Every Thanksgiving, restaurants rely on their trusty playbook of menu ideas to drive holiday catering sales. Holiday menus tend to feature a simple roast turkey, stuffing and gravy, and a pie. Sure, tradition can taste delicious. But throw a few unique dishes into your Thanksgiving mix, and “delicious” breaks a glass ceiling your diners never knew existed. Distinguish your catering offerings this Thanksgiving and there’ll be positive buzz about it. If you’re planning a Thanksgiving catering menu this season and need inspiration, we’ve got you covered. We sought out ideas from some of our favorite chefs and trending ingredients. These ten Thanksgiving menu ideas are sure to inspire your Thanksgiving menu.
1. Carbs-on-Carbs Stuffing
This Thanksgiving don’t hold the carbs. Instead, do a mash-up of American, Chinese, and Middle Eastern ingredients for a Thanksgiving stuffing so pretty, your customers won’t stop snapping pictures. In this dish, from Bon Appétit, cubes of Thanksgiving stuffing are tossed into a mixture of unique ingredients like rice (or fried rice), nuts, dried fruit, and veggies.
2. All the Leftover Ramen
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: Thanksgiving Ramen
Forget the traditional turkey feast. Chefs like Dale Talde have landed on unique dishes by incorporating Thanksgiving essentials into Asian staples. Talde’s hot ramen with turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and creamed spinach wontons may offer more comfort than the original.
3. Sweet and Savory Side Sushi
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: Sweet and Savory Side Sushi
Sweet potatoes deserve to be prepared in more creative ways on Thanksgiving. Dream up concoctions like sushi topped with orange or bright-purple Japanese sweet potatoes. The savory sushi only accentuates the sweetness of the vegetables. Plus, these make terrific appetizers!
4. Adult Apple Cider
Sour cocktails are trending everywhere right now. And chef Joe Kindred‘s Orchard Avenue cocktail balances sweet and sour with apple cider, apple brandy, fresh lemon juice, honey, and egg white for a drink that promises to cure what ails you.
5. String Bean Tempura
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: String Bean Tempura
Why casserole those green beans when you can batter and fry them instead? Deep-fried Japanese vegetable tempura fritters make great Thanksgiving appetizers that your customers can enjoy while sitting or standing.
6. Butternut Squash Pizza
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: Butternut Squash Pizza
A mashed potato pizza put Otto’s in Massachusetts on the map. But their unique Thanksgiving pie is getting a lot of buzz, too. It’s made with butternut squash, ricotta cheese, and cranberries.
7. Hasselback It. Whatever Vegetable It Is
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: Thin-Sliced Veggies
The trend started with potatoes. But the “hassekback” technique of thin-slicing veggies so that oil and seasonings make every crevice crispy is now seen with sweet potatoes and winter squash, too. When customers see “hasselback” on a catering menu, they jump on it.
8. Clear Pumpkin Pie
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: Twists on Traditional Pumpkin Pie
At Alinea in Chicago, mad genius and chef Grant Achatz is known for pioneering unique techniques, but this Thanksgiving dish of his may be our favorite yet. The chef brings back the 1950s Jell-O trend with this mod Thanksgiving dessert. The flavors of spiced pumpkin pie are distilled and set in a crystal-clear gelatin, which is then poured into a traditional pie crust.
9. Spiced Vegetable Paris-Brest
According to Eater, the Paris-Brest, a choux pastry filled with praline flavored cream, is the next big thing in fancy French desserts. This season, pastry chef Daniel Skurnick (Le Coucou) puts a Thanksgiving spin on the pastry with savory purées of kabocha squash, parsnip, and spiced veggies. Far more interesting than pumpkin pie? You decide.
10. Corn Ice Cream Tacos
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: Corn Ice Cream Tacos
“Remember choco tacos? Well, these are better,” says chef Alex Stupak of New York’s Empellón. For this sweet creation, Stupak uses corn masa flour in every part of the dessert: the shell, ice cream, and crunchy topping. It’s a new take for the harvest celebration.
Once you’ve finalized your Thanksgiving catering menu, let ezCater help. We partner with restaurants to bring delicious food to businesspeople across the country who need catering to power their business events. You can even promote your seasonal catering packages on ezCater to drive holiday sales.
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