Classic Thanksgiving Main Dish Recipes (2024)

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by Stacey Published: Nov 4, 2023

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This week’s recipe collection features classic Thanksgiving main dish recipes to make your celebrations easy and delicious!There’s a little something for everyone– from hams to turkey, prime rib to tantalizing stuffed tenderloin. It doesn’t matter if you’re serving a small crowd, a large one, or need a last minute solution for unexpected guests. Everything you need is right here!

Classic Thanksgiving Main Dish Recipes (2)

Each Thanksgiving main dish recipe included here delivers a mouthwateringly tender, perfectly seasoned and simple-to-make protein that is sure to make your holiday spread your most delicious yet. Holiday success has never been so appetizing!

For More Holiday Yum: 7 Must-Make Holiday Fruit Salads

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Classic Thanksgiving Main Dish Recipes (3)

Southern Pecan Crusted Ham

Easy Southern Pecan Crusted Ham is as delicious as it is gorgeous! This showstopping stunner bakes up golden brown with a rich brown sugar, molasses, apple juice glaze and buttery pecan crust. Savory, sweet and holiday perfect, you won’t believe how easy it is to bake up this amazing ham!

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Creole Roasted Turkey Breast

Coated with simple creole seasoning & butter, then roasted with fresh herbs & touch of citrus, bone-in Creole Roasted Turkey Breasts are deliciously tender, juicy & full of savory flavor! Perfect for holidays when you’re feeding a smaller crowd or maybe need just a little extra for unexpected guests.

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Holiday Prime Rib

Prime rib is the choicest of beef cuts.Rich, tender, elegant– but still the utmost of traditional family dishes– it harkens back to the golden days of those large family Sunday dinners. So come holiday time, prime rib might just be that perfect traditional, but unexpected, main dish you’ve been looking for to grace your family table.

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Bacon, Cranberries, Walnuts, and Collards Stuffed Tenderloin

In this stuffed pork tenderloin recipe, juicy roasted tenderloin wraps around a seasonal filling of bacon, collard greens and walnuts combined with cranberries and goat cheese to create a beautiful holiday and special occasions dish that looks fancy but is so easy to make!

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Classic Thanksgiving Main Dish Recipes (7)

Pineapple Mustard Glazed Ham

Beautifully glazed hams have taken center stage atholidays for as long as anyone can remember. Keeping with this star-powered tradition, thisPineapple Mustard Glazed Hamrecipe with its golden coat ofpineapple, mustards, brown sugar and horseradishoffers a kick of flavor that will soon become your go-to favorite!

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Southern Pecan Chicken

This gorgeous dish was Inspired by a visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Crusted with pecans and rosemary and covered in a delicious Dijon glaze and sauce, this mouthwateringly elegant chicken says special occasion, but is surprisingly quick & easy to whip up. But shhh… we’ll let that part be our little secret!

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The Perfect Peppered Pork Loin

This easy-to-follow Pepper Crusted Pork Tenderloin recipe uses a simple, wonderfully aromatic cracked peppercorn rub, plus Dijon mustard, to create a delightful main dish that is perfect for family meals or holiday dinners. First, seared in a cast iron skillet to seal in the juices then baked in an oven, this Perfect Pepper Crusted Pork Loin is melt in your mouth tender with a fiery little pepper kick!

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Classic Southern Pot Roast

Nothing says Sunday dinner like a fork tender, classic Southern Pot Roast recipe. Cooked low and slow with beef broth, red wine, savory seasonings, aromatic herbs and plenty of dinner vegetables, this traditional comfort food has been gathering friends and families around the dinner table for more years than we can count!

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Classic Thanksgiving Main Dish Recipes (11)

Chicken Stuffed Crescent Rolls

This recipe speaks for itself- buttery, flaky crescent rolls, stuffed with a cream cheese and chicken filling and smothered in a cheesy cream sauce. In short,Chicken Stuffed Crescent Rollsare quite simply divine. There are one or two other versions of this recipe floating around the Internet, but there is nothing that comes close to this onemy mamawbrought home from her little Louisiana beauty shop. Yes, the beauty shop. The source from which everything flows in a small southern town. The latest in style, class, local news, wisdom and, for all practical purposes, some of the best recipes that have ever been swapped. All done under dryer and cape. Those ladies knew their stuff and then some.

Classic Thanksgiving Main Dish Recipes (12)

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Classic Thanksgiving Main Dish Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are classic Thanksgiving dishes? ›

The classic Thanksgiving dinner includes old-time favorites that never change: turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, veggies, and pie.

