10 Traditional Foods for a True Thanksgiving Meal
1. Turkey
Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without the turkey. The turkey is usually prepared whole, filled with fruit, vegetables or other stuffing. It’s also usually seasoned, which means covered in herbs for flavor and smell.
The turkey is then roasted, meaning cooked in an oven or over an open fire. The best-roasted turkeys are juicy and delicious, but roasting a turkey takes skill. The turkey is notorious (well known for something negative) for being dry.
2. Stuffing/Dressing
“Stuff” is another way to say “things.” But the verb to stuff means that you fill something until it’s full. Thanksgiving stuffing is the food that goes inside the roasted turkey.
But it’s also become a side dish, a dish of food that’s served next to the main course. Traditionally, Thanksgiving stuffing is made of bread and herbs, and sometimes sausage (a kind of hot dog) or other additional ingredients. Check out some stuffing/dressing recipes here!
3. Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are potatoes that have been boiled and peeled and then crushed (mashed) into a soft and creamy dish. Add butter, milk and some garlic, and you have a perfect dish!
4. Gravy
While you’re cooking the turkey (or any other meats), it will create juices. These juices can be turned into the gravy, a thick sauce. This sauce is usually poured onto the mashed potatoes to give them more flavor.
5. Cranberry Sauce
There is something about the sweet but tangy (slightly sour) flavor of cranberry sauce that makes it the perfect side dish for turkey. There are plenty of places that sell cranberry sauce, but it’s very easy to make on your own as well.
To make cranberry sauce, boil cranberries, sugar, lemon zest (grated lemon peel) and water, and then simmer it (cook on a small flame). That’s all you need to do!
6. Corn
Bread rolls are another staple (an important part) of the Thanksgiving meal. Many times, these rolls are cornbread, which is made with cornmeal, a powder from dried and ground corn.
Corn is served in other ways at Thanksgiving, too. You might eat corn on the cob, which is grilled whole corn, or creamed corn, which is mashed corn soup or sauce.
7. Green Bean Casserole
A casserole is a stew that’s cooked slowly in the oven. Green bean casserole has the cream of mushroom soup, fried onions and— of course—green beans!
8. Candied Yams
Sweet potatoes are yellow, creamy types of potatoes that are also called yams. The sweet flavor and soft texture of these potatoes make them a versatile (easy to use in many situations) side dish for the main course.
You can bake them, make a casserole with them or mash them like regular potatoes. Or you can add spices, brown sugar and butter, place marshmallows on top and bake them into candied yams—a deliciously sweet dish which might remind you of (make you think of) candy like the name suggests.
9. Pumpkin Pie
The pumpkin spice flavor in America now means that autumn is here. Almost everything has a pumpkin spice version! There’s pumpkin spice coffee, pumpkin spice cookies… there are even pumpkin spice sausages and bagels!
Surprisingly, the flavor doesn’t even have an actual pumpkin in it. But pumpkin pie does have pumpkin. A delicious warm spice and pumpkin filling inside a flaky crust will always warm you up. No wonder we love pumpkin spice so much in fall!
10. Pecan Pie
Complete the meal with a delectable (delicious) pecan pie, a pie that uses pecans (a type of nut) with spices and maple syrup. Pecan pie is irresistible (hard to say no to). Even if guests are too full to eat any more, they’ll make room for pecan pie!
1. Turkey
Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without the turkey. The turkey is usually prepared whole, filled with fruit, vegetables or other stuffing. It’s also usually seasoned, which means covered in herbs for flavor and smell.
The turkey is then roasted, meaning cooked in an oven or over an open fire. The best-roasted turkeys are juicy and delicious, but roasting a turkey takes skill. The turkey is notorious (well known for something negative) for being dry.
2. Stuffing/Dressing
“Stuff” is another way to say “things.” But the verb to stuff means that you fill something until it’s full. Thanksgiving stuffing is the food that goes inside the roasted turkey.
But it’s also become a side dish, a dish of food that’s served next to the main course. Traditionally, Thanksgiving stuffing is made of bread and herbs, and sometimes sausage (a kind of hot dog) or other additional ingredients. Check out some stuffing/dressing recipes here!
3. Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are potatoes that have been boiled and peeled and then crushed (mashed) into a soft and creamy dish. Add butter, milk and some garlic, and you have a perfect dish!
4. Gravy
While you’re cooking the turkey (or any other meats), it will create juices. These juices can be turned into the gravy, a thick sauce. This sauce is usually poured onto the mashed potatoes to give them more flavor.
5. Cranberry Sauce
There is something about the sweet but tangy (slightly sour) flavor of cranberry sauce that makes it the perfect side dish for turkey. There are plenty of places that sell cranberry sauce, but it’s very easy to make on your own as well.
To make cranberry sauce, boil cranberries, sugar, lemon zest (grated lemon peel) and water, and then simmer it (cook on a small flame). That’s all you need to do!
6. Corn
Bread rolls are another staple (an important part) of the Thanksgiving meal. Many times, these rolls are cornbread, which is made with cornmeal, a powder from dried and ground corn.
Corn is served in other ways at Thanksgiving, too. You might eat corn on the cob, which is grilled whole corn, or creamed corn, which is mashed corn soup or sauce.
7. Green Bean Casserole
A casserole is a stew that’s cooked slowly in the oven. Green bean casserole has the cream of mushroom soup, fried onions and— of course—green beans!
8. Candied Yams
Sweet potatoes are yellow, creamy types of potatoes that are also called yams. The sweet flavor and soft texture of these potatoes make them a versatile (easy to use in many situations) side dish for the main course.
You can bake them, make a casserole with them or mash them like regular potatoes. Or you can add spices, brown sugar and butter, place marshmallows on top and bake them into candied yams—a deliciously sweet dish which might remind you of (make you think of) candy like the name suggests.
9. Pumpkin Pie
The pumpkin spice flavor in America now means that autumn is here. Almost everything has a pumpkin spice version! There’s pumpkin spice coffee, pumpkin spice cookies… there are even pumpkin spice sausages and bagels!
Surprisingly, the flavor doesn’t even have an actual pumpkin in it. But pumpkin pie does have pumpkin. A delicious warm spice and pumpkin filling inside a flaky crust will always warm you up. No wonder we love pumpkin spice so much in fall!
10. Pecan Pie
Complete the meal with a delectable (delicious) pecan pie, a pie that uses pecans (a type of nut) with spices and maple syrup. Pecan pie is irresistible (hard to say no to). Even if guests are too full to eat any more, they’ll make room for pecan pie!
