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These 50 festive and healthy Thanksgiving recipes prove you can still enjoy delicious comfort food and seasonal, holiday flavors without the heavy ingredients that often come with traditional Thanksgiving dinner recipes. With everything from appetizers, sides, snacks, mains, desserts and even leftover recipe ideas, food can taste as good as it makes you feel!
UPDATE: This post was originally published in November 2017 and has been updated to reflect new recipes and organization.
Thanksgiving just might be our favorite holiday of the year. Food, friends, family, football, wine–what's not to love?!
There's often a temptation with any holiday, but especially Thanksgiving, to go overboard and throw all our healthy eating to the wind. It's all too easy on Thanksgiving to mindlessly stuff ourselves silly, and then feel the icky side effects for hours–or days!–to come.
This year, avoid the sleepy, bloated, have-to-put-on-my-elastic-pants feeling by setting up your holiday table with these healthy yet satisfying and delicious Thanksgiving recipes!
We break it down into appetizers, soups + salads, snacks + breads, drinks + smoothies, sides, mains, desserts, vegan recipes, and even recipe ideas for how to use all those leftovers!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The 50 Best Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: Appetizers, Soups + Salads
- No-Bake Sweet + Savory Pumpkin Dip
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Citrus Kale Salad with Maple Granola and Pancetta Vinaigrette
- Autumn Glow Salad with Lemon Dressing from Pinch of Yum
- Sausage and Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms with Sage from Wholesomelicious
- Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus from Irena Macri
- Creamy Pumpkin Soup Shooters from Dine & Dish
- Autumn Kale Salad with Fennel, Honeycrisp & Goat Cheese from Cookie + Kate
- Roasted Grapes with Thyme, Fresh Ricotta + Grilled Bread from Alexandra Cooks
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: Snacks + Bread
- No Bake Energy Bites: Pumpkin Pie Protein Balls (Gluten Free)
- Pumpkin Pie Ketogenic Fat Bombs
- Paleo Pumpkin Muffins with a Chocolate Swirl from A Saucy Kitchen
- Chia, Quinoa & Banana Granola Bars from Ambitious Kitchen
- Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips from Well Plated
- Paleo Dinner Rolls from Paleo Spirit
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: Drinks + Smoothies
- Healthy Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte (Vegan + Gluten Free)
- Healthy + Easy Eggnog (Refined Sugar Free!)
- Botiwalla's Authentic Chai Latte
- Keto Hot Chocolate
- Superfood Pumpkin Pie Green Smoothie (Vegan)
- Vegan Apple Pie Green Protein Smoothie (Gluten Free)
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: Sides
- Easy + Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans (Dairy Free + Gluten Free)
- Instant Pot Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Tamale Pie Recipe with Beans + Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread (Gluten Free)
- Simple Homemade Paleo Cranberry Sauce from Paleo Running Momma
- Crispy Garlic Brussels Sprouts with Sriracha Aioli from Minimalist Baker
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: Mains
- Butter and Sage-Roasted Turkey (Whole30-Friendly) from The Wooden Skillet
- Orange Dijon Glazed Ham from Delicious Meets Healthy
- Sheet Pan Thanksgiving Dinner for Two from Imagelicious
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: Desserts
- Easy Slow Cooker Apple Crisp (Gluten-Free)
- Pumpkin Pie Ketogenic Fat Bombs (Paleo)
- Maple Cinnamon Fudgy Flourless Brownies
- Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake (Dairy-Free) from Unconventional Baker
- Paleo Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies (Gluten-Free + Vegan) from Bakerita
- Dessert Shepherd's Pie from Eat Something Delicious
- Paleo Coconut Cream Pie from Living Healthy with Chocolate
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: Leftovers
- Easy Turkey Noodle Soup from A Sweet Pea Chef
- Turkey, Brie + Cranberry Sandwich from Talia Bunting
- Thanksgiving Breakfast Frittata from Running to the Kitchen
- Easy Creamy Leftover Turkey Pasta from Salt & Lavender
Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: Vegan
- The Creamiest Vegan Mac and Cheese (Gluten Free)
- Vegan Gluten Free Magic Skillet Cornbread from The Vegan 8
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole with Rosemary Garlic Mushrooms from Jar of Lemons
- Vegan Thanksgiving-Style Smashed Potatoes from I Love Vegan
- Vegan Lentil Cashew Loaf from Delightful Vegans
- Vegan Tempeh Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash from Hummusapien
- Thanksgiving Vegan Mini Pot Pie Jars from The Colorful Kitchen
- Gluten-Free Banana Bread Bars with Streusel Topping (Vegan) from Beaming Baker
- No-Bake Pecan Pie Bars (Paleo + Vegan) from Detoxinista
- Easy Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls from Healthy Happy Life
- Vegan Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich from Cadry's Kitchen
Squash Soup & More Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes
Equipment
- blender (immersion or regular)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons organic extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon organic red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon organic ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon organic ground curry powder
- 1 teaspoon organic ground turmeric
- 7 organic carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 (16-ounce) bags frozen butternut squash
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can organic, unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 1/2 cups bone broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, saute onion in olive oil until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add red pepper flakes, ginger, cinnamon and curry powder, toss to combine and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add carrots, squash and sweet potatoes, tossing to combine. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Pour coconut milk and chicken broth over veggies and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low; cook for 25 minutes.
- Uncover and blend soup using an immersion blender. If you don't have one, you can blend the soup in batches in a traditional blender. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
What are your favorite healthy Thanksgiving recipes? Let us know in the comments below!
Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto is delicious but NOT healthy! I’d never put it on a list of “Healthy Dishes”!! Prosciutto is a processed food, not a natural food. Processed meats like ham, prosciutto and bacon have been proven to increase a person’s risk for several cancers SUBSTANTIALLY. Reliable studies. One study concluded that eating preserved meats is as bad for health as smoking cigarettes. Maybe overstated. I eat prosciutto occasionally. Love it. But a recipe with prosciutto as a major ingredient does not belong in a list of recipes trumpeted as “healthy.”
Hi Anne – I agree that processed meats are not usually healthy, but I do eat them in moderation, especially something like bacon that I get antibiotic-, nitrate- and hormone-free, uncured and sugar-free from Butcher Box. We all have different definitions of ‘healthy’ and I think asparagus wrapped in prosciutto is still a better option than a lot of other foods out there. Thanks for sharing!
I just made the paleo pumpkin muffins and they are delish! My husband said they have wonderful flavor!
That’s awesome Julie! Really happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed them!
These all look so good!
Thanks Anne!
I love all these healthy recipes! They are right up my wheelhouse and can’t wait to make a few of them!
That’s great to hear Rezel! Let us know how your recipes turn out!
I’m all for hearty vegan soups this season! Great collection 🙂
Thanks Jenna! Me too – hearty vegan soups are always a great decision!
Excellent thanks giving recipes. I loved the Autumn kale salad with fennel. Yum!! Can’t wait to try it.
Thanks Astrid – glad you’ve found some holiday inspiration! 🙂
OH. MY. GOSH. I seriously think I have to make allthethings. Every single recipe looks AMAZING! Definitely doing the apple crisp for SURE!
Haha! Awesome. So happy to hear that!
All of these recipes are so amazing! Super keen on the vegan mac and cheese 😉
It’s a must-try, Michelle!!
Wow! So many amazing ideas for Thanksgiving I loved them all ,thanks for sharing 🙂
Cheers Claire!
So many great ideas for Thanksgiving! And those pumpkin chocolate swirl muffins are calling my name 🙂
Don’t they just look delicious?!