In many homes, Thanksgiving is the only time of year families will prepare a roasted turkey, and the task may seem daunting. Even experienced cooks can struggle to cook a bird that’s juicy, tender and well-seasoned. While we have plenty of tips and recipes to help you get the beautiful, golden brown roasted turkey of your dreams, we also have another radical suggestion: Skip it.
While it might sound unorthodox to forgo what has come to be the symbol of the holiday, this is your Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe you’re only having a couple people over and don’t need heaps of leftovers. Maybe you’ve always found turkey a little dry and prefer other kinds of meat. Or maybe you’re vegan or vegetarian and want a plant-based main.
Whatever your reasons are for leaving turkey out of the celebration, we give you permission to make whatever sounds good to you on Thanksgiving.
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We’ve gathered a wide range of our favorite turkey alternatives so you can choose a replacement that’s suitable for your spread. Find even more centerpiece-worthy dishes in our archive of over 10,000 tested and trusted recipes.
Pork
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Pernil. In Puerto Rico, major holidays often call for pernil, a mouthwatering spiced pork dish. The classic pork shoulder meal may require patience, but the tender, melt-in-your-mouth result is worth the wait.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin With Apples, Shallots and Spinach. A hearty and wholesome main, this pork tenderloin features delicious fall flavors from roasted apples and shallots.
Ham
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Bourbon-Molasses Glazed Ham. This ham with a sweet, boozy glaze is a great choice for serving a crowd.
Spiral-Sliced Ham With Cherry-Port Glaze. Baked ham gets a sweet treatment from port, honey and cherry preserves.
Duck
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Sheet Pan Duck With Orange-Sriracha Glaze, Grapes and Hand-Torn Croutons. According to assistant recipes editor Olga Massov, “roasting a duck might be easier than roasting a chicken.” On a holiday that can often cause stress and anxiety, that’s music to our ears.
Duck Confit. The name may sound daunting, but cooking this duck confit is anything but. All this mostly hands-off elegant and simple dish requires is salt, aromatics and duck legs.
Chicken
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Sheet Pan Chicken With Hasselback Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts. This three-in-one sheet pan recipe is a great way to streamline holiday cooking while still having a whole roasted bird at the center of the table.
Baked Chicken Thighs With Butter and Onion. These baked chicken thighs are a great option if you’re looking to minimize costs for your big holiday dinner.
Spring Chicken in a Pot. Though “spring” is in the recipe name, this whole roasted chicken can be enjoyed any time of year. It’s cooked with shallots, herbs and bread, meaning your stuffing is practically built into this one-pot dish.
Beef
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Braised Short Ribs of Beef. These slow-cooked short ribs offer a festive, mostly hands-off option that simmers away in the oven while you prepare the other components of the big meal.
Porcini Beef Pot Roast. Mushrooms boost the umami flavors of savory pot roast. Serve with classic mashed potatoes to soak up all the delicious sauce.
Anthony Bourdain’s Boeuf Bourguignon. Boeuf bourguignon screams special occasion. Time, effort and care are rewarded with a hearty, rich meal. It remains one of our most popular recipes of all-time.
Pot roast, spiral-sliced ham, duck confit, lamb and more non-turkey Thanksgiving mains
Squash
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Lentil and Pecan-Stuffed Acorn Squash. These acorn squashes are stuffed with citrus-laced lentils and pecans, and topped with melty parmesan cheese and fried sage for a satisfying vegetarian main.
Roasted Butternut Squash With Feta and Dates. For a super simple, understated vegetarian main, try roasting slices of squash and feta with dates, and drizzling everything with a vibrant vinaigrette.
Stuffed Squash Roast. Layers of cranberry sauce, rice, roasted peppers, glazed onions, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes make up the luxurious stuffing for this squash roast. It’s an effortlessly stunning centerpiece featuring all the colors of the season.
Mushroom
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Roasted Portobello Mushroom, Pecan and Chestnut Wellington. Taking a page from our friends across the pond, Wellingtons are the ultimate festive food. This one stars tender portobello mushrooms that are accented with nuts and herbs.
Mushroom Bourguignon. You can have the flavors of the boeuf bourguignon above without the meat at a fraction of the cooking time with this mushroom bourguignon.
Thanksgiving vegetarian and vegan mains that may eclipse that turkey
Cauliflower
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Roasted Cauliflower With Citrus-Tahini Sauce. These cauliflower steaks don’t actually look like their namesake, but they are delicious in their own right, with a creamy, citrusy tahini sauce.
Pumpkin
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Biryani-Stuffed Pumpkins. This Indian-inspired meal of decorative pumpkins filled with spiced pistachios and saffron-stained rice was made to be the main attraction of your Thanksgiving table.
Pumpkin, Walnut and Sage Crostata. Tarts such as galettes and crostatas are always a rustic, elegant option for a main course. Here, sweet pumpkin is balanced with mustard and apple cider vinegar, and topped with crumbly cheese and fried sage.
