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Whether you’re hosting a small Thanksgiving or look for an easy Thanksgiving dinner, this recipe will deliver on taste and simplicity. Your entire meal is cooked on sheet pan! It features all of the best sides and a juice turkey breast recipe.
Table of Contents
- Why this easy Thanksgiving dinner is the best:
- How many people does this Sheet Pan Thanksgiving Dinner serve?
- How to make easy Thanksgiving dinner for less people:
- Sheet pan 1: Bake the cranberries, sweet potatoes and turkey
- Sheet pan 2: Bake the brussels sprouts and squash and the stuffing
- Sheet pan 1: Make the sweet potato topping and continue baking
- Sheet pan 2: Add pecans, toss and continue baking
- Easy Thanksgiving Dinner on 2 Sheet Pans Recipe
Why this easy Thanksgiving dinner is the best:
- Fast: From start to finish, these recipes are done in under 2 hours.
- Easy: Anyone can make these recipes and there’s easy clean up too!
- Wholesome: The recipes on this sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner feature whole ingredients, veggies and fresh herbs.
- Flavorful: The amount of flavor packed on these two sheet pans is amazing! Sweet, savory, spice, acid and everything in between. You get creamy, crunchy and all around a delicious meal everyone will love.
How many people does this Sheet Pan Thanksgiving Dinner serve?
This simple Thanksgiving meal will comfortably serve 4 people and up to 8. If there’s only 2 or 3 of you, it’s still a great option because you will have some leftovers. If there are 8 of you, make sure you get a large turkey breast!
How to make easy Thanksgiving dinner for less people:
Pro tip: before you start making this recipe, read through the directions fully so you get an understanding of when you make everything and the timing of the two sheet pans. It will help to know the flow! Check out the video in the recipe to show you how to make it.
Sheet pan 1: Bake the cranberries, sweet potatoes and turkey
Cranberry sauce: Add all of the cranberry sauce ingredients to a small, oven-safe ramekin and place in the corner of the prepared sheet pan.
Sweet potatoes: Pierce each 6-8 times with a fork then coat each with coconut oil using your hands and sprinkle with sea salt. Place on the sheet pan next to the cranberry sauce, leaving half the sheet pan open.
Turkey: Combine all of the spices in a small bowl with the butter and mash to create a paste. Loosen the skin of the turkey and spoon half of the mixture under the skin then take the rest of the mixture and rub it into the skin on the outside of each turkey breast. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on the other half of the sheet pan.
Bake the first sheet pan: Bake the first pan at 375°F for 1 hour.
Sheet pan 2: Bake the brussels sprouts and squash and the stuffing
Brussels sprouts and squash: Wash the brussels sprouts then trim the ends and cut them in half and place them in a medium bowl. Peel and dice the butternut squash then and add the olive oil, maple syrup, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Spread onto one half of the prepared baking pan and set aside.
Stuffing: Create a separate foil bed and place it on the opposite side of the prepared sheet pan next to the brussels. Whisk the egg in the same bowl as the brussels sprouts and set aside. In a medium saute pan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter (or vegan butter) over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes. Add the herbs and cook again for 2-3 minutes. Add the mixture to the bowl with the egg then add the stale bread. Toss to coat completely and pour into the prepared foil bed. Cover with a piece of foil.
Bake the second sheet pan: Place it in the oven with the first sheet pan for 30 minutes.
Sheet pan 1: Make the sweet potato topping and continue baking
Make the topping: Combine the sweet potato topping ingredients and use the back of a fork to smash the coconut oil into everything to create a crumbly texture and set aside.
Top the sweet potatoes: when the hour is up, remove from the oven and carefully remove the first pan from the oven and slice the sweet potatoes, open and mash gently with a fork. Spoon the mixture evenly into the sweet potatoes.
Remove the cranberries and check the turkey: stir the cranberries and remove them to cool/chill then turn the turkey and check the internal temperature for doneness. Cook times for the turkey will vary depending on the size.
Bake again: put the first sheet pan back in the oven for 15-30 minutes, depending on how much cooking your turkey needs.
Sheet pan 2: Add pecans, toss and continue baking
Toss and top: When 30 minutes is up, remove the second sheet pan from the oven and toss the brussels sprouts and squash then sprinkle the chopped pecans. Remove the foil from the stuffing and place the sheet pan back in the oven for 10 minutes to toast the pecans and brown the top of the stuffing.
Check turkey and serve: Remove both sheet pans from the oven and insert a thermometer into the turkey to determine the doneness. Top the brussels and squash with dried cranberries before serving!
If you make this recipe, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and tag me with @what_mollymade so I can see it and feature you!
