Best Homemade Thanksgiving Foods And Their Recipes (2023)

Not everyone is excited about Thanksgiving foods. Even though vacations involve a lot of different dishes who have remained mainstays for as long as we can remember (seriously, when was the last time something new has become a holiday staple?), certain foods can be incredibly polarizing. For every universally loved option like mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and pumpkin pie, there’s some bullshit over there – canned cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, ragweed. Also, on many occasions, dry ass the turkey itself.

And yet… these foods remain pillars. For what? We think shortcuts are to blame.

We get it, Thanksgiving is a stressful holiday that falls at a stressful time of year and sometimes you just don’t have time to brine a turkey, cook it to perfection and prepare the stuffing, or prepare your own sauce from the meat juices. This means you’re probably turning to canned foods that significantly reduce cooking time. We’ve all been there. But if you want to make sure you have the best Thanksgiving possible, you should really try to make sure that a few of this stuff from scratch.

Today we’re naming all the dishes you should make the effort to make yourself. For some of these dishes, we will even show you recipes that we have published in the past! Let’s cook.

TO DO — Macaroni and cheese

Why should you do it yourself

We don’t blame you for wanting to go the box route here, there are plenty of great mac and cheese brands, but no matter how good your favorite is, it will never be comparable to reality. Also, it is necessary maybe 5 minutes more to make your own macaroni and cheese, so it’s not like the box saves you that much time.

The biggest advantage of making your mac and cheese is that you can control the cheese mixture, rather than using that salty cheese “stuff” that comes with most boxes. Which sounds better, a bag of Velveta or a mix of cheddar, parmesan and possibly gruyere? Hell, throw some smoked gouda in there! Our point is that when you control the cheese blend, you control the subtleties of flavor. Good cheese makes great mac and cheese.

RESULT :

Pre-cooked macaroni and cheese is absolute garbage, and boxed products are often mediocre (and look boxed, which puts off many!). If you are looking for a delicious homemade mac and cheese recipe, we have you!

TO MAKE — Mashed Potatoes

Why should you do it yourself

Texture, texture, texture! Real mashed potatoes have a wonderful mouthfeel, whether you’re the type to leave the skin in the mash (you should) or not. Instant mashed potatoes tend to have that smooth, mash-like consistency — they’re also a lot saltier, less buttery, and full of a bunch of weird preservatives.

Butter from canned potatoes tends to taste cheap, like butter from microwaved popcorn. The dish lacks dimension, texture and flavor and is usually made with russet potatoes. Russet potatoes are good, but red potatoes are better, or a mix of Yukon red and gold and Russet.

The Yukon gold will give you a nice buttery texture, the Russet will add a bit of fluff, and the red will add thickness.

RESULT :

Making your own mashed potatoes is incredibly simple. Take the selected potatoes, cut them into quarters, bring to the boil until tender, drain them, mix them in a pan with the butter and cream, mash them until desired consistency, top with salt, more butter and black pepper to taste. You got this!

TRY TO MAKE — Cranberry Sauce

Why should you do it yourself

We named cranberry sauce one of the worst Thanksgiving side dishes of all time and that’s because most people treat this dish as an afterthought and buy the canned version. But the truth is, this tangy and sweet dish adds a lot of complexity to your favorite savory Thanksgiving dishes, which is why you should give it the respect it deserves and make it yourself.

Lucky for you, homemade cranberry sauce is incredibly easy to make and you can make it several days in advance. For the best homemade cranberry sauce, you’ll want to turn to Uproxx whiskey expert Zach Johnston, who makes a bourbon-infused cranberry sauce every year. In Zach’s words, “The woody spices really add a nice spice and dark/winter element with a hint of bitterness.” There’s a touch of sweetness…the bourbon comes through with an almost branded cherry vibe with a hint of vanilla.

RESULT :

Tell us your mouth isn’t watering reading about our homemade cranberry sauce. Has this ever happened with canned products? For the Bourbon Infused Cranberry Sauce recipe, click here.

