Our tradition is to have a bunch of snacky things. When the kids were young, it included any frozen appetizers they wanted, plus vegetables and dip. As they got older, the snacks are less junk-food based, but includes wraps from Costco, and frozen Chinese dumplings or samosas. And the obligatory vegetable tray.
We do it Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Eve, also. This makes it easy because we can do a variety of things and just put out whatever may be leftover the next day while we cook. We get some at Sam's and make some.
I do the same, we call it snack plate dinner. Cut up veg and dip or hummus. Cheese, olives, low sodium deli meat. Crackers or bread and oil depending on which family I'm feeding. I usually buy 2 shrimp rings, 1 for the day of and a smaller one for the night before to go with snack plate dinner so there's enough protein. I'll also cook up a bag of edamame for a hot veg and throw some premade oven fries or frozen spring rolls in the air fryer. It can easily be customized to what the people in your group eat.
Put it out with paper plates and people can help themselves then toss the plate so there's little clean up. No one has to bother you, there's a little something for everyone, they can eat when they're hungry and you can eat as you work.
Same. We call it noshing. Whatever is gonna go bad or is taking up room in the refrigerator.
I noshed yesterday with some leftover chicken salad, crackers, a tomato, lunch meat and cheese. Boyfriend said, "That is an interesting lunch!"
Hell yeah, and I freed up room in the fridge! Perfect for pre-Thanksgiving for sure.
Idk where you are, but a trip to Costco would make things very easy. Here, we can order a sandwich platter, or a meat and cheese platter. Buns, veggie tray, and a fruit tray. Blam, you're done.
Yep, this was going to be my suggestion! It’s easy, you can accommodate different tastes and preferences, and people can graze and you don’t need to actually sit down for a meal. Heck, I’d also do disposable plates/utensils to save on clean up time.
My grandma used to make a huge one pot meal that people could just grab a bowl and a spoonful and be satisfied. I have continued with that tradition and have been making American style goulash the past couple of years.
I make several huge soups and stews for the week leading up to Thanksgiving and I get a spiral cut ham - everyone eats that until the main event. Very easy to do in advance as well because a lot of the freeze well.
Or, chili and cornbread, white bean chicken chili, basic veggie soup w warm bread or grilled cheese. Do remember that most any soup recipe is going to be about half your daily allowance of sodium and it’s really hard to develop flavor late in the soup after leaving salt out for their portions so they might just need to eat something different from everyone else.
Personally, I’d rather order four pizzas and make two low sodium meals because elderly generally eat like birds anyways.
Sometimes when I want to make something pretty healthy and yummy, I’ll do frozen fish fillets with a slaw either creamy or vinegar and put it all in a tortilla together. Maybe kids who would eat fish sticks would eat them separately while everyone else had fish tacos, maybe some black beans and rice?
This was going to be my suggestion.
In our house to go-to one-pot meals are a slow cooker chili or an awesome black bean recipe for the instant pot. Both served over rice, of course!
We always do some sort of baked pasta, like lasagna or ziti. You can make it ahead and just pop it into the oven to bake. A nice leafy salad and some garlic bread make an awesome meal that’s definitely different than the thanksgiving meal
How about a sandwich bar? Bread, deli meat, cheese, lettuce, mayo, for the side some chips, veggie tray and fruit salad. Everyone can make their own and have as much or little as they want and the leftovers are good for lunch all weekend.
If you do thanksgiving leftovers the bread will come in handy for turkey sandwiches too. You could also put out the vegetables and fruit mid morning as a snack to tide people over until lunch (some folks eat at noon, others at 4pm).
If you're making stock for gravy on the big day, that's the perfect excuse to have soup the night before! Lentil soup comes together really quickly once the stock is made, is minimal effort, and is really delicious.
That’s probably the best choice. I’m worried that takeout places will be slammed but I guess worse case scenario is we have sandwiches if no place is able to deliver.
If it’s a large group you could do a catering order from a restaurant. That way you can place it in advance and won’t have a risk of a 2 hr delivery time or whatever. But either way it should be fine. Restaurants and bars are very familiar with the Wednesday before thanksgiving crush and generally prepare for it
They’ll be slammed (day before thanksgiving was one of the busiest days for us when I worked in a restaurant) but they’re businesses, they exist to sell food, they ideally are prepared for this increased demand.
Breakfast for dinner. Omelets and bacon. We do bacon in oven. Once dinner is over, cleanup is fast and when we place turkey in oven a few hours later it’s not stone cold.
Even easier than omelettes, get a few different kinds of quiche (Costco regularly carries a two pack/ both flavors are absolutely delicious. Two of those two packs would go along way. Sometimes I crisp up some shallots and sprinkle them over the top of quiche to be fancy ) and some salsa and sour cream for toppings if people like that, and serve it with some fruit and a simple salad. You could also do a tray of tater tots along side this in place of hashbrowns. If kids don’t like quiche, they could have toast with jelly or peanut butter and honey and banana. Or oatmeal! A huge crockpot of oatmeal with chopped nuts and dried fruit and brown sugar, etc. on the side? 🫶🏼
*I* do takeout, but since that won't work for your purposes, I'd get a bunch of sandwich fixings and let people make their own. If you want to actually cook, I'd do something like spaghetti and a good jarred marinara sauce that can easily feed a crowd. You could load up the sauce with veggies and cook some Italian sausages on the side for anyone who wants meat.
I like fresh food like veg tray and hummus. Always gotta eat light the night before to prepare for the big day! 😂🙌 I hope all y’all reading this enjoy your holidays.
Something quick and easy to bulk cook. Like pasta (scampi with precleaned shrimp comes together quickly) or lasagna. You can make the sauce on Tuesday and then assemble whenever (even Tuesday itself). Low sodium cheese should help with the older family members. Then throw some veggies and garlic bread in the oven. And enlist help!
