Elegant Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes
Make Thanksgiving dinner a fancy occasion this year with these six elegant recipes:
Salad: Spinach Salad with Brie Toast Side Dish: Cran-Sage Rolls Main Dish: Apple Cider-Ginger Brined Turkey
See photos and learn more about each of these gourmet Thanksgiving recipes, below.
Salad: Spinach Salad with Brie Toast
Start the meal as if you’re at a classy bistro! After all, the most elegant meals start with a show-stopping salad. Create a delicious and festive cranberry dressing to pair with your spinach and pumpkin seed salad. Served with warm bread covered in Brie, this is a tasty and elegant appetizer. Not only does it look beautiful, but this gourmet Thanksgiving recipe subtly incorporates the fall flavors everyone loves.
Fruit and Vegetable Side Dish: Brown Butter Brussels Sprouts and Apple
This gourmet Thanksgiving side continues to serve up fall flavors. With walnuts, apples, and Brussels sprouts, this dish is full of healthy ingredients that also taste amazing. The secret? Cooking your apples, thyme, and Brussels sprouts in browned butter. This combination of fruit and veggies adds color to your table and tempts your guests, taking your dinner party from ordinary to elegant. Not to mention, this elegant Thanksgiving side dish will look great in any day-of food pictures thanks to pretty apple slices and a sprinkle of walnuts. Test Kitchen Tip: We prefer a crisp cooking apple, such as Braeburn, in this recipe rather than fruit with a softer consistency.
Bread: Cran-Sage Rolls
Aren’t these among the prettiest, most delicious looking rolls you’ve ever seen? Even Thanksgiving dinner rolls have gone elegant! You’re getting an incredible blend of autumn flavors with cranberries, ginger, and sage. Rolling the dough into a spiral adds even more visual appeal, as will an extra sage leaf on top. Bonus: This recipe basically guarantees you won’t spill any stain-making cranberries on your stylish Thanksgiving outfit! Get the recipe: Cran-Sage Rolls
Entrée: Apple Cider-Ginger Brined Turkey
Dressing up the turkey is important if you are getting it ready for an elegant evening. This roasted turkey would be delicious as is, but for a fancy holiday dinner, start it out in a flavorful brine. Made with apple cider, ginger, brown sugar, bay leaves, orange zest, cloves, and more, this brine brims with deliciousness. And instead of gravy, you can make your Thanksgiving turkey even more elegant by serving it with homemade cider sauce. Get the recipe: Apple Cider-Ginger Brined Turkey
Dessert: Apple-Pear Tart
You can’t go wrong with apples and pears, but when these two combine with caramel and a shortbread cookie crust, the results are delightful. This fruit-filled tart will make you wonder why you were so convinced pie was the only option for Thanksgiving. Be prepared for this recipe to be the star of the show, because it will definitely outshine any other Thanksgiving desserts you serve. This recipe calls for caramel sauce from a jar, but it’s easy to make your own. Homemade Caramel Sauce
Drink: Cranberry-Sage Sparkler
If there’s one thing that says elegance, it’s a sparkling beverage. With cranberries, lemon, cinnamon, cloves, sage, honey, and sparkling wine, this elegant Thanksgiving cocktail has a lot going for it. A signature cocktail like this will leave the impression that you’re an expert mixologist—even if you’re not (don’t worry, we won’t tell!). Plus, the bright color from the cranberries carries on the coordinated color palette of this sophisticated meal. Cheers to that!
