Food & Cooking Recipes Holidays & Events Thanksgiving Recipes 20 Thanksgiving Recipes That Are Perfect for Feeding a Crowd These big-batch recipes will keep everyone full, happy, and thankful for leftovers. By Riley Wofford Riley Wofford Riley is an associate food editor for Martha Stewart Living. Editorial Guidelines Published on November 3, 2023 Close Photo: Martyna Szczesna Hosting an epic Thanksgiving feast is not for the faint of heart, especially when your guest count ventures into double digits. With so many mouths to feed, getting the most important dinner of the year on the table can be daunting. That’s why we like to focus on simplicity, whether it be the turkey at the center of the table or the variety of side dishes lining the buffet. Below, you'll find 20 tried-and-true recipes that will ensure your Thanksgiving menu ideas are fit for a crowd. In addition, it’s important to know the limits of your kitchen. If you have a turkey roasting in the oven, you won’t have much room for other dishes that need oven time. In this case, we like to focus on baked and roasted dishes like biscuits and stuffing that can be made ahead. Quick stovetop sides like mashed potatoes and gravy can be made at the last minute once some space has cleared up. And don’t forget dessert! Things like deep-dish pies and festive cookies are a great way to feed a large group. We have the bases covered for everything from crowd-friendly appetizers to sweet, satisfying desserts. And don’t worry about making too much food—leftovers are part of the process. 24 Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes That'll Save You Time on the Big Day 01 of 20 Roasted Turkey Rubbed With Coriander, Black Pepper, and Fennel Louise Hagger Breaking down the turkey before cooking ensures you don’t waste any meat when carving, which is ideal when you have a big crowd to feed. Not to mention, the turkey breast won’t dry out before the dark meat is done cooking. The spice mix for this turkey will surprise and delight even the Thanksgiving turkey purists. View Recipe How Long to Cook Every Size Turkey—Whether Roasting, Smoking, or Deep Frying 02 of 20 Mushroom and Celery-Root Bread Pudding Chris Court This savory bread pudding is similar enough to stuffing to please your most traditional guests. Earthy wild mushrooms, celery root, and sourdough bread bake in a rich egg custard with some fragrant blue cheese. View Recipe 03 of 20 Pumpkin-Cheesecake Pie With Gingersnap Crust Kate Mathis For this twist on pumpkin pie, we kept all of the flavors that you know and love and turned them into a silky smooth cheesecake. The filling is perfectly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Instead of a classic graham cracker crust, we blitz spicy gingersnaps with some sugar and butter to make an equally as delicious crust. View Recipe How to Store Cream Cheese the Right Way, According to Food Scientists and Chefs 04 of 20 Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast Alpha Smoot No matter the size of your crowd, it's sometimes fun to switch things up with a roast turkey breast instead of a whole bird. This one is seasoned simply with olive oil, salt, and pepper, so it’ll pair perfectly with any side dishes you choose. View Recipe 05 of 20 Turkey Roulade Marcus Nilsson White meat lovers, rejoice! This dish is made by rolling thinly pounded turkey breast around a savory rye bread stuffing, packed with lots of fresh herbs and colorful cranberries and pistachios. Slices of bacon are draped over the roulade before roasting, bringing even more meaty goodness to the table. View Recipe 06 of 20 Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing David Loftus A big casserole dish of stuffing is a must-have on every Thanksgiving table. This one is made extra hearty with cubed cornbread and crumbled pork sausage (to bulk it up even more, use diced giblets from the turkey in addition to the sausage). Since stuffing is always the first thing to go, double the recipe and bake what isn't stuffed inside the turkey in a larger baking dish. View Recipe 07 of 20 Braised Red Cabbage Marcus Nilsson You’ll be surprised how much cabbage you can get out of a whole head—one head of red cabbage can serve 8 to 10 guests. The bacon imparts a nice smoky flavor, while the apple adds a bit of sweetness. View Recipe 08 of 20 Green Bean Casserole No Thanksgiving table would be complete without green bean casserole. Fresh green beans and a homemade mushroom sauce (instead of canned soup) make this recipe special. Each bite is as rich and creamy as the next. This dish serves eight, but double the recipe to make sure you have leftovers for the next day. View Recipe Here's Why We Eat Green Bean Casserole at Thanksgiving 09 of 20 Brown-Sugar-and-Bacon-Glazed Brussels Sprouts Paola + Murray Brussels sprouts are a great side dish when you need to feed a big crowd. Not only are they a crowd-pleaser, but they roast quickly, leaving room for other important dishes in the oven. This recipe is flavored with smoky bacon, garlic, fresh thyme, and a touch of brown sugar. Bang out two trays at once if you have a lot of mouths to feed. View Recipe 10 of 20 Garlic-Thyme Mashed Potatoes Mashed potatoes need no introduction, but allow us to properly introduce this buttery garlic and thyme-flavored batch. The recipe serves a lot as it is, but it can easily be doubled—and those of us who live for the leftovers won’t be too upset. View Recipe 3 Ways to Reheat Mashed Potatoes So They're Always Creamy and Delicious 11 of 20 Slow-Baked Sweet Potatoes Con Poulos When you’re making big batches of food, you want them to be as simple as possible. Bake sweet potatoes until very tender and collapsing, then slice them in half and serve them with our festive compound butter, studded with bits of fresh ginger and country ham. View Recipe 12 of 20 Corn Pudding With Chives If corn pudding isn’t part of your Thanksgiving dinner rotation, you’re missing out. It’s almost like a cornbread casserole and has a rich, custard-like texture. Since corn isn’t in season in November, we thaw out frozen corn before mixing it into the batter. View Recipe 13 of 20 Broccoli Cheese Casserole With Crackers Martyna Szczesna Add a little something green to the menu with this ooey-gooey broccoli dish. Sautéed cremini mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce add plenty of umami flavor, but we think the best part is the crunchy saltine cracker topping. This recipe can easily be doubled in a larger casserole dish—just add five to 10 minutes to the baking time. View Recipe 14 of 20 Easy Baked Brie With Pecans David Loftus When feeding a large group, starting the meal off with a hearty appetizer can be a godsend. Sticky maple-glazed pecans are the perfect complement to a wheel of warm, melty Brie. The best part is that two wheels of Brie are as easy to make as one (in case you have a few unexpected guests). View Recipe 15 of 20 Scott Peacock’s Buttermilk Biscuits Whether you serve these straight-up with salted butter or stuff them to the brim with slices of turkey and cranberry sauce the next day, biscuits are always a welcome sight. Buttermilk and lard are traditional, and homemade baking powder ensures the biscuits rise to lofty heights. View Recipe 16 of 20 Wild-Rice and Lima-Bean Salad With Cranberry Relish Martyn Thompson This warm, hearty salad celebrates all of the traditional flavors of the season, with hints of cranberry and orange throughout. A combination of wild rice and lima beans add a lot of protein to this dish, so it’s a great one to include for non-turkey eaters. View Recipe 17 of 20 Whole-Grain Skillet Cornbread Johnny Miller Whole wheat flour gives this skillet cornbread a crumbly texture, while buttermilk keeps the dough nice and moist. Once the cornbread comes out of the oven, we like to brush the top with a thin layer of honey, which creates a pleasantly sticky glaze. View Recipe 18 of 20 Cinnamon-Swirl Apple Slab Pie Will Anderson You can serve almost double the amount of people with a slab pie, and in our humble opinion, they have a much more agreeable crust-to-filling ratio. Use half of the pastry dough to create sweet cinnamon dough swirls—these will act as the top crust for the pie and will have all of your guests raving. View Recipe 19 of 20 Caramel Apple Steamed Pudding This dessert is a true showstopper, and the flavors of molasses, tart apples, and warming spices scream Thanksgiving. The dense batter steams beautifully into a moist, tender cake as the apples caramelize with sugar, spice, and everything nice. If you want to take it one step further, serve the pudding with big dollops of whipped cream. View Recipe 20 of 20 Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Butter Icing This recipe makes a whopping six dozen cookies, so don’t worry about going back for seconds. Pumpkin gives these cookies a cakey texture, and the icing adds even more flavor on top of that—nutty brown butter is speckled throughout the milky frosting. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit