Thanksgiving Recipes to Add to Your Traditions - TulsaKids Magazine (2024)

The best Thanksgiving holidays aren’t always the ones where the turkey is perfectly cooked.

The anticipation of golden turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, tart cranberry sauce and pecan pie is dizzying. But if the pie crust is soggy or salt was used instead of sugar for the cranberry sauce, it’s still going to be a good Thanksgiving.

Gathering around the table is as much about family as it is the food. That beautiful feast may be the focal point, but what we’re more likely to remember is giving thanks together, passing around babies and taking pictures of the kids on their grandparents’ laps.

The familiar foods help us create traditions. The green bean casserole your great-grandmother made is now the one your own children can help make this year. It’s a special thing to create these traditions and memories with our children, and it helps them to feel connected to a larger family unit.

Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes. It’s fun to make your family’s traditions and then choose one or two new recipes to try each year.

This is such a delicious bread for nibbling on Thanksgiving before the big meal. It’s also good the next day for breakfast.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Bread

• 2 eggs
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 ¼ cups whole milk
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
• ¾ cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until blended. Stir in melted butter and then milk. Fold in dry ingredients just until blended. Add cranberries and pecans. Pour batter into loaf pan.
3. Bake 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto the rack.

My aunt’s cornbread and sausage dressing is our family’s favorite. But we also like this rice version.

Rice, Sausage and Pecan Dressing

• 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 1 cup water, divided
• ½ cup wild rice
• ¾ cup white rice
• 3 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• ½ pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 tart apple, peeled and diced
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup broth and ½ cup water to a boil over high heat. Add wild rice, bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low, then cover and cook 45 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
2. In another saucepan, bring remaining broth and water to a boil over high heat. Add white rice, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 15 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and celery, cooking 7 minutes or until softened. Scrape into large bowl. In same skillet over medium heat, cook sausage until done, breaking into small pieces. Drain fat, then add sausage to bowl with vegetables.
4. Add cooked wild and white rice to bowl with sausage and vegetables. Stir in apple, cranberries, pecans, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Spoon into casserole dish and dot with remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Cover and bake 30-45 minutes or until warmed through.

Kids can help make this easy – and delicious – spread for Thanksgiving. It’s perfect on homemade rolls or toast.

Pumpkin Apple Butter

• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 cup applesauce
• ¾ cup apple juice
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, simmering for 1 hour. Chill, then keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

This rich gratin is a hit with young and old alike.

Potato and Gruyere Gratin

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled sliced and divided
• 8 ounces Gruyere, shredded and divided
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Dash of nutmeg
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain.
2. Arrange 1/3 of the potatoes in a 3-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with ½ cup cheese, salt and pepper. Repeat layers once, topping with remaining potato slices. Set aside.
3. Combine milk and cream in a heavy saucepan, heating just to boiling. Whisk in nutmeg, then pour over potatoes.
4. Sprinkle remaining cheese over potatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are golden and tender.

Natalie Mikles is a mom of three – 12-year-old twin girls and an 11-year-old boy. She writes about food, sharing recipes for busy families and picky eaters. She has been recognized for her food columns as well as features on families and issues affecting local children. She loves pizza and movie nights with her family.