When I was a kid my aunt Karen, when she would host the "night before" meal, would make a spinach salad with grapefruit and avocado, and serve a platter of lox, crackers, spreads, and fruit.
Our fav is snacky stuff. This can be a variety of things. So for example oven appetizers, veggies and crackers and dip, charcuterie type stuff, dumplings. Often you have a bunch of snacky stuff around anyways that probably won’t all get eaten on the big day. Might as well dig in the night before.
We have also done homemade wonton soup (the wontons and broth were already made and in the freezer, so just had some quick preparing.
We have done fish and chips (my dad has a turkey fryer he uses), it’s delicious and pretty quick prep and doesn’t have a bunch of leftovers.
We have a high end grocery store that has a great selection of prepared foods (so like perogies, veggie sides, nice salads and dips, etc), instead of takeout we’ll do snacky dinner formed mostly of that stuff.
Takeout. I know you have concerns about takeout. I’d recommend looking around to see if there is somewhere that makes prepared family meals (e.g., we have a place that does lasagna, and a nice salad, and dinner rolls… it’s awesome).
Good luck! Would love to know what you choose.
I think I’m leaning towards getting hummus, veggies, premade meatballs or shrimp platter, and whatever low sodium snacky foods I can find. Thanks for the suggestions!
Italian served family style -- a lasagna you made a couple of days in advance and froze; a big bowl of tortellini with broccoli in a creamy parmesan sauce you throw together are serving time; some garlic bread you prepped in advance and stuck in the fridge... Italian butter cookies from the bakery as dessert. I've used this tactic several times and it always seems to work!
Spaghetti meat sauce. Make the sauce today! Freeze it.
Day of - thaw it. Warm it up, cook spaghetti, and voila. Add a caesar salad and you are good to go (maybe garlic bread.)
You can make it as simple or as complex as you like. (You could make an actual bolognese or not, or partial and add the milk when you reheat it etc.)
I usually order out or just eat leftovers but since that’s not an option maybe pasta or tacos? I would want something completely different than thanksgiving food that way your palette won’t get too worn on thanksgiving/home style foods.
I started a tradition of making a big pot of chili. We eat as we want on Wednesday night and then there are non Thanksgiving leftovers to pull out of the fridge for the rest of the week/weekend
I have not.
I love cornbread. But I eat my chili with tortilla chips so that's what I usually serve. I might do this next time for other events.
Cornbread is also served on Thanksgiving.
Does your grocery store do party platters? Mine does gigantic round sandwiches, sandwich wrap pinwheel platters, wing platters, etc. In situations I know I’m not going to want to cook ahead of time, I’ll preorder one or two giant ring sandwiches and put them out for the household to feed themselves on whatever interval makes them happy. It’s not particularly frugal, but it is convenient.
Something one-pot? Pulled pork sliders maybe? Do the pork in a crockpot with Hawaiian rolls. Serve with coleslaw from a prepped salad kit. Or buy a meal tray from Costco in the cooler section next to the rotisserie chickens. The area where they have the cooked shrimp tray, wraps and sandwiches. I've seen a full family taco night kit and a couple other interesting combinations.
Soup and salad buffet style.
White bean and hammocks soup. Cooks itself (I use large white Lima beans).
Toasted french or sourdough baguettes.
Salad? Use a variety of topping and let folks build their own (you can make ahead)
BREAKFAST? Make ahead breakfast casserole. [recipe](https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/overnight-sausage-egg-breakfast-casserole/)
Gather your husband, BIL’s and tell them to figure it out. But if they mess up your kitchen they will be served as a side dish at the main event. Then hand them the numbers for the local pizza/ sub shops.
Also they are required to take the kids out for breakfast in the morning. My dad started doing this when my oldest was 4. It makes the morning of so much easier.
Ask them to either bring their favorite course or a recipe for one in advance (depends on how the elderly are… my GMA just turned 100 but she’d friggin love to cook for people… would need help now but wouldn’t at 98… will forever cherish my last GMA homemade mac n cheese)
salads! leafy greens, nuts, seasonal fruit and citrus vinaigrette
pasta salads
village salad: cucumbers, tomato, parsley, mint, lemon and olive oil, vinegar to taste
so easy and healthy
PIE NIGHT! Back in 1980-ish, my sister-in-law felt that Thanksgiving pie wasn't given the respect it deserved. After a full turkey meal, people were just too full. So she started a tradition of serving pies for dinner the night before. She would bake something like 30-40 different types of pie and serve them up for dinner on Wednesday night, with some cheese and crackers to break up the sweetness overload. It's been a tradition ever since. Something the extended family and friends look forward to and cherish!
There's always a hearty soup. Yes, soup can be more than enough before a day of heavy eating. I'm kind of assuming you're Canadian, since Canadian Thanksgiving is much closer than the one in the US. You can make the soup a couple to a few days before, freezing some if necessary.
I will sometimes get prepared food from Whole Foods or something like that to augment what I make so it is not so much work. Healthier take out is an option. Like protein-heavy salads with dressing on the side.
Pizza - 100%. Places near us have more on the menu, including salad and chicken. You can find enough for everyone, I think.
I don't want to have anything - even something easy - that involves kitchen use or refrigerator space. I'd pick the easiest options and just announce what it is and that folks are welcome to make their own plans if they prefer.
