Thanksgiving food is the best. 🥧
But you don't need to spend tons of money and endless hours in the kitchen cooking a holiday spread. Here are some cheap and no-frills (but totally delicious!) recipes to get you started.
1. Turkey Stuffing Roll-Ups
Roll up stuffing in slices of deli turkey, cover in homemade or store bought gravy, and pop them into the oven seam-side down in a baking dish.
Recipe: Turkey Stuffing Roll-Ups
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2. Crescent Roll Brie Bites
Slice some brie cheese and roll it up in little triangles of crescent roll dough. Brush with melted butter and serve with cranberry sauce for dipping.
Recipe: Crescent Roll Brie Bites
3. Ground Turkey and Sweet Potato Skillet
All the best Thanksgiving flavors in a simple one-skillet recipe. Go the extra mile and toss some shredded Brussels sprouts into the mix.
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4. Cranberry Turkey Crescent Pizza
Instead of pizza dough, this Thanksgiving-ready pie calls for crescent roll dough. And in place of tomato sauce, it's topped with a mixture of pesto and cranberry sauce.
Recipe: Cranberry Turkey Crescent Pizza
5. Upgraded Mac 'n' Cheese With Bacon, Mushrooms, and Brie
No one needs to know the base of this loaded mac 'n' cheese came from a box.
Recipe: Upgraded Mac 'n' Cheese With Bacon, Mushrooms, and Brie
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6. Three-Ingredient Spinach Artichoke Pinwheels
Pick up a pack of puff pastry dough, your favorite grocery-store spinach artichoke dip, and add some shredded Parmesan for extra cheesiness.
7. Thanksgiving Grilled Cheese
The best thing since sliced bread might just be this turkey, cranberry, and brie sandwich melted between two pieces of bread. If you didn't make a Thanksgiving turkey, go ahead and use deli turkey or even rotisserie chicken.
Recipe: Thanksgiving Grilled Cheese
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8. Three-Ingredient Green Bean Casserole
Canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, and fried onions is all you need to make this classic holiday side dish.
9. Baked Cranberry and Turkey Sliders
If you don't have every ingredient on the list, don't worry. All you really need is deli turkey, cranberry sauce, your favorite kind of cheese, and your go-to condiment like mayo or mustard. Just be sure to brush these sliders with melted butter before baking.
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10. Thanksgiving Turkey Burgers
Start with your favorite frozen turkey patties and them it on a bun with cranberry sauce, shredded Brussels sprouts, and some gravy for good measure.
Recipe: Thanksgiving Turkey Burgers
11. Thanksgiving Poutine
Start with frozen sweet potato fries and top them with anything from extra turkey and cranberry sauce to gravy and stuffing.
Recipe: Thanksgiving Poutine
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12. Air Fryer Turkey Legs
Not only is this recipe a cheaper alternative to roasting a whole bird, but it'll save you lots of oven space. Cooked in the air fryer, turkey legs get an incredibly crispy skin and super moist meat.
Recipe: Air Fryer Turkey Legs
13. Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs
Start with ground turkey meat and cornbread stuffing and you're half-way to these festive meatballs, the perfect party app or main dish.
Recipe: Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs
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14. Trader Joe's Two-Buck Chuck Sangria
Using cheap wine for sangria doesn't compromise the flavor. It's mixed with brandy, triple sec, orange juice, and lots of fruit for a delicious holiday cocktail.
15. Ruby Grapefruit and Rosemary White Claw Cocktails
How do you take a humble can of White Claw and make it fancy? Spruce it up with a spritz of sparkling wine, some fresh grapefruit, and a sprig of rosemary. Voilà.
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16. Three-Ingredient Apple Cider Cocktails
Apple cider (hot or cold) + whiskey + ginger juice. It's as simple as that!
17. Apple Pie Cake
If you're afraid of baking, this cake-pie hybrid will be a game changer. It starts with boxed yellow cake mix. If you want to make things even easier, grab some canned apple pie filling.
Recipe: Apple Pie Cake
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18. No-Cook Pumpkin Fluff Dip
Grab some canned pumpkin, instant vanilla pudding mix, and Cool Whip — and mix it all together. Just like that, dessert is served.
Recipe: No-Cook Pumpkin Fluff Dip
19. Four-Ingredient Apple Turnovers
Puff pastry dough, sliced apples, egg, and sugar are the only ingredients required for these hand-held apple pies.
Recipe: Four-Ingredient Apple Turnovers
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20. Three-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies
These cookies call for a secret ingredient: Cake mix! Yup, that's right. Spice cake mix, to be exact.
Recipe: Three-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies
21. Mini Pumpkin Pies
Start with refrigerated pie dough cut into little circles — then press the pie dough into the wells of a muffin tin. Fill the dough with a mixture of pumpkin purée, milk, eggs, and pumpkin spice and bake until set.
Recipe: Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Pies