22 Thanksgiving Recipes Just Like Grandma Used to Make

Updated September 14, 2020

These Thanksgiving classics will help transport you back to your childhood table. From turkey to mashed potatoes to pies, these recipes would make grandma proud. Make these classic Thanksgiving dishes to put something delicious and nostalgic on the table.

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Traditional Roast Turkey with Giblet Gravy

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Here's the best roast turkey recipe for your holiday festivities. To make the gravy, use instant flour (aka Wondra), which is flour that has been steam-treated then dried. You can use it straight from its package to thicken gravy for your Thanksgiving turkey without making a slurry, as you would have to with regular flour, to get lump-free results every time.

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Classic Slow-Cooker Stuffing

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Save space in your oven and use your slow cooker to whip up this easy, classic stuffing. Hearty whole-grain bread gets toasted in the oven for only 10 minutes (and you can toast the cubes ahead of time!) while your slow cooker does the rest.

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Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

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In this easy vegetable side dish recipe, sweet potatoes are tossed with maple syrup, butter and lemon juice and are roasted until tender and golden brown. The delicious glaze that forms on these maple-roasted sweet potatoes transform this ultra-simple dish into something sublime.

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Slow-Cooker Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions

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Thanks to fresh green beans, an easy homemade cream sauce and crispy onion topping, this green bean casserole recipe is healthier and more delicious than traditional recipes that use canned soup, beans and onions. Plus, the slow cooker saves you time cooking at the stove. Make sure to use fresh green beans, as frozen green beans will become mushy.

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Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

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This easy Brussels sprouts dish is flavored with intense balsamic and irresistible bacon. Simple and quick, you'll want to make this healthy side dish often! 

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Bacon Mashed Potatoes

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These bacon-studded chunky mashed potatoes get a lot of richness from just two slices of cooked bacon—but the flavor doesn't stop there! With the skins left on the potatoes and a bit of buttermilk, these potatoes channel Grandma in ways you wouldn't think possible. 

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Creamed Onions

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A holiday staple in many households, creamed onions are usually bathed in a rich white sauce made with heavy cream. In this version, we roast the onions for an added layer of flavor and lighten up the sauce with low-fat milk. The result is a luxuriously silky sauce with a sweet roasted onion flavor for far fewer calories and less fat. We like the smaller size of pearl onions, but boiling onions also work well.

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Slow-Cooker Potato Soup Four Ways

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Be sure to use waxy potatoes, such as red or Yukon Gold, in this crockpot potato soup recipe. The result will be creamier than if you use starchy varieties like russets. Load your bowl up like a classic baked potato or see Tip (below) for more ways to mix it up.

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Real Cornbread

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This traditional cornbread is made without flour, isn't sweet and has a crumbly texture. You can change the adaptable recipe to suit your cornbread preference. For a variation, substitute 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for the baking powder and use buttermilk instead of milk. If you're looking for a more muffinlike texture, substitute flour for half the cornmeal. 

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The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce

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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!

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Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk

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These garlic mashed potatoes are extra creamy, thanks to the addition of both butter and buttermilk. To prevent the potatoes from getting gummy, be sure not to overmix them in Step 2. Mashed vegetables tend to get cold easily; keep all tools—the ricer and bowl—warm by running under hot water before using.

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Herb-Roasted Turkey

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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 show-stopping Thanksgiving turkey.

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Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

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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.

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Slow-Cooker Dinner Rolls

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These dinner rolls are baked in the slow cooker, then browned under the broiler for a couple minutes for a crisp crust. The results? Billowy, crusty, decadent rolls to serve with any meal. 

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Our Best Traditional Pumpkin Pie

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Get the classic creamy pumpkin taste but less saturated fat and sugar with this lightened-up recipe.

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Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing

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Cornbread stuffing, a Southern favorite, is a nice change from more traditional white-bread stuffing. Our delectable recipe uses Italian turkey sausage, rather than pork, and omits all the butter and cream to cut the fat by two-thirds. The stuffing is lower in sodium as well and so easy to make that it's sure to become a favorite side year-round.

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Pecan Pie

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Give classic pecan pie a healthy makeover—this recipe replaces some of the corn syrup and uses a whole-wheat flour crust for a delicious dessert. Top with whipped cream to make it extra-special.

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Sweet Potato Soufflé

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This scrumptious sweet potato soufflé is sweet without being cloying like some sweet potato casseroles can be. A crunchy pecan-and-oat topping nicely complements the creamy sweet potatoes. The casserole requires just 25 minutes of active time to prepare, so you can whip it up for Thanksgiving without a lot of fuss. And the filling can also be made up to five days ahead, so you just have to top it and bake it when it's showtime. With a sweet potato soufflé that's so easy, there's no need to serve it just for the holidays—try it with oven-fried chicken and green beans for a healthy dinner with a Southern accent.

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Candied Carrots

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A combination of brown sugar and apple juice makes these easy candied carrots sweet but not cloying. Chopped fresh thyme brightens the flavor in this classic side dish, but feel free to omit it if you want an even simpler dish. Serve with chicken, pork or your Thanksgiving dinner.

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Slow-Roasted Rosemary Turkey with Peppercorn Gravy

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A rub made of herbs, lemon zest, and garlic infuses every bite of this juicy bird. It's accompanied by a rich homemade gravy made from pan drippings and a touch of cream.

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Sweet Potato Casserole

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This scrumptious sweet potato casserole gets fabulous flavor from honey and freshly grated orange zest rather than the traditional stick of butter. To complete the healthy makeover we sprinkle a crunchy pecan streusel spiked with orange juice concentrate over the top. You can save the marshmallows for s'mores.

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Sausage Stuffing

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This classic stuffing pairs turkey sausage with the tangy sweetness of apples. By using turkey sausage instead of pork, we cut the fat content from 19 grams to 4.

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