Everything You Need For Thanksgiving Dinner Is At Trader Joe’s

As far as a grocery store goes, Trader Joe’s is kind of the king of providing you with everything you could possibly need to putting a from-scratch(ish) meal on the table in record time. And with the Thanksgiving rush quickly approaching that’s certainly not something that we’re taking for granted.

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As it turns out, Trader Joe’s has just about everything you could possibly need to get Thanksgiving dinner on the table with as little effort as possible… at least on the grand scale of Thanksgiving. In the words of Ina Garten, “Store-bought is fine,” so why don’t we get into everything you can get store-bought from Trader Joe’s that will not only make your Thanksgiving complete, but affordable too.

Appetizers

If you haven’t taken yourself on a peruse down the cheese aisle of Trader Joe’s recently, I’d highly recommend making a trip out of it ahead of Thanksgiving. When it comes to providing appetizers for Thanksgiving dinner, there’s nothing quite as easy to prepare as putting a bunch of meats, cheeses, and crackers on a plate. This year, they’ve added a bunch of new products to their catalog, but we think the Tine Ski Queen Norwegian Brown Cheese, the Sticky Toffee Cheddar, the Spicy Ibérico Uncured Chorizo deserve a special spot on your Thanksgiving cheese board since they’re all incredibly unique, expertly made, and under $25 all together. Grab some grapes or pears and your favorite TJ crackers, and you’re set and ready to go.

The Main Course

Whether you have the effort in you to cook a whole piece of meat or not, Trader Joe’s has your back. Their all-new Turkey & Stuffing En Croute feeds between 6-8 people for just $16.99, and all you have to do is bake it to the recommended temperature — the rest is done for you. The dish itself takes turkey breast and seasoned corn bread stuffing and wraps it in a crisp, tender puff pastry crust (hence the “en croute”).

But if you’re a bit more of a traditionalist, then don’t fret. Not only do they carry turkeys that come pre-brined, but they’re already thawed too. The days-ahead prep you were clearing your calendar should now be considered self-care time. Of course, turkeys come priced per pound with this one coming in at $2.49, so your end-of-day price is going to depend on how many people you’re trying to feed. Oh yeah, and Trader Joe’s has ready-made turkey gravy in the refrigerated section is here to take that off your plate, too.

The Sides

There will forever be a debate on Thanksgiving sides, but I think we can at least settle on a few. For starters, Trader Joe’s has perfected the Corn Pudding over the years, and since we like to disguise our vegetables on Thanksgiving with dairy we consider this a perfect option at $5.99. They’re also going to have Cornbread Stuffing Mix available, as always, so if you don’t feel like taking on the from-scratch counterpart on, then it’s only going to run you $4.99.

You’re probably going to have to make your mashed potatoes yourself, but at least you don’t need to learn how to make jam in the span of a day! Trader Joe’s has two options available and ready for you on that front: a refrigerated option, and a jarred option. Both cranberry sauces are under $4.

Dessert

There are those of us who come to Thanksgiving to give thanks, there are those of us who come for that perfect bite of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry, and gravy all shoved onto one fork-full, and there are those of us who come for dessert. After all, we have an entire season of pumpkin spice, so it’s no surprise that it can be a real show-stopper. Trader Joe’s has both Pumpkin Pies and Pecan Pies at the ready for you, and with a little bit of doctoring up, you can certainly convince you’re guests its homemade. Both of these pies are under $10, but the pumpkin is under $7, so you know which one we’ll be choosing.