Recipes Holidays and Events Recipes Thanksgiving The 9 Essential Thanksgiving Dishes for a Traditional Holiday Spread By Mary Claire Lagroue Mary Claire Lagroue Mary Claire Lagroue is the Commerce Editor at Food & Wine. A former associate editor at Allrecipes, she joined Dotdash Meredith in 2019. She has written about food since 2017, covering everything from product reviews to recipes to restaurants. Her work can be found in Cooking Light, Southern Living, and more. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on November 7, 2024 Close Photo: Dotdash Meredith Food Studios No Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without _____. We can't fill in the blank with just one recipe. After all, the assortment of foods we pile onto our plates each Thanksgiving sets this holiday apart. But we've condensed our collection of recipes to 9 essential dishes that Americans associate with Turkey Day. Of course, you may prefer tofu turkey to turkey or cornbread dressing to bread stuffing. But you'll find some combination of these herby, creamy, sweet, and cinnamon-spiced flavors on Thanksgiving tables near and far. 01 of 10 Chef John's Roast Turkey and Gravy Cynthia Ross "The biggest myth in all of American cookery is the belief that a juicy, perfectly cooked turkey is difficult for the novice cook to achieve," says Chef John. "One of the secrets to a moist, delicious, and beautiful turkey is spreading butter under the skin. You can season the butter any way you want; the possibilities are endless." See How Chef John Preps and Roasts a Turkey View Recipe 02 of 10 Chef John's Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy Pictured: Chef John's Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy. Allrecipes Magazine Did you know you can make this Thanksgiving staple ahead of time? Chef John even recommends it! "This make-ahead turkey gravy frees up valuable kitchen time for Thanksgiving, plus it will look and taste even better than those frantic, last-minute versions," he says. Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Sides That Hold Up in the Freezer View Recipe 03 of 10 Awesome Sausage, Apple, and Cranberry Stuffing beccajulia A perfect counterpart to rich, savory turkey and gravy, this sweet stuffing stars apples and cranberries. "This Thanksgiving stuffing is fantastic," says Stacy M. Polcyn. "It is very flavorful and fresh-tasting. This recipe will stuff a 10-pound turkey plus extra. I replaced the usual pork sausage with much healthier turkey sausage. Other dried fruits may also be used in place of cranberries." The Best Thanksgiving Stuffing and Dressing Recipes View Recipe 04 of 10 Chef John's Sweet Potato Casserole Dotdash Meredith Food Studios This sweet potato casserole goes strong on savory. Instead of brown sugar, maple syrup does the sweetening here. And the topping stars pistachios instead of mini marshmallows, keeping things nice and savory. This casserole comes out of the oven beautiful and delicious, an amazing combination of tastes and textures. Our 15 Best Veggie Side Dishes for Thanksgiving Dinner View Recipe 05 of 10 Absolutely Delicious Green Bean Casserole from Scratch Allrecipes Magazine "No cans here! Fresh mushrooms, onion, and herbs with frozen green beans, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese make this a delightfully tasty twist on the traditional casserole," says Auriel. America's Best Regional Side Dishes for Thanksgiving View Recipe 06 of 10 Roasted Brussels Sprouts KGora The Allrecipes community can't get enough of this top-rated recipe for oven-roasted Brussels sprouts — it has more than 4,000 rave reviews! It's a great way to incorporate a healthy pop of color into your Thanksgiving spread. 17 Foolproof Thanksgiving Recipes for Beginner Cooks View Recipe 07 of 10 Basic Mashed Potatoes lutzflcat Simple and delicious. "If you love good, old-fashioned mashed potatoes, this is the perfect recipe," says Esmee Williams. Our 20 Best Thanksgiving Potato Recipes View Recipe 08 of 10 Brown Family's Favorite Pumpkin Pie Noel Of all the desserts you could serve at Thanksgiving, pie should top the list. And if you're going to serve pie, pick pumpkin. Recipe submitter Cindy B. calls this top-rated pie's walnut streusel topping "optional," but you can't go wrong with streusel. Our 10 Most Popular Thanksgiving Pies for Your Feast View Recipe 09 of 10 Pecan Pie Melissa Duncan This Southern pecan pie is as classic as it gets. Use a store-bought pastry crust or use our top-rated Butter Flaky Pie Crust recipe to make your own. Save Room for 20 of Our Most Popular Thanksgiving Desserts View Recipe 10 of 10 More Inspiration Melissa Goff Try one of Grandma's Best Thanksgiving Recipes. Plus, explore our entire collection of Thanksgiving Recipes. Grandma's Farmhouse Turkey Brine Grandma's Cranberry Sauce Grandma Mac's Green Beans Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit