The $100 Thanksgiving: Your Guide to a Fantastic, Fiscally Smart Feast

I’M A COOK who relishes a challenge. At Thanksgiving I typically scratch that itch by embarking on culinary flights-of-fancy like pit-cooked turkey “pibil”—prepared in an actual hole in the ground—or a sky-high meringue-and-pumpkin torte. But after a wallet-straining summer (here’s looking at you, sleep-away camp) and knowing food costs continue to pain many families, including mine, this time I decided to tackle a different sort of test. 

Last year this paper reported that the cost of a typical Thanksgiving meal rose an estimated 25% between 2019 and 2023. This year, early numbers suggest surging prices have leveled a bit—but when is pinching a few pennies around the holidays a bad move? Could I devise a feast grand enough to satisfy even my pickiest cousins, all for $100 or less? The answer was a resounding yes. Here’s how you can, too.

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Set boundaries.

From the get-go, I knew some ground rules would be key. For 8 to 10 diners, a spread with a handful of sides and a burnished bird at the center seemed doable for my modest bottom line. Tacking on bottles of bubbly and a bevy of blue-ribbon desserts…maybe not so much. No worries. Guests always ask what they can bring, so this year, your answer can be simple: A festive sip to share or a pie, pumpkin, pecan or otherwise.

Don’t equate saving with settling.

Free-roaming, heritage-breed, locally sourced turkeys don’t come cheap. To stay under budget, you might have to skip the bougie bird. But you can still hang onto your culinary bona fides. Take it from legendary chef Jacques Pepin. Growing up in a family of restaurateurs, Pepin was trained to cook tactically and frugally. “Economy, not only of food but of time and money, reflects intelligence about [your] craft,” he writes in “Cuisine Economique.”

Smart cooks don’t need fancy fixings to impress. Put out fresh, colorful dishes that engage the senses and no one will request a receipt.

Shop like a strategist.

I adore the way scarlet pomegranate seeds glimmer festively atop a winter chicory salad and firmly believe that molten mini-marshmallows lend candied sweet potatoes retro charm. But I also realize that the road to ruinous grocery bills is paved with single-use splurges.

That’s why, this year I designed a menu around workhorse staples and multitasking seasonal veggies. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey—chances are you have many of these stalwarts in the pantry, so no need to add them to your cart.

Choosing bunches of carrots with greens still attached gets you a culinary twofer: the roots to roast, enhanced with a sweet-and-spicy chile-infused glaze and toasty pecans; plus peppery greens, repurposed in a punchy garlic pesto to swirl into mashed spuds. 

Do your research.

I confess, until I started reporting this story, I’d never been much of a discount grocery detective. Then I fell down a Reddit rabbit hole. On the social-media site I first learned about Flipp, an app that lets you aggregate all the current grocery coupons and circulars in your area, so you can ferret out deals on everything from cinnamon to sour cream, and save them as a handy shopping list. Subreddits like r/Frugal, r/EatCheapAndHealthy and r/BudgetFood also yield a gold mine of crowdsourced holiday food wisdom on topics as varied as 1,001 ways to repurpose leftovers on the cheap (turkey gumbo, anyone?) and where to score the best buys on European-style butter (Costco, naturally). 

Plan now, buy later.

Heel draggers rejoice! For Thanksgiving food shopping, it pays to procrastinate.

According to the Farm Bureau, in 2023 the average retail price for a 16-pound turkey was $27.35. But in the last weeks before the holiday, in a practice known as “loss leading,” many markets will begin to offer deep discounts on birds—or, to entice shoppers through their doors, even give turkeys away free once a certain dollar threshold is met on the rest of your bill.

As I type, a nearby Walmart is advertising 10-to-17-pound birds for $12.41. ShopRite, which has stores throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, will gift a turkey to customers who spend $400 on their free Price Plus club card between Oct. 20 and Nov. 28. And the Northeastern chain Stop & Shop recently announced that it will again offer a Lowest Price Guarantee for turkeys, matching any competitor’s better bargain. 

Both the Reddit pros and chef Pepin recommend making space not just in your budget but in your freezer: Stock up on an extra bird or two when they’re cheap, and you can be dining on turkey mole enchiladas and turkey pot au feu for pocket change, well into next spring.

Remain flexible.

Consider the recipes below a road map, but don’t be afraid of detours. As of this writing, I was able to source ingredients for this menu at New York City-area stores for a rock-bottom $77.64; your grand total may vary a bit depending on where and when you do your shopping (and whether you want to splurge on an organic bird).

