75 Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Recipes for Any Size Holiday Gathering

This creamy, flavorful vegetarian lasagna is layer upon layer of noodles, velvety parmesan béchamel, rich and savory mushroom ragù, and melted parmesan cheese.

This dish is 100% comfort food, a total crowd pleaser and the perfect addition to a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal.

This colorful vegan spinach fig salad with roasted pumpkin, parsley, quinoa and a simple oil-free blueberry dressing is the best of both worlds.

Loaded with textures, flavors, color and essential nutrients, it’s everything we want a good lunch or dinner to be! Plus, all of the components are totally customizable to your preferences or food that are available to you.

Lasagna bolognese is rich and saucy casserole made by layering pasta, meaty Bolognese sauce, and creamy parmesan béchamel. While not traditional, this recipe includes the option of adding some additional cheese because, mmmmmmm, cheese.

This dish is comfort food 101 and designed to spoil yourself and everyone at your Thanksgiving table with the kind of meal that leaves you feeling nourished and cared for.

A comforting and easy sheet pan frozen cauliflower gnocchi recipe made with roasted fall vegetables. This is perfect for a quick, healthy vegan holiday side dish.

This simple Roasted Pork Tenderloin is tender and juicy, and covered in the most delicious Red Wine Cherry Sauce. It's one of those quick and easy recipes that's both elegant and basic, simple enough for a causal weeknight meal, but gorgeous enough for a holiday dinner party.

Sweet potato fritters are lightly seasoned with ginger, cinnamon, and fennel then pan fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The make a great holiday appetizer or side dish and can easily be scaled up or down depending on how many people you’re cooking for.

A fresh twist on a classic combination, this cranberry quinoa salad with cranberries, orange, mint and kale is an easy Thanksgiving side dish for your holiday turkey or weeknight chicken!

These carnitas have been a favorite meal around our home for a really long time. A few years ago I served them for Thanksgiving, right along side the turkey. At the end of the day, we had tons of leftover turkey, while only a few lonely pieces of carnitas remained. Next year, I skipped the turkey altogether and just doubled the amount of carnitas.

The meat is crispy on the outside, super flavorful, fall-off-the bone tender, and couldn't be easier to prepare.

The recipe makes enough for a crowd or for plenty of leftovers that you can use throughout the week or freeze for later, and includes instructions for making them in your slow cooker or instant pot.

This delicious rustic potato cake is crispy on the outside like a potato chip, smooth and cheesy on the inside like au gratin potatoes. It may be devastatingly beautiful, but it's also relatively easy to make.

How about turkey and waffles for a unique Thanksgiving meal? These potato stuffing waffles are easy to make and they make a delicious for turkey and gravy.

Give me a Green Chili smothered burrito or chili relleno over turkey any Thanksgiving!

This Green Chili recipe is the result of years of tweaking and testing (and eating!), until it was packed with as much rich, meaty chili flavor as I could cram in there. The recipe makes a giant pot of Chili - plenty for a crowd.

Last year, a couple of readers wrote to tell me they had made this dish as the centerpiece of their Thanksgivng meal. I thought this was a splendid idea!

This Latvian Stew recipe is based on a dish from the pages of A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. It's a simple, comforting combination of tender, slow cooked pork shoulder, carrots, onions, apricots, and prunes that's warm and flavorful and even better the next day.

This wild rice and butternut squash salad makes a great Thanksgiving side dish because it’s colorful and a little unexpected. Since this dish is vegan and gluten-free, everyone can enjoy it!

Tender braised beef in a rich wine sauce with mushrooms, onions, garlic, red bell pepper, and tomatoes served over creamy garlic mascarpone mashed potatoes.

If you're looking for a main dish to replace the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, this dish is both elegant and 100% comfort food.

This Award-winning Gluten-free Sausage and Apple Rice recipe is the perfect opportunity to do just that - change it up, seize the day and add this recipe to your Thanksgiving menu!

I can think of no better addition to a Thanksgiving spread than cheese stuffed pasta shells coverd in an incredible marinara sauce.

Pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese, covered in my all-time favorite homemade marinara sauce, smothered with even more cheese, and baked until rich and saucy, and deliciously cheesy.

This has been one of the favorite recipes on our Thanksgiving menu for the last several years. Creamy roasted corn with chorizo sausage, chipotle peppers and green chilies, topped with scallops that have been perfectly seared in butter and chorizo oil. This delicious combination of spicy, smokey, sweet, savory, and sour, is crazy good and will be on the table in less than 45 minutes.

Fresh ingredients combined with simple seasonings and traditional holiday herbs make this quick and easy dish perfect for the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table!

I like this recipe because the herbs and spices give it the flavor of traditional bread-based stuffing without the bread or dairy. It’s also easy to double, triple, even quadruple (get out your big pan!) to feed a crowd.

Regardless of what else is on your Thanksgiving table, this salad is the perfect, refreshing side dish.

Israeli Salad is a delicious, fresh mix of vegetables and herbs chopped into very small pieces so that every bite contains a variety of flavors and textures.

This version of the classic salad is dressed with Pomegranate Vinaigrette and a handful of crunchy Ja'ala (roasted spiced nut and seed mix).

Looking for a hearty vegetarian main dish for your Thanksgiving meal? Roast up these Vegan Stuffed Butternut Squash filled with cranberry rice, pecans, and chickpeas. This main dish is sure to please everyone - even meat eaters.

A friend of mine told me that lasagna has been a staple dish at their Thanksgiving for as long as she can remember. I think it's the perfect holiday meal - cheesy, rich, delicious, and easy to make for a crowd!

The secret to the most delicious classic lasagna is to start with really, really good Homemade Marinara Sauce that's been slow simmered until it's rich and thick, and filling your whole house with the most intoxicating aroma.

Stir in plenty of Italian sausage and then layer it up with sheets of pasta and lots and lots of cheese.

Instead of slicing and serving a whole turkey, Cornish Game Hens allow everyone to have their own single-serving bird. Cornish game hens with Grand Marnier sauce are a super easy slow cooker recipe that are also special enough for a holiday meal.

Give me a plate full of pasta covered in bolognese sauce over a traditional Thanksgiving turkey any day!

Meaty, rich, slow simmered bolognese sauce is one of the world's all-time greatest comfort foods. This recipe with bacon and red wine is my favorite way to make this delicious classic Italian sauce.

Looking for a delicious and elegant appetizer for your holiday meal? These crowd pleasing one-bite treats are sure to impress!

Homemade cheddar crackers are topped with garlic mayonnaise, fresh cilantro, orange slices, almond chili salsa and tender flakes of Cedar Roasted Applewood Salmon with Orange and Ginger. Each little one-bite appetizer is a powerhouse of bright, fresh FLAVOR.

If you'd rather sit down to a steak than turkey on Thanksgiving, look no further.

Tender, marinated steak tips braised in wine, tomatoes, and fresh rosemary, and served over a bed of quinoa only takes about an hour, but tastes like you’ve been cooking all afternoon.

Move over mashed potatoes! These easy hash brown au gratin potatoes require only 6 ingredients and can be made in about 10 minutes. It's like wholesome comfort food with the convenience of fast food. When you're trying to get a holiday meal on the table, what could be better than that?

If a unique savory squash salad sounds like it might round out your Thanksgiving meal, this recipe is for you. Bacon Delicata Salad is loaded with crispy, pan-fried bacon, sautéed delicata squash, parsley, apple cider vinegar and crumbled bleu cheese. The salad can be served warm or cold and can be prepared ahead of time! 

Turkey or cheese enchiladas? For me, there's no contest. Enchiladas all the way.

And, the BEST cheese enchiladas (especially for a crowd!) aren’t rolled – they’re layered. Easy cheese enchilada casserole requires just three ingredients: corn tortillas, a ridiculous amount of cheese, and a kick-ass red chili enchilada sauce.

Cooking Tri-Tip Steak in the slow cooker is a sure-fire method for falling-apart-tender steak that's juicy and packed with flavor. In this simple recipe, Tri-Tip Steak simmers in a rich gravy flavored with fennel, coriander, and paprika. It's both elegant and as comforting as a giant hug.

