Easy Recipe Ideas For A Low Cost Budget Friendly Thanksgiving

These easy recipe ideas for a low cost budget friendly Thanksgiving will provide delicious and filling food for you and your loved ones this holiday season. The following food ideas are provided as a general guide for you to generate ideas. They are not full recipes with cook or bake times, and do not provide the precise measurements. 

1930s Depression Era Side Dish Ideas For a Low-Cost Budget Friendly Thanksgiving 

Ritz cracker casserole 

Crackers to the rescue! Ritz crackers, or really any buttery or salted cracker you have, can be used to make a delicious casserole. The whole thing comes together in about an hour. If you really wanted to, you could add a protein to the casserole, such as chicken or ground turkey. Ritz cracker casserole is a delicious and filling side that can help fill up hungry bellies. 

Ingredients: ground turkey (optional, can also be substituted for another type of protein), Ritz crackers, butter, sour cream, a can of cream of chicken soup. 

Mashed or Baked Potatoes

Potatoes have been saving the day for decades. They are so very versatile and loaded with nutrients. Simple mashed potatoes or baked potatoes can be dressed up with your choice of toppings. It can be as simple as butter and salt, or as complex as you want it to be. I like to make my potatoes with butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sometimes sour cream or crumbled up turkey bacon. Even when I make a baked potato and cut into it to release the steam, I end up mashing it down with my fork. Either way, I end up with mashed potatoes! Not that I am complaining about having to eat yummy mashed potatoes. 

Ingredients: potatoes of your choice, butter, toppings as you see fit. 

Cornbread

Cornbread is another easy peasy side dish to make for holiday gatherings. You can either make it from scratch or from a box. Using a box mix makes the process go by much faster, and it requires less ingredients than making it from scratch. 

Ingredients: box mix and follow the directions; for scratch then use oil, milk, eggs, and cornmeal. 

Creamed Spinach 

At first I thought the idea of creamed spinach was less than desirable. However, I was reminded of creamed corn and then my opinion immediately changed. This side comes together in about half an hour. The great thing about this dish is that you can use either frozen spinach or fresh spinach. You’ll want to cook the onion and garlic in the butter first, then add the spinach and the heavy cream. Once the spinach has cooked down, add the cheese. The result will be a warm and ooey gooey cheesy creamed spinach that pairs well with the rest of the dishes. 

Ingredients: spinach, garlic, onion, butter, cheese, heavy cream. 

Corn Pudding

Corn Pudding is another casserole option for your holiday gatherings. It can be customized to be either sweet or more savory, depending on personal preferences and the amount of sugar used. This dish comes together in about an hour. 

Ingredients: corn, butter, eggs, sugar, milk, cornstarch, one can whole kernel corn, and two cans of cream style corn

Fresh Fruit

I love a good fresh fruit bowl or platter. I have made a rainbow platter before, and it was beautiful and tasty. Use fresh fruits you have on hand or from your garden. I have made a platter of fresh fruit before by using bananas, strawberries, oranges, blueberries, and grapes. Apples would be a great option as well. You can also dress up the fruit by sprinkling Tajin over it, or by adding a dollop of whipped cream or a drizzle of honey/ agave to the fruit, depending on taste preferences. Use the fruits that you and your loved ones love to eat the most. 

Ingredients: A variety of seasonal fruit

Roasted Vegetables

Roasted veggies are always a hit in my home. Place the vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper if desired and toss int he oven until they are a nice roasted color. This should take about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the vegetables and the quantity. My personal favorites to roast are carrots because they become crispy and sweet, and brussels sprouts because they are just delicious no matter what. 

Ingredients: olive oil, root vegetables of your choice, and other vegetables such as squash, bell peppers, asparagus

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1930s Depression Era Dessert Ideas For A Low Cost Budget Friendly Thanksgiving

These 1930s Depression Era dessert ideas for a low cost budget friendly Thanksgiving will give you all the flavor you need without breaking the bank. Many of the ingredients are pantry staples, making it easier and quicker for people to make at home. 

Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is a fan favorite in my house. You can use any type of bread you have on hand. Although I have not made it in a while, my family will often request that I make a challah bread the day before for them to use in the bread pudding. The beauty of making bread pudding is you can use any bread available to you and it will taste amazing. Place all of the ingredients together in an oven safe dish and bake until the eggs mixture is cooked through. You can also add cinnamon, raisins, nutmeg, or any other type of topping to change up the flavor profile. 

Ingredients: stale or day-old bread, milk, eggs, sugar

Rice Pudding

I grew up having rice pudding as a dessert. It is especially good on colder nights. The cinnamon taste is amazing and a little really does go a long way. You can either cook the rice in the milk on a stovetop or cook the rice in a rice maker and then transfer the cooked rice to a pot to add the milk and the rest of the ingredients. You are left with a rich and creamy rice pudding. This is another dish that you can dress up, depending on preferences and what you have available. You can add vanilla extract if you like, or vary the amount of sugar and cinnamon. It can also be topped with a dollop of whipped cream, although I love it without the whipped cream. 

Ingredients: rice, milk, sugar, cinnamon

Vinegar Pie

Vinegar Pie originated years before The Great Depression of the 1930s. However, vinegar pie became popular in households during the 1930s because of the access to easy ingredients. The vinegar pie will not taste like vinegar, so go ahead and try this one out for the holidays. You can also add in vanilla and cinnamon if you want. 

Ingredients: 9 inch pie crust, sugar or light brown sugar, salt, butter, eggs, white vinegar

Mock Apple Pie

Even though this pie is made with crackers and there are absolutely no apples used in it, it will taste exactly like an apple pie. People have been making mock apple pie since the 1800s. Back then people used a combination of crackers and stale bread. When apples became scarce during the 1930s, mock apple pie made a comeback. This pie takes about an hour from start to finish. 

Ingredients: 9 inch pie crust, Ritz crackers or any buttery cracker, sugar, cinnamon, cream of tartar, lemon juice

Water Pie

Aw yes, a water pie. This pie is also from the 1800s and gained a following in the 1930s. You can also add almond extract or cinnamon. This pie bakes in about 30 minutes. The trick to this pie is to chill it in the refrigerator for a few hours when it is done baking to allow the pie to fully solidify into the custard filling so that it can be smoothly sliced. You might want to make this one the night before and let it chill overnight, or make it in the early morning if your gathering is in the afternoon or early evening. 

Ingredients: 9 inch pie crust, water, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla

Peanut Butter Bread

This bread comes together quickly in about an hour, and uses pantry staples you are likely to have in your kitchen. You can also add cinnamon, vanilla, or chocolate chips to different loafs to offer variations at your holiday gathering. Peanut butter bread became popular in the 1930s because of the peanut butter as an available protein source when meat was expensive and hard to come by. One of the earliest versions of this recipe was in a cook book from 1901. For a simpler recipe, you can omit the honey and sugar, relying on the peanut butter for sweetness and flavor. There is a 3 ingredient version floating around, which is a stripped down verson of the recipe using only the absolute necessary ingredients of peanut butter, flour, and milk. Use what you have and don’t stress about not having all of the ingredients for this one on hand. 

Ingredients: peanut butter, honey, baking powder, flour, milk, salt, sugar

These easy recipe ideas for a low cost budget friendly Thanksgiving will help you plan out your holiday menu.