I Made 10 Of The Most Popular "Miracle" Thanksgiving Recipes On The Internet — Here's What I Thought Of Each

You basically just chop the vegetables, coat the turkey in olive oil and seasonings, and assemble the stuffing in a layer topped with a mixture of spices, egg, and broth. Toss everything in olive oil and spices, add some fresh herbs if you're feeling fancy, then throw everything onto a sheet pan (or two if you need some more room) and roast it in the oven at 425°F for 35–45 minutes. Keep an eye on your food while it roasts and flip the veggies a time or two. My stuffing started looking very golden brown early on, so I covered it with a piece of tin foil to prevent burning.

Everyone has a recipe for mashed potatoes, and everyone has an opinion about how mashed potatoes should be: slightly lumpy or perfectly creamy, skin left on for texture or peeled, etc. Well, I came cross Tyler Florence's mashed potato recipe, which stood out for one major reason: rather than boil the potatoes in water, he actually boils them in heavy cream. Say what?! In addition to cream, the potatoes are boiled in smashed garlic, thyme, and bay leaf.

Once tender, the potatoes are strained from the cream mixture and the garlic and herbs are discarded. Then you fold the cream back into the mashed potatoes and finish them with butter, olive oil, and grainy mustard. I topped mine with some fresh chives as well because IMO, chives make everything better.

These mashed potatoes were decadent. They were thick and dense and really rich. Spooning them onto my plate felt like a small arm workout. I am personally a lover of fluffy and airy mashed potatoes so these were a bit much for me, but they were certainly a treat and an excellent vessel for gravy. Would I make these again? Probably not. But if you love creamy, rich mashed potatoes, give 'em a try.

Recipe: Tyler Florence's Grainy Mustard Mashed Potatoes

It's no wonder why the Instant Pot has such a loyal fan club. This miracle appliance cooks food so darn fast. So when I came across a recipe for Instant Pot turkey and gravy, I was intrigued. Roasting a whole bird takes quite a while, but in the Instant Pot, you can cook a four pound turkey breast in about 30 minutes flat. If this actually worked, it would be a godsend for busy, time-pressed Thanksgiving hosts everywhere.

You can use either a boneless or bone-in breast here. I opted for the latter because it's all I could find. First, rub the turkey breast in olive oil and spices. Start by turning the Instant Pot to the high sauté setting and searing the turkey on all sides until the skin is golden brown. Next, turn on the Instant Pot and set the timer for 25 minutes. I read some comments in the recipe that claimed there wasn't enough liquid, so I also added about half a cup of turkey stock. After 25 minutes, release the steam and open the lid to find a moist and juicy, fully cooked turkey breast. If you want to continue with the gravy, just add butter, flour, turkey broth, and half-and-half to the drippings and continue sautéing until the liquid thickens.

I love cranberry sauce. I actually think it's one of the most important sides on the holiday table because it goes with literally every other side and the sweetness/tartness perfectly compliments the rest of the rich foods. And while I am not above a can or store-bought, jellied cranberry sauce any other day of the year, Thanksgiving is a time to go the extra mile and make this dish from scratch. Which brings me to the easiest, four-ingredient cranberry sauce anyone can whip up. Side note: I always thought cranberry sauce must be annoying to make since there are so many store bought options, but turns out I was very very wrong.

Simply combine fresh cranberries, orange juice, a cinnamon stick, and granulated sugar in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer for about ten minutes until the cranberries begin to break down and the sauce thickens. Once you take it off the stove it will be pretty loose, but give it an hour or so to cool and it thickens up perfectly. This cranberry sauce is delicious with a great texture to it — it's spreadable but you can still taste the whole cranberries a bit. It's also on the sweeter side. so next time I would add a little bit of orange zest and a pinch of salt. As an added bonus, it gets better the longer it sits in the fridge so you can make it well in advance of Thanksgiving dinner.

Recipe: Four-Ingredient Cranberry Sauce

I don't like to bake so I thought this recipe looked intimidating, but turns out it was really easy. You just combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another, and then you mix them together into a sticky batter. Peel core, and dice some Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples and add them to the mix. Now, it's time to air fry. I placed a piece of parchment paper on the wire wrack of my air fryer so the gooey dough wouldn't stick, then I sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray. I placed big spoonfuls of the dough onto the rack and air-fried it for about seven minutes at 390°.

At first I was skeptical that these fritters would come out well, but upon opening the door to my air fryer I was taken aback: These dough blobs turns into fluffy, crispy, golden apple fritters. I flipped the fritters and air-fried them for about two minutes more until fully cooked.

There are plenty of ways to include corn on your Thanksgiving table like creamed corn, cornbread, and corn pudding. So when I came across this TikTok dish that appeared to be a mixture of all these corn recipes in one, I felt compelled to try it for myself. This corn bake only requires a few ingredients: canned corn, Jiffy corn bread mix, heavy whipping cream, an egg, and honey.

