Healthy Recipes Holidays & Occasions Thanksgiving 24 Thanksgiving Recipes You'll Want to Make Forever By Dillon Evans Dillon Evans Dillon Evans fell in love with cooking at a very young age. He remembers the novel experiences of microwaving a bowl of oatmeal without his parents' permission and asking to make his mother's morning pot of coffee. These moments became catalysts for his interest in cooking and baking. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on November 4, 2023 Close You’re guaranteed to please your crowd every single year with these highly-rated Thanksgiving recipes. From roasted mains to classic sides and desserts, these four- and five-star dishes will leave your guests craving your cooking for months after the holidays. Recipes like our reliable Herb-Roasted Turkey and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese & Pomegranate are fragrant, flavorful and festive recipes everyone will be asking for this Thanksgiving. 01 of 24 Herb-Roasted Turkey This easy method produces all the good looks and moist flavor you dream of in an oven-roasted turkey. Make sure you show this beauty off at the table before you carve it. Garnish your serving platter with fresh herb sprigs and citrus wedges for a showstopping Thanksgiving turkey. View Recipe 02 of 24 No-Sugar-Added Sweet Potato Casserole Instead of loading up this comfort food side with tons of brown sugar and marshmallows, we have turned to sweet spices, vanilla and inherently sweet dried fruit to enhance the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. A topping of pecans and pepitas replaces traditional marshmallow topping to keep it healthy and add texture and color for a beautiful casserole. View Recipe 03 of 24 Beet Salad Photographer / Victor Protasio, Food Stylist / Karen Rankin, Prop Stylist / Kay Clarke This simple beet salad recipe uses just a handful of ingredients to create a delightful side dish. Roasted beets add a sweet, earthy and aromatic flavor that shines in this side salad. View Recipe 04 of 24 Vegan Pumpkin Pie This easy vegan pumpkin pie gets its structure from aquafaba (the leftover water from a can of chickpeas) whipped up into a meringue-like foam. When it's combined with pumpkin and poured into a gluten-free pecan crust, you would never know beans had anything to do with this vegan pumpkin pie recipe. View Recipe 05 of 24 Instant Pot Garlic & Rosemary Roast Pork Loin Julia Estrada Using an Instant Pot is a game changer for this pork loin recipe. The gravy is rich and flavorful, the meat is moist and perfectly cooked, and it all comes together in a fraction of the time compared to oven roasting. View Recipe 06 of 24 The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce This is our go-to recipe for homemade cranberry sauce. It's simple (just five ingredients!), is lightly sweet without being too sugary and has just the right amount of zesty flavor from orange peel. Plus, it's so easy--it goes from stove to table in just 20 minutes! View Recipe 07 of 24 Carrot Casserole Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Rishon Hanners, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Carrot casserole is a great holiday side dish that’s both creamy and savory with just a touch of sweetness from the carrots. Coriander and dry mustard add lovely background flavors to the cream sauce. Microwaving the carrots gives them a jump-start in the cooking process and ensures that they’re cooked through. The carrots should all be sliced thinly so they cook evenly. If you have one, a mandoline can make quick work of the slicing, but a good sharp knife will also do the trick. View Recipe 08 of 24 Kale Salad with Cranberries This easy holiday salad gets its flavor from a sweet citrus dressing that's infused into the kale by massaging the greens and the dressing together with your hands. We like a mix of kale for this recipe, but any type of kale will work. View Recipe 09 of 24 Diabetes-Friendly Carrot Cake With this luscious take on an all-time favorite, you can fit this low-added sugar cake into your eating pattern. View Recipe 10 of 24 Fennel & Meyer Lemon-Stuffed Salmon For this simple baked salmon recipe, just order the right size whole salmon from your grocery store or fish market and have them clean and scale it. You can also use two smaller fish (1 to 2 pounds each) and reduce the roasting time by about 10 minutes. If you like, you can opt for other species, such as striped bass, snapper or tilapia. View Recipe 11 of 24 Garlic Mashed Potatoes What could be more satisfying than mashed potatoes? In this garlic mashed potato recipe, the potatoes are flavored with poached garlic, thinned with chicken stock and enriched with a small amount of sour cream. