A Real Food Thanksgiving Menu: Healthy, Nourishing & Delicious
Healthy Thanksgiving Menu: A Real Food, Nourishing Feast
Thanksgiving can often be a reminder of the brokenness of our food system today - prepackaged and additive-loaded food that leaves you somehow feeling both the desire to WAY overeat and also like your jeans might burst afterward.
(If you’re brave enough to wear jeans that is. Team stretchy pants over here.)
But Thanksgiving can also be a beautiful reminder of how much real, whole food can be comforting, connecting, and deeply nourishing.
For so many years, Thanksgiving felt like a big stress for me and my family - navigating time with multiple pockets of family, dealing with food sensitivities and allergies, and wanting to enjoy the experience while knowing the ingredients and menu items may be a bit questionable 😮💨.
It can be hard to find that balance of letting go of a little bit of control on Thanksgiving, knowing that you may consume dishes provided by someone else that have very little real food in them, while also wanting to use it as an opportunity to remind yourself and the people you’re feeding how incredibly delicious good, wholesome food is.
And I think that balance is worth talking about.
Because for many years of my life, I saw Thanksgiving as a meal I would need to “work off” with a long run and strict diet the next day.
Now, however, especially as someone who loves to do the Thanksgiving cooking, this holiday is such a precious opportunity to nourish and serve the people around me, even if it’s just within the walls of my home.
I don't want Thanksgiving to be another day where we are keeping score of what we ate.
I don't want to spend the holiday thinking about calories, what I “shouldn't” have eaten, or how I'll make up for it tomorrow.
I want to enjoy the food.
I want to make food from ingredients I feel good about feeding my family.
I want to sit around the table with people I love.
And I want to remember that food is about so much more than nutrition.
My middle son said the other day, “Why is food just so good??!”
To which I responded, “We have a really kind amazing God, who did not have to make our need for food also enjoyable, but he did. Isn’t that so fun?!”
YES.
Whatever your Thanksgiving looks like this year, friend, I hope you can find community, nourishment, and gratefulness in even the simple things - like real food being “just SO good.” 😉
So, I've put together some of my favorite real food Thanksgiving recipes and menu inspiration below to help take just a little bit of the stress out of this busy season, while pointing you toward food that is nourishing, delicious, and actually worth gathering around the table for.
My Real Food Thanksgiving Menu
If you're looking for a healthy Thanksgiving menu that doesn't feel like diet food, this is the kind of Thanksgiving spread I have in mind.
Think comforting sides, satisfying recipes, traditional flavors, and plenty of real ingredients - the kind of food that makes you want to go back for seconds because it tastes GOOD.
And perhaps most importantly: these aren't recipes that only belong on Thanksgiving Day.
They are the kinds of nourishing recipes you can keep in your weekly meal rotation all year long.
Rosemary Sausage Balls
I 100% took these Rosemary Sausage Balls to a Friendsgiving and every crumb was gone!
That feels like a pretty solid endorsement to me. 😉
These make such a fun Thanksgiving appetizer or Friendsgiving snack, especially if you're looking for something a little more substantial than the usual holiday grazing foods.
→ Get the Rosemary Sausage Balls recipe in my Fixin’s Cookbook
Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
Is there anything more Thanksgiving than a big serving of creamy mashed potatoes?
These are one of those simple, comforting sides that belong on the table - and they are also a perfect example of the kind of food I want more of around here: recognizable ingredients, satisfying flavors, and absolutely no need to make food boring in the name of “healthy.”
You may have a family-favorite recipe pocketed, but if not, you can find this savory pile of potato goodness in my Tots Cookbook!
Scalloped Potatoes
If you're a potato person, Thanksgiving is basically your time to shine.
Scalloped potatoes are another cozy side that can easily find a place on a Thanksgiving table, and they're exactly the kind of comfort food I want to make with real, wholesome ingredients.
Grab my favorite variation inside this cookbook, here!
Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole
This is another family-friendly favorite that would be right at home alongside your turkey and all the Thanksgiving classics.
And this is where I have to give a special shout-out to my Tots book, which also includes sour cream mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, and cheesy broccoli rice casserole - any of which would be another perfect addition to your Thanksgiving spread.