This Butternut Squash Feta Salad has plenty of savory ingredients and the result is a nice balance of sweet, salty, earthy, and even a little spicy. It's simple and elegant, totally healthy, gluten free, and an excellent addition to a Thanksgiving or holiday menu.

If you're looking for an impressive and unique potato side dish for your Thanksgiving meal, look no further!

Thin slices of potatoes are layered with onions, parsley, smoked salmon, loads of cheese, and a rich paprika cream sauce, topped with panko bread crumbs and baked into crispy, creamy, cheesy, awesomeness.

These roasted parsnips with cinnamon, brown sugar, roasted grapes and a sweet hummus drizzle are a delicious holiday side dish. Traditionalists might call this dish *too weird* for Thanksgiving tastes but it’ll fit right in with your more open-minded foodie friends.

This is the perfect cocktail for any holiday meal!

This elegant cocktail is simply a mixture of pear vodka, elderflower liquor, and champagne. It's deliciously elegant and can be served any way you like - in martini, cocktail, or wine glasses.

If you're serving cocktails for a crowd, mix up a pitcher of this cocktail minus the champagne and let guests pour their own topping their glass with as much or as little champagne as they like.

You won’t miss the bread in this delicious, super healthy vegetable stuffing made with quinoa. It’s a great alternative to a traditional stuffing or any side dish. And ready in only 30 minutes.

This is a delicious crowd-pleasing cocktail that can be mixed up in small or large batches, depending on how many people you're serving this Thanksgiving.

Gin, orange liquor, fresh pomegranate seeds, ginger and lime come together in a refreshing, fun, and festive gin cocktail.

It's hard to beat that tender beef that literally melts in your mouth. But let's face it, beef tenderloin roasts can be pricey. Thankfully, there is an alternative. This delicious, perfectly roasted, Eye of Round Roast makes a great special occasion roast beef that won't bust your budget!

This is everything you need to know to bake the ultimate rich and creamy New York-style cheesecake. The recipe includes a traditional shortbread crust with the option for a graham cracker crust if that's your preference.

I've made this cheesecake countless times over the years, for every holiday and celebration you can imagine, and it's always a hit!

This super simple one-layer cake has a rich and creamy texture flavored with roasted pistachios, a generous amount of cardamom, and a thick layer of cream cheese buttercream.

This cake is somehow both casual and elegant, rustic and refined, as appropriate for a holiday dinner party as it is for an afternoon snack.

Move over mashed potatoes, there’s a new creamy vegetable side dish in town!

Butternut Squash Puree with Fontina Cheese, Fresh Thyme, and Brown Butter makes a delicious side dish for Thanksgiving dinner or any holiday meal or family gathering.

This delicious Almond Plum Cake tastes like a cross between cake and fruit cobbler. It is supremely moist and almost custard-like, thanks to the soft roasted sweet plums, almond paste, and a generous amount of Amaretto liquor.

If you still want turkey at the center of your Thanksgiving table, but want to do something different with it, grilled turkey tenderloin is a great option! This easy turkey recipe is great all year long, and especially nice to have on hand for a smaller or more simplified Thanksgiving meal!

This Turkey Meat Pie is a classic French recipe, known as Turkey Veronique. It may look sophisticated and difficult, but trust me it is super easy.

Ground turkey, grapes and a white wine cream sauce, under a rustic lattice crust. Perfect for any night of the week, but especially appropriate on Thanksgiving.

This cake includes the traditional Thanksgiving flavors of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg all wrapped up in a non-traditional chocolate covered package.

Dark brown sugar, applesauce, yogurt and plenty of vanilla add even MORE flavor, while also keeping it moist and extremely tender. Frosted with chocolate buttercream, the combination of flavors is interesting, complex, and absolutely delicious.

Full of fall flavors, this Roasted Butternut Squash Salad features the natural sweetness of winter squash, earthy kale, nutty chickpeas, and honey apple vinaigrette to tie it all together.

