Thanksgiving Grocery List + Classic Menu (Easy and helpful)
Ah, Thanksgiving is soon upon us! With Thanksgiving being one of America’s favorite holidays, it’s a great time to celebrate family, enjoy delicious food, and remember all of the blessings God has bestowed upon us. Even in a world that becomes more tumultuous as each day passes, we still have SO much to be thankful for. The holiday wouldn’t be complete without a menu of incredible food. To be honest, my favorite is a traditional menu. I start preparing early and create a very detailed planner to keep myself organized. Along with that, I also create a detailed grocery list. For you, my friend, I’m providing a sample traditional menu, some great recipes, and a printable grocery list that you can simply print and take with to the grocery store! Plus, it’s adorable.
GRAB MY INCREDIBLY DETAILED THANKSGIVING PLANNER HERE!
Inspirations
Since I can remember, Thanksgiving has been one of my favorite days of the year. I have such fond memories of waking up early with my sister, watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and smelling all the delicious aromas of our Thanksgiving dinner. One of my absolute favorite memories was one year when we had Thanksgiving at my grandparents’ house. My grandfather was an avid hunter who would bring home all sorts of tasty game meat. One year, he caught a huge, 9-pound turkey and made it for us. I remember it being the best Thanksgiving turkey I had ever had.
As I’ve gotten older and have begun taking over cooking, I now choose my own favorite versions of the beloved recipes we use. I’ve fallen in love with crafting the menu, creating the food and grocery lists, and cooking and baking all the recipes I’ve decided upon. I’m a traditionalist who loves routine. I don’t like to stray too far off the path and tend to stick to my usual favorites. I like a traditional Thanksgiving menu that doesn’t get too whacky. Of course, it’s all about the carbs! Is there a better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with loads of carbs?
On my sample menu, you’ll find foods that I make almost every year. These foods include:
- Turkey
- Stuffing
- Mashed potatoes
- Corn casserole
- Green bean casserole
- Sweet potato casserole
- Roasted Brussels sprouts
- Cranberry sauce
- Rolls with butter
- Apple pie
- Pumpkin pie
- Thanksgiving punch
Creating the Food List
If this is your first time planning and executing a Thanksgiving menu, you’ll notice it takes a lot of planning! Any good holiday dinner (or dinner party) has a good amount of planning put into it. The last thing you want to do is realize you forgot to get the ingredients for a recipe, only to run out on Thanksgiving morning, face the massive amounts of people in the grocery store who did the same thing, and get stressed out because you’re now running behind schedule. From years of planning and executing menus, I’ve learned that the earlier you can plan, the less stressed out you’ll be.
I typically begin planning my menu for Thanksgiving dinner no later than early October. We usually eat the same foods each year, so this also makes it easier to plan. One change though, is that on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we are having a get together with other family members, so I needed to plan for food for that as well. I have a very specific way that I plan, and this obviously begins with creating my menu of what we’re going to eat. It’s important to think through everything, even things like condiments, sauces, and spices.
Once I have my menu created, I then take a sheet of paper and write down every item in each recipe I’m making, even if I know I already have it. This helps me to create an inventory of what I already have. From there, I weed out items I already have and then craft a list with items that I specifically need to buy. I highly recommend incorporating these grocery items into your regular, weekly grocery list, but if buying them all at once works better for you, go for it!
GRAB MY INCREDIBLY DETAILED THANKSGIVING PLANNER HERE!
The Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
Alright, so here it finally is: The Classic Thanksgiving Dinner Menu! These recipes are sourced from some of my favorite tried-and-true recipes that I’ve used, or at least from trustworthy sources. I know you’re absolutely going to love this Thanksgiving Dinner menu. Don’t forget to keep reading to snag my grocery list at the end. It has all the items you’ll need for these beloved recipes!
Download a FREE copy of my Thanksgiving Menu!
