Thanksgiving Menus for 4, 8, or 16 Guests

No matter how many or how few people will be at your table this year, we have a menu solution that will suit your needs. Use this guide and our hand-picked recipes for turkey, appetizers, and sides to create the ideal feast.

The following recipes are designed to serve 8 people. Use the instructions to scale up or down based on the number of guests at your table.

How many dishes should I serve with the turkey?

• For 4 people, choose 1-2 appetizers and 3 sides.
• For 8 people, choose 1-3 appetizers and 3 sides.
• For 16 people, choose 2-3 appetizers and 3 or more sides.

The Turkey

Choose between a turkey breast for 4 people and a whole roasted turkey for 8 or 16 people.

For four people, we recommend the Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast.

For a more intimate gathering, serve a juicy, bacon-infused turkey breast that also makes fantastic next-day sandwiches. Bacon does double duty in this Thanksgiving showstopper by keeping the lean turkey meat moist and delivering a crispy outer layer. 

For eight to 16 people, we recommend the Cider-Glazed Turkey and Gravy

For a larger crowd, a traditional turkey is the star of the show that everyone’s eagerly awaiting. Reduced apple cider creates a sweet glaze that both infuses the turkey with fall fall flavors and gives the skin a golden brown color. 

• To serve 8, roast a 10-12 lb turkey and follow the recipe for juicy meat and flavorful gravy.
• To serve 16, use a 14–16 lb turkey, 2 tbsp oil, 2 lemons, and 1 medium onion. Increase parsley sprigs to 3. Increase rosemary sprigs to 2. Double ingredients for glaze and gravy.

Appetizers

Warm Marinated Olives

A few aromatic additions to store-bought olives, like garlic, fennel, and bay leaf, make this simple party snack special for holiday gatherings.

• To serve 4: Halve ingredient amounts.
• To serve 16: Use a large saucepan. Increase olive oil to 1¼ cups. Double remaining ingredient amounts.

Cranberry-Bacon Wheels

There’s only 4 ingredients in this quick appetizer, but the sweet and savory filling has layers upon layers of complex flavor.

• To serve 4: Halve ingredient amounts.
• To serve 16: Increase ingredient amounts to 1½ packages puff pastry, 1 cup cranberry sauce, 9 slices bacon, and 3 green onions. Use 2 large baking sheets.

Butternut Squash Bisque

Pre-cubed butternut squash makes this seasonal soup a breeze to prepare. With splashes of white wine and half & half, it’s a vegetarian starter that’s rich in flavor.

• To serve 4: Halve ingredient amounts and use a 3- or 4-qt pot.
• To serve 16: Double ingredient amounts and use a 9- or 10-qt pot.

Sides

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Dried Cherries

Crunchy shredded sprouts and tangy Dijon dressing make this salad a refreshing counterpoint to the creamy casseroles at the Thanksgiving table.

• To serve 4: Reduce Brussels sprouts to 2 pkgs.
• To serve 16: Double pecan, cherries, and dressing amounts, and increase Brussels sprouts to 4 pkgs.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Oven-roasted garlic adds subtle richness to an all-time favorite Thanksgiving side. To save time, you can roast and squeeze the garlic up to a day in advance. 

• To serve 4: Cut the ingredients in half.
• To serve 16: Double all the ingredients except for the salt and half & half. Use 1¼ cups half & half. Use 1½ tbsp salt to season water.

Sausage-Pear Stuffing

Savory Italian sausage and sweet pears blend beautifully with the classic flavors of stuffing like onion, celery, and sage.

• To serve 4: Halve celery, carrots, onion, sage, oil, and sausage amounts. Reduce pears to 2. Reduce stuffing cubes to 6 cups. Reduce broth to 1 cup. Use a 1½- to 2-qt baking dish.
• To serve 16: Double celery, carrots, onion, sage, oil, sausage, and pear amounts. Increase stuffing cubes to 12 cups. Increase broth to 1 qt. Use two 3-qt baking dishes.

Gingery Cranberry Sauce

Fresh elements like ginger and orange peel add a zingy boost of flavor to store-bought cranberry sauce. Make and chill up to a day before the feast.

• To serve 4: Use 1 medium orange for 2 strips of zest. Halve ginger and cranberry sauce amounts.
• To serve 16: Use 2 large oranges for 8 strips of zest. Increase ginger to one 1½-inch piece. Increase cranberry sauce to 6 cups.

For the full recipes to everything mentioned in this article, see below