What is the most common main dish for Thanksgiving dinner? ›

Turkey is a classic main course for Thanksgiving dinner, but that certainly doesn't mean you have to serve it every year.

What are the top 10 Thanksgiving foods? ›

Top 10 Thanksgiving Dishes
  1. Turkey.
  2. Stuffing/Dressing.
  3. Pumpkin Pie.
  4. Sweet Potato Casserole.
  5. Mashed Potatoes.
  6. Ham.
  7. Green Bean Casserole.
  8. Cranberry Jelly.
Nov 22, 2023

What are 3 main foods on Thanksgiving? ›

Many Americans would regard Thanksgiving dinner as "incomplete" without stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, and cranberry sauce. A recipe for cranberry sauce to be served with turkey appeared in the first American cookbook, American Cookery (1796) by Amelia Simmons.

What are the 3 traditional foods Americans eat during Thanksgiving? ›

Along with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry the "traditional" table now included white bread, apple pie, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and various fruit pies.

What is the most popular Thanksgiving meat? ›

About 3 in 10 U.S. adults (32%) who will celebrate Thanksgiving this year say turkey is their favorite dish in the holiday feast, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Stuffing or dressing (19%) and mashed potatoes (6%) come in second and third.

What is the most important food on a Thanksgiving table? ›

We know that the turkey is the showstopper on the table, but we're mostly here for the stuffing. Check out all of our favorite stuffing recipes; our classic stuffing is the undisputed champ of the bunch.

What did the pilgrims eat on the first Thanksgiving? ›

So, to the question “What did the Pilgrims eat for Thanksgiving,” the answer is both surprising and expected. Turkey (probably), venison, seafood, and all of the vegetables that they had planted and harvested that year—onions, carrots, beans, spinach, lettuce, and other greens.

What are 5 traditional Thanksgiving foods? ›

If you're lucky, there might even be leftovers to enjoy the next day!
  • 01 of 51. Roasted Herb Turkey and Gravy. ...
  • 02 of 51. Our Easiest Pumpkin Pie Ever. ...
  • 03 of 51. Buttermilk-Brined Turkey. ...
  • 04 of 51. Classic Candied Yams. ...
  • 05 of 51. Cornbread Dressing. ...
  • 06 of 51. Turkey Gravy. ...
  • 07 of 51. Classic Cranberry Salad. ...
  • 08 of 51. Yeast Rolls.
Jul 6, 2022

What is the most loved Thanksgiving food? ›

America's different regions can favor different local cuisines, and Thanksgiving dinner provides no exception. While turkey is the top selection in every region, side-dish challenger mashed potatoes are tied for first place in the Midwest (both winning 85% of matchups) and West (both winning 79%).

What is the most unpopular Thanksgiving food? ›

The Most Disliked Traditional Thanksgiving Foods
  • Ham — 25.57%
  • Coleslaw — 25.57%
  • Pumpkin Pie — 24.28%
  • Mashed Potatoes — 18.66%
  • Macaroni and Cheese — 17.47%
  • Carrots — 16.98%
  • Apple Pie — 16.29%
  • Corn — 15.50%
Nov 21, 2023

What is a traditional Black Thanksgiving dinner? ›

This is usually a mix of traditional Thanksgiving food and Black culture. You'll see the classic Thanksgiving dishes like turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing paired with collard greens, yams, mac and cheese, and other traditional Black dishes.

What can you eat for Thanksgiving besides turkey? ›

Thanksgiving Main Dishes That Are Better Than Turkey
  • Roast Chicken With Maple Butter and Rosemary. Image. Credit... ...
  • Beef Wellington. Image. ...
  • Ombré Gratin. Image. ...
  • Skillet Pork Chops and Apples With Miso Caramel. Image. ...
  • Samosa Pie. Image. ...
  • Maple-Baked Salmon. Image. ...
  • Lasagna. Image. ...
  • Ina Garten's Make-Ahead Coquilles St. Jacques.
Nov 10, 2022

Is ham traditional for Thanksgiving? ›

But turkey has some competition on some Thanksgiving tables by another crowd-pleasing main that's big enough to feed a crowd: ham. There are obviously no rules about what to eat on Thanksgiving – there's only tradition, and for some families, that tradition eschews turkey in favor of ham.

Why is turkey eaten on Thanksgiving? ›

Thanksgiving-type celebrations were common at the turn of the 19th century with many opting to put a turkey on the table instead of slaughtering a useful animal like a hen or cow that was producing other needed products, according to Britannica. Turkeys at the time, and still today, were raised to be meat birds.

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