For this meal plan, I went shopping for foods that were on sale for the holidays. The whole turkey is the protein for all the recipes and I used the sides in creative ways to make 5 dinners and several breakfasts and lunches.
These recipes are also great to save for when you have leftovers from Thanksgiving or any holiday meal. I hope you find some inspiration from this post!
Groceries
For step-by-step recipes, watch my video on YouTube:
Recipes
No Knead Bread
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, honey or sugar, and yeast. Add warm water (use thermometer to make sure water is between 105-110° F before adding) and mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Remove plastic wrap and turn out dough onto a well flouted surface. Fold the edges over until the dough feels a little tighter and holds its shape.
- Lightly flour the top of the dough and then transfer to parchment paper, smooth side up. Cover loosely with plastic wrap as the oven preheats.
- Place a Dutch oven with the lid into the oven and preheat the oven to 425° F. (Make sure your Dutch oven and lid are safe for the oven before doing this)
- Once the oven has preheated, CAREFULLY remove the Dutch oven (it will be extremely hot!!) and place the dough, along with the parchment paper, inside the Dutch oven. Cover with the lid and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Then carefully remove the lid and bake, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, or until the bread reaches your desired level of doneness (as light or dark as you like).
- Remove from the oven and carefully lift out of the Dutch oven and place on a cooling rack for at least 20-30 minutes before serving. (This step is extremely important to allow the bread to finish cooking, otherwise the bread will be doughy still in the middle.)
Notes
If you don’t have a dutch oven, you can use a loaf pan and just cover with foil for the first bake and then remove the foil for the last 10-15 minutes.
For the first dinner, I cooked the whole turkey and served it with mashed potatoes, baked carrots, and cranberry sauce. Most of the sides and turkey were saved for meals for the rest of the week.
Roasted Salt and Pepper Turkey
Roasted Salt and Pepper Turkey
This basic and delicious recipe is one of the easiest out there
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 475°
- Remove neck and giblets from turkey and set aside (you can use these or discard). Pat the turkey dry and place on a rack in a large roasting pan, breast side up.
- In a small bowl, mix together oil, salt, and pepper. Pour the mixture on top of turkey and rub all over to coat, making sure to get some under the skin of the breasts. Rub the melted butter under the skin of the breasts.
- Place the aromatics inside the cavity. Fill the bottom of the pan with 3.5 cups water. Tuck wind tips under turkey and tie legs together with kitchen string.
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, or until skin is golden brown. Remove from oven and reduce oven heat to 350°.
- Cover turkey with aluminum foil and bake for an additional 1.5-3.5 hours or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast is 165°. If the pan dries out while cooking, add more water to the pan.
- Remove and let rest for 20 minutes, covered with foil, before carving.
Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- In a medium pot, add water and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Once boiling, carefully add the cranberries and stir. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low.
- Allow to boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cranberries will pop as they cook.
- Turn off the heat. Cranberry sauce will set as it cools. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
Method
- Place potatoes in a large pot. Cover potatoes with cold water until potatoes are just covered. Season the water with salt.
- Bring the water to a boil and cook potatoes until easily pierced with a fork, about 12-15 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and return to the pot. Cook on high for about 60 seconds, shaking frequently to avoid scorching. Turn the heat off.
- Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork until smooth.
- Add butter and milk while mashing until the potatoes reach desired consistency. Serve and enjoy!
Oven Roasted Carrots
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 425° F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- In a bowl, add the carrots and toss with oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Pour the carrots onto the prepared baking sheet in one even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tender and edges are brown. Serve and enjoy!
Homemade Turkey Gravy
Ingredients
Method
- In a medium pot, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook while stirring until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in water and drippings, ½ cup at a time, until completely combined before adding more liquid.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking while stirring until heated through. Serve and enjoy!
Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
Method
- In a bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, flour, egg, salt, pepper, and any optional ingredients.
- In a large pan, heat oil or butter on medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated, scoop 3-4 tablespoons of the mixture into the pan. Press down slightly.
- Once browned, flip and brown on the other side. Remove to a plate and top with any toppings you like!
Thanksgiving Breakfast Hash
Ingredients
Method
- In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until soft and translucent.
- Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds more. Add chopped turkey and season with salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, and cumin. Stir and continue cooking until heated through.
- Stir in stuffing and gravy and continue to cook until heated through.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat and crack eggs into the pan. Fry the eggs on each side until yolks are cooked to desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour turkey mixture into bowls and top with fried eggs. Top with hot sauce and cilantro, if desired. Enjoy!