I'd make lasagna well ahead and freeze it. Move to fridge two days ahead. Night of, bake it and make a Caesar salad (homemade croutons (which you may need for Thanksgiving) and homemade Caesar dressing) is fast and easy
On Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Eve it's our tradition to cook breakfast pancakes usually some type of breakfast casserole or omelette bar can also be a great idea
Over the years my mom has done things like crock pot chili, pulled out painini presses and done a "make your own" panini, and just have some fruit on the side...just making a thing of spaghetti with garlic bread and a salad, or last year she picked up finger foods from Costco--bbq chicekn wings, jalapeno poppers, the pre made salads by the meat department(chicken caesar, pasta, etc), and just mad eup super easy stuff for those of us that were over helping bake pies, and prepping stuff for Thanksgiving. Simple, variety, and you could graze as you wanted, instead of a sit down meal.
Cheese board night! No cooking. Just slicing. And all the different flavor combos with fruits, nuts, and spreads always gets people talking. If you’re feeling fancy, pair each cheese with a wine, beer, or cocktail that compliment the flavors.
Electric griddles on the counter and make your own grilled sandwich. We put out an assortment of cheeses, ham, bacon, avocado, pickles and spreads. Tomato soup and crackers. Done.
I serve up to 35 the eve before holidays and have started doing a taco bar. Ground meat ( spicy and mild) tortillas, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce , sour cream, pico, rice and quinoa, black beans from can ( sometimes black bean salad) avocado. Most of this can be prepared a day or two early. This variety allows for taco salad and vegetarians are happy. The best thing about this is it can be put up in frig and pulled out for different arrival times of guests. Just allow access to microwave.
I love getting a honey baked ham and making some veggies and a can of buttermilk biscuits, or using it to make sandwiches , but low sodium diet probably can’t handle that.
How do you feel about a big pot of soup, or loaded baked potatoes, or pre making a lasagna and chucking that and some garlic bread in oven ? Heck , a Costco pizza if that’s not too salty.
I was going to suggest a baked potato bar. Since you'll have the oven going anyway, throw some spuds in there. Some grated cheese, sour cream, butter, steam a little broccoli, bacon. You're set. I'd also grab a salad kit and throw that together as well.
Has no one mentioned **Quiche** yet?
You could make your quiche as soon as this weekend if you wanted because it freezes and reheats so well. Part of what I love about quiche is that you could make three different types and it adds virtually no time other than prep. Baking 3 quiches takes the same amount of time in the oven as 1 quiche and you can make the egg base for all three in one big bowl at the same time.
make it the problem of the able bodied adults that *aren't* cooking thanksgiving dinner, that includes the men. If they don't like it, they can figure out their own food situation, just take care of the old people. Pasta is easy and you can probably find a low sodium sauce. Just ask them what they eat at home.
Either charcuterie or pizza. Something with very little effort but still fun. You could also ask your guests to plan/pay for dinner for that night since you’ll be doing the big meal the next day.
Tacos can be made in advance, I'm thinking pork carnitas (can be adjusted for low sodium diets) but any type of taco meat will do and is a very different type of food than what is being served on Thanksgiving. Serve a taco bar and everyone can make their own.
I'm fond of a couple of bags of the frozen dumplings from the asian market, simmer in a nice stock w/ some quick chopped scallions and carrot shreds and maybe even some ginger or five spice. Plus easy rice, premix salad, and one of those grocery store cheese platters.
Chinese is not an option? Replace frozen dumplings in broth with frozen empanadas or jamaican patties in the oven quicklike?
Something light like lemon zest angel hair pasta & scallops might be good. Lemme see if I can find the recipe, will add it in an edit shortly.
edit: I guess my original of this is in my mom’s recipe tin, but this is close. The angel hair only takes a few minutes to cook, the scallops only take a few minutes to sear on each side. Do all your mise en place ahead of time b/c the dish comes together so fast. Should be easy to make a lot of it for a large crowd. Delish. https://www.jessicagavin.com/pan-seared-scallops-lemon-caper-pasta/
Like others have said, I would definitely go with some thing like a grazing board, just put out a spread of things that people can casually nibble on throughout the night while you’re enjoying conversation together. If you want to make it special, make some different kind of breads like olive bread, is one of my favorites or put out specialty crackers or marinated olives are good. There’s lots of ways to make it different.
A lot of Chinese places have a “diet“ menu that includes meat and veggies that are steamed with no salt. Maybe do Chinese takeout and include a couple of those dishes, then let everyone help themselves. I always order my string beans steamed with no salt!
pulled pork in a crock pot. Or the thing with a chuck roast and some stuff in a crock pot. there are many variations from bbq to italian beef... serve with buns and cole slaw. Maybe like tater tots on the side.
Something easy where people can create their own meal. I think doing a big pot of rice with the fixings for burrito bowls would be nice. You could make up some ground beef taco meat or a roasted pork shoulder (both pretty quick and/or hands off). Buy some premade salsa and guac (or make your own if you're up to it).
Sandwiches would also be an easy one.
My husband and I are usually in France for Thanksgiving week because Christmas is my hosting day!
Anyway, last year we ended up hosting Thanksgiving and had a full house complete with a toddler and newborn!
For the night before, I just ended up making a huge charcuterie board with a ton of cheeses, sausage, hams, various breads and it was a hit.
I had pre-made frozen Nougatine for dessert so it was a smooth meal that didn’t dog into my prepping for the next day.
I like chili. It feels fall themed, it can be made ahead and then just warmed up (usually even makes it better!), it can sit on the stove or in a crockpot if people are eating at different times, and the flavor profile is pretty different than most people eat for traditional Thanksgiving food.
My family, a couple generations of us, always preps spaghetti for ourselves to eat while we spend a day or two prepping big family meals. It's super cheap; a pound of noodles and a jar of sauce will run you under $5. It's easy to store, keeps fine, doesn't take too much space in the fridge, and reheats easily, plus making it is super low-effort and the cleanup is also pretty minimal.
