All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (2024)

ThanksgivingRecipe Roundups

November 4, 2023

All of the recipes you need for an epic, delicious Thanksgiving! These healthy Thanksgiving recipes are unique twists on the traditional ones that you know and love. From appetizers and mains to amazing side dishes and desserts, these recipes will be your new favorites to share with family & friends.

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All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (1)

Thanksgiving might just be the greatest holiday ever (hello, pumpkin pie 4 life) and I’m so excited to share all of the best Thanksgiving recipes with you. I included a delicious mix of appetizers, salads, mains, sides, and desserts for you to pick and choose from for the big day, PLUS a printable menu for you to write in your recipes!

Whether you’re hosting for the first time or heading to a family member’s house, these unique, healthy twists on traditional Thanksgiving recipes are guaranteed to impress.

Take a scroll, pick out your favorites, and be sure to leave a comment to tell me what you think! I’d love to see your Thanksgiving creations, so share any photos in our Facebook group and be sure to tag #AmbitiousThanksgiving on Instagram.

FREE Ultimate Thanksgiving Guide (+ printable checklist!)

Whether you’re hosting or just attending, this Ultimate Thanksgiving Guide email series is for everyone. Enter your email below to get all of my best recipes, tips, and a FREE printable checklist for all of your Thanksgiving needs.

GF = Gluten Free

V = Vegan

VT = Vegetarian

** = Monique’s favorites

Thankful for all of you each and every day. Enjoy, xoxo!

All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (2)

Appetizers

  • Scallion Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Mushrooms VT **
  • VT
  • Roasted Garlic Tahini Carrot Dip
  • Garlic Olive Oil Dip V, GF
  • VT, GF
  • Ricotta and Pear Crostini with Salty Pumpkin Seed Pistachio Crunch
  • How to Make Super Creamy Hummus (+5 different flavor variations!) V, GF
  • Bacon Wrapped Dark Chocolate + Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates GF **
  • GF
  • Ultimate Charcuterie Board **
  • Bubbly Hot Chicken Enchilada Bean Dip GF
  • VT
  • The Best Garlic Bread You’ll Ever Eat
  • Crispy Smashed Potatoes VT, GF **
  • GF
  • VT
  • Vegan Jalapeño Butternut Squash Queso V, GF
  • Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Bleu Cheese Yogurt Dip GF
  • Vegetarian Three Cheese White Bean Buffalo Dip VT, GF
  • Tortilla Chip-Crusted Baked Jalapeño Poppers VT, GF
  • Vegan Charcuterie Board inspiration
  • Creamy Jalapeño Spinach Artichoke Dip VT, GF
  • Smoked Salmon Crostini

All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (3)

Drinks & co*cktails

  • Apple Cider Hot Toddy
  • Rebecca’s Pomegranate Margarita
  • Spicy Blood Orange Margarita
  • Rebecca’s Mulled Wine
  • Grapefruit Margarita

All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (4)

Salads

  • Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad GF **
  • Brussels Sprouts Kale Honeycrisp Apple Salad with Maple Cider Dressing V, GF
  • Vegan Caesar Salad V, GF
  • Roasted Carrot Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Sunshine Dressing V, GF
  • Autumn Butternut Squash Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad GF
  • Winter Roasted Butternut Squash Black Lentil Salad V, GF **
  • California Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad V, GF
  • VT, GF **
  • Italian Chopped Brussels Sprouts Salad GF
  • Chickpea Apple Broccoli Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing VT, GF **
  • VT, GF
  • Butternut Squash and Kale Salad with Pomegranate, Toasted Almonds + Goat Cheese VT, GF

All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (5)

