Here’s everything you need to make the best Thanksgiving dinner, EVER. Fire up your grill, turn up that oven, open up your Amazon cart, and get ready to WIN on turkey day.
Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes
Thanksgiving dinner is my FAVORITE of all holiday dinners, and this post is featuring my favorites from all different categories!
Enjoy!
Thanksgiving Day Menu
Everything you need to make the best Thanksgiving meal, EVER.
Appetizers
Any good Thanksgiving meal needs to BRING IT for every course. Make sure that you have some appetizers available for people to munch on while they wait for the main event!
This cheesy twist on a classic artichoke dip takes smoked cream cheese, roasted garlic, and artichokes and gives you this Double Smoked Artichoke Dip!
Bacon-wrapped sausage rounds get stuffed with smoked roasted garlic cream cheese mixed with sharp cheddar. Then it gets smoked and drizzled with a tangy vinegar-based barbecue sauce.
This delicious whipped goat cheese spread has a honey-sweetened cranberry layer that is perfect for all of your upcoming gatherings!
This is one of the easiest appetizers that you'll ever make, but it tastes like it is SO fancy. Smoked Garlic Goat Cheese is going to make you very popular at your next dinner party.
Simple bacon wrapped scallops are grilled on the Traeger pellet grill until they are crisp, tender, and delicious.
Delicious and SIMPLE bacon ranch dip uses packaged ranch dip, thick-cut bacon, and magic. Or something. Because it is amazing.
These homemade coconut shrimp are crunchy and delicious. Quickly fried and then dipped into a sweet chili sauce, you'll love these for dinner or as an appetizer.
This tender Traeger bacon-wrapped shrimp are one of my favorite appetizers for the spring and summer months! Cookouts, potlucks, family gatherings, or just a regularly old day - your family will adore this flavor-packed shrimp appetizer!
My collection of incredible appetizers, all in one spot! You'll never be short of ideas for pre-dinner snacks for your guest, ever again.
The MAIN event
Traeger Smoked Turkey is going to quickly become your new favorite turkey method. Moist, tender, and with just enough smoke to keep it interesting - you'll be coming back for seconds. And thirds.
If you are making TWO turkeys, I highly recommend doing at least one of them spatchcocked!
This easy smoked turkey breast is cooked on a pellet grill, and is the perfect way to cook a turkey breast! Use it for sandwiches or on top of a big pile of mashed potatoes and gravy, but you've got to try this!
Delicious double-smoked and maple-glazed ham is a super simple pellet-grill recipe that is one of my favorite ways to enjoy ham!
A Traeger Pineapple-Glazed Double-Smoked Ham is perfect for your next big holiday dinner, or any random weekend, really. This ham is delicious, and a crowd-pleaser too.
We took a spiral cut ham, rubbed it smoked it and glazed it - all on the pellet grill! This is the best ham, ever, and the brown sugar glaze is my favorite!
POTATOES
Thanksgiving dinner isn't complete without a giant pile of mashed potatoes. Here are options for a stove-top version as well as a smoked version. Pick your favorite and run with it!
These are the potatoes that are just made to be loaded up with savory turkey gravy. Very creamy, very dreamy, and never disappoints.
If you want to fire up your grill, these are the potatoes for you. For Thanksgiving, I'd personally skip the "loaded" toppings, but you do you. The base recipe is wonderful, and would go GREAT with your Traeger turkey, or any turkey, for that matter.
Dressing and Stuffing
My tried-and-true stuffing and dressing recipes. Secret time, the dressing is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner!
Traditional Thanksgiving dressing gets the Traeger treatment! Save some oven space and use your pellet grill to cook Thanksgiving's best side dish.
Delicious homemade dressing recipe is easy to throw together, and adding the wild rice to the mix adds awesome flavor and texture!
More Must-Have Sides
These sides are always around at whatever Thanksgiving table I'm sitting at. Check them out!
Simply grilled spaghetti squash cooked right on the pellet grill! Served with browned butter and fresh herbs.
Grilled butternut squash is a simple fall and winter side dish that is all shades of versatile. Cooked with brown sugar and butter, this savory-sweet dish can be scooped right out of its shell, or mashed into oblivion and served mashed potato style.
This homemade green bean casserole doesn't contain ANY canned soups, and is one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner. Check out this awesome recipe from Will Cook For Smiles!
This roasted broccoli casserole is perfect for your Thanksgiving or Christmas table. Smothered in a creamy sauce and covered with cheese, even the vegetable haters in your life will love this.
All the sweet potatoes and marshmallows that one could ever need.
Sweet potatoes and yams are sliced and layered together in this sweet fall dish. Cooked in a brown sugar sauce spiked with bourbon and butter, and the whole thing is sprinkled with a light dusting of cinnamon.
Rolls are not optional
Homemade bread is a must-have for any special meal. Make extras for leftovers. You'll need them.
Tender, delicious, homemade rolls are made with milk instead of water to make them extra rich! You're going to love these!
These rolls are easy and some of my favorite rolls to serve at a big gathering! The honey and oatmeal lends a really awesome texture to the finished product! They are tender and fluffy, but also sturdy and good for a sandwich.
These tender, delicious, homemade milk rolls are made with milk instead of water to make them extra rich! Then they are cooked on the grill for one of the best rolls you will ever have. Ever.
Desserts
Pies and cakes and everything in-between. You need to bring your A-game for the Thanksgiving dessert table. Here are some recipes that'll have everyone saving room for dessert.
This classic pumpkin pie recipe has a touch of maple and vanilla in it before it gets baked on the pellet grill!
This apple crumble pie is the best of both worlds! Never pick between apple crisp and apple pie again.
No Thanksgiving Day dessert table is complete without Pecan Pie. This recipe also boasts ZERO corn syrup
Raspberry fluff pie can be thrown together in a flash, and is one of my favorite desserts. Leave the oven off, and get this awesome pie on your table!
This rich homemade chocolate mocha mousse is every chocolate-lover's dream. Easy to make, even easier to eat. Treat your holiday guests to something really special this year!
Drinks & Cocktails
You know you want to crack open that bottle of Prosecco while you are getting your apron on. Here are some festive cocktails to have around for whoever wants to partake.
This cranberry champagne punch is a bubbly sparkling cocktail that's basically a cosmo + champagne and chambord.
Prosecco, cranberry juice, orange juice and triple sec combine to make the perfect mimosa. You're going to love this easy weekend treat. Mix up a big batch and share with your friends!
Easy, delicious, and festive holiday drink!
Nicole Johnson
Nicole Johnson, a self-taught expert in grilling and outdoor cooking, launched Or Whatever You Do in 2010. Her blog, renowned for its comprehensive and creative outdoor cooking recipes, has garnered a vast audience of millions. Nicole's hands-on experience and passion for grilling shine through her work. Her husband, Jeremiah Johnson, also plays a pivotal role in recipe development, adding his culinary flair to the mix. Together, they form a dynamic duo, offering a rich and varied outdoor cooking experience to their followers.