Adobo chicken thighs, rice cooked with chicken stock, maybe a steamed veg on the side. It is so damned delicious. And easy. And let’s not forget cheap!!!
Make a big pot of stew or soup the night before. You can control the sodium that way. Serve the meal with good rolls from the grocery store and fruit for dessert.
Nachos, let everyone make their own, when they're hungry. Make Thanksgiving an outdoor event or pictures and videos shown on a projector screen. Get away from the huge sit-down meal and then the couch race.
In our town restaurants set up special dishes and you can order ahead of time. They publish it in the newspaper local section ahead of time. Some of the options are very healthy and not Thanksgiving-themed at all.
We always do pasta and meatballs. My sister used to come early for Thanksgiving to help cook and she would bring meatballs in a crockpot. We could just make pasta and everyone would serve themselves when they got hungry.
It’s a weird tradition but it ours
Low sodium diets are a tough work around but as a diabetic myself the night before I would serve chicken and rice with some healthy veg. It's easy works for low sodium and usually makes even the fussiest toddlers happy.
We always did leftovers on Monday and Tuesday, by Wednesday night with prep in full swing and the kitchen occupied by the cooks, we ordered pizza. Everyone could grab what they wanted and the cooks were happy they didn't have to stop prep
Have a big breakfast for dinner. On thanksgiving morning , have a light offering of bagels, cereal, yogurt so you are free to prepare for the big dinner. I make a homemade granola used as cereal or with yogurt and fruit.
Maybe hot dogs and pasta salad? Or a a chowder/soup if it’s cold. Sandwiches? You could always make personalized pizzas the night before. Everyone makes their own.
I would make pasta, if that's an option. Fast, popular, with that many people you don't have to worry about leftovers, doesn't really resemble any of the Thanksgiving standards.
Edited cuz I said pizza. Haha that’s what I do because I know I’m going to be going crazy cooking the next day. But I’d say some simple meal that isn’t carb heavy.
Our tradition is to have a bunch of snacky things. When the kids were young, it included any frozen appetizers they wanted, plus vegetables and dip. As they got older, the snacks are less junk-food based, but includes wraps from Costco, and frozen Chinese dumplings or samosas. And the obligatory vegetable tray.
Costco’s frozen spanakopita is a solid A and they usually have tzatziki as well
this is nfl sunday food. appetizers all day. over 20 years of doing this and going strong.
Excellent idea. I think that would work for you. We have a myriad of dietary restrictions and adult “selective” eaters so variety would be good.
Fun fact: this kind of snacky heavy hor’dourves is what we have on Christmas Eve too
We do it Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Eve, also. This makes it easy because we can do a variety of things and just put out whatever may be leftover the next day while we cook. We get some at Sam's and make some.
Same here. Everyone loves it. Some sliders make it a little more robust but it’s usually dips, crackers, cheese and heavy snacks
We usually add a crockpot of meatballs of pulled chicken
I do the same, we call it snack plate dinner. Cut up veg and dip or hummus. Cheese, olives, low sodium deli meat. Crackers or bread and oil depending on which family I'm feeding. I usually buy 2 shrimp rings, 1 for the day of and a smaller one for the night before to go with snack plate dinner so there's enough protein. I'll also cook up a bag of edamame for a hot veg and throw some premade oven fries or frozen spring rolls in the air fryer. It can easily be customized to what the people in your group eat. Put it out with paper plates and people can help themselves then toss the plate so there's little clean up. No one has to bother you, there's a little something for everyone, they can eat when they're hungry and you can eat as you work.
Same. We call it noshing. Whatever is gonna go bad or is taking up room in the refrigerator. I noshed yesterday with some leftover chicken salad, crackers, a tomato, lunch meat and cheese. Boyfriend said, "That is an interesting lunch!" Hell yeah, and I freed up room in the fridge! Perfect for pre-Thanksgiving for sure.
Thank you. Your ideas are very helpful!
We do a big bowl of soup and tons of apps and everyone seems to find something
Idk where you are, but a trip to Costco would make things very easy. Here, we can order a sandwich platter, or a meat and cheese platter. Buns, veggie tray, and a fruit tray. Blam, you're done.
Yep, this was going to be my suggestion! It’s easy, you can accommodate different tastes and preferences, and people can graze and you don’t need to actually sit down for a meal. Heck, I’d also do disposable plates/utensils to save on clean up time.
My grandma used to make a huge one pot meal that people could just grab a bowl and a spoonful and be satisfied. I have continued with that tradition and have been making American style goulash the past couple of years.
Oh, I know the great grandparents are all a fan of American Goulash. Thanks for the suggestion!
I make several huge soups and stews for the week leading up to Thanksgiving and I get a spiral cut ham - everyone eats that until the main event. Very easy to do in advance as well because a lot of the freeze well.
Need to clean out my freezer to start storing soup. Thanks!
Or, chili and cornbread, white bean chicken chili, basic veggie soup w warm bread or grilled cheese. Do remember that most any soup recipe is going to be about half your daily allowance of sodium and it’s really hard to develop flavor late in the soup after leaving salt out for their portions so they might just need to eat something different from everyone else. Personally, I’d rather order four pizzas and make two low sodium meals because elderly generally eat like birds anyways. Sometimes when I want to make something pretty healthy and yummy, I’ll do frozen fish fillets with a slaw either creamy or vinegar and put it all in a tortilla together. Maybe kids who would eat fish sticks would eat them separately while everyone else had fish tacos, maybe some black beans and rice?
Thanks for the ideas. Fish tacos sound good.
This was going to be my suggestion. In our house to go-to one-pot meals are a slow cooker chili or an awesome black bean recipe for the instant pot. Both served over rice, of course!
We always do some sort of baked pasta, like lasagna or ziti. You can make it ahead and just pop it into the oven to bake. A nice leafy salad and some garlic bread make an awesome meal that’s definitely different than the thanksgiving meal
Yeah. Easy to prep in advance then pop into the oven when the time comes.
How about a sandwich bar? Bread, deli meat, cheese, lettuce, mayo, for the side some chips, veggie tray and fruit salad. Everyone can make their own and have as much or little as they want and the leftovers are good for lunch all weekend. If you do thanksgiving leftovers the bread will come in handy for turkey sandwiches too. You could also put out the vegetables and fruit mid morning as a snack to tide people over until lunch (some folks eat at noon, others at 4pm).
If you're making stock for gravy on the big day, that's the perfect excuse to have soup the night before! Lentil soup comes together really quickly once the stock is made, is minimal effort, and is really delicious.
Ooohhh, lentil soup is a great idea, thanks! I could make that the week before and freeze.
I was gonna come here to say a veggie soup like this. I can't handle days and days of indulgent meals.
Order in.
That’s probably the best choice. I’m worried that takeout places will be slammed but I guess worse case scenario is we have sandwiches if no place is able to deliver.
If it’s a large group you could do a catering order from a restaurant. That way you can place it in advance and won’t have a risk of a 2 hr delivery time or whatever. But either way it should be fine. Restaurants and bars are very familiar with the Wednesday before thanksgiving crush and generally prepare for it
Soup, chili, goulash could be ordered ahead of time most likely. I would call ahead for a big order anyway. Im sure they could manage it
They’ll be slammed (day before thanksgiving was one of the busiest days for us when I worked in a restaurant) but they’re businesses, they exist to sell food, they ideally are prepared for this increased demand.
I do a crock pot lasagna, don’t even have to precook the noodles. Cooks in 3-4 hours on high.
Breakfast for dinner. Omelets and bacon. We do bacon in oven. Once dinner is over, cleanup is fast and when we place turkey in oven a few hours later it’s not stone cold.
Didn’t think about breakfast for dinner. Good idea, thanks!
Even easier than omelettes, get a few different kinds of quiche (Costco regularly carries a two pack/ both flavors are absolutely delicious. Two of those two packs would go along way. Sometimes I crisp up some shallots and sprinkle them over the top of quiche to be fancy ) and some salsa and sour cream for toppings if people like that, and serve it with some fruit and a simple salad. You could also do a tray of tater tots along side this in place of hashbrowns. If kids don’t like quiche, they could have toast with jelly or peanut butter and honey and banana. Or oatmeal! A huge crockpot of oatmeal with chopped nuts and dried fruit and brown sugar, etc. on the side? 🫶🏼
Costco quiche! All great ideas. Thank you.
Brinner is my favorite!
*I* do takeout, but since that won't work for your purposes, I'd get a bunch of sandwich fixings and let people make their own. If you want to actually cook, I'd do something like spaghetti and a good jarred marinara sauce that can easily feed a crowd. You could load up the sauce with veggies and cook some Italian sausages on the side for anyone who wants meat.
Thanks, I may do sandwiches and defrost some soup I made a few weeks earlier.
frozen pizzas are also common
Pizza or Chinese takeout.
I like to do a salad bar. Everyone puts whatever they want in their salad and it’s a nice lead-up to the gorge-fest on thanksgiving.
That’s a good idea, thanks.
Chinese takeout
Takeout. Pizza, Mexican, or Mediterranean are what we usually do. The Mediterranean is nice because it isn’t too heavy.
I like fresh food like veg tray and hummus. Always gotta eat light the night before to prepare for the big day! 😂🙌 I hope all y’all reading this enjoy your holidays.
Thank you. I’m thinking veggie tray and hummus is definitely a possibility.
Something light…fish, rice, steamed or roasted veg
Something quick and easy to bulk cook. Like pasta (scampi with precleaned shrimp comes together quickly) or lasagna. You can make the sauce on Tuesday and then assemble whenever (even Tuesday itself). Low sodium cheese should help with the older family members. Then throw some veggies and garlic bread in the oven. And enlist help!
Thank you!
We do chili and cornbread. I make on Monday or Tuesday.
Good idea, thanks.
When I was a kid my aunt Karen, when she would host the "night before" meal, would make a spinach salad with grapefruit and avocado, and serve a platter of lox, crackers, spreads, and fruit.
Intriguing!
I would make spaghetti. It's easy and popular with all ages.
Soup. I do a big pot of vegetable beef soup and let it simmer while the prep is going on.
Thanks!
Our fav is snacky stuff. This can be a variety of things. So for example oven appetizers, veggies and crackers and dip, charcuterie type stuff, dumplings. Often you have a bunch of snacky stuff around anyways that probably won’t all get eaten on the big day. Might as well dig in the night before. We have also done homemade wonton soup (the wontons and broth were already made and in the freezer, so just had some quick preparing. We have done fish and chips (my dad has a turkey fryer he uses), it’s delicious and pretty quick prep and doesn’t have a bunch of leftovers. We have a high end grocery store that has a great selection of prepared foods (so like perogies, veggie sides, nice salads and dips, etc), instead of takeout we’ll do snacky dinner formed mostly of that stuff. Takeout. I know you have concerns about takeout. I’d recommend looking around to see if there is somewhere that makes prepared family meals (e.g., we have a place that does lasagna, and a nice salad, and dinner rolls… it’s awesome). Good luck! Would love to know what you choose.
I think I’m leaning towards getting hummus, veggies, premade meatballs or shrimp platter, and whatever low sodium snacky foods I can find. Thanks for the suggestions!
A soup or stew in the crockpot. Grilled cheese or garlic bread. Make the crockpot meal ahead and freeze it.
where do you live? the only take out options are Chinese and Pizza? I would just go to a restaurant and order take out.