Mains

  • Herb Butter Maple Roasted Turkey GF **
  • Spinach Bacon Pumpkin Mac and Cheese GF ** (easily vegetarian without the bacon!)
  • How to Make an Easy Roasted Chicken GF
  • Cozy Roasted Vegetable Butternut Squash Lasagna VT, GF
  • White Chicken Chili Pie with Pumpkin Cornbread Crust
  • How to Spatchco*ck a Chicken GF
  • Blow Ya Mind Cheddar Broccoli Chicken Pot Pie
  • VT, GF
  • Cranberry Pecan Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash with Goat Cheese Crema VT, GF
  • Vegetarian Spinach Pumpkin Lasagna VT, GF
  • One Pot Cheesy Mushroom Spinach Beef Pasta GF
  • Oh So Good Chicken Meatballs in Pumpkin Coconut Curry Sauce GF
  • Lightened Up Chicken Pot Pie
  • Cheddar-Stuffed Sweet Potato BBQ Meatloaf GF **
  • Brown Butter Acorn Squash Pasta with Toasted Hazelnuts + Sage VT
  • Pesto Mushroom Chicken Lasagna Roll Ups
  • Mom’s Ultimate Vegetarian Lentil Loaf V, GF
  • V, GF
  • Butternut Squash, Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole GF
  • The Best Healthy Turkey Lasagna You’ll Ever Eat GF
  • Saucy Baked Pumpkin Pasta GF **
  • Whole Wheat Honey-Jalapeño Cornbread Chicken Tamale Pie
  • Vegan Butternut Squash Lasagna with Garlic Tahini Tofu Cream V, GF
  • Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese V, GF

All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (6)

Sides

  • Parmesan Bacon Sourdough Mushroom Stuffing
  • VT
  • VT, GF
  • Twice Baked Butternut Squash GF
  • Perfect Homemade Turkey Gravy GF
  • Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins VT, GF
  • The Best Cornbread Stuffing Ever VT, GF **
  • Roasted Garlic Cheddar Cauliflower Soup VT, GF
  • Lightened Up Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Oat Streusel VT, GF **
  • Caramelized Garlic Carrots with Spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce VT, GF
  • Cheddar Broccoli Cauliflower Gratin VT
  • The Best Creamy Garlic Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes VT, GF **
  • VT , GF **
  • Garlic Fingerling Potatoes (V, GF)
  • The Best Fluffy Moist Cornbread Recipe Ever VT
  • The Best Homemade Healthy Green Bean Casserole VT, GF **
  • Homemade Slow Cooker Baked Beans GF
  • Lightened Up Brown Butter Mashed Sweet potato (with a slow cooker option!) VT, GF **
  • Balsamic Herb Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables V, GF
  • GF
  • VT, GF **
  • Honey Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins VT **
  • Chipotle Gouda Scalloped Sweet Potatoes VT
  • 15-Minute Homemade Orange Cranberry Sauce V, GF **
  • Brown Butter Cranberry Pumpkin Cornbread Skillet VT
  • Healthy Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Casserole with Almond Oat Crumble VT, GF
  • Butternut Squash Quinoa Patties with Cranberry Sauce V
  • Sesame Garlic Roasted Asparagus V, GF

All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (7)

Desserts

Making a pie? Start with my BEST all butter pie crust recipe!

  • Salted Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie**
  • The Best Tart Cherry Pie You’ll Ever Eat**
  • Best Ever Healthy Pumpkin Pie**
  • Tony’s Very Favorite Dutch Apple Pie**
  • V, GF
  • World’s Best Banana Cream Pie (with peanut butter cookie crust!)
  • Blow Ya Mind Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting GF
  • Flourless Monster Cookies GF
  • Cinnamon Walnut Pear Crisp GF
  • White Chocolate Macadamia Snickerdoodles
  • Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
  • Mini Paleo Pumpkin Pies with Gingerbread Cookie Crust GF
  • Ooey-Gooey Salted Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Bars GF
  • Paleo Ginger Molasses Cookies GF **
  • Best Healthy Apple Crisp Ever V **
  • Blow Ya Mind Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies V, GF **
  • Salted Brown Butter Coffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
  • Deep Dish French Silk Pie **
  • How to Make Whipped Cream GF
  • Paleo Pumpkin Pie Bars with Almond Flour Sugar Cookie Crust GF
  • Brown Butter Apple Coffee Cake
  • Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Chocolate Cookies
  • Healthy Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Salted Maple Frosting GF **
  • Grain Free Tahini Brownies (the best brownies I’ve ever eaten!) GF **
  • Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Cookies**
  • The Best Paleo Chocolate Cake with Paleo Chocolate Frosting GF **
  • Coffee Tahini Date Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
  • Lightened Up Sweet Potato Pie with Sweet and Salty Pecan Crust GF
  • Grain Free Snickerdoodles GF
  • Old Fashioned Iced Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies **
  • Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cream Pies with Fluffy Peanut Butter Filling
  • Paleo Orange-Kissed Loaf with Dark Chocolate Glaze GF
  • Healthy Pumpkin Pie with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust GF
  • The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies You’ll Ever Eat **

All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (8)

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD OUR PRINTABLE MENU

And don’t forget to grab our FREE printable checklist for hosting!

