy dish that's one of our most popular casserole recipes of all time.
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Best-Ever Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe: Best-Ever Macaroni and Cheese
We wouldn't dare leave this family favorite off of our Thanksgiving table.
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Slow-Cooker Green Beans
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Green Beans Recipe
Thick-cut bacon packs on the favor in this easy green bean recipe.
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Slow-Cooker Collard Greens with Ham Hocks
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Collard Greens with Ham Hocks
Simply toss all the ingredients in your trusty slow cooker, and you'll have tender collard greens with minimal effort.
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Classic Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Recipe: Classic Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
These potatoes are best enjoyed smothered in homemade turkey gravy.
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Slow-Cooker Sweet Potatoes with Bacon
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Sweet Potatoes with Bacon
Free up some oven space by cooking your sweet potatoes in the slow cooker.
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Classic Sweet Potato Casserole
Recipe: Classic Sweet Potato Casserole
This top-rated casserole is topped with cornflakes, marshmallows, and pecans.
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Old-School Squash Casserole
Recipe: Old-School Squash Casserole
To ensure your squash casserole is perfect, get as much of the water as you can out of the squash when cooking. Otherwise, that extra water will end up in your casserole.
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Old-School Green Bean Casserole
Recipe: Old-School Green Bean Casserole
This classic casserole opts for a homemade mushroom cream sauce rather than a canned soup.
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Cranberry Sauce
Recipe: Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Instead of serving cranberry sauce from a can, impress your guests with this hands-off slow-cooker recipe.
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Southern Pecan Pie
Recipe: Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie
Making this pecan pie in a cast-iron skillet gives it even more Southern flair, if that's possible.
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Sliced Sweet Potato Pie
Recipe: Sliced Sweet Potato Pie with Molasses Whipped Cream
In addition to sweet potato casserole, we think your meal also needs a sweet potato pie.
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Sweet Potato Rolls with Cane Syrup Glaze
Recipe: Sweet Potato Rolls with Cane Syrup Glaze
Sweet potato rolls are sweet enough already, right? Wrong. Let's go all out this Thanksgiving and dress those already picture-perfect rolls with a cane syrup glaze.
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Basic Deviled Eggs
Recipe: Basic Deviled Eggs
In our opinion, there's not an occasion where deviled eggs aren't welcome.
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Skillet Caramel Apple Pie
Recipe: Skillet Caramel Apple Pie
Your trusty cast-iron skillet is key to making this double-crust apple pie.
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Deep Fried Turkey with Creole Spices
Recipe: Deep Fried Turkey with Creole Spices
Skip the oven-space struggle and take the turkey to the fryer this year. Just make sure the bird is completely defrosted first.
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Candy Roaster Squash with Sorghum, Black Walnuts, and Cranberries
Recipe: Candy Roaster Squash with Sorghum, Black Walnuts, and Cranberries
Candy roaster squash is a regional North Georgia specialty, but you can find it throughout the Southeast too.
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Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots
Recipe: Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots
Sweet flavor dresses up these colorful carrots.
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Collard Greens with Garlic and Sippets
Recipe: Collard Greens with Garlic and Sippets
We're updating our classic collard greens prep with a decidedly fresher version with less cook time. The best part? We kept all the flavor and topped with torn sippets of sour dough bread. The result is a new take on a beloved Thanksgiving favorite.
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Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon
Recipe: Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon
What could be more comforting than a big scoop of macaroni and cheese alongside the Thanksgiving turkey and dressing? A macaroni and cheese recipe that's topped with bacon, of course.
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Fluffy Corn Pudding
Recipe: Fluffy Corn Pudding
This recipe is a cross between a soufflé and a custard. In short, it's an absolute delight. For those looking to save a few minutes on prep time, swap in frozen corn instead of fresh-either will work.
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Fried Arkansas Black Apples
Recipe: Fried Arkansas Black Apples
Here's a dish no one will soon forget. We called on Arkansas Black apples for this recipe, but you can use any firm apple variety you prefer.
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Grated Sweet Potato Pudding with Pecans
Recipe: Grated Sweet Potato Pudding with Pecans
Instead of our typical sliced-style sweet potato casserole, we shredded the potatoes to create a lighter side that still packs in all the flavor.
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Herby Pecan-Cornbread Dressing
Recipe: Herby Pecan-Cornbread Dressing
Traditional cornbread dressing gets a crunchy, seasonal upgrade with toasted pecan halves.
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Roasted Root Vegetables with Spicy Pecan Topping
Recipe: Roasted Root Vegetables with Spicy Pecan Topping
Dress up the season's best veggies with a spicy pecan topping. Maple syrup, chili powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne give this Thanksgiving side dish a just-right dose of heat.
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Spicy Cornbread Dressing with Chorizo
Recipe: Spicy Cornbread Dressing with Chorizo
We love a little spice-even when it comes to our Thanksgiving dressing. Mexican chorizo, green bell pepper, fresh cilantro, and a jalapeño chile give our Spicy Cornbread Dressing a big dose of Southwest flavor.
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Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
Recipe: Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
Our cranberry sauce is a classic through and through, but it's been updated with a time-saving hack thanks to a little help from our trusty Instant Pot.
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Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Recipe: Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Saving space on the stovetop is a real challenge for day-of Thanksgiving prep. This classic mashed sweet potato recipe calls on all the same flavors we love but without monopolizing an in-demand burner.
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Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Recipe: Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Once you find a homemade cranberry sauce you love, you'll never strictly serve the canned version again. Every year will be a dual of the cranberry sauces-whether the store-bought or homemade version comes out on top is anyone's guess.
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Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole
Cubed sweet potatoes, dark brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract get piled into the slow cooker with the sweetest result. Top with marshmallows and cook for another 15 minutes. You won't be disappointed.
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Smothered Green Beans
Recipe: Smothered Green Beans
We absolutely drenched green beans in a delicious, flavorful glaze before sprinkling the top with crispy, salty bacon. They're an absolute dream achieved in just one pan.
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Mississippi Sweet Potato Pie
Recipe: Mississippi Sweet Potato Pie
Of course this sweet potato pie gets a little hit of bourbon-we couldn't call it Mississippi Sweet Potato Pie otherwise.
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Baked Corn Casserole
Recipe: Baked Corn Casserole
If Baked Corn Casserole isn't already a staple on your Thanksgiving table, let this recipe change that. It's a savory delight that friends and family will request year after year.
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Make-Ahead Sweet Potato Casserole
Recipe: Make-Ahead Sweet Potato Casserole
Here's what every Thanksgiving hostess needs: more make-ahead recipes. This Sweet Potato Casserole gets all the prep out the way ahead of time so you have one less thing to check off your list the day of.
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Texas Pecan Pie
Recipe: Texas Pecan Pie
What sets our Texas Pecan Pie apart from a traditional pecan pie? Calling on the highest quality pecans you can get your hands on. Texans don't mess around when it comes to their pecans.
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Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
Recipe: Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
While the presentation of this dish is oh so pretty, it couldn't be easier to make.
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Chocolate Pudding Pie
Recipe: Chocolate Pudding Pie
This silky smooth and rich pie will be a hit on the dessert table.
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Hot Cranberry Bake
Recipe: Hot Cranberry Bake
Serve cranberry bake alongside Thanksgiving pies for a complete dessert spread.