Paleo Thanksgiving Recipes

You’ll find everything you need to have a wonderful holiday with these Paleo Thanksgiving Recipes! There’s no need to sacrifice anything if you have dietary restrictions because these recipes are wonderfully indulgent. You’ll find everything from appetizers to side dishes and desserts. Everything is naturally gluten-free as well and there are notes about recipes containing dairy that have dairy-free options!

Paleo Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

• Roast Turkey with Paleo Gravy – we smoke our turkey following the Traeger recipe then make gravy with the drippings. I do think my Gluten Free Gravy has the edge for texture if you’re not strictly paleo.
• Butternut Sausage Apple Stuffing – who needs bread when you have this butternut stuffing?! But in all seriousness, this stuffing recipe has always been a hit at our table even with stuffing fans. (Can be made ahead and reheated.)
• The Best Mashed Potatoes – this recipe comes with some dairy-free options, but for paleo, I think they’re best made with melted ghee and chicken broth. If you eat dairy, try them as written for the most decadent mashed potatoes of your life!
• Cranberry Orange Sauce – this sauce is partially sweetened with orange and someone always asks for the recipe because it’s so tasty. (Can be made ahead and reheated.) Cranberry sauce is one of the best things to make ahead of Thanksgiving.
• Green Beans with Bacon Mushroom Sauce – you’ll find my make-ahead tips in the recipe notes for this lighter, fresher, and very tasty version of the classic green bean casserole. These are also way easier to make as well which is a bonus!
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts – you want to roast these during the 15 minutes you’re carving the turkey and getting everything to the table. That way they’re served super fresh out of the oven and still crispy. My make-ahead tip for these is to trim and slice the Brussels sprouts 1-2 days in advance. That way it’s just a few minutes of hands-on work before they go in the oven. You can also assemble them on the baking sheet and have them ready to go into the oven 1-2 hours in advance.
• Or this Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette – this salad can be prepped 1-2 days beforehand, then tossed with the bacon dressing right before serving.

Paleo Thanksgiving Side Dishes

• Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole – made with pecans rather than marshmallows and it disappears so fast!
• Caramelized Bacon Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
• Simple Mashed Sweet Potatoes – there are dairy-free options listed in the recipe.
• Cranberry Sweet Potato Stuffing 2 Ways
• Browned Butter Maple Sage Roasted Carrots – can be made with ghee instead of the browned butter.
• Garlic Butter Sautéed Mushrooms – also can be made with ghee or olive oil.
• Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower or my Paleo Mashed Cauliflower.

Most the the dessert recipes listed below are made with coconut sugar or maple syrup. But honey can be subbed in for maple syrup in most cases. I like to use almond flour in my desserts because of its wonderful flavor, plus the recipes are grain-free, gluten-free, and paleo so everyone can enjoy them.

Paleo Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

• Paleo Caramel Apple Crisp
• The Best Paleo Pumpkin Pie
• Sticky Bun Pumpkin Spice Cake
• Grain Free Caramel Apple Bars
• Truffle Chocolate Cream Pie
• Cranberry Orange Streusel Bars
• Apple Pie Skillet Cake
• Grain Free Pecan Pie Bars
• Cinnamon Cranberry Apple Crisp

Dessert Toppings

For paleo dessert toppings try my Homemade Coconut Whipped Cream or Homemade Coconut Ice Cream.
For extra, (not paleo) options try my Homemade Maple Ice Cream, The Best Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, and The Ultimate Whipped Cream.

We always make my Paleo Pecan Pie Bars and dive into them for breakfast with scrambled eggs and coffee. It’s a wonderful tradition and too tasty not to share with you. I also have more traditional apple crisp that isn’t fully paleo (oats in the topping) but you may enjoy this Gluten Free Apple Crisp.

For pumpkin options there’s my Paleo Pumpkin Pie or my Gluten Free Pumpkin Crisp, (has oats). Even though the pumpkin pie is so good, we tend to lean toward the Pumpkin Crisp because the crunchy topping is insanely good with the pumpkin pie filling.

Tips for a stress-free Thanksgiving dinner

• The most important tip I have for cooking a relatively stress-free Thanksgiving Day is to choose several make-ahead recipes. And don’t overcomplicate the menu, less is more here.
• The next most important tip is to choose what you make by how much ‘real estate’ they take up on your stove and in your oven. There are only so many dishes you can cram in the oven at once. So choosing recipes that can be made ahead, plus possibly smoking your turkey if you have that type of grill/smoker will help a lot. If you’re doing a smaller dinner, consider getting a smoked turkey breast you can heat up in the slow cooker. Really anything you can do to take the pressure off makes for a better day.
• Once your menu is set, make sure to have all your ingredients purchased several days before the holiday to avoid last-minute rushing to several stores when they run out of things!
• And finally, try and have things prepped as much as possible as it always seems like the turkey cooks slower/or faster than you’re anticipating! You can cut up your potatoes and put them in the pot covered with water hours ahead of time. Keep reading below for more make-ahead tips that will take the stress out of the holidays.

Bonus! for a super simple way to decorate your table, or coffee table, check out my Easy Fall Pumpkin Centerpiece.