Best Thanksgiving Entree Alternatives

It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means two things: meal plans must be made, and sufficient sofa/recliner/bed space needs to be allotted for the inevitable post-meal nap.

But if you don’t feel like cooking a turkey this year, consider a few suggestions for main course alternatives.

1. Honey-Glazed Ham

From the creators of Pork: The Other White Meat, comes Ham: The Other Holiday Entrée.

Honey-glazed hams tend to serve as the solid Number 2 behind the traditional turkey dinner, mostly because it requires little prep time, it’s easy to cook, and generally gets accepted by most dinner guests. Cooking time goes faster if you’ve got access to a pressure cooker, especially since you can toss in the vegetables with the meat.

2. Spiced Coriander Roast Beef

Or to put it simply: Red Meat before Black Friday.

This one can be handy if you’ve got any dinner guests with religious/cultural issues against pork. A spice grinder can give the entrée a more vibrant flavor, but don’t go crazy if you don’t have one; normal spices work just fine.
Also, this one can be a bit spicy, so don’t go nuts with the seasoning.

3. Spice-Rubbed Salmon

Fish for Thanksgiving? Well, there’s some pros and cons here. On the one hand, depending on where you’re living, access to fresh fish might make salmon an interesting and delicious dinner choice. If you don’t, whatever’s in the freezer section might not seem appetizing or cost-effective.

Prep and cook time will be considerably light compared to roasting an eight-pound bird, which is nice. Not keeping an eye on the stove/grill/oven can lead to overcooking the fish, which is bad.

A well-cooked fish, mixed with the right spices and sauces, can be a real treat, which is good. It can also leave the house smelling strongly of fish, which is bad; nobody wants to stick around for coffee and pie when the living room smells of salmon.

4. Pumpkin Pot Pie

America: If we can’t shoot, stab, or bludgeon dinner, then it’s just a vegetable.

Except that’s not true. Consider this variation on the classic chicken pot pie. Instead of meat, the pie includes roasted pumpkin, carrots, celery, and onions with white kidney beans for the protein.

We know what you’re thinking: pumpkin? Who wants pumpkin for dinner? We just got through pumpkin spice season and now you’re suggesting it for dinner? How dare you?

First of all, we don’t recommend using sweet spices on any entrée unless the recipe calls for it, and it’s really hard to find any dinner recipes that require the main course to be marinated in a Grande Pumpkin Latte. And second of all, it’s Thanksgiving, so hopefully the cook will limit the cinnamon/nutmeg/pumpkin pie trifecta to dessert.