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Thanksgiving Recipes for When You’re Tired of Bringing the Same Thing
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items Somebody’s bringing the mashed potatoes. Somebody’s bringing that casserole again. If you want to bring something a little more interesting, start here. 🦃 There’s cranberry-jalapeño dip for the pre-dinner crowd, pumpkin rolls with ginger, and a pie ...
Sections
3
A Little Something Before Dinner
The Rest of the Plate Deserves a Say
Save Room. You’ll Want To.
A Little Something Before Dinner
Dinner will be ready when dinner is ready. Put out a couple of these so nobody starts stealing pieces of turkey while you finish.
Cranberries do not have to spend the whole holiday next to the turkey. This sweet-tart dip brings a little jalapeño heat to a block of cream cheese—and gives people something to do with a cracker before dinner. Make the cranberry mixture at least 4 h...
Cranberry-Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
A little pastry, a little brie, and suddenly the appetizer tray looks like you had a plan. Store-bought puff pastry does some of the work here; cranberry and orange make it feel right for Thanksgiving. Serve these warm, while the cheese is still doin...
Cranberry Brie Puff Pastry Tarts
Three ingredients, which is a very reasonable number when the rest of Thanksgiving has taken over the kitchen. Sweet dates, tangy goat cheese, and salty bacon give you a small bite with plenty going on. A batch makes 16, so count your guests before y...
Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese
For the pumpkin lover who would also like a break from pumpkin spice. Chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and garlic keep this firmly on the savory side, and it takes about 10 minutes. Put out some vegetables and pita, then get back to whatever is happening in...
Savory Pumpkin Hummus
The Rest of the Plate Deserves a Say
The turkey cannot be responsible for this entire meal. Give the bread basket, vegetables, and stuffing a little attention—or choose the mushroom Wellington for a meatless centerpiece.
The bread basket is allowed to have a personality, too. These pumpkin rolls have dried cranberries and little pieces of crystallized ginger, which is a lot more interesting than another plain dinner roll. Plan around the rises: the full recipe takes ...
Cranberry-Pumpkin Rolls with Ginger
If yeast dough is one project too many, bring biscuits. Cream cheese, cheddar, chives, and thyme give these plenty of flavor without asking you to babysit a rising bowl of dough. The recipe makes 16 in about half an hour—useful information when the o...
Herbed Cream Cheese Biscuits
Turkey for the table that does not need an entire bird and three days of leftovers. Sausage-and-herb stuffing is rolled right into the breast, so the slices look like you went to considerably more trouble. This serves 8; allow for prep plus about 1¼ ...
Stuffed Turkey Breast with Sausage & Herbs
The meatless main deserves more thought than “you can have the sides.” Mushrooms, rosemary, and pecans wrapped in golden puff pastry give it something worth carving. The filling can be made a day ahead, and the recipe includes vegan pastry and wash o...
Mushroom Wellington with Rosemary and Pecans
This is the stuffing to bring when you want someone to ask, “What’s in this?” Mushrooms and walnuts keep it savory, while dried apricot and cranberry add little sweet bites. It takes about 50 minutes, so it does not need to become your entire afterno...
Mushroom, Walnut & Apricot Stuffing
A little Southwestern detour from the usual stuffing dish. Poblano peppers, corn, cilantro, and oregano make the cornbread feel like a deliberate change, with some heat in the mix. A good one to consider if your crowd likes savory dishes with a littl...
Poblano Cornbread Stuffing
For the person who likes sweet potatoes but does not need a marshmallow blanket. Thick rounds roast in garlicky stock, with an optional maple-butter-pecan finish when you want a little sweetness. Allow about an hour of cooking and give them their own...
Fondant Sweet Potatoes with Maple Butter Pecans
Thanksgiving vegetables are allowed to taste like vegetables. Choose the spiced version on this page for carrots with a little warmth alongside all the rich dishes. There’s a honey-butter version there, too, if that is more your family’s speed.
Spiced Roasted Carrots
These squash halves look like you gave the side dish some thought. Quinoa, dried cranberries, pepitas, and cheese fill the roasted squash, so there’s more here than something pretty on the plate. The recipe makes 4 filled halves; check the head count...
Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash
Green beans, without opening a can of soup. Toasted almonds, crispy garlic, shallots, and lemon give these crunch and brightness next to the heavier dishes. They cook on the stovetop in about 30 minutes, which means one less negotiation over oven spa...
Green Beans Almondine with Crispy Garlic & Lemon
Something fresh needs a seat at this table. Pears, dates, toasted walnuts, and blue cheese give this salad enough flavor to hold its own beside the gravy; goat cheese works if blue cheese divides the room. Wait until serving to add the dressing.
Pear, Date & Walnut Salad
Save Room. You’ll Want To.
A familiar pie with a different plan, a bright cranberry tart, or a tiny bite for the “I’m stuffed” crowd. Decide early; several of these need a long chill.
Cranberries have been carrying the sauce dish for years. Let them have dessert. This bright, tart filling gets a graham cracker crust and whipped cream, but it needs planning: the listed 7-hour total includes chilling, so start well before dinner.
Cranberry Curd Tart
If pumpkin pie always gets a polite little slice, this might get a second look. Chai spices and a toasted meringue topping change the whole mood without giving up the pumpkin. It is a project bake—allow the listed 7 hours, including cooling and chill...
Chai Pumpkin Meringue Pie
For everyone who says “just a sliver” and then takes a sliver of both. Pumpkin custard and pecan topping share one crust, which settles at least one Thanksgiving decision. Make it a day ahead, as the recipe recommends, and let it cool properly.
Pumpkin Pecan Pie
For the guests who insist they could not possibly eat another thing. A tiny maple-walnut bite in cream cheese pastry might be a different conversation. You’ll need a mini muffin pan; the recipe makes 44–48, so there are plenty for the dessert tray.
Maple Walnut Tassies
All the apple-pie reasons to want dessert, in a square you can pass around. Shortbread, spiced apples, streusel, and salted caramel make these a good option when you would rather skip slicing another pie. Leave time for cooling and chilling—the total...
Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars