These 24 non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner ideas are cozy, family-style mains for anyone skipping the turkey this year: skillet lasagna, chicken pot pie, ginger miso beef, glazed ham, braised short ribs and steak night. Most of them feed a crowd, and plenty come together in one skillet, one pot or the pressure cooker. Every recipe was developed and tested in my own kitchen.
I love a traditional Thanksgiving dinner but sometimes, I don't feel like it.
Here is my honest take. Thanksgiving is about who is at the table, not what is in the oven. If your family would rather have lasagna, give them lasagna.
Pick a main from this list, add a few of my Thanksgiving side dishes, and you have a holiday dinner where nobody misses the turkey.
How Do You Plan a Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner?
Start with the main and keep everything else simple:
- Pick a main that fits your crowd. Braises and hams feed 8 or more. Steak and chicken are perfect for a small table.
- Make it ahead. Short ribs, oxtail and ragu reheat beautifully, so cook them the day before.
- Free up the oven. Pressure cooker, air fryer and one skillet mains leave room for the sides.
- Keep a couple of classic sides. Green beans or sweet potatoes make any main feel like Thanksgiving.
- Let the kids pick one dish. Tacos or chicken tenders keep the little ones happy.
Cozy Bakes, Pastas and One Pan Dinners
Lasagna, pot pie and big pans of rice. Comfort food that feeds the whole family without a whole day in the kitchen.
Braises and Roasts for the Centerpiece
Big, slow cooked mains that land on the table like a turkey would. Most of them feed 8 or more.
Ginger Miso Beef
Five pounds of chuck roast, one hour in the pressure cooker, and a glossy ginger miso sauce you will want to drink. Feeds 10, which makes it a perfect turkey stand-in.
Key ingredients:
beef chuck roast
miso paste
fresh ginger
garlic
brown sugar
Asian Braised Chuck Roast
Chuck roast seared, then braised low and slow with onion and fresh ginger until it falls apart. Feeds 8 and makes the whole house smell amazing.
Key ingredients:
chuck roast
onion
fresh ginger
neutral oil
Salsa Pot Roast
Beef pot roast braised with salsa, onion, garlic and spinach until fork tender. A Tex-Mex twist on Sunday pot roast.
Key ingredients:
beef pot roast
salsa
onion
garlic
spinach
Coca Cola Braised Short Ribs
Fall apart tender short ribs with a bottle of Coke doing the heavy lifting. Cozy, rich and feeds 6.
Key ingredients:
boneless beef short ribs
Coca Cola
onion
carrots
celery
Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs
Short ribs pressure cooked with sake, mirin, soy sauce, ginger and garlic until tender in about an hour. Big braise flavor without babysitting the stove.
Key ingredients:
boneless short ribs
sake
mirin
soy sauce
ginger
Braised Oxtail
Oxtail slow cooked in the oven with white wine until it falls off the bone. A long, cozy braise that feeds 8 and is worth every minute.
Key ingredients:
oxtail
all-purpose flour
white onion
white wine
Bo Ssam (Korean Pork Roast)
A whole bone-in pork butt cured with sugar and salt and roasted low for hours, then served with kimchi for everyone to build their own. Feeds 10.
Key ingredients:
bone-in pork butt
white sugar
salt
brown sugar
kimchi
Classic Filipino Chicken Adobo
Filipino chicken adobo made weeknight friendly. Chicken thighs braised in cane vinegar and soy sauce in 30 minutes, no marinating required.
Key ingredients:
chicken thighs
cane vinegar
low-sodium soy sauce
brown sugar
chicken stock
Roasted Spatchcock Chicken
A whole chicken with the backbone cut out so it lies flat, rubbed with tomato paste, thyme and paprika, and roasted on a bed of veggies. Crispy brick red skin, juicy meat, one baking sheet. The easiest whole bird for a smaller Thanksgiving.
Key ingredients:
whole chicken
tomato paste
fresh thyme
paprika
dry white wine
Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
Juicy chicken thighs and potatoes roasted on one pan with peppers, onion and tomato paste. A smaller crowd main that skips the whole bird drama.
Key ingredients:
chicken thighs
white potatoes
red bell pepper
onion
tomato paste
Oven Baked Ribs
St. Louis ribs with a brown sugar and smoked paprika rub, baked low until they taste like they came off a backyard smoker. No smoker required.
Key ingredients:
St. Louis ribs
brown sugar
smoked paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
Glazed Ham
The classic turkey alternative. Sticky, sweet and built for a crowd.
Maple Bourbon Glazed Ham
A spiral ham lacquered in maple syrup, brown sugar, bourbon, lemon and ginger. Sweet, sticky, and a total showstopper of a centerpiece.
