How to cook your first Thanksgiving: 11 easy recipes

If you’ve finally decided to “adult” in a real way and host your own Thanksgiving, it can be an intimidating process. But never fear - it’s all about having fun! If you pour your heart and love into your food, along with some of these practical tips from us, you’ll be well on your way to a successful soirée and a happy crowd.

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It’s easy to get lost in the creativity of the of the meal, so you might want to scale back a bit and just plan out which elements of the meal you can make the day before to save yourself an overload of work on the actual day.
It’s also totally acceptable to try to make things like the pumpkin pie, the gratin, and the casserole the day before so you can easily reheat it the day of.

Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays of the year. You don’t have to buy anybody presents, there’s no pressure, and the food is just so satisfyingly decadent. It has everything you could possibly want from a meal. Close company, excessive amounts of food, and some festive customs that involve a very necessary reminder of gratefulness - something we tend to lose sight of in today’s busy world.

Even if it’s your first time through, your guests will be grateful for your efforts toward putting together your first Thanksgiving feast with some of these 11 easy recipes.