27 Thanksgiving Dinner Alternatives to Turkey

Honestly, anything can make for an alternative Thanksgiving dinner—one of our colleagues swears by nachos on the fourth Thursday of every November. It’s our house, our rules (or your house, your rules, as it were). But, if we could interject one piece of advice: we do think a holiday meal should be festive, fun, and at least a little decadent.

Maybe you’ve planned a roundup of mostly traditional Thanksgiving foods? It’s gonna be a classic cheese ball and some cranberry chutney for the appetizer course. You’ve decided you do want marshmallows on the sweet potato casserole this year (and cornflakes too, thank you very much). The brussels sprouts will be roasted simply with olive oil…and balsamic vinegar. Dessert is BA’s Best Pumpkin Pie, of course, but a big bloomin’ bird just isn’t ca-caw-caw-calling your name this year. It’s also entirely possible that you want to go completely rogue and have spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread for your Thanksgiving main dish. You can do that. Here are our favorite stand-ins for Thanksgiving turkey, no matter why you’re considering them.