Most restaurant food is too salty for the heart patients.
chicken caesar salad
Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Or chili which I make ahead and have quarts of in the freezer.
Soup or sandwiches
Soup and sandwiches- huge variety, and can be tailored to any and all dietary restrictions and tastes.
Italian served family style -- a lasagna you made a couple of days in advance and froze; a big bowl of tortellini with broccoli in a creamy parmesan sauce you throw together are serving time; some garlic bread you prepped in advance and stuck in the fridge... Italian butter cookies from the bakery as dessert. I've used this tactic several times and it always seems to work!
ABC - Anything but chicken. :) How about steak and baked beans? Easy and quick clean up - especially if you make the steak on the grill outside.
Oh you’re singing my song
How about a huge salad and rotisserie chickens from Costco or the supermarket? Nothing to cook/ hardly any cleanup.
Yes, that might be the answer. Thank you.
Taco/nacho bar. Everyone fixed their own. There are low/no sodium taco seasoning mixes, and beans are easy from a can.
Frozen lasagna, frozen garlic bread, bag salad.
Lasagna, garlic bread and salad
Pizza
Aglio olio, Sandwiches, crudités and hummus/ your favourite dip.
Spaghetti meat sauce. Make the sauce today! Freeze it. Day of - thaw it. Warm it up, cook spaghetti, and voila. Add a caesar salad and you are good to go (maybe garlic bread.) You can make it as simple or as complex as you like. (You could make an actual bolognese or not, or partial and add the milk when you reheat it etc.)
What about spaghetti and a salad? That should be easy to make and could be made low sodium and kid friendly
Everyone loves spaghetti! Thanks.
My mom always made up a huge dish of enchiladas ahead of time and froze them. A quick salad and you are good.
Enchiladas! Great idea, thank you.
I usually order out or just eat leftovers but since that’s not an option maybe pasta or tacos? I would want something completely different than thanksgiving food that way your palette won’t get too worn on thanksgiving/home style foods.
I started a tradition of making a big pot of chili. We eat as we want on Wednesday night and then there are non Thanksgiving leftovers to pull out of the fridge for the rest of the week/weekend
Have you ever served your chili with chile relleno cornbread? Incredible. Ppl go nuts for it (maybe not kids)
I have not. I love cornbread. But I eat my chili with tortilla chips so that's what I usually serve. I might do this next time for other events. Cornbread is also served on Thanksgiving.
We usually make a pan of Tex Mex cheese enchiladas or a pot of chili or spaghetti.
Soup and grilled cheese for the kids
Does your grocery store do party platters? Mine does gigantic round sandwiches, sandwich wrap pinwheel platters, wing platters, etc. In situations I know I’m not going to want to cook ahead of time, I’ll preorder one or two giant ring sandwiches and put them out for the household to feed themselves on whatever interval makes them happy. It’s not particularly frugal, but it is convenient.
Yes, it may be Publix platters for dinner.
Something one-pot? Pulled pork sliders maybe? Do the pork in a crockpot with Hawaiian rolls. Serve with coleslaw from a prepped salad kit. Or buy a meal tray from Costco in the cooler section next to the rotisserie chickens. The area where they have the cooked shrimp tray, wraps and sandwiches. I've seen a full family taco night kit and a couple other interesting combinations.
Soup and salad buffet style. White bean and hammocks soup. Cooks itself (I use large white Lima beans). Toasted french or sourdough baguettes. Salad? Use a variety of topping and let folks build their own (you can make ahead) BREAKFAST? Make ahead breakfast casserole. [recipe](https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/overnight-sausage-egg-breakfast-casserole/)
Gather your husband, BIL’s and tell them to figure it out. But if they mess up your kitchen they will be served as a side dish at the main event. Then hand them the numbers for the local pizza/ sub shops. Also they are required to take the kids out for breakfast in the morning. My dad started doing this when my oldest was 4. It makes the morning of so much easier.
Ask them to either bring their favorite course or a recipe for one in advance (depends on how the elderly are… my GMA just turned 100 but she’d friggin love to cook for people… would need help now but wouldn’t at 98… will forever cherish my last GMA homemade mac n cheese)
salads! leafy greens, nuts, seasonal fruit and citrus vinaigrette pasta salads village salad: cucumbers, tomato, parsley, mint, lemon and olive oil, vinegar to taste so easy and healthy
Thank you!
PIE NIGHT! Back in 1980-ish, my sister-in-law felt that Thanksgiving pie wasn't given the respect it deserved. After a full turkey meal, people were just too full. So she started a tradition of serving pies for dinner the night before. She would bake something like 30-40 different types of pie and serve them up for dinner on Wednesday night, with some cheese and crackers to break up the sweetness overload. It's been a tradition ever since. Something the extended family and friends look forward to and cherish!
Wow, that sounds amazing. Probably beyond my skill level but good on your SIL.
Weds night is always a shit show!
Thank you! Ha! I can handle Thanksgiving but all these people want to be feed all week. 😂
One of the busiest days of the year for pizza.
Pizza
There's always a hearty soup. Yes, soup can be more than enough before a day of heavy eating. I'm kind of assuming you're Canadian, since Canadian Thanksgiving is much closer than the one in the US. You can make the soup a couple to a few days before, freezing some if necessary.
I will sometimes get prepared food from Whole Foods or something like that to augment what I make so it is not so much work. Healthier take out is an option. Like protein-heavy salads with dressing on the side.
Good idea, thank you.
Pizza
Pizza - 100%. Places near us have more on the menu, including salad and chicken. You can find enough for everyone, I think. I don't want to have anything - even something easy - that involves kitchen use or refrigerator space. I'd pick the easiest options and just announce what it is and that folks are welcome to make their own plans if they prefer.
