I've Hosted Thanksgiving for 20 Years—These Foolproof Recipes Make It Easy

These recipes practically cook themselves.

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and pastry chef. She has also curated and written numerous recipe roundups for Serious Eats.
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Published November 08, 2025
Overhead view of ultra fluffy mashed potatoes

Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

Even before I graduated from culinary school, I was elbows-deep prepping Thanksgiving dinner each year—and continued doing so for decades after as the designated "chef" in my family. So while the idea of hosting Thanksgiving (or any family holiday gathering) doesn't fill me with anxiety, I can still empathize with first-timers who may feel like they've bitten off more than they can chew. (Trust me, I've been there many times.) All I can say is: Keep calm and follow the recipes, especially the tried-and-true ones we've included below. You'll find our best roast turkeys (with gravy, of course), mouthwatering vegetarian mains, crowd-pleasing sides, and classic desserts. When all's said and done, your guests will be well-fed and your sanity intact. You're welcome.

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  • The Best Simple Roast Turkey With Gravy

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    J. Kenji López-Alt

    Even if you've never roasted a whole turkey before—let alone hosted Thanksgiving—this recipe will deliver a juicy bird with crisp, browned skin straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Start by swapping the roasting pan for a V-rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, placed on a preheated baking stone or steel. This setup improves air circulation and heat distribution, so even the bottom skin browns and crisps, and the entire bird cooks at the same rate. No chance of dry breast meat here!

  • Crisp-Skinned Spatchcocked (Butterflied) Roast Turkey With Gravy

    Spatchcocked Turkey on a wooden carving board surrounded by Thanksgiving dishes

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

    If roasting your turkey as quickly as possible takes precedence over keeping it whole for the sake of presentation, then a spatchcocked bird is the way to go. Removing the backbone—which usually ends up in the stockpot anyway—allows you to flatten out the turkey so the white and dark meat reach their ideal doneness at the same time. This also lets you roast it at a higher temperature, cutting the cooking time in half and freeing up precious oven space for other dishes. Win-win!

  • The Best Turkey Gravy

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    Photographs: Liz Clayman. Video: Kenji López-Alt

    This gravy delivers the glossy richness and velvety texture your turkey and mashed potatoes deserve. Its deep savoriness and complexity come from a stock made with browned chicken parts—here's where you can put that reserved backbone to use—and vegetables, soy sauce, and Marmite. The right ratio of butter to flour, followed by slowly whisking in turkey stock, ensures a lump-free gravy thickened to the ideal consistency. You can make it up to five days in advance, refrigerate it, then reheat just before serving. How's that for time management?

  • The Best Squash Lasagna

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    Looking for a hearty vegetarian entrée? This autumnal casserole layers no-boil pasta sheets with roasted squash purée, sautéed squash and apple, and creamy béchamel, all topped with a blanket of grated Gruyère and baked until golden brown and bubbly.

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  • Mushroom Pot Pie

    Serving of Mushroom Pot Pie on a muted pink plate,with full pot pie in a skillet on the side. 2 glasses of sparkling water, and a rust colored napkin

    Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

    Another standout vegetarian main is this remarkably easy mushroom pot pie topped with gloriously flaky pastry. Everything comes together in one skillet, so there are fewer dishes to clean. Store-bought puff pastry and pearl onions cut down on prep time, while miso and dried porcini add depth of flavor to the already umami-rich fresh mushroom filling.

  • Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing (Dressing)

    sausage and sage stuffing in orange baking dish, on a thanksgiving table, with roasted squash to the side.

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    One advantage of cubing and oven-drying bread for stuffing—rather than relying on a packaged cube mix—is that you have greater control over the finished texture and seasonings. We’ve found that fine-textured white bread absorbs liquid and butter best, yielding a steamy, fluffy, bread pudding-like texture. It also offers a neutral canvas for showcasing a variety of flavors, including sage and sauge or dried cranberries and chestnuts.

  • Best Vegan Stuffing

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    J. Kenji López-Alt

    This vegan stuffing shares the same bread pudding-like texture as our classic sage and sausage version, along with its deep, complex savoriness. Here, well-browned mushrooms cooked down with sage provide the meatiness, while toasted pecans add another layer of texture. An umami-rich vegetable stock keeps the stuffing moist as it bakes.

  • Ultra-Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

    Overhead view of ultra fluffy mashed potatoes

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Making the fluffiest mashed potatoes starts with choosing the right spud and limiting starch. Too much starch, and your mashed potatoes will turn gluey. Russets, which have a dry, mealy texture, release little starch and break down easily when cooked, making them our preferred variety. Rinsing the potato starch off both before and after cooking also helps ensure a light, super-fluffy end product.

