Most of us are economizing this fall, and maybe you’re hoping to reduce the cost of Thanksgiving. Fortunately, most of the traditional T’day foods are fairly inexpensive to begin with. Turkey is one of the cheapest meats available - at least if you avoid free-range or organic birds - and neither white potatoes nor sweet potatoes cost much. Here are a few ideas for keeping costs down.

Thanksgiving Harvest Means Reasonable Food Costs

  • Do a pot-luck where everyone contributes to the menu. You’ll need to give some thought to people’s skill sets and assign dishes based on their abilities (and you will want to assign dishes so you don’t end up with three sweet potato casseroles). You’ll also want to make sure everything can be made in advance so you don’t end up with half a dozen people trying to cook at once. Most side dishes can be pre-cooked and then warmed up in the microwave just before dinner.
  • Avoid over-buying your turkey. Figure you’ll need about a pound of bird per person. So if you’re feeding eight all you need is an 8 pound turkey, and if your family only likes white meat then just buy a breast and avoid leftover dark meat which may get thrown away. Also, if you buy the turkey early you’ll have a much better chance of finding the size you need.
  • If you’re hosting or preparing a big meal ~ call our cooking hotline at 1-800-977-1224! Seriously, for just $4.95, you will have access to our entire team of chefs who will make sure you feel confident and have the ingredients, recipes, and skills you need to pull off a great meal - with no costly mistakes. Sign up for your insurance policy here >>>
  • And on the subject of portion size, keep the whole meal in proportion. You’ll need about 2 cups total of side-dishes per person. That would work out to 1/2 cup each of mashed potatoes, stuffing, candied yams, and green beans. And as for the green beans, frequently the frozen supermarket brand is cheaper than fresh or canned beans. Visit our Thanksgiving Guide for unique menus and recipes developed by our chefs for our members and that fit lots of family styles.
  • Make as much from scratch as possible. For example, it’s not hard to make your own bread stuffing/dressing (see our Thanksgiving Recipes page for some terrific ideas) and homemade piecrust is cheaper than store-bought. As an added benefit, both the stuffing and the pies will be far better if made from scratch.
  • A lot of people invest in expensive items for holidays that they almost never use. The truth is an aluminum roasting pan from the supermarket works fine, and if you want to splurge a little bit those cheap enameled roasting pans. Gravy can be served in a bowl with a large spoon and you can find plastic, disposable platters at Target. The only investment we recommend is an instant-read thermometer, something you can buy for as little as $12 and use year-round.

Please share your ideas and suggestions for saving some dough so we can truly have a stress-free Thanksgiving Dinner this year.