If you’re planning a small Thanksgiving menu for 4 people or less, then check out these recipes and ideas to make your small Thanksgiving dinner just as delicious and memorable!
We don’t want to miss out on the classics, so we do make a turkey dish, stuffing, and opt a few other traditional choices. But I share some non-traditional options as well for you to choose from.
With just my husband and I, our Thanksgiving menu is almost always on the small side. Unless, we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for friends (Friendsgiving!), we generally prefer to keep our Thanksgiving spread short on size, stress, and hassle.
Feel free to choose one or more items from each section in this menu for a manageable, intimate, and enjoyable small Thanksgiving dinner, or customize it to your taste and needs. These recipes should feed 2 – 4 people generously, with some leftovers to enjoy in the days after the big holiday.
And as a bonus. I also share some classic Thanksgiving leftover recipes to transform your leftovers into something so much better than the sum of its parts!
Appetizers
To whet your appetite and get your holiday meal off a delicious start, make one item from this list, which should comfortably feed 2 – 4 people.
1. Turkey phyllo rolls
Turkey phyllo rolls
2. Caramelized apple and pork sausage rolls
Pork sausage rolls
3. Goat cheese and fig tartlets
Goat cheese and roasted fig tartlets
4. Deviled eggs
Asian deviled eggs
5. Homemade jam, jelly, and sauces
Homemade jam, especially cranberry jam or jelly is a popular appetizer idea for Thanksgiving. You can serve them with toast, bread, scones, biscuits etc., and that pairing alone would be a great appetizer / side dish idea for a small Thanksgiving menu.
Three of my favorite and seasonal homemade jams and jellies to make for Thanksgiving are my spiced plum jam, fig jam and grape jelly.
I love this spicy sweet chili sauce SO MUCH that there’s almost always a bottle of it in my fridge, and Thanksgiving dinner would be the perfect excuse to quickly whip up another batch.
Sides
I’m all about tasty Thanksgiving sides! Whether it’s a Friendsgiving or a potluck or our own small Thanksgiving dinner, you can’t ever go wrong with a flavor-packed side dish. Personally, I would make two of these sides for an intimate Thanksgiving menu, but one would be perfectly adequate too.
6. Cranberry sauce
Easy cranberry sauce
7. Maple roasted brussels sprouts
Maple roasted brussels sprouts
8. Sage sausage stuffing
Sage and sausage stuffing with pears
9. Roasted delicata squash
Roasted delicata squash
10. Green bean stir fry
Green bean stir fry
11. Breads and biscuits
I love baking homemade breads, rolls, biscuits etc., so this is a natural choice for me. If you love the smell and taste of freshly baked bread, and want to fill your holiday breadbasket with some tried and true recipes, try my focaccia bread, brioche buns, milk bread, cheddar corn biscuits, and pumpkin scones.
Make only one of these items and serve with some homemade jam for a delicious Thanksgiving side option.
Main dishes
A whole turkey is just too much food for a small Thanksgiving dinner, so I always make a smaller turkey breast roast for occasions like this.
Here I share 4 incredible ways to prepare your turkey breast for a small feast, plus some non-traditional non-turkey options for a main dish.
12. Oven roasted turkey breast
Oven roasted turkey breast
13. Slow cooker turkey breast
Slow cooker turkey breast
14. Slow roasted turkey roll
Slow roasted turkey roulade
15. Sous vide turkey roll
Sous vide turkey roll
16. Non-turkey main dish options
Over the years there have been a few times when we opted for a non-traditional non-turkey main dish for our small Thanksgiving dinner. Whether it’s just out of convenience or we just weren’t feeling like turkey that year, there’s no one way to do Thanksgiving dinner and the possibilities are endless!
From slow braised pork roast, miso honey lamb roast, green curry roast chicken, and sous-vide chuck roast to lobster risotto, instant pot short ribs, instant pot chicken thighs, and slow roasted salmon, these are all non-traditional options that will be perfect on a small Thanksgiving menu.
Drinks
Fall and holiday-friendly cocktails or non-alcoholic drinks go a long way to set the mood for pre- and post-dinner Thanksgiving entertaining. While I’d be more than happy to simply open a bottle of wine to initiate the festivities with our small party, I do like to make it a little more special for Thanksgiving with a fun cocktail or mocktail.
17. Spiced hot apple cider
Spiced hot apple cider
18. Apple lemonade
Apple lemonade drink
19. Lemon meringue pie cocktail
Lemon meringue pie cocktail
20. Margarita
Spicy margarita (with jalapenos)
21. Hot chocolate drinks
Quick and easy hot chocolates are a decadent drink to enjoy during the holidays, for both kids and adults alike. This French hot chocolate (Parisian hot chocolate) is unlike any hot chocolate you’ve had before! Incredibly thick and luscious, made with 3 simple ingredients.
You could also make a peanut butter hot chocolate if you’re serving this for kids and peanut butter fans. PB and chocolate are a time-tested combo of course, and this recipe makes 2 generous servings.
Or try my dairy free hot chocolate (bourbon hot chocolate) for an adult-friendly boozy offer. A rich, decadent dairy free version of my French hot chocolate, with a splash of bourbon to warm you up from the insides.
Desserts
While desserts are my forte and I love making dessert pies and tarts, I’m a little more selective when it comes to prepping for a small Thanksgiving menu. As much as we love a good ol’ apple pie or pumpkin pie or lemon meringue pie or butter pecan cake, they may not necessarily be worth the effort without the crowd.
