Find recipes for Thanksgiving Day sides such as mashed potatoes, candied yams, and homemade biscuits here.
Are you ready for Thanksgiving Day? No need to fret, I have you covered with most of the basic Thanksgiving Day Meal recipes ranging from candied yams, mashed potatoes, to cranberry relish. My favorite holiday can’t go on without having every single dish on the table and I hope this guide helps you as well. Regardless of current times, the show must go on folks!
Thanksgiving Day Meal
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Let’s be thankful that we are still here today and give thanks to those who have stood by our side during these chaotic times.
With all of that said, let me start with what a menu generally looks like on Thanksgiving Day around here. Any or all of these items can be served depending on how many people you are serving or your taste preferences. This is just a general guideline of what I have grown to love on this given holiday. It is by no means perfect.
Just know, that if you are over for Thanksgiving at The Curry Mommy residence, then almost all of this will be on the Thanksgiving Day Meal menu. You can customize these recipes based on your likings and dietary restrictions (vegetarian or not). If you prefer your food spicy, then add some spices! Want to go dairy free? Give it a go! #nojudgementzone

I do ask that you tag @thecurrymommy or #thecurrymommy on any social media platform when sharing my recipes. I love seeing your creations and it makes my efforts here feel so worthwhile!
THANKSGIVING DAY MENU
- Turkey (no recipe posted)
- Ham (no recipe posted)
- Candied Yams
- Mashed Potatoes
- Stuffing
- Gravy
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Corn/Corn on the Cob (steam and serve with butter) (no recipe posted)
- Green Bean Casserole
- Cornbread, Biscuits, or Dinner Rolls
- Cranberry Sauce/Relish
Thanksgiving Day Meal Desserts
- Pumpkin Pie (no recipe posted)
- Pecan Pie (no recipe posted)

Candied Yams (sweet potato casserole)
A traditional dish made with sweet potatoes, pecans, sugar, marshmallows, and baked to perfection. A must have on Thanksgiving Day!
- 4 cups sweet potatoes, pealed, cube chopped, and boiled/steamed
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- 2 cups marshmallows
- ¼ cup chopped pecans (+ extra for garnish)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream (or milk)
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
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In a large bowl, mash half of the the sweet potatoes and leave the other half cubed.
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Add the pecans and cinnamon powder.
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In a small butter pot, brown 2 tbsp of the butter. Add heavy whipping cream/milk and the sugar. Let it come to a simmer on low heat making sure to stir/whisk the whole time.
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Mix the butter pot contents with the sweet potatoes.
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Put the sweet potatoes in an oven safe pan and spread it out evenly with a spatula so the top has a flat surface.
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Brown the additional 1 tbsp of butter and pour it over the sweet potato mixture. Try to be as even as possible. Feel free to use more butter if you need to (It's Thanksgiving! Go big folks.)
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Layer the marshmallows on top of the candied yams. Get pretty with it! Use some extra pecans and write your family's surname; use a cookie cutter and have a pattern/leaf in the middle; alter lines of pecans and marshmallows… or be simple and just use marshmallows on top.
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Tightly cover the oven safe pan with foil paper. Leave air in the middle so the foil does not touch the marshmallows at all.
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Bake for 10 minutes at 350.
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Uncover the foil and bake again for 10 minutes.
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If you prefer to brown your marshmallows even more, broil them on low heat for 1-2 minutes (keep an eye on them though).
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Serve HOT!

Green Bean Casserole
A deliciously baked green bean casserole with fresh green beans, cream of mushroom, and fried onions. See my special tips below. Yes, it is time consuming but worth every bit of effort.
- 4 cups green beans, chopped and steamed (slice lengthwise in half, and then 1 inch pieces… trust me)
- 1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup (10oz)
- 4 oz French's fried onions
- ⅛ tsp fresh coarse black pepper (more or less)
- 1 cup milk or heavy cream
- 4 oz French's fried onions
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In a large bowl, mix everything together for the casserole (save time and mix it in the oven safe pan you will be cooking in)
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Place the mixture in an oven safe pan and cover tightly with foil.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (if your green beans are cold, add 5 minutes to the timer).
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Uncover the foil and layer the French's Fried Onions on top.
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Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
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Serve hot!
Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese

A gourmet mac and cheese recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to make. Soft pasta, crunchy panko, and creamy cheese combined to give you the ultimate satisfying dish.
- 1 box macaroni and cheese (Kraft, Velveeta, Annie's, etc)
- 4 oz cream cheese (more or less)
- handful spinach, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp butter
- splash milk
- diced jalapeno (optional)
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Heat a small pan with butter on medium heat.
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Once the butter is melted add the Panko Bread Crumbs.
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Cook for about a minute until very lightly browned and remove from the heat.
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Prepare the mac and cheese according to the boxed instructions
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Once done, keep the mac and cheese pot on low and add finely chopped spinach to it.
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Add chunks of cream cheese. TIP: cut it off of the block or spoon it out of a container. You want to have chunks and not blend into the sauce.
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Add jalapenos and a splash of milk.
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Mix gently so the cream cheese does not begin to melt in the warm pot. The spinach will begin to wilt at this point.
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Place mac and cheese in an oven safe pan.
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Pour the breadcrumbs over the macaroni and cheese and spread evenly across the top.
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Bake in a 350 degree oven for 3-5 minutes. The bread crumbs can brown quick, so it's best to keep an eye on it.
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ENJOY! <3
Cranberry Sauce/Relish

