🦃 Thanksgiving planner
Plan Thanksgiving dinner in 5 minutes
Pick your turkey, sides and pies. You'll get the turkey size and the day to start thawing it, a cook-day timeline counted back from dinner, a rough cost, and one shopping list for everything, sized for your table.
Thanksgiving planning questions
How big a turkey do I need for Thanksgiving?
Plan on about 1 pound of whole turkey per person, or 1 1/2 pounds if you want leftovers. For 10 people that's a 10 to 15 pound turkey. The planner works it out from your guest count.
When should I start thawing a frozen turkey?
In the refrigerator, allow 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds, the USDA guideline. A 16 pound turkey needs 4 days, so for a Thursday dinner move it from the freezer to the refrigerator by Saturday or Sunday.
What time should the turkey go in the oven for a 4 pm dinner?
Count back the roasting time for your recipe and weight plus about 30 minutes of resting. A 12 to 14 pound turkey at 325°F roasts about 3 to 3 3/4 hours, so it goes in around 11:45 am to noon. The planner's timeline does this math for the recipes you pick.
What Thanksgiving dishes can I make the day before?
Pies, cheesecake, cranberry sauce and most stuffing bread cubes are best made a day ahead. Mashed potatoes and stuffing can be assembled a day ahead and reheated, which frees the oven on Thursday.
How much does Thanksgiving dinner cost?
Our recipes put a classic turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, gravy and two pies at roughly $5 to $8 a person at U.S. national average grocery prices. The planner adds up the dishes you pick; your store and brands will change it.
More help: the turkey thaw and roast calculator, how long to thaw a turkey, is it safe to stuff a turkey and stuffing vs dressing.