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you're cooking for a crowd--say for Thanksgiving dinner. View Recipe 12 of 24 Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese & Pomegranate Brie Passano This gorgeous warm salad with nutty roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet-tart pomegranate seeds and creamy goat cheese is perfect for any winter meal—from a weeknight dinner to Christmas dinner or any other holiday celebration. The recipe is easily doubled if you are entertaining a crowd: just be sure to spread the sprouts out (use 2 pans if necessary) so they roast instead of steaming. View Recipe 13 of 24 Wild Rice Stuffing with Apple & Sausage This amazing wild-rice stuffing recipe is bursting with fall flavors, including rye bread, sausage, apples, dried cherries, pecans and fresh herbs. View Recipe 14 of 24 Cranberry Buttermilk Pie This custard filling is what takes this buttermilk pie recipe to the next level. It tastes like a panna cotta with a bit of attitude from the tang of the buttermilk and a generous sprinkling of cranberries on top. View Recipe 15 of 24 Spatchcock Turkey with Sage & Thyme When it comes to cooking a whole turkey quickly and evenly, spatchcocking--removing the entire backbone from the bird and splaying it open--is a great technique. This skin on this spatchcocked turkey gets crispy and browned because nearly all of the skin is exposed. This recipe uses a simple blend of oil, fresh herbs and spices for classic roasted turkey flavor. Look for a small turkey, about 12 pounds, as it fits better in most roasting pans. View Recipe 16 of 24 Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad Photographer: Stacy K. Allen; Prop stylist: Julia Bayless; Food stylist: Ana Kelley Sweet cherries complement the tart goat cheese in this easy shaved Brussels sprouts salad. Pistachios add an extra layer of crunch. A sharp chef's knife works well to slice the Brussels sprouts thinly. A microplane grater is best for finely shredding the goat cheese. View Recipe 17 of 24 The Best Mashed Sweet Potatoes This healthy mashed sweet potato recipe has just 5 ingredients and is dinner-ready in 20 minutes. Using sweet potatoes for this classic side dish adds color to your plate along with a little sweetness and a boost of vitamin A. With classic and simple flavors, it can easily be paired with any of your favorite dishes. View Recipe 18 of 24 Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows The genius hack in this recipe: topping sweet potatoes with marshmallows while they're still piping hot from the slow cooker yields a baked marshmallow topping that's typical with baked sweet potato casseroles. View Recipe 19 of 24 Cranberry-Balsamic Chicken Thighs To round out this healthy chicken dinner recipe, put some farro on to cook before you start cooking the chicken. Add some steamed broccoli and serve with a glass of pinot noir. View Recipe 20 of 24 Apple, Onion & Cranberry Stuffing Apples and fresh cranberries add a unique twist to this variation on the classic stuffing. Use fresh sage or rubbed sage in this healthy stuffing recipe; the ground version is too bitter. View Recipe 21 of 24 Balsamic Oven-Roasted Carrots Roasting carrots in the oven brings out their sweetness, which is enhanced further with a tangy balsamic and maple glaze. Serve these balsamic roasted carrots as an easy weeknight side dish. View Recipe 22 of 24 Vegan Scalloped Potatoes These scalloped potatoes are surprisingly rich and creamy even though they're made with no dairy (milk, butter or cheese)--vegan comfort food at its best. We use almond milk, herbs and spices to make a flavorful sauce and finish the dish with a crunchy almond topping. This makes a satisfying side dish if you're cooking for dairy-free or vegan diets. View Recipe 23 of 24 Apple & Pecan Stuffed Butternut Squash Let this cute little vegetarian stuffed squash side dish steal the show at the dinner table! Butternut squash is stuffed with a sweet and savory filling that gets a crispy finish under the broiler. If you can't find small butternut squash, honeynut squash is a great alternative. Shaped much like a butternut squash (but smaller), the honeynut squash has a deep orange skin and sweet flesh. View Recipe 24 of 24 Vegan Green Bean Casserole Now everyone can enjoy classic Thanksgiving favorites, like this dairy-free green bean casserole. We make a homemade vegan cream of mushroom soup using almond milk for the creamy base that's combined with fresh green beans. Top it off with classic french-fried onions (we have a vegan recipe for that, too!) for a side dish everyone will devour. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit