Free Customizable Thanksgiving Meal Plan {Adjustable Quantities & Shopping List}

Thanksgiving in the United States is always the fourth Thursday of November and kicks off a long weekend of family, food, football, and shopping. But mostly food. Lots and lots of food.

Our free meal plan for Thanksgiving dinner can help.

Thanksgiving Meal Plan

As someone who loves to cook, I'm always torn between sticking with tradition and trying something new. Usually that means one or two new recipes alongside the tried and true recipes my family loves. I'm including two options for a few dishes, but if you are hosting a crowd you may want to include both options. It's totally up to you!

Thanksgiving
Notes
If you buy a frozen turkey, allow at least one day of refrigerator thawing for every 4 lbs. of turkey. The Baked Orange Cranberry Sauce can be prepared ahead and refrigerated. Save the turkey carcass and about 2 cups of leftover turkey (dark meat is good for this) from your Thanksgiving meal to use for Turkey Noodle Soup in the weekly meal plan.
Main Dish
Roast Turkey or Turkey Breast
Sides
Baked Orange Cranberry Sauce Sweet Potato Casserole or Roasted Butternut Squash Mashed Potatoes or Macaroni and Cheese Better Green Bean Casserole Herb Dressing or Cornbread Dressing Dinner Rolls
Desserts
Apple Galette Pumpkin Pie

While you can adjust quantities in the recipe cards below, those will not be reflected on the shopping list. In the collection at the bottom of this post (which is where the shopping list is generated), adjust the number of servings to fit your needs (a zero will remove it from the shopping list and the printed collection). Then just print the shopping list and print the collection to use as your guide. The Print Recipes button will print all of the recipes, so just ignore the ones you aren't using.

If you aren't sure how much food you need, Butterball has a nifty calculator for turkey and dressing quantities as well as cooking and thawing times.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Roast Turkey or Turkey Breast
Baked Orange Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole or Roasted Butternut Squash
Mashed Potatoes or Macaroni and Cheese
Better Green Bean Casserole
Herb Dressing or Cornbread Dressing
Dinner Rolls

Sliced roasted turkey breast with golden brown skin on a white plate garnished with parsley

Easy Roast Turkey and Gravy

Sometimes the best is also the easiest. Slow roasting a turkey seasoned with turkey rub makes a tender and delicious bird for your holiday meal.

Baked cranberry sauce with bits of orange and coconut

Baked Orange Cranberry Sauce

Orange marmalade gives cranberry sauce a delicious citrus twist.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping

Streusel topping takes sweet potato casserole to the next level.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Candied Pecans

Roasted butternut squash is a perfect fall side with a dash of nutmeg and just the right amount of sweetness. Its rich fall color along with the taste of candied pecans and nutmeg make it an excellent choice for a Thanksgiving side dish.

Glass dish with mashed potatoes topped with butter and paprika

Homemade Mashed Potatoes

Whether you prefer creamy potatoes or potatoes with some body to them, homemade mashed potatoes are worth the effort.

A single serving of macaroni & cheese with a bread crumb topping with a fork and garnished with fresh thyme

Macaroni and Cheese

Homemade macaroni and cheese is worth the effort for the comforting "welcome home" feeling it evokes. This version with a crushed crouton topping is the perfect blend of creamy and crunchy.

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole is a staple at Thanksgiving tables all over the south—its creamy sauce and crunchy fried onions are a comforting reminder of home and holiday, and Fresh Green Bean Casserole keeps the tradition alive in this updated version with fresh and rich flavors, better texture, and brighter color.

White baking dish with baked cornbread stuffing

Homemade Dressing

Onion, celery, and garlic flavor this traditional herb dressing.

Cornbread Sage and Onion Stuffing

In this yummy dressing recipe from Culinary Ginger, delicious cornbread is mixed with fresh sage, onion and celery, moistened with stock then baked to achieve a crispy crunchy top.

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Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
8 ounces yellow onion, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped small
1 ¼ cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
6 cups cornbread, broken into large pieces
Salt

Notes

Thanks to Janette of Culinary Ginger for allowing me to feature this recipe and include the ingredients so they can be added to your shopping list. Grab the instructions at her site.