Our 28 Best Thanksgiving Recipes Take the Stress Out of Menu Planning (2024)

FAQs

What was on the menu at the first Thanksgiving answer key? ›

So, to the question “What did the Pilgrims eat for Thanksgiving,” the answer is both surprising and expected. Turkey (probably), venison, seafood, and all of the vegetables that they had planted and harvested that year—onions, carrots, beans, spinach, lettuce, and other greens.

If you're overwhelmed, consider throwing a potluck. Not only does this spread the work around but it also allows other people to share in the culinary glory. Best of all, other cooks can introduce you to their specialties, which might then become new traditions in your home. Plan and work ahead.

But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

There are only two surviving documents that reference the original Thanksgiving harvest meal. They describe a feast of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, a bounty of cod and bass, and flint, a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

Although turkeys were indigenous, there's no record of a big, roasted bird at the feast. The Wampanoag brought deer and there would have been lots of local seafood (mussels, lobster, bass) plus the fruits of the first pilgrim harvest, including pumpkin. No mashed potatoes, though.

Creating an ideal environment can bring about stressful demands that come with the holidays – entertaining, shopping, cooking – can lead to mental anxiety or depression. People may feel overwhelmed by the amount of money they will need to spend.

For the third year in a row, cranberry sauce takes the cake as the least favorite Thanksgiving food. It is disliked by more than 31 percent of respondents, according to a survey conducted by SurveyMonkey on behalf of The Vacationer, a travel and vacation content site.

What is the most unpopular Thanksgiving food? ›

While Thanksgiving technically isn't a religious holiday, the “giving thanks” part of it struck Jefferson as being far too religious for his tastes. As our nation's third president, he stirred controversy by refusing to recognize Thanksgiving.

Turkey. That's right—the food that's become synonymous with Thanksgiving probably wasn't served at the original feast; the birds weren't common game animals at that time.

A few days later, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a "Day of Publick Thanksgivin" - the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated under the new Constitution.

Massasoit sent some of his own men to hunt deer for the feast and for three days, the English and native men, women, and children ate together. The meal consisted of deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat, different from today's traditional Thanksgiving feast. They played ball games, sang, and danced.

Most Traditional Thanksgiving Foods. A traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of roast turkey and many sides including stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans and cranberry sauce, with pumpkin pie as dessert.

They probably ate fowl, like wild turkey, deer, mussels, ducks, corn, beans, lobster, squash and pumpkin. This grand feast is considered the very first Thanksgiving. The colonists and Native Americans ate together and expressed gratitude for the harvest.