One-Pan Holiday Meal

This one-pan holiday meal is ideal for more intimate, budget-conscious, and fuss-free holiday gatherings. With turkey, stuffing, green beans, and sweet potatoes, It’s got all the must-haves of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, prepped and cooked in a fraction of the time thanks to this convenient sheet pan method.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• It’s got all the components you need for a classic holiday meal. Juicy turkey, tender sweet potatoes, crisp green beans, and an easy bread stuffing that may just rival grandma’s. Even better, it’s all oven-baked right on one sheet pan, for the absolute easiest “traditional” holiday meal you have EVER cooked. We’ve even included a simple gravy you can throw together while the star of the show finishes up in the oven. All that’s left is cracking open a can of cranberry sauce, warming up a few buttery dinner rolls, and settling in for a delicious one-pan holiday meal.
• Traditional Thanksgiving dinners are no joke. Shopping for weeks, baking for days, up early to prep, basting a turkey every 45 minutes, jumping from one recipe to the next to the next… it’s a finely-tuned (read: chaotic) ballet of planners and timers and reminders with things like showering and cleaning and getting the kids dressed littered throughout. This recipe eliminates a huge chunk of that prep and planning and hands-on cooking time, giving you a holiday meal that’s ready to eat in less than 2 hours and freeing you up to actually enjoy the holiday with your family and friends.
• If you celebrate the holidays with a smaller, more intimate gathering that really doesn’t warrant a 10-pound turkey and more dressing than you know what to do with, this is exactly what you need. Designed to feed a group of 4, maybe 5, a one-pan holiday meal is perfect for anyone that doesn’t want to spend an entire week eating leftovers.
• Another plus to the smaller Thanksgiving spread? It’s super budget-friendly. Depending on the size of the bird and where you live, you can get turkey breast for this recipe for roughly half the cost of a whole turkey. Yes, the whole turkey will give you more food, but if you don’t need that much, why not save a little at the same time?

Pair Your Meal With…

Cranberry Salsa

Apple Cider Mimosas

Crockpot Baked Brie Dip

Keto Pecan Pie

Chef’s Tips

• If you don’t have a single baking sheet large enough to fit a bed of bread stuffing, 3 pounds of turkey, a pound of green beans, and 4 small sweet potatoes, opt for using 2 baking sheets instead. It’s better to split the components up than to crowd everything onto one pan – doing that will almost guarantee something doesn’t cook completely. I recommend using one sheet pan for the sweet potatoes and green beans, and the other for the stuffing and turkey.
• Follow the order of operations listed on the recipe card even if you divide things up onto more than one pan. Trust me – we’ve got it all timed just right and lined up in the best way to get you perfect results. If you start with the green beans and finish up with the stuffing, you’ll end up with an overcooked/undercooked mess of a Thanksgiving dinner that’ll have you at IHOP before the night’s over.
• Not sure how much turkey breast you’ll need to feed your group? Don’t worry. Our sister site, Easy Healthy Recipes, broke down the simple turkey formula that’ll ensure you’ve got plenty to go around. In general, you’ll want to plan for a half pound of uncooked turkey breast per person – so to feed 6 people, you’ll want to buy a 3-pound turkey breast. Little children and anyone with a smaller appetite (or who just prefers those Thanksgiving sides instead) will likely only need a quarter pound of uncooked turkey breast.

More Can’t-Miss One-Pan Recipes

• Sheet Pan Steak and Fries (with Microwave Bearnaise Sauce)
• Chicken Fajita Casserole
• Sauteed Shrimp in Garlic Butter Sauce
• Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Sausage
• Creamy Garlic Chicken
• Best Sheet Pan Fajitas with Steak (Low Carb, Whole30, Paleo)
• Pan Fried Potatoes
• Sheet Pan Vegetarian Fajitas
• Cranberry Rosemary One Pan Chicken (Paleo, Whole30 Option)
• Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

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One-Pan Holiday Meal

Prep:30 minutes minutes

Cook:1 hour hour

Rest:10 minutes minutes

Total:1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Perfect for small holiday gatherings, this sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner delivers all the classics of a holiday dinner in a fraction of the time (and at a fraction of the cost).