Thanksgiving turkey (Gordon Ramsay style)
Remember that turkey I told you about that my grandpa caught and then made? Well, this one is right on par with it. My mom decided to try this Gordon Ramsay turkey recipe. To this day, every time we inch closer to Thanksgiving, she talks about how much she loved that turkey recipe and wants to make it again. Gordon Ramsay’s turkey recipe is incredibly moist with a crispy skin on the outside. It has notes of lemon, garlic, butter, and earthy herbs. The best part, it’s seriously simple to make!
Turkey gravy
There’s nothing like homemade gravy to pour over your delectable, roasted turkey. Sure, you can buy gravy in a jar, but not only is the homemade stuff way better tasting, it’s also healthier and tends to be more cost effective. For this gravy recipe from Tastes Better from Scratch, it only calls for five simple ingredients, half of which come from the turkey itself. If you’re using the giblets and neck and it can take a few other steps, otherwise, it’s a really easy recipe to make. Not making a turkey but still want to make gravy? Have no fear! This gravy recipe from The Toasty Kitchen only takes five minutes to make and you’re going to love it.
Old Fashioned Stuffing
I don’t think there is anything that pairs better with turkey and gravy than stuffing. Growing up, we always just used Stovetop, and there is nothing wrong with that because it is so yummy! However, as my palate has refine and matured, I prefer whole foods that I make myself. Enter, homemade stuffing. Here’s a secret: I’ve never actually made homemade stuffing before. My future mother-in-law made it last year (2022) and it was the best stuffing I’ve ever had. I made it my mission after that to make homemade stuffing for Thanksgiving this year! I found a recipe for old fashioned stuffing that’s very similar to the one she made, and I am SO excited to make it this year.
GRAB MY INCREDIBLY DETAILED THANKSGIVING PLANNER HERE!
Rolls with butter
Mmmm, homemade dinner rolls with freshly whipped butter. Yeah, heavenly may be the best word to describe them. I found this recipe for dinner rolls from Sally’s Baking Addiction. If you have never heard of Sally, you are missing out, especially if you are a baker. She has literally thousands of incredible recipes and I love trying them. Honestly, I’ll probably end up purchasing dinner rolls from a local bakery, but thought of someday making these makes me really happy. And for rolls, this recipe could not be easier!
While I’ll probably purchase the rolls, one new recipe I’m going to try this year is whipped pumpkin butter. Holy yum! It takes just a few minutes to whip up and uses ingredients you’ll already have in your cupboards. You don’t want to miss this one.
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
Let’s go on a little journey to the heart of Amish Country in South Central Pennsylvania. Hey, that’s where I live! There is so much I love about living in Central Pennsylvania, especially during the fall! One of my favorite reasons to live here is the food. Food ties heavily into our culture, and we have heavy Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish influences in our area. One thing we love to use is brown butter. You can grab a tutorial in my brown butter pumpkin streusel muffins recipe post if you’ve never made it before. It will change your life, possibly literally! I use it as much as I can because it is just soooo good. Change up your mashed potato recipe this year and use this recipe for Amish mashed potatoes, which of course, features brown butter. You’ll get an entirely different flavor profile and I really don’t think you’ll go back after making these.
Green Bean Casserole
My sister and I LOVE green bean casserole, but we did not love the French’s green bean casserole. It uses cream of mushroom soup (we DO NOT like mushrooms) and it usually ends up a soupy mess! My sister went on a mission to find a better recipe and she did! Now, every year for Thanksgiving, we use Together As Family’s green bean casserole. Instead of the mushroom soup, it involves making a roux and then adding sour cream and cheddar cheese. It’s totally worth the switch and worth every calorie!
Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
You probably either love ‘em or hate ‘em! I feel like, when it comes to sprouts, there isn’t much in-between. My mom and I happen to love them. Last year, my future sister-in-law and her husband made maple bacon Brussels sprouts withs sriracha and I was hooked. It was another recipe I knew I had to try this year. I found a lot of recipes from AllRecipes because they are so tried and true. This Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts recipe is no exception. The one thing I will be adding to the maple syrup and olive oil mixture is sriracha for a little added heat. I know it’s going to be delicious.