So I generally opt for some easier choices that won’t have me fretting about pie crusts and all.
22. Apple pie bars
Apple pie crumble bars
23. Pecan pie bars
Fudgy pecan pie bars
24. Cranberry chocolate chip cookies
Cranberry and chocolate chip shortbread cookies
25. Crustless pumpkin pie
Crustless pumpkin pie pudding
26. Fudgy chocolate brownies
Chocolate fudge brownies
27. Red wine poached pears
Red wine poached pears
Leftovers
Eating leftovers for days in a row (getting more stale by the day!) is perhaps my least favorite thing about a big holiday like Thanksgiving.
In this bonus section are a few ideas to transform your small Thanksgiving dinner leftovers into flavor-packed meals in the days after the holiday, so you can keep the party going for longer! 🙂
28. Thanksgiving leftover strata
Thanksgiving leftover casserole
A layered casserole chock-full of flavor with pocked of gooey cheese, juicy turkey, cranberry sauce, topped with crunchy croutons and cheesy turkey gravy!
29. Turkey sandwich
Thanksgiving leftover turkey sandwich
30. Turkey croque monsieur (or croque madame)
Turkey croque monsieur
A turkey variation of a classic French sandwich. Ham, roasted turkey, cranberry mustard sauce, golden béchamel sauce, and creamy gruyère cheese, sandwiched between buttered and toasted sandwich bread slices!
31. Creamy turkey shepherd’s pie
Turkey shepherd’s pie
My best tips for making a small Thanksgiving dinner
- Choose 1 appetizer and 2 sides at most. Traditional thanksgiving spreads come with a lot of side dishes. There’s no need to do that for a small dinner. Have a good variety, so you don’t end up making 3 kinds of potato or yam dishes. Choose 3 that you really enjoy – 1 starchy side dish, 1 veggie side, and 1 fruity appetizer.
- Plan ahead. I’m a big list maker. I draw up a calendar, so I can plan what I need to do 1 – 2 weeks ahead of Thanksgiving, and on Thanksgiving day. While making sure I have time to actually enjoy the day as well.
- What can you make ahead of time and store? Choose dishes that can be made a few days ahead, so the workload is spread out and Thanksgiving day is more relaxed. Maybe some dishes needs to be cooked fresh, but the components can be prepped ahead of time? For example, the cranberry sauce and pecan pie bars can be made ahead of time easily and stored in the fridge. And if I really want to enjoy lemon meringue cocktail for Thanksgiving, I’ll make the lemon curd ahead of time and also mix the cocktail and have it stored in the fridge. The turkey dishes can also be prepped ahead of time.
- Shortcuts are A-OK! Anything to make life easy on a big holiday. If you really want dinner rolls with your Thanksgiving meal, you can easily get store-bought. Just brush some garlic butter (also store-bought) on top and heat them in the oven so that you have an easy, warm side dish! Even the lemon meringue cocktail can be made with store-bought lemon curd. Don’t want to make cranberry sauce from scratch? Just get store-bought cranberry jelly and then add orange and other flavorings to make it extra delicious and more homey!
- Embrace the unconventional. You don’t have to make turkey or traditional Thanksgiving dishes. Make instant pot short ribs or slow roasted salmon or anything else you like. You can even make a roast chicken instead of turkey using the same spice mixtures.
Example menu and rough timeline
Here’s an example small Thanksgiving menu that I would make and an approximate timeline for how I would make it.
Appetizer
Sweet chili sauce with cream cheese and crackers. I can easily make my sweet chili sauce days in advance. But you could even buy sweet chili sauce from the store. Then purchase the spreadable cream cheese tub. On the day, unmold the cream cheese, pour the sweet chili on top, and serve the appetizer with your favorite savory crackers.
Sides
Maple roasted brussels sprouts. Clean and prep the brussels sprouts about 2 days ahead of time. Keep them in an airtight container until Thanksgiving morning. They can be easily baked in the morning as they have already been cleaned, cut, and prepped.
Sage and sausage stuffing. I love stuffing and can’t imagine Thanksgiving turkey without it. Since the bread needs to be stale, I can let the bread go stale without worrying about it.
Up to 2 days ahead, sauté the onions, sausage, and veggies that go into the stuffing. Refrigerate until needed.
The night before, mix and prep the stuffing and place it in the baking dish. Cover with foil and keep it in the fridge till following morning. On Thanksgiving morning, bake the stuffing straight from the fridge after baking the brussels sprouts.
Main dish
Sous vide turkey breast. Since I won a sous vide, this is the perfect main dish for a small Thanksgiving dinner.
This does involve a little prepping, which I can easily do about 3 – 4 days before Thanksgiving. But what I love about sous vide is that the cooking process is easy and mostly hands off. The day before thanksgiving or the morning of, I can cook the turkey with my sous vide.
There is no risk of overcooking, so I can relax and not have to monitor it! The turkey can be reheated in the sours vide as well! Then just broil or sear the turkey before serving.
Dessert
Crustless pumpkin pie or chocolate brownies. Just mix and bake! Could not be any easier. I can bake it the day before and keep it in the fridge.
My brownie recipe is the same and it’s the perfect chocolate treat if you prefer chocolate over pumpkin.
Drink
I love my spicy margarita! The jalapeno simple syrup can be made up to 1 week ahead of time. The margarita can also be made in a big batch and served in a pitcher. So, I don’t have to make margaritas the day of, and just serve big batch spicy margaritas in a pitcher!
