Are you cooking for lots of kids, nieces, and nephews, or just have picky adults in your life? Well, we've got over 60 Thanksgiving recipes for kids and adults to get you all the way from breakfast to dinner!
I hate trying to dig through sites to find their holiday recipes. So, I wanted to create a road map with recipes to help you get through the Thanksgiving holiday with less stress and more joy.
I feel like having a filling breakfast is often overlooked in lists like this, so this list includes quick and easy breakfasts to fuel you and the kids up for the day ahead. And of course, what kind of Thanksgiving list would this be if it didn't have lots of side dishes and desserts?
Each recipe is denoted as high protein, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free but remember to head to the full recipe post to customize based on your taste preferences and dietary needs!
HP = High-Protein
V = Vegan
Veg = Vegetarian
GF = Gluten-Free
DF = Dairy-Free
breakfast
Breakfast is SO important when you have such a busy day, whether it's full of travel, a 5k, or just prepping. This Bacon and Cottage Cheese Egg Bake is our favorite way to start the busy day!
- 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Pancakes Veg, DF
- 3- Ingredient Pumpkin Waffles Veg, DF
- Trader Joe's Overnight Oats V, GF
- 10-Minute Fancy Oatmeal with Bananas V, GF
- Protein Cinnamon Rolls HP, Veg
- Purple Smoothie Bowl HP, V, GF
- Mushroom Quiche HP
- Cookie Baked Oatmeal GF
- Bacon Cottage Cheese Egg Bake HP. GF
- Dunkin Wake-Up Wrap HP
- Egg White Wraps HP, GF, Veg
- Peanut Butter Avocado Smoothie HP, GF, V
- Southwest Egg Bake HP, GF
- Lemon Cayenne Ginger Shots (no one wants to get sick!) GF, V
If you're interested in more high-protein recipes, get our full list of high-protein breakfast recipes that aren't eggs!
mid-day snacks
"I don't want to get full before dinner". Eating just enough is the name of the game! And a protein ball is a great snack to keep you going while on the move or cooking.
- Protein Balls without Protein Powder V, GF, HP
- Banana Bread without Butter DF, Veg
- Birthday Cake Heavenly Hunks GF, V
- Biscoff Protein Balls HP, Veg, DF
- Frozen Potstickers in the Air Fryer DF
- Small Batch Tzatziki Sauce GF
- Garlic Kale Chips GF, V
side-dishes & appetizers
Alright, now to get to the main event - side dishes and apps! Our go-to is this stuffing without celery. Let us know your favorite!
- The Best Stuffing without Celery
- Cranberry Fireball Sauce (you can omit the fireball sauce and just use cinnamon to make it kid-friendly!)
- 20-Minute Honey Sriracha Brussels Sprout Salad GF, DF (this recipe is spicy so to make it kid-friendly, omit the sriracha)
- Super Cripsy Parboiled Roasted Potatoes GF, Veg, DF
- Gratin Potatoes without Cream DF
- Scalloped Potatoes without Cream DF
- Sweet Potato Casserole without Nuts Veg
- Mashed Potato Squash Veg
- Easy Cheesy Potato Bread (this is a great recipe to make with the kids!)
- Crack Green Beans Recipe GF, DF
- Frozen Butternut Squash in the Air Fryer GF, V
- Mashed Potatoes and Squash GF
- Easy Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip (no mayo!) GF
- Protein Biscuits
desserts
Desserts are my personal favorite part of holidays. I'm a sucker for pumpkin pie and pumpkin bars, but here are some other tasty ideas!
- Dairy Free Pumpkin Bars with Graham Cracker Crust DF
- Peach Melba Dessert GF, Veg
- Nutella Tartlets Veg
- How to Make a Fruit Tart DF, Veg
- Sticky Toffee Pudding without Dates Veg
- Cheesecake without Cream Cheese Veg, HP
- Nut Butter Snickerdoodles HP, GF, Veg, DF
- Easy Apple Cobbler in Dutch Oven, Veg
- Gluten Free Apple Crisp GF, Veg
- Easy Black Raspberry Pie Veg, DF
drinks
To close out this list, I wanted to make sure I included drinks. We've got kid-friendly drinks, caffeinated drinks, and cocktails!
kid-friendly
- Vanilla Bean Coolata
- Bahama Mama Copycat Smoothie
- Protein Hot Chocolate
- Black Raspberry Lemonade
- Lavender Milk Tea
- Strawberry Milk Tea
caffeinated
- Honey Bee Latte with Lavender Coffee Creamer
- Chaga Latte
- Iced Matcha Latte
- Peanut Butter Latte
- Coffee Milk Tea
- Gingerbread Latte
- Copycat Caribou Spicy Mocha
- Vegan Copycat Caribou Pumpkin White Mocha
cocktails
- Vegan Coquito is technically Christmas but this will get ya in the spirit! V, GF
- Lavender Lemonade Vodka Cocktail V, GF
- Apricot Cocktail V, GF
That's all I've got for our list of must-have Thanksgiving ideas for kids and adults (with vegan and gluten-free options of course!). Happy cooking and happy eating!
Oh! If you're interested in seeing how I plan Thanksgiving with a lovely and wonderful spreadsheet, you can sign up for our newsletter where I'm sharing 14 days of Thanksgiving using my timeline planner!
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