I hope you love these delicious Thanksgiving recipes! If you make anything from AK, be sure to tag #ambitiouskitchen onInstagram. I love seeing your creations and featuring followers!

All The Recipes You Need for an Epic Thanksgiving | Ambitious Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What are the 10 traditional Thanksgiving foods? ›

Here are our favorite traditional Thanksgiving dishes that are delicious and easy to make.
  • Creamy Mashed Potatoes. Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Serves: Up to 4 people. ...
  • Stuffing. ...
  • Green Bean Casserole. ...
  • Sweet Potato Casserole. ...
  • Baked Corn. ...
  • Mac and cheese. ...
  • Peas & Water Chestnuts. ...
  • Fresh Rolls.
Oct 28, 2021

What are classic Thanksgiving must haves? ›

The classic Thanksgiving dinner includes old-time favorites that never change: turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, veggies, and pie. But the way these dishes are made or added to is everchanging because of food trends and different dietary requirements.

What is the most important food on a Thanksgiving table? ›

Stuffing. Good stuffing is key to a successful Thanksgiving dinner. At its simplest, stuffing is seasoned bread cubes mixed with onions and herbs. The stuffing is traditionally baked inside the bird but can also be baked in a separate baking dish.

What is the most loved Thanksgiving food? ›

America's different regions can favor different local cuisines, and Thanksgiving dinner provides no exception. While turkey is the top selection in every region, side-dish challenger mashed potatoes are tied for first place in the Midwest (both winning 85% of matchups) and West (both winning 79%).

What are 3 main foods on Thanksgiving? ›

Many Americans would regard Thanksgiving dinner as "incomplete" without stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, and cranberry sauce. A recipe for cranberry sauce to be served with turkey appeared in the first American cookbook, American Cookery (1796) by Amelia Simmons.

What does everyone cook for Thanksgiving? ›

While there are plenty of creative ways to cook your Thanksgiving favorites, you can't go wrong with classics that everyone knows and loves. Stuffing, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie: there are so many delicious dishes that deserve a place on the table each year—including the turkey, of course!

What dishes are mandatory for Thanksgiving? ›

Most Traditional Thanksgiving Foods. A traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of roast turkey and many sides including stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans and cranberry sauce, with pumpkin pie as dessert.

What was the original Thanksgiving meal? ›

There are only two surviving documents that reference the original Thanksgiving harvest meal. They describe a feast of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, a bounty of cod and bass, and flint, a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

How to spice up Thanksgiving? ›

Fruit features heavily on the Thanksgiving table, and few food groups are as receptive to spices. For these applications, stick with deep and rich spices that can balance crisp flavors with some acidity. Cinnamon with apples and ginger with pears are no-brainers, but grains of paradise are really exciting.

How many sides should a Thanksgiving dinner have? ›

How many dishes should I serve with the turkey? For 4 people, choose 1-2 appetizers and 3 sides. For 8 people, choose 1-3 appetizers and 3 sides. For 16 people, choose 2-3 appetizers and 3 or more sides.

What is the most important meal on Thanksgiving? ›

Turkey. Some would say a turkey is the most important food item at the table. A turkey is the center of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. In fact, 88 percent of Americans eat Turkey on Thanksgiving, with 46 million Turkeys eaten on the holiday.

How many dishes should you have for Thanksgiving? ›

How many dishes should I serve with the turkey? For 4 people, choose 1-2 appetizers and 3 sides. For 8 people, choose 1-3 appetizers and 3 sides. For 16 people, choose 2-3 appetizers and 3 or more sides.

What foods were served at Thanksgiving? ›

But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

What are 4 commonly consumed foods at Thanksgiving other than turkey? ›

Cornish game hen, goose, duck, ham, beef, salmon, and mushroom recipes make worthy centerpieces for holiday meals.

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