As we are getting deeper into November, we’ve all got one thing on our minds, that huge meal with our entire extended family, equipped with our favorite foods – Thanksgiving! With all the turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and veggies, what’s not to love? Check out these five quick, easy, and healthy Thanksgiving recipes that are perfect for this time of year, or whenever you’re craving comfort food!
1. Simple Cranberry-Citrus Relish
Recipe from Health
Not only is this recipe super delicious, it’s super quick too! It takes only 5 minutes to prep and only 20 minutes to cook. Plus, it is only 74 calories per serving! The recipe makes 10 servings; with each serving being ¼ cup each.
Ingredients
- 1 (10-ounce) package fresh cranberries
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup sugar, or more to taste
- 1 3-inch orange rind strip
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (about 1/2 a large orange)
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until cranberries pop and mixture thickens.
- Remove the cloves and the cinnamon stick with a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl; refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
Recipe from Eating Well
In this recipe, brown butter and buttermilk flavor this high-fiber dish. This recipe is much lower in sodium than other mashed recipes, and is also lower in cholesterol. It serves 8, with each serving being ¾ cup. If you want to dress it up, chopped up chives on top really do the job. It takes 40 minutes total to make this awesome side, and only 20 minutes of hands-on time.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 12 medium)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Black or white pepper to taste
Directions
- Peel potatoes, if desired, and cut into 2-inch chunks. Place the potatoes and salt in a large heavy saucepan. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until potatoes are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well.
- Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher, an electric hand-held mixer or by working through a ricer.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heart. Continue heating until it starts bubbling; stir and cook, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn, until it turns golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir the browned butter, buttermilk and pepper into the mashed potatoes
3. Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
Recipe from Food Network
This recipe is a personal favorite of mine that I made last year for my family’s Thanksgiving celebration. Everyone loved it! It’s a really fun and delicious spin on vegetables, and it is packed with vitamin B! This recipe serves 6 people, and takes a total of 45 minutes, with only 15 minutes of hands-on time.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh asparagus, ends trimmed
- 12 slices bacon
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Divide the asparagus spears into 12 bundles. Carefully wrap 1 piece of bacon around each bundle, starting about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the tips. Secure the bacon-wrapped spears with a toothpick. Lay the bundles in a low-sided casserole dish.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, soy sauce, garlic salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Pour the hot sugar mixture over the asparagus bundles. Transfer the dish to the oven and roast until the spears have begun to wilt and the bacon looks fully cooked, about 25 minutes. Remove the toothpicks before serving.
4. Cranberry Apple Stuffing
Recipe from Food
An amazing stuffing recipe like this that can be made in only 45 minutes isn’t easy to come by! The tangy flavor of the cranberries really adds to the harvest flavor of the dish, and it smells absolutely amazing while it is cooking. The recipe yields up to 8 servings and is perfect for Thanksgiving.
Ingredients
- 12 cups bread cubes (2 large loafs)
- 1 1/2 carrots (finely diced or shredded)
- 1/2 large onion (finely diced)
- 2 celery ribs (finely diced)
- 2/3 cup cranberries (coarsely diced)
- 1 large apple (coarsely diced)
- 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
- 1 1/4 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups broth
Directions
- Sauté the carrots, onion, and celery in butter or margarine until tender but not brown.
- Add the poultry seasoning, salt, and cinnamon and stir.
- Add sautéed mixture to the bread cubes along with the cranberries and apples.
- Pour in enough broth to moisten bread.
- Stir mixture with spoon or clean hands.
- Use to stuff turkey or chicken.
- Bake the rest of stuffing in a lightly greased casserole dish for 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
- If you use a thermometer to measure temperature of stuffing, bake to 150 degrees in center of casserole.
5. Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Recipe from Betty Crocker
Now for the best part of the meal – Dessert! Who doesn’t love pumpkin pie or cheesecake? This recipe combines the two classic desserts to create one delicious mini treat. The recipe makes 12 mini cheesecakes and only takes 30 minutes to make!
Ingredients
- 20 gingersnap cookies
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Whipped cream, if desired
- Caramel sauce, if desired
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray mini cheesecake pan (12 cups) with cooking spray.
- In food processor, process gingersnap cookies with on/off pulses until finely ground (about 1 cup). Add melted butter; pulse until mixed. Press crumb mixture firmly into each cheesecake cup to form crust. Bake 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in pumpkin, sour cream and salt, scraping bowl frequently. Add egg, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; beat until well blended.
- Divide mixture evenly into crust-lined cups.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Serve cheesecakes topped with whipped cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. Store in refrigerator.
** If you do not have a mini cheesecake pan, use 12 muffin cups lined with paper baking cups**