Sweet Potato Casserole
If there’s one thing that makes you fee like you’re eating dessert during dinner, it’s this sweet potato casserole recipe. It’s yet another AllRecipes delicacy and it exceeds expectations. Sweet, creamy sweet potatoes get mixed up and topped with a crunchy streusel-like topping. It’s everything you need in your life!
Corn Casserole
I think corn casserole might be my favorite savory dish on this list. This Paula Deen recipe is a total keeper. While my dairy-sensitive stomach knows it’ll wreak havoc on my guts in the following days, I somehow always think it’s worth the agony. It’s a mix between cornbread and custard, and it’s light and fluffy. I grew up with a pretty different recipe, however. This is a definitely another Pennsylvania Dutch recipe, and we call it Baked Corn. It’s got more of a custard base and we top it with buttered breadcrumbs. Although different, it’s just as delicious and easy to make.
GRAB MY INCREDIBLY DETAILED THANKSGIVING PLANNER HERE!
Cranberry Sauce
Ya know, I gotta tell you, I typically prefer cranberry sauce from a can. Hopefully you don’t think I’m too nuts. It’s not usually a dish we make homemade. The one exception was my grandmother’s cranberry relish recipe, but we usually save that one for Christmas. This cranberry relish recipe only uses three ingredients and takes no more than 20 minutes from start to finish. If you’re looking for an alternative to canned cranberry sauce, you’ll be thanking yourself you came across this one.
Pumpkin Pie
Ok, now we’re hitting the good stuff! Oh yes, we’ve got an American classic and everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving pie: Pumpkin pie. For years, I used the Libby’s recipe on the label of the can of pumpkin. Yes, I still use canned pumpkin. I live in farm country, so I feel like I should probably buy a pumpkin at some point and make my own pumpkin before I move out of Pennsylvania next year. The Libby’s recipe is the golden standard of pumpkin pie recipes, but I found a better one. This pumpkin pie recipe is another Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe. My future husband’s favorite dessert on earth is pumpkin pie, and he thoroughly approves of this recipe. It’s so stinkin’ good, I don’t know if I’ll ever even attempt to find a different one. Even if you use store-bought crust (an no judgment if you do!), you will love how this filling tastes.
Apple Pie
The great apple pie debate. Hmmm…which one is best? That’s the question of the century, isn’t it? Fun story: In 5th grade, we had an apple pie contest. My grandmother and I loved to bake together, so she helped me with the recipe, even though I did most of it on my own. I ended up winning the contest! I think it was at that moment I truly fell in love with baking. Just recently, I was going through her recipe box for the umpteenth time to try and find this apple pie recipe. Lo and behold, I found it!
This apple pie recipe that I’m featuring is one that’s unique, and obviously delicious. Instead of mixing your apples with sugar, spices, and flour, you make a butter-based sauce and pour it over the whole pie before baking. I’ve made it before and it’s really yummy! While I’m making a Dutch apple pie (that’s an apple pie with a crumb topping) this year, this is definitely a recipe that gets tucked into my recipe box for future holiday dinners.
Whipped Cream
You cannot have pie during Thanksgiving dinner without homemade whipped cream. Seriously, skip the Cool Whip and check out this classic whipped cream recipe. It takes not even five minutes to whip up and it tastes so much better than the store-bought stuff.
Thanksgiving Punch
When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, you can’t forget the beverages! I feel like they tend to be an after-thought. This Thanksgiving punch is a crowd pleaser. It’s tangy and fizzy and can be served either alcoholic or nonalcoholic.
I hope you enjoyed getting some inspiration for your Thanksgiving dinner menu. And I also hope you are finding ways to enjoy the simple moments along the way. There’s no need to stress!