Egg and Turkey Breakfast Sandwiches
Ingredients
Method
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine mashed potatoes and stuffing until combined. Shape them into 4 equal patties.
- In a large pan, heat oil or butter on medium heat. Add patties and cook for 5 minutes on one side, then flip and cook on the other side until golden brown and heated through. Add turkey to the pan around the patties and cook until heated through.
- Place patties on bread and top with cooked turkey and a slice of cheese.
- Add more butter or oil to the pan and heat on medium. Crack eggs into the pan fry until yolks are cooked to desired firmness. Season with salt and pepper. Place eggs on top of cheese.
- Top with remaining bread slice and serve.
Turkey Melts
Ingredients
Method
- In a large pan, add turkey and heat on medium until cooked through. Remove and set aside.
- Add butter and heat until melted. Place bread in pan and top with cheese and turkey. Top with another slice of bread.
- Brown on one side, then flip and brown on the other side. Serve and enjoy!
Turkey and Cranberry Sandwiches
Ingredients
Method
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat stuffing until heated through.
- Warm cooked turkey in the microwave or on the stove top, if desired.
- Toast slices of bread in a toaster or in a skillet.
- Spread mayonnaise on one slice of bread for each sandwich. Top with cooked turkey, cranberry sauce, and the other slice of bread. Serve and enjoy!
Turkey and Stuffing Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease an 8×11 casserole dish.
- Heat the mashed potatoes in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through; this will help make it easier to spread.
- In the prepared casserole dish, layer the turkey, gravy, carrots, stuffing, corn, peas, sage, salt, and pepper. Top with potatoes and spread evenly until covered.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown on the edges. Serve and enjoy!
My Favorite Turkey Casserole
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 375
- In a large pan, heat olive oil on medium-high heat and sauté onions, carrots, and celery until onions are translucent and carrots and celery are tender.
- Stir in cooked turkey, garlic, corn, peas, and gravy and continue cooking until heated through and bubbly.
- Pour mixture into an 8×11 baking dish and top with mashed potatoes. Spread mashed potatoes evenly to cover casserole.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through and golden and casserole is bubbly.
Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Prepare/thaw pie crusts and set aside in the refrigerator.
- In a medium pot, combine vegetables turkey, and potatoes. Add water to cover and boil for 12-15 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through and are fork tender. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, cook onions in butter until translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to form a paste. Slowly mix in water with drippings (or chicken broth) and milk, about ½ cup at a time. Stir and bring to boil for one minute or until sauce thickens. Stir in cooked turkey and veggie/potato mix.
- Pour filling into pie crust. (If you have any filling leftover, you can eat this for lunch the next day!)
- Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess. Make 2-3 small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
- Bake until thermometer reads 165 degrees or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly – about 45-60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
If you want to freeze for later, complete recipe to step 5 and then allow to cool before covering with top crust. Then wrap in wax paper and foil and freeze. When ready to cook, unwrap and cook from frozen at 375° F for about 60-90 minutes or until internal temperature is 165° and crust is golden.
I used this pie crust recipe this time but there are several options online, depending on what you have on hand. I personally buy the crusts pre-made most of the time and I highly recommend doing that to make this process much faster.
Turkey Pho Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Method
- In a large pot, add turkey bones and vegetable scraps and cover with water. Bring to a boil, partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours. 20 minutes before serving, add cloves, cinnamon stick, and ground ginger. Strain into a large container and set aside or proceed to make soup. This broth can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- In a large stock pot, melt butter over medium heat and add onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté until onions are soft and translucent.
- Add turkey, turkey broth, salt, and sugar. Stir and bring to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil and cook noodles as directed on the package. Rinse and evenly divide between bowls. Add cilantro and green onions to bowls, if desired.
- Pour soup over noodles and serve with sriracha and hoisin, if desired. Enjoy!
I hope you love the recipes and found some ideas for meals to make in your home! If you try anything, please be sure to let me know in the comments.
Have a wonderful day and happy cooking!
Disclaimer: This post is the opinion of the author. Always speak to your doctor before beginning any exercise plan or changes to your lifestyle or diet. The information provided in this post is for entertainment purposes only and is not intended to provide medical, legal, or other professional advice. Read and/or use any of the information from this post at your own risk. Some or all of the links displayed on this site may be affiliate links.
