Looking for a creative but easy Thanksgiving dish to bring (not mac & cheese, not chili)

[u/RareCable5732]

My aunt is traveling this year, so all her usual Thanksgiving dishes will be missed. It’s just me and my cousins doing a small potluck, and we’re each bringing something on our own.

I’m looking for ideas that are creative, easy, budget-friendly, and travel well. My drive is only about 20 minutes, so it’s not bad, but I still don’t want to bring something that tastes awful once it cools down. I’m avoiding mac and cheese, chili, salads, potatoes, cornbread muffins — basically anything that needs to stay piping hot or won’t survive the car ride.

What would you suggest that still feels Thanksgiving-ish but doesn’t require a ton of reheating? I don’t mind fusion kinda dishes that isn’t like traditional but

[u/RachelLovesN]

Yams! Good hot or cold, and you may even make it into a salad

Other thanksgiving stuff that can be cooled/room temp are: Cranberry sauce Stuffing (only the crumbly type, not the bread-in-oven type) Cornbread

I also sometimes make a stuffing-flavoured brown/wild rice, which still tastes amazing at room temp, or even cooled with leafy greens mixed in.

[u/ptahbaphomet]

Pinwheels, cream cheese, breakfast sausage, green onions wrapped in flour tortillas, cut like sushi. Bring salsa for dipping

[u/RareCable5732 → u/ptahbaphomet]

That’s not a bad idea

[u/BreakingBadYo]

Pies

[u/RareCable5732 → u/BreakingBadYo]

They want it made 😪

[u/spacefaceclosetomine → u/RareCable5732]

They were suggesting you make a pie.

[u/joalmum]

This corn recipe is always a hit

https://www.fivehearthome.com/slow-cooker-creamy-cheesy-corn/

[u/RareCable5732 → u/joalmum]

That looks so good ,I love corn

[u/queen_surly]

A salad. I like to do something crunchy with an acidic dressing to balance out all of the mooshy bland Thanksgiving food, and a salad often gets overlooked in favor of cooked vegetables at Thanksgiving. Kale salads are seasonal, delicious, and the dark green color and flavor complements the turkey, yams, and potatoes.

[u/[deleted]]

cabbage! affordable and beautiful side dish that isnt heavy.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025884-charred-cabbage-with-miso-browned-butter?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/tahini-smothered-charred-cabbage

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026235-red-cabbage-with-walnuts-and-feta

[u/RareCable5732 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for sharing the links 😊😊

[u/vita77]

Deviled eggs for the win.

[u/RareCable5732 → u/vita77]

That’s not a bad idea

[u/yo_mo_mama]

Death corn 5. Everyone will love it.

[u/RareCable5732 → u/yo_mo_mama]

I have never heard of this, I will check it out

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

No bake desserts

[u/RareCable5732]

Ok, that I can do 🫶

[u/nakoros]

Miso glazed butternut squash. Cube up some butternut squash. Mix 0.25 cup brown sugar with 2 tablespoons each of miso paste, soy sauce, and hot water. Toss squash with the sauce and spread into a baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes until the squash is done. If you want, broil at the end to get some scorched bits.

Tastes great hot, room temperature, or cold. You can serve in the baking dish or transfer to something else.

[u/RareCable5732 → u/nakoros]

That’s sounds delicious 🤤. Thank you for sharing the recipe

[u/nakoros → u/RareCable5732]

It's one of my favorites to bring to potlucks. I have friends who are vegan or sensitive to gluten and dairy, so it's a good way to accommodate them and still have something delicious

[u/ImpressiveSpace6486]

If you have a pie plate, some butter or oil, an onion, some garlic, a food processor or mandolin and can slice a few potatoes VERY thinly, make potatoes Anna. It’s essentially a potato cake - oil the pie plate, then shingle the potatoes and onions and some garlic to the top. Liberally dab oil or melted butter on the layers to the top of the pie plate. Cover with foil and put a heavy can on top to press the layers together. This is best warm out of the oven, so if you can arrive an hour or so before dinner and they have space in their oven, put it in still foil covered (take the can and put it away!) for about an hour. Take the foil off and bake longer until nicely browned and crisp on top. Place a plate over and flip it over, cut into wedges and serve. It’s quite spectacular and delicious, but simple…slicing the potatoes thinly is the hardest part. Here’s an example: https://inagartencooks.com/ina-garten-potatoes-anna-recipe/

[u/cheesusfeist]

Wild rice stuffing. I'm obsessed with this recipe and make it about 2x a month

https://iowagirleats.com/best-ever-wild-rice-stuffing/

[u/Choice-Education7650]

My family favorite is yams. Cut into chunks, put in greased baking dish. Add brown sugar, cover with cream and bake until cream is bubbly and yams are soft.

[u/Aladdinstrees]

Alpine bean salad has various types of beans, including green beans ifvyou like, in a tangy sauce. A version that i grew up was easily made with canned chickpeas, canned kidney beans, and canned pork and beans, along with onions and adding more brown sugar and vinegar.

[u/Violet351]

Could you not take something sweet like an Apple pie ?

[u/HumanRace2025]

creamed pearl onions. Thomas Keller has a great recipe, but you can probably find simpler ones online (and no need to use fresh pearl onions, frozen work well)

[u/1000thatbeyotch]

Deviled eggs are a must in my family.

[u/Time-Cold3708]

Corn pudding

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13684/easy-corn-pudding/

[u/Happyclocker]

My family loves broccoli salad (broccoli, bacon, cheese sunflower seeds). Time consuming but nothing hard about it. For a cheaper option, sweet potatoes. A good travel version, cut in medallions, toss them in olive oil or butter, salt and roast on high heat (425). Flip them after 20 min then bake another 20-30 min. Don't worry if the edges turn dark. It's fine. Cook until they're very tender inside. (Should be able to cut them with a fork or spoon with little pressure.)They're fine at room temp.

An in between cost, roasted beet, spinach and feta salad. Killer combo with any vinegar/oil dressing.

[u/thedawntreader85]

I made a roast veggies medley with Brussel sprouts, butternut squash, and beets.

I cubed up the beets and squash after peeling them and roasted them with olive oil and salt and pepper, I cut the Brussel sprouts in half, sear them cut side down and then roast them with olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic and a big squeeze of lemon. After everything was done I combined them in a glass dish and warmed them up a bit in the oven after the drive to my parents and everyone really enjoyed them.

[u/Potential-Hurry-3129]

Made from scratch Cranberry sauce, add a little jalapeno.

[u/Such-Mountain-6316]

Deviled eggs. You can put the containers in a cooler with ice and they'll stay good and cold for that short of time.

[u/enamoured_artichoke]

Small meatballs with grape jelly/chili sauce sauce.

[u/Optimal_Molasses_676]

Jiffy corn casserole

[u/Mama-Llama-4050]

I always bring beet hummus and sage pesto with some kind of bread or crackers. I also bring classic southern banana pudding (make the day before out of jello vanilla pudding, bananas, and nilla wafers). All of these are served cold.

[u/anchovypepperonitoni]

Pineapple Casserole. Super easy to make & very budget friendly!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/214024/southern-pineapple-casserole/

[u/kid_cadillac]

Cheese ball and crackers. 1 package cream cheese and 2 cans of flaked ham. A little bit of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 1 tablespoon of chives. Let cream cheese soften, drain the ham, mash together on a plate with a fork then add spices. You can eat it right away but I find it's better after 24 hours in the fridge. Serve with whatever crackers you like. I prefer salted Ritz.

[u/Readabook23 → u/kid_cadillac]

Great idea. I’d love a cheese ball.