Key ingredients:
spiral ham
maple syrup
brown sugar
bourbon
ginger
Pineapple Honey Glazed Ham
Bone-in ham glazed with pineapple, honey, citrus and warm spices like cinnamon and star anise. Big enough to feed the whole crew.
Key ingredients:
bone-in ham
pineapple chunks
honey
oranges and lemons
cinnamon and star anise
Steak Night
For a small table, steak beats a 20 pound bird every time.
Air Fryer Ribeye
Thick cut ribeye cooked in the air fryer and basted with butter. Perfect for a small Thanksgiving when a whole turkey is way too much. 18 minutes.
Key ingredients:
ribeye steaks
salted butter
neutral oil
salt and pepper
Air Fryer Strip Steak
Juicy strip steaks with little more than salt, pepper and a hot air fryer. 15 minutes and steak night is on.
Key ingredients:
strip steaks
avocado oil
salt
black pepper
Air Fryer Rack of Lamb
Rack of lamb coated in garlic, rosemary, thyme, balsamic and Dijon, cooked in the air fryer in 30 minutes. Fancy enough for the holiday, easy enough for any night.
Key ingredients:
rack of lamb
garlic
rosemary and thyme
balsamic vinegar
Dijon mustard
Kid Friendly Favorites
Let the kids pick one. Everyone eats, nobody complains.
Crispy Beef Tacos
Taco night, Thanksgiving edition. Seasoned ground beef and corn tucked into tortillas and crisped up in 30 minutes. The easiest way to get picky eaters to the table.
Key ingredients:
ground beef
red onion
taco seasoning
frozen corn
tortillas
Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders
Cornflake crusted chicken tenders tossed in garlic parmesan butter. The kids table will thank you. 35 minutes.
Key ingredients:
chicken breasts
cornflakes
eggs
garlic powder
Parmesan
Air Fryer Korean Chicken Tenders
Crunchy cornflake tenders tossed in a sticky Korean glaze. Kids eat them. Adults steal them.
Key ingredients:
chicken tenders
cornflakes
eggs
paprika
garlic powder
Gochujang Mac and Cheese
Creamy double cheddar mac and cheese with gochujang stirred into the sauce for a gentle kick. I genuinely think it is the best mac and cheese I have ever made.
Key ingredients:
macaroni
cheddar
white cheddar
milk
gochujang
Sides and Starters
Put these out first. Nobody will even notice the turkey is missing.
Teriyaki Salmon Sushi Cups
Crispy nori cups packed with sticky seasoned rice and teriyaki salmon, baked right in a muffin tin. 30 minutes. Gone in 60 seconds.
Key ingredients:
sushi rice
fresh salmon
teriyaki sauce
nori sheets
sriracha mayo
Honey Garlic Chicken Meatballs
Sticky, garlicky meatballs in a honey, oyster sauce and lemon glaze. 20 minutes. Stick a toothpick in each one and watch the plate empty.
Key ingredients:
ground chicken
panko breadcrumbs
garlic
honey
oyster sauce
Crab Rangoon Dip
All the creamy, crabby goodness of crab rangoon with zero folding. Bake it, grab the wonton chips, guard your spot.
Key ingredients:
crab
cream cheese
sour cream
parmesan
garlic
Crispy Miso Butter Mushrooms
Shiitakes seared crispy in miso garlic butter. 20 minutes, one pan, and suddenly everyone loves mushrooms.
Key ingredients:
shiitake mushrooms
unsalted butter
white miso
garlic
fresh parsley
Sweet Potato Brulee
Dessert hiding inside a sweet potato. Roasted Japanese sweet potatoes blended into a silky vanilla custard, baked back in their skins and torched for a crackly sugar top. Serves 8. Make it the side everyone talks about.
Key ingredients:
Japanese sweet potatoes
heavy cream
egg yolks
vanilla bean paste
granulated sugar
Swapping the turkey this year? Leave a star rating on the recipe you made and tell me what landed on your table.
Frequently Asked Questions About Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Dinners
Glazed ham, pot roast, braised short ribs, lasagna and chicken pot pie all make great Thanksgiving mains. Pick one that feeds your crowd, add a few classic sides, and nobody will miss the turkey.
A braise or a glazed ham is the easiest way to feed 8 to 10 people. My ginger miso beef and bo ssam each feed 10, and the beef and pork ragu feeds 8.
Steak, roasted chicken or a one pan dinner is perfect for a family of 2 to 4. Try air fryer ribeye, roasted chicken and potatoes or chicken adobo and skip the leftovers you will never finish.
Yes, braises and sauces are the best mains to make ahead. Short ribs, oxtail, pot roast and ragu all reheat well, so cook them the day before and warm them gently, covered, before dinner.
Classic Thanksgiving sides work with almost any of these mains. Roasted carrots, crispy green beans, sweet potatoes and garlic bread make anything feel like a holiday. Find 31 of them in my easy Thanksgiving side dishes.
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