Achieving a Stress-Free Thanksgiving
In my family Thanksgiving is kind of a big deal, especially for the host and it can easily go awry without a great thanksgiving menu. Imagine iaf you have to do things last minute, you’re missing ingredients or you realize you don’t have enough food. It is the worst if you forget to make something or your guests are waiting an extra 2 hours because the turkey isn’t done yet (real experience haha).
Some simple prep to make your thanksgiving dinner go smoothly is all you need! You’ll have less stress, spend less and make sure everyone can eat safely with this guide on how to plan the perfect thanksgiving dinner! We’ll cover how to make a thanksgiving menu, grocery shopping on a budget, allergy tips and some aesthetics that come with a thanksgiving spread!
- Step 1 — Identify Allergies and Non-Negotiables
- Step 2 — Set Your Thanksgiving Budget and Stick to It
- Step 3 — Build Your Allergy-Safe Thanksgiving Menu
- Step 4 — Use Smart, Affordable Substitutions
- Step 5 — Prep Ahead and Simplify Thanksgiving Day
- Step 6 — Hosting & Serving an Allergy-Safe Thanksgiving
- Sample Allergy-Safe Thanksgiving Menu on a Budget
Step 1 — Identify Allergies and Non-Negotiables
It is important to know your audience or should I say your mouths when creating your thanksgiving menu. You’re going to need a list of your family’s non-negotiables so you can make sure you prioritize them! Next head out to your extended family and other guests and see if they have any specific requests. These are just for ideas because this isn’t a bake-to-order situation, you can’t make everyone’s favorites unless they are all the same!
As you’re getting recommendations make sure to get details about any allergies that your family has if you’re not already familiar with them.
Of course make sure you’re writing this all down or make a group chat specifically for this purpose. That way you don’t have to hold it all in your brain and you don’t forget anything! Start by separating everyone’s negotiables into a list of naturally allergy friendly and not so you have an idea of what substitutions you’ll need to make when you got to make a shopping list for your thanksgiving menu.
Step 2 — Set Your Thanksgiving Budget and Stick to It
Setting a Thanksgiving menu budget can prove difficult and may require some level of flexibility but we are going to break it down based on different guest counts.
I like variety and to include all of out favorites on my thanksgiving menu, so we plan about 8-10 side dishes for the dinner, main dishes, drinks and décor all need to go into the budget.
This budget outline will get you started, I will plan for 15-20 people, everything homemade and allergy friendly, but adjust accordingly.
Main Dishes: $80-$100 (Ham + Turkey)
Sides: $10 each on average = 10 sides= $100
Extras: $30 (Butter, gravy, cranberry sauce, etc..)
Drinks: $10
Desserts: 3-5 Pies or Other desserts = $10 each = $30-$50
Décor: $40 (disposable table cloths, any table center pieces, name cards)
TOTAL: $290-$330
Don’t stress at that number just yet.. I have some simple budget friendly Thanksgiving dinner tips for you!
TIP #1: Assign guests to bring a side dish,
This is so simple, it cuts down costs and if someone has allergies then the whole family get to be aware of it and unite! Make sure everyone knows the allergy limitations on their dish or simply assign them something that is naturally allergen friendly!
Tip #2: Shop sales and bulk stores.
This one has the potential to save big time! Thanksgiving sales are not unheard of, so open up those ads and get looking! A lot of stores also have ways to get free turkeys if your spend “X” amount of money! Those might be the stores you want to do the bulk of your spending at to save you some dough!
Bulk stores like Costco, Sams, US Foods, etc… can save you tons of money if you need a lot of something like sweet potatoes or puree pumpkin!
Step 3 — Build Your Allergy-Safe Thanksgiving Menu
This is a compilation of a huge list of things to include in your thanksgiving menu this year! Be sure to use dairy free butter or dairy free milk when it calls for them if not specifically listed, results will still be delicious.
Allergy-Friendly Thanksgiving Main Dish Ideas
Roasted Turkey- Perfect Roast Turkey Recipe | Ina Garten | Food Network
Honey Glazed Ham- How to Cook a Ham: Glazed Ham Recipe
Herb-Roasted Chicken- Perfect Herb Roasted Chicken – A Family Feast®
Smoked Brisket- Pellet Grill Brisket – Meat Church
Lentil Loaf- The Ultimate Vegetable Lentil Loaf – The Simple Veganista
Pork Chops- Herbed Pork Chops with Garlic Butter – Cookin Canuck
Herb Crusted Salmon-Herb Crusted Baked Salmon
Healthy & Budget-Friendly Thanksgiving Side Dish Ideas
I love every single one of these thanksgiving side dishes and you’re family will too!
