Easy Thanksgiving Menu Plan, Recipes & Family Activities

We’ve created this Thanksgiving Guide as a one-stop shop for all of your Thanksgiving needs. Includes simple, no-fuss recipes, fun activities for the whole family, ideas for leftovers, and more.

Easy Thanksgiving Menu Plan

Not sure where to start? Here’s the menu we’d make for a crowd of about 8, built almost entirely from recipes you can make or freeze ahead. Swap in any of the recipes below to make it your own.

• Appetizer: Brie and Cranberry Phyllo Cups
• Main: Roasted Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy (or Crockpot Ham to free up the oven)
• Sides: Gourmet Boursin Mashed Potatoes, Simple Homemade Stuffing, Bacon-Wrapped Green Beans, Cranberry Orange Sauce, and Autumn Chopped Salad
• Bread: Bread Machine Dinner Rolls
• Dessert: Pumpkin Dump Cake

Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Timeline

The secret to a calm Thanksgiving Day? Doing most of the work before it. Here’s how we’d spread out the menu above.

• 2–3 weeks before: Make and freeze the Cranberry Orange Sauce and Dinner Rolls.
• The weekend before: Do your big grocery shop. If your turkey is frozen, move it to the fridge to thaw (plan on about 1 day for every 4–5 pounds).
• 2–3 days before: Make the Boursin Mashed Potatoes and the Apple Cider Vinaigrette, and refrigerate. Move the frozen cranberry sauce and rolls to the fridge to thaw.
• The day before: Bake the Pumpkin Dump Cake, prep the stuffing using the make-ahead notes in our Simple Homemade Stuffing recipe, and chop the salad ingredients. Set the table!
• Thanksgiving Day: Roast the turkey, make the green beans, bake the stuffing, reheat the mashed potatoes, warm the rolls, and toss the salad right before serving.

Easy Thanksgiving Menu for a Small Crowd (4–6 People)

Hosting a smaller Thanksgiving this year? Skip the whole bird. This scaled-down menu is just as festive with a lot less work, and you’ll still have turkey for leftover sandwiches.

• Roasted Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy – Easier and cheaper than a whole turkey. Serves up to 8.
• Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
• Garlicky Green Beans
• Maple Glazed Carrots
• Cranberry Orange Sauce
• Pie in a Jar – Personal-sized pies, so there’s no half-eaten pie to finish.

Easy Thanksgiving Recipes

We’ve pulled together a few very doable recipes for each portion of the meal for you. Pick one or two from each section and enjoy a homemade meal!

Thanksgiving Appetizers

• Brie and Cranberry Sauce Phyllo Cups – 3 Ingredients and so festive!
• Spinach and Artichoke Phyllo Cups – So easy and so flavorful.
• Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese – An easy holiday favorite. Salty, sweet, chewy, and creamy in one bite.
• Spinach Artichoke Dip with Roasted Red Peppers – So much flavor and it’s beautiful too!
• Hummus & Veggie Sticks – Tasty and not too filling. Need to save room for that turkey!
• Homemade Chex Mix – My grandma would have bowls of this out everywhere when we celebrated Thanksgiving at her house. Be warned, it’s addictive!
• Honey Whipped Goat Cheese – This 10-minute appetizer will be gone, I tell you. We give you four topping options.
• Simple Charcuterie Board – Follow our 4 easy steps to the perfect board. Anyone can do this.
• Pizza Phyllo Cups – A kid-friendly appetizer that’s crispy, cheesy, and ready in minutes.

Thanksgiving Main Dishes

• Roast Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy – Cheaper and easier to manage for a smaller group. Serves up to 8.
• Whole Roast Turkey – I have used this detailed guide by The Yummy Life a few times now.
• Crockpot Ham – This method frees up the oven. Serve with our delicious Pineapple Sauce or Cranberry Orange Sauce on the side to make it extra special.
• Ham and Cheese Sliders – Everyone loves these! Make ahead of time and freeze before the big day.
• Maple Glazed Pork Loin – A little outside the box, but still a great fall-themed main dish for a crowd.

