Our Thanksgiving Menu Ideas with Wine Pairings collection will get you ready for the holiday! Choose an entire menu to follow, or pick out recipes and wine pairing ideas to round out your own plans.
We originally created this collection of Thanksgiving menu ideas in 2020, when the global health crisis disrupted many of our holiday plans
These menus are still a great resource for anyone preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, and are also handy for experienced cooks serving smaller crowds than usual.
With these factors in mind, we have put together some menu collections of fairly easy Thanksgiving recipes along with wine pairing suggestions. Each of our menus suggests three courses with wine pairings; so even if you are just cooking for your immediate family, you can make it a special meal.
The recipes featured here are a combination of Cooking Chat contributions along with selections from my fellow food bloggers. We have tried to put together Thanksgiving menu ideas that are balanced, doable and delicious! These menu ideas seek to put enough variety on the table to make it festive, but have a few less items than might be offered for a larger crowd.
If you want some additional ideas for your Thanksgiving menu, check out our 23 Thanksgiving Sides roundup. And when it comes time for leftovers, be sure to check out our Leftover Turkey Stew with Butternut Squash recipe and our Leftover Turkey Pasta with Mushrooms.
This article on wine pairings for turkey is a great resource for more ideas on what wine to serve for Thanksgiving.
Introducing our menus
- The Classic Roast Turkey & Sides menu is the one that most closely resembles what we would enjoy when my folks host the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. It features a beautifully prepared whole roasted turkey from Grow a Good Life and some classic sides. It starts with our delicious Cranberry Jalapeño Dip and wraps up with some super sweets. And you can’t go wrong with the wine pairings! Click here to see the details of this menu, with links to the recipes.
- Our second Thanksgiving menu idea centers around our Herb Roasted Turkey Breast recipe. Flavored by a combination of herbs common in French cooking, the turkey breast is easy to prepare and perfect for a smaller group. The menu gets started with an elegant soup, and has some substantial sides that are good options for vegetarians. Click here to get the menu details, wine pairings and recipe links.
- Our third set of Thanksgiving Menu ideas we call our “creative” option. In this one, gravy for the turkey is replaced with a cranberry Merlot sauce. We suggest serving this up with a pumpkin kale risotto and one of our favorite fall salads, among other things. Oh yes, and of course will be pouring Merlot with this menu! Click here for the details.
Menu 1: Classic Roast Turkey & Sides
From Grow a Good Life
Menu 2: Herb Roasted Turkey Breast
Creative Menu – Turkey Breast with Cranberry Merlot Sauce
Appetizers
This easy and festive appetizer features zesty pesto sauce spread over crispy toasted baguette slices and topped with tomatoes. Cooking Chat recipe.
Shrimp with Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce
How about an easy shrimp appetizer for to get Thanksgiving started? This recipe is bursting with flavors that will make your mouth happy!
Appetizer Wine Pairing
Sauvignon Blanc is a classic choice for anything with pesto, and it definitely would work nicely here. But you could experiment with other crisp whites, too.
Main Course
Roasted Turkey Breast with Cranberry Merlot Sauce
Try Roast Turkey Breast with Cranberry Merlot Sauce for a savory sweet alternative to traditional turkey gravy. Cooking Chat recipe.
Roasted Beets and Butternut Squash
This easy gluten free recipe makes a flavorful and healthy addition to your Thanksgiving meal plan. Cooking Chat recipe.
Pumpkin Risotto with Crispy Kale
Scrumptious mashed potatoes recipe Pumpkin Risotto with Crispy Kale is the perfect fall food. Creamy, savory, cheesy, and so delicious! From Hoorah to Health.
Ripe pears add delicious flavor to a spinach salad. A touch of spice added to the simple dressing makes for a delicious, easy side salad. Cooking Chat recipe.
Main Course Wine Pairing
Red: A California Merlot is a natural choice to go with the sauce, and is also excellent with the roasted beets. Choose one with some refinement — not a fruit bomb, nor one that has a lot of oak or tannins. Longboard, Trefethen and Decoy are a few Merlots I’d suggest for this menu.
Dessert
This southern-style sweet potato pie is so smooth and rich, with the flavors of brown butter, roasted sweet potatoes, and brown sugar, all in a flaky all-butter pie crust! Recipe from Chenée Today.
We’ve suggested a lot of pie here, how about some ice cream! This pumpkin spice ice cream takes the flavors of pumpkin spice latte and elevates it to a whole new level. Recipe from Keep Calm and Eat Ice Cream.
Sarah
What a great collection of Thanksgiving menus, lots of wonderful inspiration here.
And thank you for including my pumpkin spice ice cream.
Cooking Chat
Thanks for sharing a recipe, Sarah!