We have no family that lives close to us. So unless we combine our Thanksgiving celebration with friends or have family visiting, we normally have a small gathering at our home. It is something we actually enjoy. Sometimes the holidays can be overwhelming for me, so the smaller gathering is actually a relief. Over the years we have tried buying a complete meal from Wholefoods and other years I have made it from scratch from the appetizers to the desserts. But for 4-6 people it is a lot of work. So I decided to try some new things this year and share some Simple Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas!
Making an Easy Family Thanksgiving Dinner
What started me on this journey was a sheet pan turkey dinner post from Tablespoon.com You can see it HERE. I did make their sheet pan meal, however, and it was good. But I felt I could make it better.
First, I have a fabulous stuffing recipe you can use HERE. It by far surpasses in flavor anything I have ever made. But it is also my own recipe, so of course it is my favorite! LOL However, I did LOVE their sheet pan organization of cooking the side dishes. That was stellar! I could not find half a turkey breast so I made a full in bone turkey breast separately according to my own recipe, which I will share.
I could not cook what I did on one pan as they did, however, I did a pretty good job of condensing it to one roasting pan and one baking sheet!
Alternative Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas
If you don’t want to do a sheet pan type meal, feel free to bake your sweet potatoes in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot. There is no wrong way to do this. It really is whatever makes it easiest for you. Because when it is a holiday, no one wants to spend the entire day in the kitchen!
Best Thanksgiving Sides
If you are wanting to add some yummy sides or desserts checkout my apple cranberry pie recipe HERE! Or buy a pie, its okay to do that too! I never make my own gravy because I never seem to get it right! So that is always store bought. Buy or make cranberry sauce. The Ocean Spray recipe on the bag is great. If you want to add some diversity, add a chopped up apple, the juice of one orange and orange zest! I guarantee you will love it!
Simple Thanksgiving Dinner
Ingredients
- 1 5-6 lbs In Bone Turkey Breast *You can also buy a bonesless turkey breast if it makes it easier
- 4 medium Leeks, cut into slices *Turkey Recipe
- 1 tsp Dried Rosemary *Turkey Recipe
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder *Turkey Recipe
- 2 medium Granny Smith Apples, cored and sliced *Turkey Recipe
- 2 tbsp Butter, melted *Turkey Recipe
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme *Turkey Recipe
- 4 medium Sweet Potatoes
- 1 lbs Fresh String Beans with the ends trimmed
- 1 1/2 cup Cooked Bacon Bits *I used thick cut bacon
- 1 medium Shallot, chopped
- 1 cup Chopped Pecans
- 1-2 cups Mini Marshmallows
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 lb Ground Pork Sausage *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient *use chorizo if you want more spice!
- 1 12 oz bag Herbed Season Stuffing Mix *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient
- 3 cups Chicken Broth *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient
- 1 medium Apple *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient *I use Honey Crisp when possible
- 3 stalks Chopped Celery *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient
- 1/2 medium Yellow Onion, chopped *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient
- 1/2 cup Chopped Dried Cranberries *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient
- 1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient
- 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient
- 1/2 tsp Salt/Pepper to taste *Stuffing Recipe Ingredient
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Rinse the turkey breast and pat dry. Place apples and leeks on bottom of roasting pan. Put the turkey on top of the apples and leeks.
- Combine melted butter and seasonings. Brush the seasoned melted butter over the turkey breast. Cook for 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours and 20 minutes. Internal thermometer should read 165 degrees. Loosely tent with aluminum foil and let it stand for 10 minutes before carving.
- Clean and dry sweet potatoes. Place on a baking sheet at one end. Pierce each potato with a fork 2 to 3 times. Set aside.
- In a separate frying pan, cook ground sausage until no longer pink. Drain any excess fat. Combine remaining stuffing ingredients in pan until thoroughly combined. Place a piece of foil on the opposite end of the baking sheet from sweet potatoes and create an aluminum foil "pan" by mounding the stuffing on the foil and folding up the sides. Cover loosely with another piece of foil. Cook in oven with turkey for about one hour or until sweet potatoes they are soft when pierced.
- Once turkey is done, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Slice sweet potatoes in half and "mush" up the centers. Then drizzle a little melted butter on each side, and distribute the mini marshmallows and chopped pecans on top. Keep to one side of the baking sheet.
- Toss green beans in olive oil with cooked bacon and chopped shallots. Salt and pepper to taste. Place on opposite end of the baking dish from the sweet potatoes or in the middle of baking sheet with potatoes and stuffing at either end. And remove the foil from top of the stuffing. Cook for 15 minutes. Or until stuffing is crisp on top, marshmallows are toasted and green beans are cooked.
- Enjoy your simple Thanksgiving dinner!
Conclusion
I hope you have a fabulous holiday season! This post was a lot of fun for me to do! We have so many things to be thankful for. So please have a blessed and amazing holiday season and I hope this Simple Thanksgiving Dinner is perfect for your family holiday meal!
Products I love!
I just purchased these adorable mixing bowls! I love them! So cute and excellent as serving dishes! Purchase them HERE from Amazon!
Furthermore, I cannot say enough about my pots and pans! I love them, and they are so pretty! Another fabulous purchase form Amazon!
More importantly, thank you for spending your time here at Colorado Kelly! I love having you here and appreciate everyone that comes to visit and look forward to having you come back soon!
*This post may contain affiliate links! That means, I may get a commission at no additional cost to you! I do not recommend any products/services that I don’t use and love myself!
Easy Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla Recipe
Talya Stone
Wow can’t believe it’s this time of year already! This looks like a nice and easy dinner to make and definitely a crowd pleaser.
Kelly
Thanks!
Bill
This is so awesome! We are so busy all the time, and this year, we’ve actually been dreading all the cooking involved with Thanksgiving. This will let us enjoy the holiday and the food!
Kelly
Yes! That is what I hoped for!
Rose Ann Sales
Wow! That was a really nice and amazing recipe I know it taste so delicious. I’m going to try this recipe for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Kelly
You’re welcome!
Eileen M Loya
I love simple and easy to make Thanksgiving dinners. I am saving your recipe and will be making it for my family this year.
Kelly
I hope you enjoy it!
Knycx Journeying
Great Recipe and it looks incredibly easy to make for a family dinner. I would love to try that this yeatr and I think everyone will like it. 🙂
Kelly
I am sure they will!
Alita Pacio
The Pandemic has taught us many things, one is that Life is short and there`s so many things to be thankful for. Having a simple dinner on thanksgiving day is enough
Kelly
Yes it is!
Brianne
Thanks for sharing the products you love. I need those mixing bowls in my kitcchen
Kelly
They are awesome!
Beth Pierce
Indeed, there are so many things to be grateful and thankful for. Thanks for sharing your recipe
Kelly
Yes there is!
Claudia
I love how pretty your pots and pans are. I want a set too!
Kelly
Thank you!
Thena
This looks amazing! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holiday and I cant wait to make this.
Kelly
Good! I hope it makes the holiday cooking a little easier!
Kat
This recipe is kinda intimidating to me. I think I need to try cooking this first to see if I made it correctly before actually serving it on Thanksgiving. Thank you for this recipe. I’m excited!
Kelly
Trust me, it was intimidating for me to do!!!
Holiday Lobster
I’m always in favor of keeping things simple, especially when it comes to Thanksgiving. I’ve even considering not cooking a turkey at all and instead splurging on some lobster tails or crab legs. They’re so easy to buy online and even easier to prepare. I might pair them with your sweet potatoes which look delicious.
Kelly
We normally do a turkey breast!