TRY TO MAKE — Green Bean Casserole

Why should you do it yourself

It’s a no-brainer, if you want your green bean casserole to taste delicious, you need to make it at home. Again, the real benefit of hand-prepared produce is the texture of the dish, especially the green beans. They get mushy, soggy and limp at the store and those are all words you just don’t want to think about while eating.

RESULT :

A green bean casserole made with fresh green beans will have a superior taste and a more pronounced earthy, slightly sweet flavor. You also have complete control over what else you put in it: looking to increase the umami and change the texture? Add real mushrooms to the dish. The possibilities are limitless.

TO DO — Potato gratin

Why should you do it yourself

You’ll never find a box of gratin potatoes that even comes close to the real thing. Even fans of boxed products will have this caveat when talking about their favorite brand “for a box, it’s pretty good.”

But we do not want the very good, we want to “fall upon ourselves” the good. We want you to bite into a plate of au gratin potatoes and say “holy shit!” » right next to your grandmother.

RESULT :

Allow us to direct you to Uproxx Life editor Steve Bramucci’s four-cheese gratin potatoes, which are seasoned with bacon, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. This guy grows his own thyme…promise, you don’t have to do that. But follow him Four cheese potato gratin recipe here.

TRY TO MAKE — Prank

Why should you do it yourself

Look, it’s better to have canned stuffing than no stuffing at all, but if you really want to win Thanksgiving, make your own. Everyone will appreciate the effort because homemade stuffing rules.

Like all canned foods, prepared stuffings contain way too much sodium. Plus, it’s not very inventive. And because it’s a carb-heavy dish that you’ll want a lot of, going the extra mile and making it yourself results in an overall better dish that you won’t feel as much guilt eating.

RESULT :

We have your back here, we offer you not just one stuffing recipe, but three, all developed by Uproxx staff as part of a culinary battle. There’s an “Everything Bagel” stuffing, a “Chorizo ​​Pecan” stuffing, and something called a “Four Times Four” stuffing that has four dried fruits, fresh fruit, herbs, and savory elements.

Discover the best stuffing you will ever eat here.

IF YOU HAVE TIME — Cornbread

Why should you do it yourself

No shade to the rolls, but cornbread is the ultimate Thanksgiving bread. Rather than being a neutral palate cleanser like a regular roll, cornbread is sweeter, butterier, and way tastier.

Boxed cornbread is fine, but making the real thing requires just a few extra steps, so we highly recommend making your own following the recipe from Zach Johnston of Uproxx. On his cornbread, Zach says “the flavor is a mix of bright, sweet corn with a hint of buttermilk and lots of grassy grain…the crispy edge is wonderfully crunchy with that semi-grainy, semi-soft interior with an edge Really natural sweetness. .”

RESULT :

Pre-made cornbread is pretty decent. But if you have some time, follow Zach’s cornbread recipe. here.

IF YOU HAVE TIME — Sauce

Why should you do it yourself

A good sauce is all about depth of flavor and savory richness that enhances whatever it is poured over. It’s excess and the best, it’s about giving you more, more flavor, more satisfaction, more of everything! The boxed product, with all its extra ingredients, preservatives and sodium, simply cannot compare to the real product.

RESULT :

For best results, prepare your gravy using the juices from the turkey you are roasting. The person who prepares the turkey at your Thanksgiving should make the gravy, if not you can always make a great gravy using stock or butter.

IF YOU HAVE TIME (AND LIKE TO BAKE) — Pumpkin Pie

Why should you do it yourself

Pumpkin pie is the ultimate comfort food, it’s irresistible, which is why even after eating plate after plate of your favorite Thanksgiving foods, you’ll still want to end the evening with a slice of pie. And if you want a perfect slice of pie, you’ll want to make your own. The reason we chose this recipe as “for real pros” is not because it is particularly difficult, but because it requires a little patience and, yes, at least some skill.

Once again, we want to direct you to Zach Johnston of Uproxx who has his own recipe for homemade pumpkin pie. Zach lived abroad for almost twenty years, sometimes in places where he didn’t have access to a store-bought pumpkin pie, so his pie was born out of necessity. This is a pie you can trust!

RESULT :

To learn how to make pumpkin pie from scratch, click here. If not, we’re pretty sure we know how to get you the best store-bought options.