Make this Thanksgiving festive, whether you’re hosting a large immediate family, or a more intimate gathering and a Thanksgiving for two menu. We’re here to offer up ideas and Thanksgiving recipes for two that are doable and delectable this holiday.
Thanksgiving Recipes for Two Menu
Here’s a rough sketch and read on for our cooking strategy to divvy up what to cook when. We’ve given a few side dishes for you to select from. Pick two or go for three and just expect more leftovers, which no one would complain about, right? We’ll even provide some ideas for what to do with those leftovers later.
MAIN DISH
Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Figs and Veggies
Cranberry Port Wine Sauce with Figs
A COLLECTION OF SIDE DISHES
Ginger-Glazed Figs and Yams
or
Slow Cooker Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Ginger & Garam Masala
Thanksgiving Dressing with Italian Sausage
Braised Brussels Sprouts with Figs and Bacon
DESSERT
California Fig & Bourbon Pie
or
Sweet Potato Pie with Glazed Fig Pecan Topping
Your Thanksgiving for Two Strategy
If you’ve ever cooked a Thanksgiving meal before, then you know it’s like prepping for a marathon. It’s inconceivable to imagine even under the best circumstances making everything on one day. Instead, it’s a matter of planning and strategy. Here’s what we suggest: make your menu. Buy your ingredients. Then, cook what you can ahead, in this order:
Two Days before Thankgsiving
1. Buy ingredients for the Thanksgiving recipes for two.
2. Make pie dough (or skip and buy store-bought pie dough or crust).
One Day before Thanksgiving
1. Make Pie: Use store-bought dough or pull out yesterday’s pie dough.
2. Start Dressing: Cube and dry out bread overnight. Cook and crumble sausage to chill overnight. Chop and set aside onion.
3. Make cranberry sauce. Chill.
4. Prep veggies: Cook bacon and trim Brussels sprouts. Chop sweet potatoes.
Thanksgiving Day
This Thanksgiving for Two menu is mostly hands-off / passive time. You’ve done most of the heavy lifting in the prep work ahead of time.
- Bake the dressing in the oven.
- Cook the whole chicken in the Instant Pot.
- Make the Brussels sprouts on the stovetop.
- Make the sweet potatoes in the slow cooker or the yams on the stovetop.
- Whip some cream to serve on the pie.
All Eyes on the Pies
We’re swapping in sweet potato instead of pumpkin this year for a custardy sweet potato pie topped with glazed fig and pecan topping. And, of course, we always have a hard time deciding between sweet potato and a fig bourbon pecan pie. You could go ahead and make a single pie as written in the recipe or better yet, create mini pies, either using small quiche tins or stamp out rounds of pie crust to create hand-held versions with fork-crimped edges (so you can freeze the extras and warm them up anytime you want a taste of Thanksgiving sweetness.
