How do you make Thanksgiving feel easy, stress-free, and delicious – without spending all week trapped in the kitchen?

Whether you’re planning your holiday menu or organizing meals for the whole Thanksgiving week, this episode will help you make it all easier (and more enjoyable).

We’re breaking down how to plan a memorable Thanksgiving with:

1. The essential dishes we always agree on: vibrant sides, seasonal salads, and make-ahead staples.
2. A fully-tested vegetarian menu that satisfies every guest at your table.
3. A meal plan for the days leading up to the holiday, including a quick sheet pan dinner that feeds a crowd and saves your sanity.

Listen now for step-by-step Thanksgiving cooking strategies that will help you host confidently and create your most delicious, low-stress holiday yet.

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This time of year, we’re doing more cooking and hosting, which also means creating more food scraps. We love that with Mill, all those peels, bones, and bits don’t go to waste. You just toss them in, and overnight, it quietly transforms everything into dry grounds. You can use them in your garden, add to compost, or schedule them to be picked up and shared with farms. 

Mill is the easiest way to prevent food waste at home. It’s one small action that makes a big difference for your kitchen, your family, and the planet. 

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You can learn more at mill.com/foodfriends

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Links:

Sonya’s co-hosting Thanksgiving menu:

• Turkey
• Baked ham from Natasha’s Kitchen
• Classic last-minute gravy with turkey stock by Julia Moskin and Kim Severeson for NYT Cooking
• Ultra creamy mashed potatoes made with a ricer or food mill by Andy Baraghani for Bon Appetit
• Baked beans from Rancho Gordo (with vegetarian option)
• Parsnips with miso and parmesan by Yotam Ottolenghi for NYT Cooking
• Radicchio salad with walnuts and pears or radicchio salad from the Gjelina Cookbook
• Brioche rolls (although typically Amanda’s mom uses Julia Child’s brioche recipe, and forms the dough into rolls )
• Horseradish cranberry sauce by Mama Stanberg
• Roasted Apple and pear crumble with cranberry compote by Suzanne Goin, from the AOC Cookbook 

Kari’s easy weeknight recipes for cooking during Thanksgiving week: 

• Stuffed peppers with chickpeas and cheese by Melissa Clark for NYT Cooking 
• Maple and Miso Sheet Pan Salmon with Green Beans by Colu Henry for NYT Cooking 
• Roasted Tomato and White Bean Stew by Colu Henry for NYT Cooking

Kari’s potluck contributions for Thanksgiving Day:

• One of the cream pie recipes from Nicole Rucker’s Fat & Flour: The Art of a Simple Bake, or try this Banana Cream Pie from her book Dappled
• Browned Butter Pecan Pie Bars from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Sonya’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu:

• Dorie Greenspan’s pumpkin packed with everything good
• Wild mushroom gravy from Oh My Veggies
• Root vegetable mash by Jamie Oliver 
• Smitten Kitchen’s skillet-baked mac n cheese
• Roasted and raw brussels sprouts salad by Susan Spungen for NYT Cooking
• Vegetarian celery leek stuffing from Love & Lemons

Kari’s favorite delicious and decadent vegetarian Thanksgiving sides: 

• Zucchini with cream and parmesan breadcrumbs from Dining In by Alison Roman, adapted by Annie Varberg
• Hasslebeck butternut squash with sage butter by Half Baked Harvest (omit the prosciutto + breadcrumbs) 
• Corn Creme Brulée from Good Taste with Tanji (add jalapenos or chiles to cut sweetness) 

Our previous Thanksgiving episodes: 

• Thanksgiving 2022 with Seth & Lauren Rogen, which includes great tips about how to organize a potluck. 
• Our Top 6 Thanksgiving Sides from 2023
• Our 5 Essential Thanksgiving Dishes from 2024

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