Recipes Holidays and Events Recipes Thanksgiving The 10 Essential Thanksgiving Dishes for a Traditional Holiday Spread By Mary Claire Lagroue Mary Claire Lagroue Mary Claire Lagroue works as an associate commerce editor at Food & Wine. A former associate editor at Allrecipes, she joined Dotdash Meredith in 2019. She has written about food since 2017, and her work can be found in Cooking Light, Southern Living, and more. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on October 27, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Allrecipes No Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without _______. We can't fill in the blank with just one recipe. After all, the assortment of foods we pile onto our plates each Thanksgiving sets this holiday apart. But we've condensed our collection of recipes to 10 essential dishes that Americans associate with Turkey Day. Of course, you may prefer tofu turkey to turkey or cornbread dressing to bread stuffing. But you'll find some combination of these herby, creamy, sweet, and cinnamon-spiced flavors on Thanksgiving tables near and far. 01 of 11 Chef John's Roast Turkey and Gravy View Recipe Chef John "The biggest myth in all of American cookery is the belief that a juicy, perfectly cooked turkey is difficult for the novice cook to achieve," says Chef John. "One of the secrets to a moist, delicious, and beautiful turkey is spreading butter under the skin. You can season the butter any way you want; the possibilities are endless." See How Chef John Preps and Roasts a Turkey 02 of 11 Chef John's Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy View Recipe Pictured: Chef John's Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy. Allrecipes Magazine Did you know you can make this Thanksgiving staple ahead of time? Chef John even recommends it! "This make-ahead turkey gravy frees up valuable kitchen time for Thanksgiving, plus it will look and taste even better than those frantic, last-minute versions," he says. Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Sides That Hold Up in the Freezer 03 of 11 Awesome Sausage, Apple and Cranberry Stuffing View Recipe beccajulia A perfect counterpart to rich, savory turkey and gravy, this sweet stuffing stars apples and cranberries. "This Thanksgiving stuffing is fantastic," says Stacy M. Polcyn. "It is very flavorful and fresh-tasting. This recipe will stuff a 10-pound turkey plus extra. I replaced the usual pork sausage with much healthier turkey sausage. Other dried fruits may also be used in place of cranberries." The Best Thanksgiving Stuffing and Dressing Recipes 04 of 11 Chef John's Sweet Potato Casserole View Recipe Allrecipes This sweet potato casserole goes strong on savory. Instead of brown sugar, maple syrup does the sweetening here. And the topping stars pistachios instead of mini-marshmallows, keeping things nice and savory. This classic casserole comes out of the oven beautiful and delicious, an amazing combination of tastes and textures. Our 15 Best Veggie Side Dishes for Thanksgiving Dinner 05 of 11 Absolutely Delicious Green Bean Casserole from Scratch View Recipe Allrecipes Magazine "No cans here! Fresh mushrooms, onion, and herbs with frozen green beans, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese make this a delightfully tasty twist on the traditional casserole," says Auriel. America's Best Regional Side Dishes for Thanksgiving 06 of 11 Roasted Brussels Sprouts View Recipe KGora The Allrecipes community can't get enough of this top-rated recipe for oven-roasted Brussels sprouts — it has more than 4,000 rave reviews! It's a great way to incorporate a healthy pop of color into your Thanksgiving spread. 19 Fool-Proof Thanksgiving Recipes for Beginner Cooks 07 of 11 Maple Walnut Cranberry Sauce View Recipe Holiday Baker This quick-and-easy cranberry sauce is sweetened with maple syrup and spiced with freshly grated ginger, a splash of sweet port, a cinnamon stick. Toasted chopped walnuts finish things off. "The maple syrup sweetens it perfectly and the walnuts make the texture so much more interesting," says Chef John. The Most Popular Unique Thanksgiving Recipe in Your State 08 of 11 Basic Mashed Potatoes View Recipe lutzflcat Simple and delicious. "If you love good, old fashioned mashed potatoes, this is the perfect recipe," says Esmee Williams. Our 20 Best Thanksgiving Potato Recipes 09 of 11 Brown Family's Favorite Pumpkin Pie View Recipe Noel Of all the desserts you could serve at Thanksgiving, pie should top the list. And if you're going to serve pie, pick pumpkin. Recipe submitter Cindy B. calls this top-rated pie's walnut streusel topping "optional," but you can't go wrong with streusel. Our 10 Most Popular Thanksgiving Pies for Your Feast 10 of 11 Pecan Pie View Recipe Melissa Duncan This Southern pecan pie is as classic as it gets. Use a store-bought pastry crust or use our top-rated Butter Flaky Pie Crust recipe to make your own. Save Room for 20 of Our Most Popular Thanksgiving Desserts 11 of 11 More Inspiration Pam Ziegler Lutz Try one of Grandma's Best Thanksgiving Recipes. Plus, explore our entire collection of Thanksgiving Recipes. Grandma's Farmhouse Turkey Brine Grandma's Cranberry Sauce Grandma Mac's Green Beans Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit