Here’s What Celeb Chefs Are *Really* Making This Thanksgiving

thanksgivings dishes

From a healthy green-bean casserole to the ideal easy fall cake.

At Thanksgiving, it’s plenty satisfying to make beloved family recipes you’ve cooked and eaten time and time again: the ultra-thick gravy, the crispy-topped green bean casserole, the sweet potatoes with extra globs of marshmallows. And we’d never knock the power of culinary nostalgia. That said, it’s always fun to experiment with new sides and sweets, or at least new ways to approach them. And who better to look to for inspiration than the chefs behind some of your favorite restaurants, websites, and social-media accounts?

We asked well-known chefs to give us their absolute favorite recipes for Thanksgiving: their best Brussels sprouts, most compelling cornbread, their tastiest turkey, and their perfect pies. They told us that these recipes are the ones that elicit happy gasps around the table, and keep people coming back for third and fourth helpings. We think they’ll be just as popular with your holiday crew.


ON THE SIDE

Turkey is terrific, but what plenty of us crave are actually the side dishes. Those crispy, gooey, casserole-bound delights are often exactly what we want when we’re sidling up to the table, ready to feast. Here are the sides that chefs — including Padma Lakshmi, Alison Roman, Carla Hall, and Donatella Arpaia — are scooping onto their plates, year after year.


THE MAIN EVENT

We’d never knock a classic roast turkey with all the trimmings. Still, sometimes you’re in the mood to mix things up. Here, chef Dan “Grossy” Pelosi offers up his brilliant idea for a main dish that turns the classic on its head, in a very good way. It’s faster, easier, and even a little more fun than roasting an old-school bird.


SOMETHING SWEET

For some, this is the moment the whole meal has been building up to: Clouds of whipped cream, autumnal spices, gooey fillings, and ultra-buttery crusts. Take a peek at the Thanksgiving desserts that chefs like Jake Cohen, Judy Joo, and Erin French will be stirring and baking up this year.