This healthy Vegan Stuffed Peppers recipe is a unique but delicious addition to your holiday spread. With vegetables, quinoa, and melty vegan cheese cooked inside a bell pepper, this flavorful dish is so satisfying.

There's nothing wrong with plain 'ol regular stuffing, but if you're looking for a fun and simple twist (get it, a twist???) on a classic — it's time to give pretzel stuffing a try. Because everything's better with pretzels.

Pretzel stuffing has the perfect pillowy soft, chewy stuffing texture thanks to rehydrated dried or day old pretzel pieces. It's satisfyingly crunchy thanks to crumbled sausage, whole grain mustard, and a sprinkling of pretzel salt across the top.

Move over apple pie, there's a new Thanksgiving dessert in town!

This Apple cake is absolutely bursting with warm apple flavor thanks to concentrated Apple Cider Syrup, shredded sour apples, and a touch of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

Apple Cider Buttercream delivers even more apple flavor and a thick, velvety layer of Dark Chocolate Ganache covers the cake with a blanket of bittersweet luxury.

This Bananas Foster Butter Cake is basically St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake topped with Bananas Foster Sauce. If you've never had St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake, you're in for a treat. It's a dense, yeast-risen cake topped with a layer of ooey-gooey butter and brown sugar deliciousness.

Topped with bananas foster sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream takes it over the top and makes a deliciously indulgent end to any holiday meal.

Baked salmon in foil is a moist, flavorful, and flaky whole side of salmon infused with lemon garlic butter sauce. It makes a nice centerpiece for your holiday dinner table. This main dish is is healthy, easy, and ready in under half an hour!

If you want all the flavor of apple pie with a fraction of the work, look no further than this apple cobbler recipe.

The recipe includes plenty of saucy cinnamon and clove spiced apples baked under a chewy cookie topping. The gooey brown sugar topping takes about 5 minutes to make and tastes like a soft, buttery sugar cookie.

Butternut squash parmigiana is a fun Fall inspired twist on the classic eggplant parmigiana. Slices of roasted butternut squash are layered with sage, marinara, mozzarella, and Parmigiano Reggiano and topped with homemade seasoned breadcrumbs and baked until bubbly and toasty.

If a classic Napoleon dessert isn't on your holiday menu, add it right this second.

The dreamy dessert includes flaky puff pastry layered with creamy vanilla pastry cream. It's one of those classic French pastries that exemplifies everything I love about French pastry - It's elegantly simple and deliciously indulgent.

This easy Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya is sure to please anyone and everyone around your holiday table this year. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs and smoked sausage are simmered with onion, bell pepper, and celery (trinity), rice, and lots of Cajun flavors. And, it’ll be ready in just 40 minutes!

You know that silky, intensely rich and creamy center of a really good chocolate truffle? That's basically this entire tart.

The decadent dark chocolate filling is flavored Grand Marnier and set inside a crispy chocolate cookie crust. The best part? For all its elegant indulgence, the tart is so easy to make it almost feels like cheating.

Cioppino is a comforting San Franciscan seafood stew filled with shrimp, clams, mussels, white fish, and crab legs simmered in a rich broth made from tomatoes, white wine, and fish stock. A family favorite, enjoy this easy and delicious one-pot seafood stew is the perfect addition to a seaside Thanksgiving meal!

You need just 10 ingredients to make this delicious Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash! Roasted squash is filled with Italian sausage, colorful vegetables and topped with parmesan. This makes a hearty side dish, but could also easily serve as the main attraction.

This Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie includes layers of chocolate pastry cream, vanilla rum custard, bananas, and whipped cream in a buttery vanilla wafer crust.

It's incredibly rich, creamy, and indulgent without being overly sweet, and has been a favorite Thanksgiving recipe in our family for years and years.

Calling all chocolate lovers! Every bite of this Black Forest Cake is loaded with creamy chocolate and juicy cherries.

Three deep, dark, rich and chocolaty Devil's Food cakes are doused with cherry liquor, layered with sweetened vanilla whipped cream and tart Morello cherries, and topped with dark chocolate ganache.

If you're a chocolate and cherry lover, get ready to swoon.

