We all know that by now, we should all have a clear idea of what we’ll be eating tomorrow and who we’ll be eating it with. But “should” doesn’t always mean “does”, especially not in our house. So we’d like to help you out with some last-minute T-day recipes you can pull off quickly and without a hitch. Because while we can’t bake you up some friends, we can certainly help you with your menu plans.
If you need even more recipes, check out this list of 15 of our fave Thanksgiving recipes, or our list of the best Fall dessert recipes.
Let’s start with morning treats – we all need something to tie us over before the main meal but we also don’t want to feel too full. For something slightly sweet and autumnal flavored, try this Pumpkin Spice Bread. This bread is moist and delicately flavored with spices and pumpkin. If you’ve got a pumpkin pie waiting for you at the end of the big meal, then this will make the perfect bookend. It’s coffee’s perfect companion and will keep your blood sugar going while mashing potatoes and waiting for the turkey to roast.
If you’re looking to fancy things up and add a soup to your meal, then look no further than this Butternut Squash Soup. This soup is so easy to make and requires so few ingredients that you should add it to your menu regardless. Your guests will appreciate the extra effort but you’ll know that it took you no effort at all. This butternut squash soup is a little sweet, from the squash and the apples, and it’s peppered with fresh herbs to bring all the flavors together.
This soup may not be the standout item of the night, but it’ll surely bring comfort and provoke nostalgia for the ending of autumn.
Thanksgiving desserts have always been ruled by pie. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and sweet potato pie are the 1% of pies – they hog all the sweet glory for themselves, leaving the rest of the dessert world to be shoved to the side or completely forgotten once Thanksgiving rolls around. Well, I won’t have it.
This Brown Butter Cinnamon Sweet Potato Challah Bread is certainly not your mama’s challah. While I love making Thanksgiving bread rolls out of challah bread dough, this loaf definitely lands firmly on the dessert spectrum with its layers of cinnamon-sugar swirls and delicate nuttiness from the brown butter. And whether you serve this as a sweet counterpart to savory gravy or as another alternative dessert option, any leftovers will make for epic morning-after-Thanksgiving french toast. You’re welcome.
This Kahlua Chocolate Pecan Tart will fit in nicely with any of those other haughty pies, but its naughtiness will make it an alternative you’ll want to take center stage. It’s spiked with enough Kahlua to make a small child inebriated, so keep this one on the adults-only table. While all tarts need a crust, it takes its place as an afterthought behind the tart filling. Not here. This chocolate tart crust is buttery, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey, and will blow any other pie or tart crust out of the Thanksgiving water.
To all of our friends, family, readers, and everyone else in between, have a happy holiday. Be safe, be kind, and don’t forget the importance of sharing a meal together.
Mother’s Day is just around the bend, so I’m thinking it’s time to start getting my act together. My mother literally birthed me, and aside from being kind of horrifying to think about, that’s a totally incredible thing. So while I may not be the perfect child, I know that I owe my mama something – not only for the whole birthing thing, but for all the years that I’ve managed to stay alive. So here’s to you, mothers: an honest-to-goodness thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do. You’re all basically superwomen. The least I could do was make you a cake.
