My personal style for Thanksgiving is to keep the menu small and easy to prepare. Here’s exactly what Thanksgiving recipes I make each year. 

Let’s simplify holiday meals this year! 🦃

If the holidays are feeling a little hectic and you’re tired just thinking about putting together a Thanksgiving menu, I’ve got you!

Thanksgiving doesn’t have to mean hours in the kitchen or complicated recipes that only get made once a year. Over the years, I’ve collected a small lineup of go-to dishes that are easy enough for busy cooks, yet delicious enough to earn a permanent spot on the holiday table.

If you’d like to try my tried & true Thanksgiving dinner, below you’ll find all of the ingredients for each dish, plus instructions on how to make. And to make it even easier, I created a Walmart list so you can add each ingredient to your cart in just ONE click. You can also update quantities or remove items you don’t need. Just head here!

Not only does making the same Thanksgiving each year save my sanity, but it’s also what my family genuinely enjoys and looks forward to as a tradition.

Click HERE and add all the groceries for these recipes to your Walmart.com cart!

1. Sage Sausage Stuffing 

Stuffing is a personal highlight for me! It’s the best part of the meal in my opinion. This one has sage and sausage for wonderful taste and chopped celery and apples for texture.

Ingredients for Sage Sausage Stuffing: 

Directions: HERE

2. Roasted Turkey Using the Butter Blanket Method

For years now, I have roasted turkey using a cheesecloth soaked in melted butter while in the oven. This makes the skin crip and the inside moist and juicy!  I also stuff it with an orange, sliced onion, and celery. For the outside, I rub the raw turkey first with Goya Sazon seasoning to give it a deep golden color and lots of flavor.

For Roasted Turkey using Butter Blanket Method, you’ll need: 

Directions: 

1. Pat the turkey dry, set it inside a roasting pan, rub with softened butter, and season it as desired.
2. Stuff the turkey with fresh citrus, onion, celery, and fresh herbs.
3. Dip a cheesecloth in melted butter and cover the whole turkey like a blanket.
4. Cook the turkey in the oven at 325°F–350°F until golden and fully cooked (usually 13–15 minutes per pound).  Baste it a few times as well.
5. Let the turkey rest 20–30 minutes before slicing so it stays juicy.

Check out the video below to see the butter blanket method in action!

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3. Caramelized Bacon & Green Beans

One of my favorite must-have dishes that I always make during the holidays is actually the EASIEST one to prepare – caramelized bacon & green beans! In fact, this is my favorite way to jazz up a couple of cans of green beans.

Ingredients for Bacon & Green Beans: 

Directions: HERE

4. Classic Green Bean Casserole 

My husband is from the Midwest and thinks one should deviate from Campbell’s iconic green bean casserole, so it’s what we make each year using canned green beans. Sometimes I make a double batch to have with leftover turkey because it’s always the first to disappear.

Ingredients for Classic Green Bean Casserole: 

Directions: HERE 

5. Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls 

Get that pretty, bakery-style shape with the perfect “split top,” using this muffin pan hack and frozen Rhodes dinner rolls! You could of course make dough from scratch, but these turn out fluffy and delicious every time. My family loves these even more than homemade.

What you’ll need to make Double Rhodes Rolls: 

Directions: HERE

6. Traditional Mashed Potatoes

I typically don’t do anything fancy with mashed potatoes except maybe garnish with some fresh or dried herbs and lots of butter. Boiling the potatoes and mashing them with a potato masher right in the pot is how I usually make them.

Ingredients for traditional mashed potatoes:

Directions:

1. Prep the potatoes: Peel the potatoes and cut them into even chunks.
2. Boil: Place potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water, and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until very soft when pierced with a fork.
3. Drain: Pour off all the water and let the potatoes sit for 1 minute to steam dry.
4. Mash: Add the butter, some of the warm cream or milk, salt, and pepper. Mash until smooth, adding more cream or milk as needed for the texture you like.
5. Taste and serve: Adjust salt and pepper, then serve warm and fluffy.

Shop all the ingredients for these easy recipes HERE!

Need Thanksgiving dessert ideas?

In my opinion, simple is better when it comes to holiday dishes.

I feel like social media has elevated the pressure to prepare perfect Pinterest-worthy meals, which creates more stress. These easy ideas are the core of what I typically prepare, and then sometimes we may add in corn casserole, sweet potatoes, and I can’t forget canned cranberry sauce!

No matter what you make, it’s the people around the table that matter the most, not the food! If you are hosting, DON’T be afraid to delegate certain dishes out and DO nominate a clean-up crew at the end of the meal!

Here’s where to get free or cheap Thanksgiving turkey!