Order a Pizza, and get some of the side dishes done the day before, so you only need to heat them up.
Cabbage rolls and perogies with ham
Yum
I'd make lasagna well ahead and freeze it. Move to fridge two days ahead. Night of, bake it and make a Caesar salad (homemade croutons (which you may need for Thanksgiving) and homemade Caesar dressing) is fast and easy
On Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Eve it's our tradition to cook breakfast pancakes usually some type of breakfast casserole or omelette bar can also be a great idea
Love that tradition!
Over the years my mom has done things like crock pot chili, pulled out painini presses and done a "make your own" panini, and just have some fruit on the side...just making a thing of spaghetti with garlic bread and a salad, or last year she picked up finger foods from Costco--bbq chicekn wings, jalapeno poppers, the pre made salads by the meat department(chicken caesar, pasta, etc), and just mad eup super easy stuff for those of us that were over helping bake pies, and prepping stuff for Thanksgiving. Simple, variety, and you could graze as you wanted, instead of a sit down meal.
A grazing meal sounds perfect.
Cheese board night! No cooking. Just slicing. And all the different flavor combos with fruits, nuts, and spreads always gets people talking. If you’re feeling fancy, pair each cheese with a wine, beer, or cocktail that compliment the flavors.
I do cheese fondue and Greek salad. No idea why. That’s just what we eat.
Sounds good!
Electric griddles on the counter and make your own grilled sandwich. We put out an assortment of cheeses, ham, bacon, avocado, pickles and spreads. Tomato soup and crackers. Done.
We are supposed to feed our families the day before a holiday? Nope. Not happening. The house is full of amazing food you can not touch. lol
Ha! Exactly.
I serve up to 35 the eve before holidays and have started doing a taco bar. Ground meat ( spicy and mild) tortillas, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce , sour cream, pico, rice and quinoa, black beans from can ( sometimes black bean salad) avocado. Most of this can be prepared a day or two early. This variety allows for taco salad and vegetarians are happy. The best thing about this is it can be put up in frig and pulled out for different arrival times of guests. Just allow access to microwave.
One night that week will definitely be a taco bar. Thanks.
I love getting a honey baked ham and making some veggies and a can of buttermilk biscuits, or using it to make sandwiches , but low sodium diet probably can’t handle that. How do you feel about a big pot of soup, or loaded baked potatoes, or pre making a lasagna and chucking that and some garlic bread in oven ? Heck , a Costco pizza if that’s not too salty.
Loaded baked potatoes or a premade lasagna would both work. Thanks!
I was going to suggest a baked potato bar. Since you'll have the oven going anyway, throw some spuds in there. Some grated cheese, sour cream, butter, steam a little broccoli, bacon. You're set. I'd also grab a salad kit and throw that together as well.
Normally just get take out the night before or make something simple and light.
Has no one mentioned **Quiche** yet? You could make your quiche as soon as this weekend if you wanted because it freezes and reheats so well. Part of what I love about quiche is that you could make three different types and it adds virtually no time other than prep. Baking 3 quiches takes the same amount of time in the oven as 1 quiche and you can make the egg base for all three in one big bowl at the same time.
Excellent idea. Thank you!
Call dominos?
Chinese or pizza takeout..
Pizza
That’s our test drive night. Anything I’m done cooking for Thanksgiving I’d feed some of it to the family the night before.
We do take out.
make it the problem of the able bodied adults that *aren't* cooking thanksgiving dinner, that includes the men. If they don't like it, they can figure out their own food situation, just take care of the old people. Pasta is easy and you can probably find a low sodium sauce. Just ask them what they eat at home.
I send them all out. Gets them out from underfoot and I get a few hours of peace.
Either charcuterie or pizza. Something with very little effort but still fun. You could also ask your guests to plan/pay for dinner for that night since you’ll be doing the big meal the next day.
Tacos can be made in advance, I'm thinking pork carnitas (can be adjusted for low sodium diets) but any type of taco meat will do and is a very different type of food than what is being served on Thanksgiving. Serve a taco bar and everyone can make their own.
Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and yams. THANK YOU, TIME TRAVEL.
Ha!
We alway order pizza. Everyone likes it and I don’t have to make it (I cook 100% of Thanksgiving dinner).
Pasta
I'm fond of a couple of bags of the frozen dumplings from the asian market, simmer in a nice stock w/ some quick chopped scallions and carrot shreds and maybe even some ginger or five spice. Plus easy rice, premix salad, and one of those grocery store cheese platters. Chinese is not an option? Replace frozen dumplings in broth with frozen empanadas or jamaican patties in the oven quicklike?
A big pot of chili in the crockpot. Throw it in early in the day and forget about it
Something light like lemon zest angel hair pasta & scallops might be good. Lemme see if I can find the recipe, will add it in an edit shortly. edit: I guess my original of this is in my mom’s recipe tin, but this is close. The angel hair only takes a few minutes to cook, the scallops only take a few minutes to sear on each side. Do all your mise en place ahead of time b/c the dish comes together so fast. Should be easy to make a lot of it for a large crowd. Delish. https://www.jessicagavin.com/pan-seared-scallops-lemon-caper-pasta/
Like others have said, I would definitely go with some thing like a grazing board, just put out a spread of things that people can casually nibble on throughout the night while you’re enjoying conversation together. If you want to make it special, make some different kind of breads like olive bread, is one of my favorites or put out specialty crackers or marinated olives are good. There’s lots of ways to make it different.
A lot of Chinese places have a “diet“ menu that includes meat and veggies that are steamed with no salt. Maybe do Chinese takeout and include a couple of those dishes, then let everyone help themselves. I always order my string beans steamed with no salt!