If you're a bigger fan of chicken than you are of turkey, this recipe for stuffed chicken breast with marinated goat cheese, chopped basil and a creamy mushroom sauce is a must-try.

These little Smoked Salmon Appetizers are bursting with mind blowing amounts of flavor and guaranteed to impress. Homemade Cheddar and Chili Crackers are topped with a dollop of garlic mayonnaise, a slice of avocado, a few flakes of chili smoked salmon, and a spoonful of Chimichurri Sauce.

If you're having a small thanksgiving or holiday meal or want something different, try these quick and easy air fryer turkey wings! Air-fried turkey wings come out juicy and crispy and pack a lot of flavors.

This savory, comforting, vegan sweet potato casserole with black beans, kale, quinoa and roasted garlic sauce is an easy to assemble side dish for Thanksgiving, and perfect to make ahead.

This Sous Vide Prime Rib with a creamy horseradish sauce is cooked to temperature-controlled perfection and makes the most juicy and flavorful holiday roast.

Looking for an easy, make ahead meal or holiday side? This easy chicken and wild rice casserole is a healthier creamy hotdish full of veggies, long grain and wild rice, and slivered almonds. You can even assemble this days ahead of time or freeze it months ahead of time making your holidays even simpler.

Tired of the standard Thanksgiving pumpkin pie? Vegan Pumpkin Trifle, an easy dessert for Fall / Autumn or the festive season! It's a crowd pleaser and happens to be egg free, dairy free and can be made gluten free.

If you’re making Thanksgiving for a small number of people this year, this recipe for Indian-Spiced Turkey breast will hit the spot.

This year, skip the Thanksgiving pies and serve profiteroles instead! Fill them all with the same thing, or add some variety and serve them with a variety of fillings.

Profiteroles (cream puffs) are buttery little balls of choux pastry (pâte à choux) baked until light, tender, and puffed up to form a hollow center.

They are the perfect vessel for pastry cream, ice cream, whipped cream, all varieties of savory ingredients, or anything your imagination and taste buds, can dream up.

How about trying a vegan version of the more traditional hash brown casserole as one of your Thanksgiving side dishes this year? This super easy recipe is similar to the recipes you’ll find on the back of many prepackaged frozen hash browns. It’s just as cheesy and delicious that no one will guess it’s vegan!

These Savory Baked Pears with Gorgonzola, Walnuts, and Cranberries are incredibly easy and fast to make with delicious flavors. They are the perfect Thanksgiving side dish that bring a lot of class and allure with minimal effort!

This Instant Pot cranberry chicken is made with cranberry sauce and chicken thighs, and creates a flavorful dish that’s perfect for any holiday meal!

What could be a more elegant end to a meal than a gorgeous pear tart made with wine poached pears???

This elegant Pear Tart filled with Frangipane (almond cream) and topped with Red and White Wine Poached Pears tastes just as impressive as it looks. And, while it might appear difficult to make, it's surprisingly simple. As most good things are.

The tart is best eaten the day it's made, but each component - the pastry dough, frangipane, and poached pears can be prepared days in advance.

Surprise your guests with this unexpected way to incorporate pumpkin into your Thanksgiving meal. No pie crust required! These tasty little pumpkin pie pudding shots can be served up with or without alcohol.

Bacon covered turkey roulade with mushroom filling is the perfect alternative to a whole roasted turkey for Thanksgiving or if you’re feeding a small crowd. This elegant looking roulade is much easier to make than you think and is sure to impress!

This creamy, curried roasted cauliflower soup with toasted coconut and crispy fried mushrooms is all about layer after layer of flavors and textures that stick to your ribs and warm you from the inside out.

This soup is a hearty way to start your Thanksgiving meal but it also makes a delicious vegan non-traditional main dish.

This Thanksgiving, save the cranberry sauce for dessert!

Almond cake is one of those desserts that seems rather plain and unassuming and then blows you away with how delicious it is. The cake couldn't be simpler to make and only includes a handful of ingredients. But the finished result is both rich and elegant.

This recipe makes 6 individual sized cakes for easy serving!