A sweet and tangy dish with a bit of crunch that is perfect for Thanksgiving or using as a jam for toast, bagels, and english muffins.
- 8 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 ½ cup sugar (brown, white, or a mix)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 orange, zest + juice
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Place all of the ingredients in a pot and mix together.
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Turn on the heat to medium/low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes stirring frequently.
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After 15 minutes the cranberries should have cooked through and combined into a mixture with the other ingredients.
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Transfer into a refrigerator safe container and let it cool to room temperature. SIDE NOTE: You can enjoy the dish at room temperature or cooled.
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Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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Enjoy <3
Happy Eating, Folks!
Mashed Potatoes
The perfect mashed potatoes are made with science in mind. Get fluffy mashed potatoes every time with this recipe.
- 4 cups boiled potatoes, pealed and cubed (use half russet and half red)
- 2 oz cream cheese or sour cream (optional)
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- ¼ cup chicken broth (or equivalent bouillon for concentrated flavors)
- ¼ cup milk or heavy cream
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- salt
- pepper
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In a large bowl, gather the contents starting with the HOT cube boiled potatoes. The potatoes must be hot when making this dish. I think it plays a big role in making fluffy potatoes.
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Add cream cheese and mayonnaise to the bowl. Do not mix yet
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In another small pot melt the butter (you can use the same one you boiled potatoes in to save time or microwave these contents).
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Add the milk/heavy cream and broth/bouillon to the pot and let it come to a boil.
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Pour the mixture into the bowl with the HOT potatoes.
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Now take a masher and mash the potatoes to combine it together (you can also fluff perfect potatoes in a kitchen aid mixture!) Key tip: all ingredients should be same temperature.
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The mixture may be a bit runny but it will become fluffy and thicken as it cools within minutes of whipping/mashing.
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Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve hot.
Stuffing/Dressing
A quick thanksgiving stuffing that is made with a box of goodness and turned into a fancy must have. This is stove top stuffing baked in the oven and made in a way that is not written behind the box. A little behind the scene in my kitchen.
- 1 6oz package stove top stuffing
- 2 cups broth of choice
- 1.5 tbsp butter
- 2 celery ribs, diced finely
- ½ onion, diced finely
- herbs for garnishment (sage, rosemary, thyme)
- shredded turkey (optional)
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Heat oven to 350 degrees.
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In an oven safe pan, empty the dry stove top contents and mix in shredded turkey (if using).
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Heat a sauce pan on medium heat. Melt the butter and cook the onions and celery until slightly translucent (about 3-5 minutes).
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Mix the celery and onions with the stove top stuffing in the oven safe pan (toss it together for a quick mix)
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Pour the broth over the stove top stuffing. Lightly toss the ingredients.
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Cover tightly with foil and cook in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until heated through.
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Sprinkle some fresh chopped herbs on top and serve hot.
Cornbread
The easiest and tastiest cornbread on the market is without a doubt Krusteaz Honey Cornbread. We enjoy it year around and I highly recommend it for this holiday as well.
- 1 package Krusteaz Honey Corn Bread
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Make the cornbread according to the packaged instructions and enjoy as is!
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Want to spruce it up? Add a cup of cheddar cheese and jalapenos to the batter before baking.
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Make it pretty by topping it with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and fresh sliced jalapenos.
Biscuits
These biscuits make it to our table year around. They mimic KFC biscuits and taste great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you as a carb lover.
- 4 cups Bisquick
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup 7-up or Sprite
- ½ cup melted butter
- all purpose flour for dusting
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Heat oven to 425 degrees.
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Mix together the bisquick flour, sour cream, 7-up or Sprite. Feel free to use a Kitchen Aid mixture since the dough might get a bit sticky.
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Continue to mix all of the contents together folding it over and kneading well.
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Flatten the dough out onto an all purpose flour dusted surface.
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Using a cookie cutter (or any round object) make round biscuits. The number will vary based on how big your cutter is.
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In a cookie sheet pan, pour the melted butter.
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Place each cut out biscuit on top of the butter.
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Cook for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
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Enjoy hot with butter and honey!
Gravy
Using drippins from your turkey make this tasty gravy!
- 4 cups turkey drippings or any packaged broth of your choice
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- salt and pepper to taste
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In a sauce pot, heat the butter until fully melted.
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Add the all purpose flour and whisk together until the flour is semi brown. (It will be a thick roux and you can add extra butter if you wish)
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Pour the broth into the pot and continue to whisk until heated through.
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Boil for about 2 minutes. The gravy will thicken as it cools.
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Serve warm.
My Favorite Holiday Note
I sincerely hope you enjoy all of these recipes! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and as horrible as I feel about not being my extended family, I know that social distancing will keep them safest. My favorite Thanksgiving dish is definitely dressing (a mixture of turkey, stuffing, and gravy). I do not remember a year of my life where I did not celebrate Thanksgiving with these traditional foods. In fact, I remember my parents making it a point to get us a full plate whether they took us out to a restaurant (cracker barrel, lubys, dixie cafe), drove us to a family or friends house, or ordered in.
Those memories make this holiday special for me. It reminds me of my late father who made this holiday special year in and year out. With that said, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! Sending you lots of good vibes and hope for a 2021 filled with laughter love and lots of togetherness.