Does your family demand sweet potatoes? Roast an equal amount in place of the carrots, and they’ll still be bright and sweet and surprising—and just as kind to your pocketbook. Does that leave you without greens for the pesto? Frozen kale makes an excellent stand-in. Maybe your patio pot of herbs is still going strong. Snip a fistful for the cavity of the turkey, or strew a few sprigs across a serving platter for an appealing green flourish.

Remember, generosity of spirit costs nothing.

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The Simplest, Best Roast Turkey

Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes

serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 lemons, zested and halved
• 1½ teaspoons poultry seasoning
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (12- to 16-pound) turkey

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix butter, lemon zest and poultry seasoning until combined. Season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside at room temperature.
2. Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Use paper towels to pat turkey dry, then place on a rack inside a roasting pan. Working gently, starting at neck end, slide your fingertips between turkey’s meat and skin, loosening skin. Rub one-third of reserved lemon-herb butter under skin of breasts, coating as evenly as possible. Tuck turkey’s wings under and tie legs together. Spoon a dollop of remaining herb butter into cavity, then rub remaining herb butter over outside of turkey’s legs and body. Season generously with salt and pepper. Tuck halved lemons inside cavity.
3. Transfer turkey to oven and roast 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and roast 2 ½-3 ½ hours more, depending on size, basting bird with pan juices every half hour. When a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh reads 175 degrees, remove pan from oven. Cover turkey loosely with foil and let rest at least 30 minutes before carving.

—Adapted from Sarah Karnasiewicz

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Roasted Carrots With Hot Honey and Pecans

Total Time: 1 hour

serves: 8

Ingredients

• ¼ cup honey
• 1 serrano pepper or ½ habanero chile, seeded
• 2¾ pounds carrots, greens reserved, roots peeled, halved lengthwise if thick
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup pecans

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine honey and chile, and set over medium-low heat. Simmer gently until honey is runny and just bubbling at edges, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let mixture steep at least 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss carrots with olive oil and 2 tablespoons chile-infused honey, and spread across a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until carrots are fork-tender, about 40 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, toast pecans in a hot skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until slightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and roughly chop.
4. To serve, arrange roasted carrots on a platter. Drizzle all over with 2 tablespoons hot honey and sprinkle with toasted pecans. Serve warm or at room temperature.

—Adapted from Sarah Karnasiewicz

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Pesto Mashed Potatoes

Total Time: 45 minutes

serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups carrot greens, thoroughly washed and stems discarded, or fresh or frozen kale (thawed), or a combination of the two
• ½ cup pecans
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• Kosher salt
• ½ cup olive oil
• 5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup whole milk, plus more as needed

Directions

1. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine carrot greens (or kale or a combination), pecans, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt. Pulse 5-6 times, or until roughly chopped. Then, with blade running continuously, slowly drizzle in oil. Pulse until creamy and mostly smooth, with a few larger flecks of green. Scrape down sides and spoon pesto into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain off water, then return potatoes to pot and set over low heat, stirring once or twice. Turn off heat and stir in butter and sour cream. Use a potato masher to mash potatoes until soft but still slightly chunky. Stir in milk and continue mashing until smooth. Taste and season with salt.
3. Dollop 3 tablespoons pesto into mash and stir until potatoes are swirled with green. Spoon potatoes into a serving dish, then spoon another tablespoon or two of pesto on top. If any additional pesto remains, serve in a small bowl on the side as a condiment.

—Adapted from Sarah Karnasiewicz

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Creamed Cornbread Dressing

Total Time: 1 hour

serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (14.75-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed, plus a handful to garnish
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup whole milk
• 4 eggs, whites and yolks separated
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 packages Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, cream-style corn, corn kernels, sour cream, milk and egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper. Add muffin mix and stir until just combined. (Do not overmix.)
2. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites to stiff, fluffy peaks. Gently fold whipped egg whites into cornbread mixture. Spoon batter into a greased 3-quart (9-by-13-inch) pan. Season generously with salt and pepper, and sprinkle a handful of corn kernels over top.
3. Bake until golden and firm at center, about 40 minutes. Let rest, covered, 10 minutes before serving.

—Adapted from Sarah Karnasiewicz

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Cranberry Agrodolce

Total Time: 20 minutes

serves: 8

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 16 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
• ⅓ cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup red wine or balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté, stirring often, until soft but not colored, 6-8 minutes. Stir in cranberries, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a low simmer, stirring. When cranberries begin to swell and soften, use a spoon or potato masher to gently crush them. Continue simmering until mixture is soft, jammy and textured, 7-10 minutes more. Season with a pinch of salt and a generous sprinkling of black pepper.
2. Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm or at room temperature.

—Adapted from Sarah Karnasiewicz