Menu: A Quick and Easy Thanksgiving

You can still have a festive homemade feast without slaving away for hours (or days) preparing the spread; this menu—featuring a simple broken-down turkey roasted over root vegetables, a crunchy raw brussels sprouts and kale salad, and more recipes with easy-to-find ingredients, little prep work, and quick cooking times—lets you focus on enjoying yourself and the company of your loved ones.
See 8 more complete Thanksgiving menus (with no recipe overlap) in our gallery »

The Menu

Planning Tips

The turkey takes just under two hours to fully cook (much faster than a whole bird would), so get the turkey started first, then the remainder of the menu can be completely finished within those two hours. Keep checking the temperature of each piece of turkey while it cooks, some pieces will be done before others and should be removed so they won't get dry.
Want additional quick and easy options for your menu? See our gallery of last-minute Thanksgiving recipes »
For more simple appetizer ideas, see our collection of Thanksgiving appetizers. Some of the recipes, like stuffed celery and roquefort and walnut canapés, don't require any cooking.
Fresh salads are an often-overlooked Thanksgiving side option, but they come together more quickly�and are just as delicious�as their oven-cooked counterparts. Make any one of these twelve holiday salads for satisfying sides with minimal preparation.

Comments (1)

by DARRIN NORDAHL on 2012-11-18

I've always wondered why soup isn't a more popular dish during Thanksgiving, especially given the cool weather and the bounty of soup-worthy veggies.

I made a creamy sunchoke and leek soup tonight, and it was so well received, I think I will make it again to accompany our Thanksgiving feast. And it was VERY quick and easy to prepare! http://365wholefoods.blogspot.com/2012/11/jerusalem-artichoke-sunchoke-helianthus.html