It couldn't be much easier to make. You pour two cans of corn into a mixing bowl and add a box of Jiffy corn bread mix. Add an egg, the cream, and a drizzle of honey. Mix it all together and pour into a baking dish. Then, sprinkle the second Jiffy corn bread mix all over the top of the corn bake. Pop it into the oven at 350°F for about 40 minutes until the top layer is golden and slightly crispy.

In theory, this recipe is delicious, but there was one main issue: the second box of Jiffy corn bread mix was far too much. As a result, the top layer was too crumbly and loose and never really set. If I make this again, I would use half a box for the crumbly topping. Secondly, it tasted better after it sat in the fridge for a few hours. At first the corn bake was too loose and jiggly and difficult to cut and serve. But after a little time in the fridge, it became sliceable. I really liked the flavors: the inside is almost like creamed corn while the top layer is similar to corn bread and all together it tastes like a custard-y pudding. It's very unique and tasty and a fun addition to your holiday table.

Recipe: TikTik's Jiffy Cornbread Bake

Despite my high hopes, it didn't take long to realize that this recipe was going to be a real pain in the ass. It was difficult enough rolling three crumbly and broken store-bought pie crusts into one cohesive rectangle that could be placed onto a sheet pan. This first step took me about an hour. And then, there are the fillings. Now, it would have been really cool if this recipe used a similar, basic base for all three fillings, but no: you're essentially prepping for three totally different pies. On top of that, the instructions seem pretty straightforward, but there are a bunch of little sneaky tricks throughout. For instance, you have to cook and mash the sweet potato, roast the pecans, and melt the butter then wait for it to cool. All of this added up to take a pretty significant amount of time.

Once the three fillings were complete, it was time to assemble the pie. This part actually went much better than expected. I thought that each of the fillings would run into one another creating a Jackson Pollock-like pie, but in fact they more of less stuck to their third of the sheet pan. I baked the sheet pan pie at 350°F for about an hour until the filling seemed set and the crust was beginning to turn golden. Next, I let the pie cool at room temperature and then wrapped the sheet pan in foil to sit in the fridge for six hours.

Ultimately, this three-in-one sheet pan pie was actually really delicious (what could be bad, really?). It was so tasty that I almost forgot what a headache it was to make. But no, I will not be making this again. And unless you want to torture yourself, I would suggest you avoid it, too. Just make three damn pies. It's the same thing, and you get more of each. Also, pumpkin and sweet potato aren't that different. I would much rather have swapped one out for an apple filling. But that's the end of my baking rant.

Recipe: Three-In-One Sheet Pan Pie

Start with your favorite stock. Chicken or beef work, but try to find turkey because duh, Thanksgiving. Add two chicken bouillon cubes to the stock and microwave or stir over the stove top until the bouillon is dissolved in the liquid. In another sauce pan, melt the butter, then add the flour and spices. Stir in the stock mixture slowly, whisking as you go to make sure it's all incorporated and smooth.

Continue whisking for about a minute longer until the gravy starts to thicken. You'll be able to tell right away. Then transfer to a bowl and serve. This gravy was thick and creamy, despite the fact there's actually no cream or milk involved. It also has a ton of flavor, thanks to that miracle bouillon cube and a few spices. Of course, if you're a fan of really creamy gravy, stir a little half and half in here after the flour. That will give it that very rich flavor.

Recipe: Five-Minute Gravy

I mourn the end of summer for a number of reasons, but one major source of my sadness is that come November, it's no longer seasonally appropriate to drink Aperol spritzes, one of my absolute favorite warm weather cocktails. But enter: the winter Aperol spritz. There's nothing groundbreaking about this cocktail recipe, but I wish I thought of it sooner. The simple addition of cranberry juice and a rosemary spring takes a summertime drink and makes it totally seasonally appropriate. Genius!

OK, I'm not going to lie and say this is as excellent as a traditional Aperol spritz, but it's definitely good. And while Aperol usually tastes like summer in a glass, the combination of Prosecco, rosemary, cranberry, and orange makes it taste fall festive. You could use any cranberry juice, of course, but I went with Trader Joe's sparkling cranberry punch, which IMO feels like it was basically created as a cocktail mixer. It tastes like a cranberry punch spritz, and I can definitely get behind that.

Recipe: Winter Aperol Spritz

Grab a muffin tin and add a big spoonful of stuffing into each hole. Press the stuffing down and make a little well in the middle of each for the egg. Crack an egg into each stuffing cup. For this part, I would suggest buying medium-sized eggs because I had a good amount of egg white leakage with extra large eggs. Bake the stuffing cups at 350°F for about 10 minutes, until the egg whites are opaque and the yolk is set.

These were really delightful. And while these would make an amazing day-after-Thanksgiving breakfast, I wouldn't necessarily save them for leftovers. You could easily serve these at Thanksgiving dinner as a creative take on stuffing. I love how the egg yolk stays a bit runny so that when you cut into it, it makes the stuffing super moist and delicious.

Recipe: Leftover Thanksgiving Stuffing and Egg Cups