Everything you need for Thanksgiving, in one place: a juicy herb butter roast turkey, the sides that make the plate, silky gravy from the drippings, and pies worth saving room for — plus a day-by-day plan so most of the cooking is done before Thursday. Every recipe here is written step by step with real ingredients, timings and temperatures, and every gear guide is researched and compared honestly. Start with the make-ahead plan if the day itself is what worries you; start with the turkey if it is your first year hosting. Either way, work from this page and you will not be searching for a missing side dish at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
Your Thanksgiving Day Timeline
Timings below assume dinner in the late afternoon and a whole turkey roasted on the day. Work backwards from your own serving time.
Monday 23 November — Make the cranberry sauce (it improves for two to three days in the fridge) and bake the pecan pie bars. Confirm the turkey is thawing: a large bird needs several days in the fridge, so if it is still frozen solid today, use a cold-water thaw and change the water every 30 minutes.
Tuesday 24 November — Bake the pumpkin pie and pecan pie; both need a full night to chill and slice cleanly. Assemble the sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole in their dishes, cover, and refrigerate (hold back the marshmallow and fried-onion toppings).
Wednesday 25 November — The big prep day. Make the mashed potatoes and refrigerate them for reheating. Make the gravy base from stock. Assemble the stuffing in its baking dish. Brine the turkey if you are brining. Chop every vegetable. Assemble the appetizers.
Thanksgiving morning — The turkey goes in first; almost everything else today is reheating. Set out the cold appetizers about 30 minutes before guests arrive.
While the turkey rests (30–45 minutes) — This is your busiest window and it is meant to be. Make the gravy with the hot drippings. Reheat the mashed potatoes. Bake the casseroles — marshmallows on the sweet potatoes for the last 10 minutes, fried onions on the green beans at the end. Warm the rolls and the pies.
Serving — Carve the turkey last, arrange it on a warmed platter, and put the gravy on the table hot. Everything else can wait five minutes; those two cannot.
After dinner — Get leftovers into shallow containers and into the fridge within about two hours. Tomorrow, they become the leftover turkey recipes below.
The full version of this plan, dish by dish, is our Make-Ahead Thanksgiving guide.
The Turkey
- Herb Butter Roast Turkey — the classic whole bird, roasted hot then low, rested and carved properly.
- Air Fryer Turkey Breast — for smaller tables, with crisp skin and juicy slices.
- Best Leave-In Meat Thermometers for Turkey — so the bird comes out at exactly 165°F, not a degree of guesswork.
- Turkey Brine Recipe — for the juiciest bird: 12–24 hours in brine the day before.
- Best Roasting Pans for Turkey — a heavy pan that fits your bird and your oven.
- Best Carving Knives for Turkey — thin, clean slices instead of shredded meat.
Appetizers
- Thanksgiving Appetizers: 12 Easy Starters — small, mostly make-ahead starters that keep guests happy while the turkey finishes.
- Baked Brie with Cranberry — the warm centrepiece: a wheel of brie under cranberry sauce, baked until it slumps.
Sides & Gravy
- Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes — the full roundup to build your menu from.
- Creamiest Mashed Potatoes: Make-Ahead Method — make them up to two days early and reheat fluffy.
- Best Hand Mixers for Mashed Potatoes — if you are shopping for the day.
- Best Turkey Serving Platters — for getting the bird to the table in style.
- Homemade Turkey Gravy — from the drippings: rich, silky and lump-free in 20 minutes.
- Sausage & Herb Thanksgiving Stuffing — savory, buttery, crisp on top — baked separately for the best texture.
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce — four ingredients, 20 minutes, and it keeps for days.
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows — fluffy, buttery sweet potatoes under a toasted marshmallow top.
- Classic Green Bean Casserole — the from-scratch version, with a homemade mushroom cream sauce.
- Best Gravy Separators for Thanksgiving — smooth, fat-free gravy without the juggling.
- Best Casserole Dishes for Thanksgiving — oven-to-table dishes sized for holiday sides.
Desserts
- Pecan Pie Bars — all the pie, half the work: 24 bars from one pan.
- Classic Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie — silky spiced filling, flaky crust, and it bakes two days ahead.
- Classic Pecan Pie — the whole-pie classic, for tables that expect one next to the bars.
- Thanksgiving Desserts: 15 Pies Beyond Pumpkin — the full dessert spread: chocolate, fruit, bars and a low-carb option.
- Southern Sweet Potato Pie — pumpkin pie’s southern cousin, for the skeptics.
After the Day
- Leftover Turkey Recipes: 15 Day-After Ideas — plus the storage and reheating rules that keep leftovers safe.
- Leftover Turkey Pot Pie — the day-after classic, with the last of the gravy if there is any.
- Leftover Turkey Soup — start with the carcass: the cheapest, best soup of the year.
New to hosting? Read the Make-Ahead Thanksgiving guide first, pick your sides from the Thanksgiving side dishes roundup, and let the timeline above run your week. The turkey is the only dish that has to happen on the day — everything else on this page can be started, and most of it finished, before Thursday.