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4 servings

Ingredients

For the Sweet Potatoes

• ▢ 4 small sweet potatoes approximately 3-4 ounces each
• ▢ salt to taste, for serving
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste, for serving
• ▢ butter slices optional, for serving; see Notes

For the Stuffing

• ▢ 8 slices high-quality bread of choice cut into ½-inch cubes, see Notes
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter see Notes
• ▢ ½ cup diced onion
• ▢ ½ cup diced celery
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon dried sage
• ▢ ½ cup chicken broth
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

For the Turkey

• ▢ 3 pounds uncooked turkey loin or turkey breast
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ 3 tablespoons butter softened, see Notes
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

For the Green Beans

• ▢ 1 pound fresh green beans ends trimmed
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the Gravy

• ▢ 3 tablespoons butter see Notes
• ▢ 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups chicken stock
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
• ▢ 1 pinch dried thyme or dried sage, optional

Equipment

• Oven
• Fork
• Aluminum Foil
• Baking sheet
• 2 large mixing bowls
• 2 small saucepans
• silicone or rubber spatula
• Cutting board
• Paper towels
• Small mixing bowl
• Tongs
• Whisk
• serving bowl or gravy boat
• internal meat thermometer
• Sharp knife

Instructions 

For the Sweet Potatoes

• Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
• Use fork to poke small holes over entire surface of each sweet potato, then wrap each sweet potato tightly in aluminum foil.
• Place wrapped sweet potatoes on large baking sheet and place baking sheet in oven. Bake sweet potatoes 20 minutes. Prepare stuffing and turkey while sweet potatoes bake.
  

For the Stuffing

• Place bread cubes in large mixing bowl and set aside.
• Heat small saucepan over medium heat. When pan is warm, add butter and let butter melt completely, swirling pan occasionally to coat.
• When butter is melted, add diced onion and diced celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes or until veggies have softened.
  
• Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt, black pepper, dried thyme, and dried sage. Stir until spices are incorporated.
• Transfer onion and celery mixture to mixing bowl with bread cubes. Add chicken broth, large egg, and fresh parsley to bowl, then toss or gently stir until bread cubes are fully coated. Set aside to allow bread crumbs to absorb liquid.
  

For the Turkey

• Place turkey on cutting board. Pat turkey completely dry on all sides with paper towels, then liberally season all sides with salt.
• Add softened butter, minced garlic, and chopped thyme to small mixing bowl. Stir ingredients together until thoroughly incorporated, then rub compound butter mixture over entire surface of turkey.
  
• Remove baking sheet with sweet potatoes from oven. Use tongs to carefully move sweet potatoes, still wrapped in foil, to one end of baking sheet.
• Arrange prepared stuffing on opposite end of baking sheet, spreading stuffing out into one even layer while leaving enough space between stuffing and sweet potatoes for green beans to be added later. Place buttered turkey on top of bed of stuffing.
  
• Return baking sheet to oven and bake 20 minutes.

For the Green Beans

• Toward end of bake time, add trimmed green beans, olive oil, salt, and pepper to large mixing bowl. Toss or gently stir to fully coat green beans.
• Remove baking sheet from oven when 20-minute bake time has finished. Place green beans in center space between sweet potatoes and stuffing. Spread green beans out as well as possible, then return baking sheet to oven and bake 20 more minutes.
  

For the Gravy

• Toward end of baking time, heat small saucepan over medium heat. When pan is warm, add butter and let butter melt completely, swirling pan occasionally to coat.
• Sprinkle flour over top of melted butter, then whisk vigorously until paste forms.
• Add chicken stock to saucepan and whisk constantly until liquid is incorporated and mixture is smooth.
• Add salt and dried herbs (if using) and whisk to incorporate. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until gravy has thickened. Taste and add salt or dried herbs as needed to achieve desired flavor. When satisfied with flavor and consistency, transfer gravy to serving bowl or gravy boat.
  

To Serve Meal

• After baking green beans 20 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven and check turkey with internal meat thermometer. Internal temperature should read around 160° Fahrenheit. If temperature is below 160°, return baking sheet to oven and check periodically until temperature is reached. Note: If green beans or stuffing start to overcook before turkey is cooked through, remove them from baking sheet before returning pan to oven.
• When turkey reaches 160° Fahrenheit internally, remove baking sheet from oven and set aside. Let components rest 10 minutes.
• Unwrap sweet potatoes and discard foil. Slice each sweet potato open by cutting vertically down center of potato. Use fork to fluff insides of potatoes, then season with salt and pepper as desired and top with butter slices.
• Transfer turkey to cutting board and carefully carve turkey into ¼-inch thick slices. Return sliced turkey to baking sheet.
• Serve holiday meal on baking sheet, or divide components of meal onto serving plates, and enjoy warm with gravy.
  

Notes

• Bread: Different types of bread will give you different results. I recommend a high-quality white bread, French or Italian loaf, or cornbread. Avoid breads that are super soft and fluffy to start, as they’ll fall apart when all the liquid is added.
• Make it Dairy Free: Use a non-dairy butter throughout the recipe.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1serving (all components), Calories: 1144kcal, Protein: 89g, Fat: 60g, Saturated Fat: 26g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 343mg, Sodium: 1429mg, Potassium: 1746mg, Total Carbs: 60g, Fiber: 9g, Net Carbs: 51g, Vitamin A: 14044IU, Vitamin C: 23mg, Calcium: 230mg, Iron: 9mg

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Sam Guarnieri