Easy Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Side Dishes

We created a round up of all our Thanksgiving Side Dish ideas so have no fear, if you don’t see one below that tickles your fancy, we’ve still got you covered!

• Autumn Chopped Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette – Trust me. This salad is a WINNER.
• Simple Homemade Stuffing – So easy. You’ll never go back to store bought after this.
• Gourmet Boursin Mashed Potatoes – These are THE mashed potatoes you’ll want to make! Decadent, creamy, and filled with flavor. Or consider making our Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
• Bacon-Wrapped Green Beans – Who wants a green bean casserole when you can wrap them in bacon?? Or try an easier and faster one: Garlic Green Beans.
• Maple Glazed Carrots – Easy and delicious side.
• Cranberry Orange Sauce – Gorgeous color and amazing flavor in just minutes. Make ahead and freeze! (You could also try out our Apple Cranberry Sauce if cranberry sauce is a bit too tart for you.)
• Bread Machine Dinner Rolls – These are so easy to make and light and fluffy! We also have Bread Machine Wheat Rolls, too.
• Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes – Looking for an easy, delicious, and healthier way to include sweet potatoes? This is it!
• Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes (Gluten-Free) – Pure comfort food in one baking dish. Assemble it the day before and bake right before dinner.
• Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole – Made from scratch with no canned soups (and it’s gluten-free!). Make it a couple of days ahead and bake when you’re ready.
• Bacon and Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes – A make-ahead holiday favorite that’s a bit lighter than most but just as rich.
• Cheesy Mashed Sweet Potatoes – Sweet potatoes, cream cheese, and seasonings take mashed potatoes to the next level.
• Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts – Roasted with bacon and finished with a honey balsamic drizzle. Even the kids love them!
• Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad – A fresh, crunchy crowd-pleaser that’s ready in about 20 minutes.
• Crockpot Cinnamon Applesauce – Just 3 ingredients, and it frees up your oven. Your whole house will smell like apple pie!
• Cheddar Bay Biscuits – Better than Red Lobster’s! They come together fast and freeze well, too.

Thanksgiving Desserts and Drinks

• Pumpkin Dump Cake – Easier and tastier than pumpkin pie, in our humble opinion.
• Snickerdoodle Cookies – These are SO good. Fun to have kids help with the prep, too.
• Pumpkin Cake Mix Cookies – Use store-bought yellow cake mix or our homemade yellow cake mix for these EASY and delicious fall cookies.
• Crockpot Pumpkin Spice Latte – Such a treat to have before or after a Thanksgiving meal!
• Pie in a Jar – These personal-sized pies are made in little mason jars that can go straight from your freezer to your oven to your mouth. 

Thanksgiving Morning Breakfast

• Croissant Breakfast Casserole – Freezer-friendly and serves 12, so you can prep it ahead and feed a crowd while the turkey roasts.
• Pumpkin French Toast – Only 4 main ingredients, with freezer instructions included.
• Pumpkin Spice Muffins – All the flavors of fall with a crumble topping. Bake ahead and freeze!

Thanksgiving FAQs

How far ahead can I make Thanksgiving side dishes?

Further than you might think! Our Cranberry Orange Sauce, Bread Machine Dinner Rolls, and Crockpot Cinnamon Applesauce all freeze well, so you can make them weeks ahead. Gourmet Boursin Mashed Potatoes can be made up to 3 days ahead, and our Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes can be assembled the day before and baked right before dinner.

What Thanksgiving dishes can I freeze?

Cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, mashed potatoes, applesauce, Ham and Cheese Sliders, Pumpkin Dump Cake, and Pie in a Jar (which goes straight from the freezer to the oven) all freeze well. Leftover turkey freezes beautifully, too. Try our Turkey and Stuffing Casserole or homemade Turkey Stock.

How much turkey do I need per person?

Plan on about 1 pound of whole turkey per person, or 1½ pounds if you want plenty of leftovers. For a smaller group, a turkey breast is easier and cheaper. Our Roasted Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy serves up to 8.