Ahh, Thanksgiving. A time where we’re supposed to be thankful for our families and counting our blessings. But to some, Thanksgiving can feel like one big stressful event. Between the cleaning, shopping, cooking, picking out outfits – sometimes Thanksgiving can be overwhelming. Cooking a full Thanksgiving takes a village. Kudos to those moms that can do it all!
If you’re looking to switch things up, save money, time, or perhaps your sanity this Thanksgiving, we have an answer for you. Here’s an idea – Buy a prepped Thanksgiving meal. Who says you have to do the whole thing from scratch!? These days it has become so popular to buy your Thanksgiving meals that some small chains and local restaurants are even participating in this new trend. You can buy your Thanksgiving Turkey or Ham precooked and enjoy sides – typically with mashed potatoes and corn at the least – all for a decent prize and without the headache of meal prepping, cooking and clean up! Now, it’s up to you to disclose to your guests if the meal is prepped by someone else, or if you whipped it up yourself!
Here are a few of our favorite restaurants that are serving up a prepped Thanksgiving meal! We definitely suggest reaching out to these places a few days prior to Thanksgiving to get your meal in order and ensure they don’t run out of any of your favorite things!
Bob Evans
Bob Evans’ Thanksgiving Farmhouse Feast serves 8 to 10 people and runs for $110. It’s packed cold, so you just have to heat and serve. The feast includes all the good stuff: Slow-roasted boneless turkey breast, hickory smoked ham, bread and celery dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered sweet corn, green beans with ham, macaroni and cheese, cranberry relish, rolls, an apple pie, a pumpkin pie, and a loaf of pumpkin bread. You have until November 22 to order online, though it’s a “while supplies last”-type deal, so you might want to do it sooner.
Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel is serving $100 Heat n’ Serve Holiday Family Meals. The individual meal can feed up to 10 people. The latest you can pick them up from a Cracker Barrel is on Tuesday. All you have to do is heat at home in about two hours. The meal comes with oven-roasted turkey breast, cornbread dressing, gravy, cranberry relish, your choice of three sides, sweet rolls, a pumpkin pie, and a pecan pie.
Boston Market
Boston Market’s Thanksgiving meal feeds up to 12 people for only $120. It comes with an 11- to 12-pound whole roasted turkey, spinach artichoke dip and crackers, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry walnut relish, dinner rolls, and a 9-inch apple pie and pumpkin pie – pretty much everything that you need! The items come precooked but frozen, so you’ll have to let them thaw. The website says it takes about two hours to heat everything up.
Whole Foods
Whole Foods is selling classic turkey dinners and vegan meals this year. The latter was made in partnership with Chef Jeremy Fox, an award-winning chef and cookbook author. You can get a Roasted Turkey Dinner that serves 8 for $120 or one that serves 4 for $80. Or if you’re looking for something unique to your tastings, you can design a meal from scratch with their remade selections.
Bucca Di Beppo
Buca Di Beppo is known for its family-style meals, so it’s no surprise their Thanksgiving Feasts really feeds a crowd! You can buy a half-pan that serves 10 for $200, or a full pan that serves 20 for $380. Feasts include sliced white meat turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, spicy Italian sausage stuffing, green beans, bread, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Make sure to place an order by 4 p.m. on November 21 to get your meal ready in time!
Trader Joes
Leave it to Trader Joe’s to have a crazy-good deal on Thanksgiving turkey. Shopping at Trader Joes is always so fun with their unique finds and prepped meal items. While TJ’s isn’t selling an entire meal, the grocery store is offering a $13, 40-ounce Turkey and Stuffing en Croute. Similar to a beef wellington, turkey tenderloin and sweet cornbread stuffing are wrapped in a puff pastry. The box also comes with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce, so you’re about a third of the way to a full meal already.
Martha Stewart Box
The Martha & Marley Spoon Thanksgiving Day Box is back, and provides everything you need to serve an immaculate Thanksgiving Day feast for ten – but, you do need to cook it.
The Complete Feast box comes with a brown sugar glazed turkey and gravy, classic herbed stuffing, and mashed potatoes, as well as some not-so-traditional options like roasted root vegetables with herbs and a spiced apple oat crisp for dessert, as well as cooking directions for all of it.
So have no shame, moms! Pat yourself on your back for getting Thanksgiving taken care of, and this way you’ll have extra time to spend with your family, not worrying about the madness at the grocery store or for cooking Turkey dry!
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