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  • 3-Ingredient Stovetop Mac and Cheese

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    Photographs: Vicky Wasik. Video: J. Kenji López-Alt

    Mac and cheese is a must at many Thanksgiving tables, but when time and oven space are tight, you need a speedy alternative that still delivers rich, creamy, cheesy results. Enter our foolproof stovetop recipe made with just three ingredients: elbow macaroni cooked in the least amount of water possible for maximum starchy goodness; evaporated milk to keep the sauce smooth and creamy; and a great melting cheese, like mild or medium cheddar, Fontina, Gruyère, or Jack. It all comes together in just 15 minutes.

  • The Ultimate Homemade Green Bean Casserole

    Overhead view of green bean casserole

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    We keep the retro charm but ditch canned ingredients for fresh ones, giving this Thanksgiving staple a serious upgrade. The result: crisp-tender green beans enveloped in a balanced, umami-rich, creamy homemade mushroom sauce and topped with crunchy fried shallots. You can make the fried shallots and the mushroom sauce well in advance, then assemble the casserole the day of.

  • Sautéed Green Beans With Mushrooms & Caramelized Cipollini Onions

    20131024-green-bean-cippolini-mushroom-thanksgiving-recipe-22.jpg
    J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

    This dish has all the flavor of green bean casserole, but it's made on the stovetop. Because each component is cooked separately, the whole dish is easy to prep ahead. Caramelize the onions and brown the mushrooms up to five days in advance, blanch the green beans the day before, then toss everything in a pan to reheat. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice for brightness.

  • Sautéed Mushrooms

    Overhead view of a plate of sauteed mushrooms

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    What if we told you there's a better, faster way to produce beautifully browned sautéed mushrooms—and it's the exact opposite of conventional wisdom? Instead of sautéing in batches, cook all the mushrooms at once with a lid on. Steaming them first softens their cell structure, releases water, collapses internal air pockets, and primes them for browning once the lid comes off and the liquid quickly evaporates. The mushrooms brown without absorbing excess grease, concentrating their flavor and letting fresh aromatics shine through at the finish.

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  • The World's Easiest Cranberry Sauce

    Finished cranberry sauce in a small bowl next to a bowl of stuffing with a gold spoon

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Trust us, cranberry sauce is one of the easiest things you'll make for Thanksgiving. No, really. All you need is a bag of fresh or frozen cranberries, some sugar, orange zest and juice, and a cinnamon stick. Let the fruit's pectin do its thing, and after 15 minutes of cooking, you'll have a perfectly gelled sauce bursting with sweet-tart cranberry flavor—so good, you'll be inspired to try other variations like red wine, candied pecans, or pear and ginger.

  • The Best Mashed Sweet Potatoes

    20141107-mashed-sweet-potatoes-food-lab-thanksgiving-08.jpg
    J. Kenji López-Alt

    Sweet potatoes often show up candied or buried under a blanket of toasted marshmallows at the Thanksgiving table, awkwardly straddling between side dish and dessert. Well, these mashed sweet potatoes suffer from no such identity crisis. Brown butter and thyme add nutty, savory notes, while a touch of maple syrup highlights the natural sweetness of the roasted sweet potatoes.

  • Extra-Smooth Pumpkin Pie

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    Vicky Wasik

    While making pumpkin pie from scratch might seem daunting, rest assured—it is not. Here, we explain how to avoid common pitfalls that can sabotage your pie, starting with a flavorful pumpkin purée made from either slow-roasted sugar pumpkin or a quality canned variety (not pumpkin pie filling). Replacing sweetened condensed milk with cream cheese stabilizes the custard and adds a welcome tang, while blind-baking the crust prevents a soggy bottom. If you're interested in something less traditional, try this silky, light pumpkin chiffon pie, or go no-bake with a chocolate pumpkin mousse version.

  • Classic Pecan Pie

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    Vicky Wasik

    A classic pecan pie is deceptively easy to make. All you need is a simple pie shell, a whisk-together filling, and some pecans—that’s it. This recipe offers the ideal ratio of sweet buttery custard to crunchy, toasted pecans, with just the right balance of eggs, butter, sugar, corn syrup, and honey to produce a well-set pie that slices cleanly. A foil shield prevents the nuts from scorching before the filling is done baking.

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  • The Best Apple Crisp

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    Vicky Wasik

    Apple crisp offers pie-adjacent vibes without the fuss of rolling out dough or shaping a crust. A mix of firm, tart apples and softer, sweet baking apples strikes the right balance of flavor and texture, while a splash of whiskey adds complexity and enhances the warmth and nuttiness of the buttery crisp topping, which comes together with just a few pulses in the food processor. Best of all, you don't even have to peel the apples. How's that for minimal effort?

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