Looking for a healthy Thanksgiving menu without sacrificing taste? Check out these delicious healthy Thanksgiving recipes! I’ve even included healthy Thanksgiving Sides and healthy Thanksgiving desserts. Of course Thanksgiving is the one day that everyone loves to splurge but your guests won’t even realize these are on the healthier side because they are so yummy!
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How to plan an easy healthy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be a pain to plan and cook. Just relax! Most of these healthy Thanksgiving recipes can be made up ahead of time! Some can even be frozen. See the Thanksgiving Menu Template below for details.
My Healthy Thanksgiving Menu
This turkey is super simple to make! Find a small turkey (6 pounds) or turkey breast that will fit into your Instant Pot. The rest is easy!
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce with Port, Rosemary and Cinnamon This recipe is also super simple. You can even make it up ahead of time. It keeps for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Granny’s Apples – Homemade Cooked Apples This is one of my favorite family holiday dishes! These are delicious cooked apples on the stove in a sweet syrupy cinnamon sauce. Just the smell of them evokes the feeling of “home.”
Instant Pot Manhattan Cranberry Sauce
This is a new recipe this year! Made with orange juice, bourbon and sweet vermouth. A new twist on an old favorite!
Easy Healthy Mini Pumpkin Pies with Cinnamon Cardamom Streusel
These little pies are quick to put together. Have the filling made ahead of time, then fill the shells a few hours or right before serving.
These make a nice breakfast treat if you’re having overnight guests but they are also great as a dessert. Although I like them baked fresh (from my days of owning a tea room), you can make them up and freeze them and then reheat when you need them.
Mandarin Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries, Mint and Pecans This recipe is a tradition at our house. Such a great combination of flavors. It also won me an award years ago at a Mandarin festival in California. You’ll love it!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts in Creamy Parmesan Sauce These yummy brussels sprouts (yes, yummy, and I admit I didn’t like them until a few years ago after I learned a better way to cook them) are a great side dish to serve with turkey. They reheat well for leftovers.
Healthy Stuffed Delicata Squash with Spicy Chicken Sausage This recipe makes a nice side dish for Thanksgiving instead of the traditional stuffing and is also great for those who aren’t fond of turkey.
Hearty Healthy Mushroom Soup For all you mushroom lovers out there, even though this creamless mushroom soup recipe is healthy, it’s still very decadent and filling. This makes a great appetizer soup for Thanksgiving. You can have this recipe already made in your freezer. Just thaw and reheat when you need it!
Thanksgiving Menu Template
While it’s hard to tell you exactly what to make when, this Thanksgiving menu template will help. Depending on your circumstances, here’s a list of questions to help you decide and create your own Thanksgiving plan to follow.
- First gather and check all of your ingredients. This is key, you don’t want to be running to the store at the last minute. If you’re doing the Instant Pot Turkey, look for your turkey breast at least a few weeks ahead of time in the freezer section. They can be hard to find at the last minute.
- Next decide what you need to do when.
- The turkey is probably best cooked the day of Thanksgiving. However, a few days before make sure it’s thawed and brine it overnight for the best taste. If you want to use the Parmesan Chicken Broth, you can make the broth weeks ahead and freeze it until needed. You can always use regular chicken broth, if you don’t have time to make it.
- The Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce with Port, Rosemary and Cinnamon as well as the Instant Pot Manhattan Cranberry Sauce will last about 2 weeks and can be made definitely ahead of time.
- The mini pumpkin pie filling can be made a few days ahead of time. Just be sure and fill the shells only the day of the feast.
- The Mandarin Wild Rice Salad parts can be made up a few days before and then put together the salad the day of.
- The scones can be made ahead and frozen. Reheat when you need them.
- The Roasted Brussels Sprouts probably should be made on Thanksgiving Day but they don’t take long.
- Healthy Stuffed Delicata Squash – if you’re using the homemade chicken sausage, then make the sausage up ahead of time and freeze it for when you need it. Fill and bake the squash on Thanksgiving.
- Hearty Healthy Mushroom Soup – this makes a great appetizer! Be sure and have the Parmesan Chicken Broth (paid link) already in your freezer or use regular chicken broth. You can freeze this soup and have it ready to go, just thaw and reheat when you need it!
- Granny’s Apples – these can be made a few days ahead.
- Put when your cooking what dish on the calendar. That makes a huge difference. Plan a little every day if time is a big factor. That way you don’t accidentally forget to make something. It happens, I’ve done it a million times! Now I write it down!
- On Thanksgiving Day, finish the cooking and relax and enjoy the day!
- When you’re ready to clean up, check out these Instant Pot Cleaning Tips!