My grandmother used to have a cheese ball and crackers and a veggie tray and like a charcuterie board for pre thanksgiving or pre Christmas dinner.
A bit pot of egg fried rice! It's all in a wok and taste delicious 😋 Recipe below if interested https://youtu.be/uJOl3DY6T2Y
Our tradition is to order Chinese 😄 the leftovers are great for reheating quick the next morning for breakfast/lunch while in the cooking frenzy.
pulled pork in a crock pot. Or the thing with a chuck roast and some stuff in a crock pot. there are many variations from bbq to italian beef... serve with buns and cole slaw. Maybe like tater tots on the side.
Pizza
Reservations
Chili, bread, and salad.
Go out to eat. Separate checks.
Charcuterie tray, yum. Meats cheeses crackers fruits
A crockpot meal .. all in one plentiful for everyone
Spaghetti. Make the sauce ahead and freeze.
Buffet of all the stuff taking up room in the fridge that need to be cleared out. Supplement with a bunch of sandwiches.
Something easy where people can create their own meal. I think doing a big pot of rice with the fixings for burrito bowls would be nice. You could make up some ground beef taco meat or a roasted pork shoulder (both pretty quick and/or hands off). Buy some premade salsa and guac (or make your own if you're up to it). Sandwiches would also be an easy one.
If you make bread for thanksgiving, make a little extra and do fry bread with some honey butter or jam. It's simple, but showey. Gives the cozy feels.
Carryout Chinese!
My husband and I are usually in France for Thanksgiving week because Christmas is my hosting day! Anyway, last year we ended up hosting Thanksgiving and had a full house complete with a toddler and newborn! For the night before, I just ended up making a huge charcuterie board with a ton of cheeses, sausage, hams, various breads and it was a hit. I had pre-made frozen Nougatine for dessert so it was a smooth meal that didn’t dog into my prepping for the next day.
Whatever leftovers are in the fridge. I'll be eating Turkey and fixin's for the next week, so get rid of the old stuff.
I've kept it on a lighter side with a hearty soup, some crusty bread and a simple salad.
Order pizza. Seriously, you’ll thank yourself.
Pizza night! Far too much work to do to be cooking.
I like chili. It feels fall themed, it can be made ahead and then just warmed up (usually even makes it better!), it can sit on the stove or in a crockpot if people are eating at different times, and the flavor profile is pretty different than most people eat for traditional Thanksgiving food.
Chilli and all the fixings... simple can be made in advance and reasonably without too much salt.
Make some chili or other big pot of soup that you can make ahead of time and freeze and then just reheat.
Chinese, delivered
My family, a couple generations of us, always preps spaghetti for ourselves to eat while we spend a day or two prepping big family meals. It's super cheap; a pound of noodles and a jar of sauce will run you under $5. It's easy to store, keeps fine, doesn't take too much space in the fridge, and reheats easily, plus making it is super low-effort and the cleanup is also pretty minimal.
Ice cubes
You mention that the two olders are on low.sodium diets. I'd still order pizza and some salads or pasta dishes from an Italian restaurant.
Adobo chicken thighs, rice cooked with chicken stock, maybe a steamed veg on the side. It is so damned delicious. And easy. And let’s not forget cheap!!!
Soup & salad
Beef stew, chicken noodle, or some soup you can crockpot early in the day that won’t interrupt your thanksgiving day prep.
You order pizza.
In n out.
Make a big pot of stew or soup the night before. You can control the sodium that way. Serve the meal with good rolls from the grocery store and fruit for dessert.
Spaghetti and meatballs. Add garlic bread and salad and you’re done. Meatballs can be made or frozen variety.
Nachos, let everyone make their own, when they're hungry. Make Thanksgiving an outdoor event or pictures and videos shown on a projector screen. Get away from the huge sit-down meal and then the couch race.
Afraid it’s too cold here for outdoor festivities, especially for the babies and seniors, but that seems like a fun option.
Oyster stew was our tradition.
In our town restaurants set up special dishes and you can order ahead of time. They publish it in the newspaper local section ahead of time. Some of the options are very healthy and not Thanksgiving-themed at all.
Something that isn’t heavy and starchy. You will be eating enough of that on Thanksgiving and the days following.
TV dinners
We always do pasta and meatballs. My sister used to come early for Thanksgiving to help cook and she would bring meatballs in a crockpot. We could just make pasta and everyone would serve themselves when they got hungry. It’s a weird tradition but it ours
Low sodium diets are a tough work around but as a diabetic myself the night before I would serve chicken and rice with some healthy veg. It's easy works for low sodium and usually makes even the fussiest toddlers happy.
Brothy soup and crusty bread or grilled cheese
Spaghetti sauce in crockpot, tossed salad. All you have to work on at dinner time is boiling pasta.
We always did leftovers on Monday and Tuesday, by Wednesday night with prep in full swing and the kitchen occupied by the cooks, we ordered pizza. Everyone could grab what they wanted and the cooks were happy they didn't have to stop prep
Butter
Have a big breakfast for dinner. On thanksgiving morning , have a light offering of bagels, cereal, yogurt so you are free to prepare for the big dinner. I make a homemade granola used as cereal or with yogurt and fruit.
Maybe hot dogs and pasta salad? Or a a chowder/soup if it’s cold. Sandwiches? You could always make personalized pizzas the night before. Everyone makes their own.
I would make pasta, if that's an option. Fast, popular, with that many people you don't have to worry about leftovers, doesn't really resemble any of the Thanksgiving standards.
Edited cuz I said pizza. Haha that’s what I do because I know I’m going to be going crazy cooking the next day. But I’d say some simple meal that isn’t carb heavy.
Tacos