Small Thanksgiving Dinner For 4 (Made on a Sheet Pan!)
Here you will find the menu and recipes for a beautiful small Thanksgiving dinner for 4. The entire meal (except the gravy) is cooked on a sheet pan! It comes together in much less time than a typical Thanksgiving dinner, and it still has all your family’s favorites, including homemade stuffing, roast turkey, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, green beans, and even pan gravy!
Servings 4 servings
Calories 1706kcal
Ingredients
Homemade Stuffing:
- 4 cups bread cut into 1/4-inch cubes (I used potato bread)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 large stalk celery diced
- 1 large clove garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh sage
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- Olive oil cooking spray
Garlic Herb Butter Turkey:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 large clove garlic crushed
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh sage
- 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 2 1/2 pounds turkey breast bone-in, skin-on
Roasted Mashed Potatoes:
- 1 pound yellow potatoes such as Yukon Gold; about 3 small to medium-sized potatoes
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/4 cup whole milk warmed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Candied Sweet Potatoes:
- 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and sliced horizontally into 1/2-inch thick circles
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 5 tablespoons light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon water
Homemade Roasted Cranberry Sauce:
- 1 cup fresh cranberries rinsed
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider or water
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Simple Roasted Green Beans:
- 1 pound green beans rinsed and stem ends trimmed
- 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pan Gravy (Without Drippings):
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Instructions
For the Homemade Stuffing:
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Spread the bread cubes out evenly on a large baking tray and bake until light golden, about 10 to 15 minutes, tossing once halfway through.
- Meanwhile, add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and celery, and cook until the vegetables are softened and starting to turn brown in spots, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the toasted bread, onion mixture, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt, and black pepper to a large bowl and stir to mix. Add the beaten egg and toss to coat, and then stir in the chicken stock.
- Spray the inside of an 8 by 8-inch casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray. Transfer the stuffing to the prepared casserole dish, and spread it out evenly.
- Put the casserole dish (uncovered) on a large baking tray.
For the Garlic Herb Butter Turkey:
- Add the butter, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper to a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Pat the turkey breast dry with paper towels. Slather the butter mixture under the skin, spreading it as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper on top.
- Place the turkey breast on top of the stuffing in the casserole dish.
For the Roasted Mashed Potatoes:
- Wash the potatoes and pat them dry. Poke each potato a few times with a sharp paring knife. Place the potatoes onto the baking sheet next to the casserole dish of stuffing and turkey. (Once the potatoes are out of the oven, we’ll mash them with butter, milk, salt, and black pepper.)
For the Candied Sweet Potatoes:
- Add all ingredients for the candied sweet potatoes to an oven-safe loaf pan (I used an 8.5 by 4.5 loaf pan). Stir as best you can to coat the sweet potato slices with the spices. Cover the loaf pan with foil.
- Put the loaf pan onto the baking tray with the casserole dish of stuffing and turkey.
Bake 1:
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Put the baking tray (with the uncovered casserole dish of stuffing and turkey, yellow potatoes, and covered loaf pan of sweet potatoes) into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
For the Homemade Roasted Cranberry Sauce:
- While the tray is in the oven for Bake 1, prepare the cranberry sauce.
- Add all ingredients for the cranberry sauce to an oven-safe 1-cup glass container. Cover with foil.
Bake 2:
- After the tray has baked at 400F for 15 minutes, remove it from the oven and place the covered cranberry sauce container on it.
- Return the tray to the oven and bake for 25 minutes more.
For the Simple Roasted Green Beans:
- While the tray is in the oven for Bake 2, prepare the green beans.
- Rinse them and cut off the stem ends.
- Toss together the beans, oil, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl.
Bake 3:
- After the tray has finished Bake 2 for 25 minutes at 400F, remove it from the oven and spread the green beans out as best you can on it.
- Return the tray to the oven and bake for 20 minutes more. (This is the final bake, for a total bake time of 1 hour.)
For the Pan Gravy (Without Drippings):
- While the tray is in the oven for Bake 3, prepare the pan gravy.
- Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Whisk in the chicken stock, and then whisk in the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning. Bring up to a boil, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat.
- Keep the gravy in the saucepan so you can easily reheat it right before serving if necessary. To reheat the gravy, warm it over low heat, whisking occasionally. Add a splash of chicken stock to thin it out if necessary.
To Finish the Roasted Mashed Potatoes:
- Once the tray is finished with Bake 3, use potholders to transfer the potatoes to a large bowl.
- Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until they’re as creamy as you like them. Add the butter, milk, salt, and black pepper, and mash again to combine.
To Serve:
- You can put all the items in serving dishes if desired, or serve dinner right off the sheet pan. Enjoy!
Notes
- What Size Pan to Use: I used a half sheet pan (18 by 13-inch baking tray) to make this meal. Everything fit perfectly on it!
- You Can Use Aluminum Foil Instead of Small Casserole Dishes: If you don’t have the oven-safe casserole dishes I used to make this meal, you can partition your sheet pan with aluminum foil. For the cranberry sauce, you can use an oven-safe ramekin.
- Salted Chicken Stock: When chicken stock is used in this meal, I used salted chicken stock. You can use unsalted, and add salt to taste if desired.
- Darker Gravy: If you want your gravy a little darker, add a splash of Gravy Master.
- Gluten Free Gravy: For gluten free gravy, omit the all-purpose flour and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons of cold water along with the chicken stock.
- Potato Serving Options: Instead of mashing the yellow potatoes, you can simply serve them as baked potatoes if you prefer. Or you can make these pureed or whipped potatoes instead. To do so, peel them after they’re baked and puree them with the butter and milk until light and fluffy.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25of meal | Calories: 1706kcal | Carbohydrates: 216g | Protein: 99g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 289mg | Sodium: 3639mg | Potassium: 2741mg | Fiber: 23g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 26449IU | Vitamin C: 53mg | Calcium: 563mg | Iron: 15mg