Gluten-free stuffing- Gluten-Free Stuffing – Mama Knows Gluten Free
Garlic Mashed Potatoes 8 Allergy-Safe & Healthy Thanksgiving Sides Your Family Will Love
Gluten Free Dinner Rolls- Soft Gluten Free Dinner Rolls – Quick & Fluffy
Sweet Potato Casserole- 8 Allergy-Safe & Healthy Thanksgiving Sides Your Family Will Love
Mashed potatoes- Creamy Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes – No Milk Recipe
Yams- Best Candied Yams Recipe – How To Make Candied Yams
Roasted Vegetables- 8 Allergy-Safe & Healthy Thanksgiving Sides Your Family Will Love
Apple Walnut Salad- 8 Allergy-Safe & Healthy Thanksgiving Sides Your Family Will Love
Butternut Squash Soup- Easy 30-Minute Vegan Butternut Squash Soup – Eating by Elaine
Mac and Cheese- 8 Allergy-Safe & Healthy Thanksgiving Sides Your Family Will Love
Maple Glazed Brussels sprouts and bacon- 8 Allergy-Safe & Healthy Thanksgiving Sides Your Family Will Love
Corn Bread- 8 Allergy-Safe & Healthy Thanksgiving Sides Your Family Will Love
Green Bean Casserole- Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole – Mama Knows Gluten Free
Fruit Salad- Fruit Salad Recipe {with Honey Lime Dressing} – Cooking Classy
Creamed Corn- Easy Vegan Creamed Corn – Minimalist Baker Recipes
Stuffed Mushrooms- Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe
Jellos- 34 Jell-O Salad Recipes (with Cool Whip or Not) for Christmas
Broccoli cauliflower Salad- Broccoli Cauliflower Salad with Bacon (Dairy Free, Whole30) – The Real Food Dietitians
Extras to Add to Your Thanksgiving Menu
Cranberry Sauce
Gravy
Jam
Butter
Allergy-Safe Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas
All of these recipes have been vetted and I’m confident they are the best of the best!
Pumpkin pie- Tofu Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Pie crust-Flaky Gluten Free Pie Crust Recipe (Rolls Out Easily)
Apple pie- Gluten Free Apple Pie Recipe with Crumb Topping
Pecan pie-The Most Amazing Vegan Pecan Pie – Nora Cooks
Apple Crisp-Gluten Free Apple Crisp (Easy + Delicious!) – Sally’s Baking
Carrot Cake- Gluten-Free Carrot Cake – Mama Knows Gluten Free
Cranberry Orange Sorbet-Cranberry Orange Sorbet – Baking A Moment
Chocolate Mouse- Easy Dairy Free Chocolate Mousse (Only 5 Ingredients)
Step 4 — Use Smart, Affordable Substitutions
All of these recipes are allergen friendly but what if you’re using a family recipe but it is full of things your family can’t eat? Here are some affordable substitutions for your thanksgiving menu to recreate the perfect family recipe!
Dairy – I find the best dairy free products at stores like: Walmart, Winco. Albertsons, Fred Meyers, HEB, Sprouts, Vons, Kroger
Milk —— Soy milk (best substitution), almond milk, oat milk, goat milk, coconut milk (use this only if baking because it leaves a distinct coconut sweet flavor)
Heavy whipping Cream——– full fat coconut milk (chilled in fridge for at least 3 days), Country Crock heavy coconut whipping cream
Buttermilk——– any dairy free milk sub + lemon juice (1c. of milk + 1 tbsp of lemon juice or while vinegar, still till curdled may take 2-5 min)
Butter———– dairy free butter, margarine
Evaporated Milk——- Coconut evaporated milk
Condensed Milk—– coconut condensed milk
Cheese—— dairy free cheese, nutritional yeast, or just omit it
Cream cheese——— coconut oil based cream cheese, violife is the best brand
Gluten/Wheat
Flour—— King Aurturs Gluten Free Flour, Oat Flour
Soy Sauce——- Liquid Amino
Thickeners—— Corn Starch, Xanthan Gum
Eggs
Applesauce
Powdered Egg replacers
Chia Seeds
Yogurt
Tofu
Aquafaba
Peanuts
Cashews
Almonds
Walnuts
Macadamia nuts
Step 5 — Prep Ahead and Simplify Thanksgiving Day
There are things we can do to make thanksgiving day more simple by prepping ahead and simplifying it! Any dish on your thanksgiving mneu that can be chopped, baked or mixed the day or days before, DO IT! It will make the day of, so much quicker! It is important to take in to account fridge or storage space for prep as well. Can’t prep more than your fridge can hold!
Making an allergy friendly thanksgiving menu means doing our best to avoid cross contamination. Organize your kitchen so that you have supplies where you need them and space for allergy friendly prep and other prep if needed. Keep in mind more dishes will be utilized when preparing for allergies.
A tip for space saving is to store things in ziplock bags vs. Tupperware!
Step 6 — Hosting & Serving an Allergy-Safe Thanksgiving
It’s Thanksgiving Day and time to arrange your beautiful dinner for everyone to enjoy! Buffet style is always easiest in my opinion so that everyone can serve themselves and get to every dish! You might consider labeling every dish if you have people who might be unfamiliar with dishes you’re making but definitely be sure to label the allergy-friendly dishes!
I like to set up my buffet in the order it would be easiest dished. Plates and cutlery first, main dishes first, then sides grouped together, extras then last, drinks and napkins. We sometimes opt things like plates, silverware and cups to not be apart of the buffet and instead are at each place setting on the table.
The easiest way I find makes me comfortable to communicate dietary restrictions are by a large announcement before we eat that things are labeled as such and maybe point out a few dishes. I usually invite people who don’t have allergies to feel free to eat them as well, they are made for everyone to enjoy! Find what works best for your family and makes everyone feel equally apart of dinner.
Sample Allergy-Safe Thanksgiving Menu on a Budget
Final Thoughts — Gratitude, Health, and Family First
Thanksgiving is such a beautiful holiday that we all get to enjoy with our families no matter out budgets or allergies. This year there will be more safe dishes than ever at the table! It really is a thing to be grateful for the huge amount of resources we have to achieve the goals we have when it comes to feeding out family with allergies! Check out these gratitude activities to do with your family to keep cultivating gratitude this season!
Make sure to share with us your favorite item menus and how your allergy friendly thanksgiving spread turns out!