Recipes that go with this Easy Thanksgiving dinner:
- Soft pull apart sourdough rolls
- Gluten free gravy
- Bacon wrapped dates with honey herb glaze
- Sweet potato bites with honey, goat cheese and pecans
- Warm winter sangria
- Chocolate paleo pecan pie
Easy Thanksgiving Dinner on 2 Sheet Pans
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Ingredients
For the Cranberry Sauce:
- 1 12 ounce package fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- Juice from 1 large navel orange (about 1/4 cup)
- Zest from 1 orange
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Stuffed Sweet Potatoes:
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use gluten free)
- 2 tablespoons room temperature coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
For the Turkey Breast:
- 1 (6-8 pound) whole, skin on, bone-in turkey breast
- 4 tablespoons grass fed butter (or vegan butter)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the Brussels Sprouts and Squash:
- 1 (12 oz) package brussels sprouts
- 2-3 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (cubed into 1/2-1 inch pieces)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup pecan halves
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
For the Stuffing/Dressing:
- 7 cups stale bread (i.e. sourdough, brioche or gluten free bread)
- 1 egg
- 6 tablespoons grass fed or vegan butter divided
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped sage
- 2 teaspoon chopped rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
Instructions
Note: read the entire recipe all the way through before beginning.
Sheet pan 1: Bake the cranberries, sweet potatoes and turkey
- Prep the turkey: butcher the turkey and remove the breasts from the bone by slicing vertically along the spine on each side. You should have two separate, skin-on turkey breasts.
- Cranberry sauce: Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a very large sheet pan with foil. Add all of the cranberry sauce ingredientes to a small, oven-safe ramekin and place in the corner of the prepared sheet pan.
- Sweet potatoes: Next, wash and scrub the sweet potatoes, dry them off then pierce each 6-8 times with a fork. Coat each with coconut oil using your hands and sprinkle with sea salt. Place on the sheet pan next to the cranberry sauce, leaving half the sheet pan open.
- Turkey: Combine all of the turkey spices together in a small bowl with the olive oil and stir together to create a paste. Loosen the skin of the turkey breast and spoon half of the mixture under the skin of each turkey breast, spreading it out to cover as much meat as possible. Take the rest of the mixture and rub it into the skin on the outside of each turkey breast. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on the other half of the sheet pan.
- Bake the first sheet pan: place the sheet pan in the preheated oven and bake for one hour.
Sheet pan 2: Bake the brussels sprouts and squash and stuffing
- Brussels sprouts and squash: While the first sheet pan is cooking, prepare the stuffing and the brussels sprouts and squash. Line another very large sheet pan with foil and set aside. Start by washing the brussels sprouts then trim the ends and cut them in half and place them in a medium bowl. If you have large ones you may need to quarter them to keep them all the save size. Peel and dice the butternut squash, if you aren’t using store bought, then place in the bowl with the brussels and add the olive oil, maple syrup, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Spread it out onto one half of the prepared baking pan and set aside.
- Stuffing: Create a separate foil bed and place it on the opposite side of the prepared sheet pan next to the brussels. Do this by folding up the sides and rolling them so it’s like a separate sheet pan on top. Whisk the egg in the same bowl as the brussels sprouts and set aside. In a medium saute pan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter (or vegan butter) over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes. Add the herbs and cook again for 2-3 minutes. Add the mixture to the bowl with the egg then add the stale bread. Toss to coat completely and pour into the prepared foil bed. Cover with a piece of foil.
- Bake the second sheet pan: Place it in the oven with the other sheet pan for 30 minutes.
Sheet pan 1: Make the sweet potato topping and continue baking
- Make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sweet potato topping ingredients and use the back of a fork to smash the coconut oil into everything to create a crumbly texture and set aside. When the hour is up, remove the first sheet pan from the oven and, working carefully and quickly, use a knife to slice each sweet potato lengthwise and carefully open each sweet potato and use the back of a fork to gently smach the cooked potato inside. Divide the prepared mixture between the sweet potatoes.
- Check the turkey and remove cranberries: Stir the cranberries to smooth them and thicken the sauce then remove from the pan to cool and place in the refrigerator to chill. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the turkey. It should read 165°F when it’s done. The turkey breast should cook for 20 minutes per pound, so if your turkey is smaller it may be done, or it may need more time. If it’s done, remove to a cutting board and cover with foil. If it’s not done, turn them and place the turkey and the stuffed sweet potatoes back in the oven for 25-25 minutes.
Sheet pan 2: Toss and add pecans
- When 30 minutes is up on the brussels and stuffing, remove it from the oven and toss the brussels sprouts and squash then sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Remove the foil from the stuffing and place the sheet pan back in the oven for 10 minutes to toast the pecans and brown the top of the stuffing.
Check turkey and serve:
- By this time, the turkey should be done. Insert a digital thermometer into the thicket part to check one more time. When it’s done, remove both sheet pans from the oven and serve with the prepared cranberry sauce. Top the brussels with the cranberries and the stuffing with fresh herbs if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
