The best Thanksgiving recipes walk the line between tradition and technique—roast turkey, herb stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans and pumpkin pie, each with clear methods and real measurements.
The best Thanksgiving recipes are the ones people expect to see—roast turkey, herb stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans and pumpkin pie. They work because they've been tested across generations, refined in hundreds of home kitchens and adapted just enough to stay relevant without losing the core flavour that makes Thanksgiving feel like Thanksgiving.
This guide walks through six cornerstone dishes with clear ingredient lists, tested techniques and the historical context that explains why these recipes became traditions in the first place. Whether you're cooking for family, hosting a team potluck or running a virtual team building cooking class around Thanksgiving themes, these recipes deliver.
Thanksgiving wasn't codified by royal decree. The menu evolved slowly, shaped by what was available, affordable and scalable for a crowd. Turkey was native to North America and large enough to feed extended family. Stuffing used day-old bread—waste nothing. Mashed potatoes were cheap, filling and required no special skill. Sweet potatoes, green beans and pumpkin were harvest staples.
By the time Sarah Josepha Hale successfully campaigned to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, these dishes had already become cultural shorthand for gratitude, abundance and home. They remain the foundation because they're approachable, adaptable and—crucially—they taste good together.
A well-roasted turkey is golden-brown, moist and fragrant with herbs. The tradition of serving turkey on Thanksgiving dates to the early 19th century, though it's debated whether turkey appeared at the 1621 feast. By the time the holiday became official, turkey had become the default—it was native, affordable and large enough to anchor a communal meal.
After running hundreds of cooking team-building sessions, we've found that roasting turkey intimidates people less than they expect—it's mostly patience and a reliable thermometer. For a modern twist, Chef Gordon Ramsay's version includes a bacon, onion and lemon stuffing that adds savoury depth; you can explore his method here.
Stuffing—also called dressing in parts of the United States—is as essential as the turkey itself. The dish began centuries ago as a way to stretch ingredients and add flavour to roasted meat. In the American South, cooks add sausage and pecans; in the North, wild rice and dried cranberries. The versatility is what keeps stuffing relevant: every family adapts it, yet the core remains stale bread, aromatics and herbs.
We recommend baking stuffing outside the bird—it's safer, easier to time and you get more of the crispy edges everyone fights over. For a gourmet version with apples, sausage and cranberries, Chef Ina Garten's recipe adds sweet and savoury complexity.
Mashed potatoes are synonymous with comfort. Their creamy texture and buttery richness balance the savoury turkey and herbed stuffing. The dish is simple—boiled potatoes, butter, milk, salt—but technique matters. Use starchy Russet potatoes for fluffiness, mash by hand (not in a food processor, which turns them gluey), and add hot milk so the texture stays smooth.
Mashed potatoes are forgiving and scale beautifully—perfect for team events where you need a dish that can sit warm without suffering. In our virtual team building activities, we often pair mashed potatoes with gravy as a make-ahead component that participants can reheat while the turkey rests.
Sweet potato casserole walks the line between side dish and dessert. The classic version is mashed sweet potatoes topped with toasted marshmallows—a dish that became popular in the early 20th century when marshmallows were marketed as a modern convenience ingredient. Some prefer a pecan streusel topping for a less sweet, more textured finish.
Sweet potato casserole is polarising—some love the marshmallow sweetness, others prefer savoury sides—but it's undeniably Thanksgiving. In team cooking events, it's a low-stress dish that gives less confident cooks a win.
Green bean casserole is an American invention—created in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company test kitchen—and it stuck because it's easy, uses pantry staples and delivers creamy, crunchy satisfaction. Fresh green beans are blanched, tossed with cream of mushroom soup, then topped with crispy fried onions.
Green bean casserole is nostalgic, crowd-pleasing and reheats well—ideal for potlucks or seasonal team celebrations where dishes need to travel.
Pumpkin pie is the Thanksgiving dessert—smooth, spiced and autumnal. The filling is a custard of pumpkin purée, eggs, cream and warm spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves), baked in a flaky pastry crust. Pumpkin has been part of American harvest cooking since colonial times, and by the 19th century, pumpkin pie had become the traditional close to Thanksgiving dinner.
Pumpkin pie can be made a day ahead, which makes it invaluable when you're juggling multiple dishes. It's also a forgiving recipe—minor variations in spice ratios still deliver a recognisably Thanksgiving flavour.
Thanksgiving dishes are collaborative by design. One person can prep the turkey while another makes stuffing; someone else tackles mashed potatoes while a fourth handles dessert. The menu is naturally modular, which makes it ideal for virtual team building cooking classes where participants cook in parallel then share results on screen.
After running hundreds of team cooking events, we've found Thanksgiving menus spark more stories than almost any other theme—everyone has a family variation, a strong opinion on marshmallows versus pecans, or a memory of a turkey disaster. That emotional engagement is what turns a cooking class into a bonding experience.
The recipes are also forgiving. Mashed potatoes can sit in a warm oven, stuffing reheats beautifully, and pumpkin pie improves overnight. For distributed teams juggling time zones or hybrid groups where some cook at home and others gather in an office kitchen, that flexibility matters.
These six recipes—roast turkey, classic stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie—form the foundation of the best Thanksgiving menus because they balance tradition, technique and adaptability. Each dish has earned its place through decades of refinement, and together they create a meal that feels both abundant and familiar.
If you're planning a Thanksgiving-themed event for your team—whether in-person in Luxembourg or virtually with colleagues around the world—these recipes scale beautifully and invite participation at every skill level. They're approachable, story-rich and delicious, which is exactly what you want when the goal is connection, not just calories.
ChefPassport has run Thanksgiving cooking sessions for distributed teams across time zones, hybrid groups in Luxembourg office kitchens, and client appreciation events where the menu needed to feel festive without being complicated. The feedback is consistent: Thanksgiving recipes work because they're nostalgic, collaborative and—crucially—they taste like gratitude.
Interested in a corporate cooking class in Luxembourg or a virtual team building cooking class built around seasonal themes? We'd be happy to help you design a menu that fits your team's skill level, dietary needs and event goals.
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