Inexpensive Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas

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9 years ago

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This post is part of a monthly series brought to you by Meijer to share the savings you can experience in their store and online. Like all posts on Basilmomma.com all opinions are my own and the thoughts therein were created solely by me to educate and hopefully inspire!

Are you looking for inexpensive Thanksgiving recipe ideas?

If you are cooking a Thanksgiving meal or just bringing a side or two, then you are probably scouring the internet for inexpensive Thanksgiving recipe ideas. In this post I will share a few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipe ideas -ones that I make every year because they are family favorites. Best of all- my entire menu can be bought for under $75 at Meijer. And that is before coupons and mPerks!

I recently polled readers on my Facebook page to see how much they spent (on average) for Thanksgiving and what their go-to Thanksgiving recipe ideas were. I was not surprised when many said they spend $100-150. I figure I probably do too. But this month, I decided that I wanted to see if I could feed my family of 4 plus 2 guests a Thanksgiving meal for under $75 shopping only from Meijer. Do you think I was able to pull it off?

Disclaimer: All prices listed are regular or in-store sale prices and do not reflect mPerks or coupon adjustments.

Below is my Thanksgiving recipe ideas shopping list. After that I will share links to my recipes. The turkey is just a turkey rubbed with butter, salt and pepper, then roasted in a Reynolds oven bag. No mystery there but it turns out perfect Every.Single.Time.

I did not include items like butter, salt, sugar, pepper, flour or other pantry items that are common. Also, I added ingredients to make a pie from Libby’s canned pumpkin mix and an unbaked shell. Feel free to make use of the Meijer bakery and get one of the pies they make. They are fantastic! Also- mashed potatoes don’t have a linked recipe either. I just drain my potatoes, add sliced cream cheese and mash together. I add salt and pepper to taste and a bit of milk. Then I lightly mash. That’s it and they are perfect every time. I truly believe that this special day of thanks should be filled with fun, family and good food that didn’t keep you in the kitchen all day. Or in the case of many people I know, including myself, for a few days beforehand!

Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas Shopping List Breakdown:

Sweet potatoes 4 at .74 cents

Apple 3 at .80 cents

Apple cider $3.99

5 lb bag of potatoes $2.69

Rhodes Rolls $2.69

Bag of cranberries $1.99

Cream cheese $1.99

Brussel sprouts $2.99 a bag

Bacon $2.69

Onion .40 cents

Celery $1.69

Chicken stock $1.99 per carton

Pepperidge Farms bread cubes $2.50

Pumpkin Pie Filling $1.89

Pie shell $2.50

Ready Whip $1.89

Whole Butterball turkey, frozen $28.34

Total: $74.67 YES! I really did create a Thanksgiving feast for 6 for under $75 from Meijer!

***This total was before coupons, in-store promotions AND mPerks. I am a HUGE fan of their mPerks app. I was able to earn rewards with my previous trip and I used them when I was checking out. Look at what I was able to save! That’s $14 off PLUS I had a $5 off coupon that printed with my receipt in my purse that I had forgotten about! so just for shopping there I was able to save $19 on this meal. So technically my Thanksgiving meal cost $55.67! That is pretty amazing for a 99% from scratch meal! High 5’s all around!***

About 30 minutes before the turkey should be done (really- look at the packaging on the turkey for directions and follow them) take a temperature reading at the breast and wing area. Breast should read 165 degrees and the wing should read at about 180. Allow the turkey to rest for about 30 minutes before slicing. Be sure to use those juices to whisk into a roux (butter and flour) to make a simple gravy!

Stuffing doesn’t have to be hard to make- saute 1 diced onion, 3 stalks of celery, and 2 tb of butter until soft. Add the chicken stock (a small carton will work- about 32 oz) a pinch of salt and pepper and the bag of bread cubes. Toss to saturate. Add to a greased baking dish and bake until the top is lightly browned. Boom. Stuffing.

My famous (in my house) brussel sprouts! Whether you use bacon or pancetta or even leave out the dried cranberries- it’s up to you! Click HERE for the shredded brussels sprouts saute

It’s not beautiful, but it DOES taste great! I used the recipe on the 29 oz can of Libby pumpkin and added a pinch of cinnamon and that’s it!

When dicing celery for the stuffing be sure to use the tops and leaves. A lot of flavor there!

The makings of a great pie!

Get these bags. Really. My perfect turkey gets rubbed with a butter mixture of: 1 stick of butter (soft), kosher salt, pepper, dried thyme, a squirt of honey, zest of 1 orange, a bit of dried thyme. Rub inside the cavity and outside- even under the skin! This also makes for some great juices for the gravy later. Be sure to remove any fat that floats to the top. We don’t need that ????

I typically just pan saute fresh cranberries with a bit of sugar and the juice of an orange. For 3 more ways to make cranberries. Click HERE for Cranberries 3 ways

Forget those canned yams topped with melty marshmallows. This is just as easy and I guarantee you- way better. Sliced sweet potatoes and apples draped in a sweet butter sauce. It’s cheap to make and it almost fools you into thinking it’s a dessert. Get the recipe for Candied sweet potatoes and apples HERE.