Here are just a handful of recipes to inspire you, but be sure to KEEP scrolling for two separate entirely mapped out Thanksgiving menus - from appetizers, to mains, to sides, and desserts!
My Real Food Thanksgiving Menus
I’ve put together two Thanksgiving menu ideas for you below, to help take just a little bit of the stress out of this busy season and point you toward food that will leave you feeling amazing and your taste buds super happy.
Whether you're hosting Thanksgiving yourself or bringing a dish to someone else's table, I hope these menus give you a starting point for a nourishing, delicious Thanksgiving made with real food.
And remember - you don't have to make every single thing on these menus! Pick the recipes that sound good to you, make what you can ahead of time, let others contribute, and enjoy the process.
Thanksgiving Doesn't Have to Be a “Cheat Day”
I think this is one of the most important things I could tell you as we head into the holiday season:
You do not need to earn your Thanksgiving meal.
You don't need to skip breakfast because you're going to eat a big dinner.
You don't need to “save up” calories.
You don't need to go for a punishing run the next morning.
And you certainly don't need to spend the rest of the weekend feeling guilty about enjoying your grandmother's pie.
I know this because I spent years living with that mentality.
For so long, Thanksgiving felt like something I needed to prepare for and then compensate for.
Now I see it differently.
Food can be nourishing AND delicious.
Food can support our health AND be part of celebration.
And one meal doesn't need to become another opportunity to turn food into a list of rules.
This is what food freedom looks like for me now: choosing nourishing foods because I genuinely love them, enjoying the foods that are special to a particular gathering, and letting Thanksgiving be about so much more than what is on my plate.
How to Make a Real Food Thanksgiving Less Stressful
I know that preparing a Thanksgiving meal can feel like A LOT.
There are groceries to buy, recipes to choose, family schedules to navigate, food allergies and preferences to consider, and approximately one million dishes to wash.
So my biggest advice?
Don't make it harder than it needs to be.
Choose recipes you actually enjoy making.
Make what you can ahead of time.
Don't feel like every single thing has to be made from scratch.
Let other people contribute.
And, perhaps most importantly, don't lose the point of the day because you're trying to make the “perfect” Thanksgiving.
The goal isn't culinary perfection.
The goal is to nourish and serve the people around you, gather around a table, enjoy some really good food, and make memories together.
And if you're someone who loves to cook, I hope you also let yourself enjoy that part of the holiday!
There is something really special about preparing food for people you love.
Want to Make Thanksgiving Cooking Easier?
This is exactly why I love having my cookbooks available as BOTH digital downloads and spiral-bound versions.
Instead of spending hours searching Pinterest, saving recipes from 14 different websites, and trying to figure out whether everything will actually work together, you can have a collection of recipes ready to go when you're planning your menu.
And these aren't Thanksgiving recipes you'll make once and then forget about.
They're the kinds of comforting, nourishing recipes you want in your weekly meal rotation!
Batch
If you want to simplify family meals beyond Thanksgiving, Batch is a wonderful place to start.
It's filled with practical, nourishing recipes designed to make feeding your family easier - especially when you're trying to get real food on the table without spending hours in the kitchen every night.
These are the kinds of recipes I want in my own kitchen during the busy seasons of life: comforting, satisfying, approachable, and made with ingredients I feel good about feeding my family.
Tots
And don't forget about Tots if you're feeding little people!
The Tots collection includes family-friendly recipes like sour cream mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, and cheesy broccoli rice casserole — all recipes that would be right at home on a Thanksgiving table.
Want More Real Food Family Meals?
If you're looking for simple, nourishing meals that your whole family will actually enjoy, I've got you.
Grab my free 5 Real Food Family Dinners guide for five easy dinner ideas you can add to your rotation — and I'll send it straight to your inbox.
→ Get the free 5 Real Food Family Dinners
Because I really do believe feeding your family well does not have to mean making food complicated.
It doesn't have to mean following another restrictive diet.
And it definitely doesn't mean giving up the foods you love.
Around here, we're after something much simpler:
Real food. Nourishment. Food freedom. And lots of really good meals around the table.
Whatever your Thanksgiving looks like this year, friend, I hope you find community, nourishment, and gratefulness in even the simple things.
And I hope you enjoy the food.
Because, as my son so perfectly reminded me:
Why is food just so good?! 🤎
Happy Thanksgiving, friend.
