According to research conducted by Bob Evans Restaurants, the average American spends seven hours prepping a Thanksgiving meal from scratch (!!). That’s crazy talk, especially if you’re the go-to family chef each year. So if you want to take a break from all the shopping, prepping, and oven-coordinating this Turkey Day, we won’t judge. There’s also the added fact that this year because of safety concerns and travel restrictions the turkey day festivities will be for smaller groups, so picking up pre-cooked options might just be the most logical.
These restaurants and grocery stores sell pre-cooked meals that include all the classic fixings, starting with the turkey and going straight through to the pie. Most come frozen or cold, so you’ll still have to get creative with your oven space, but heating up dishes is way easier than starting from scratch. Here are some options that have been available in the past and are likely to come back (or have already been confirmed to be available!) this year:
Costco
Good old Costco is looking to make your life much easier this year by giving you the option of buying this all-inclusive feast for just a little bit more than $100. The frozen meal (which requires no thawing time, BTW, you just cook it when it comes to you) includes turkey breast, pounds of mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, green beans, sweet corn, biscuits, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and ice cream. Woooo! Friendly reminder, though: Costco is not open on Thanksgiving!
Hosting a smaller group this year…that hates cooking…and doesn’t mind a meal that looks like it could be served on an airplane? Costco also has an option for that. These turkey dinners ring in at just $2.99 per pound, and they include turkey breast, Yukon Gold potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans with butter, turkey gravy, and herbed stuffing. Each pack serves three to four people.
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Denny’s
Denny’s has offered “dinner packs” in the past that you can totally lie about and say you made yourself. They have everything you need for a full Thanksgiving feast, including turkey breast, stuffing, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and one additional side. Best of all, the kits ready to heat and eat right away, and they feed four guests. If they’re back again this year, you can simply go to Dennys.com for pick-up by Thanksgiving.
Denny’s
Bob Evans Restaurant
Bob Evans’ Thanksgiving Farmhouse Feast serves four people and runs for $59.99. It’s packed cold, so you just have to heat and serve. The feast includes allll the good stuff: Slow-roasted boneless turkey breast, bread and celery dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered sweet corn, green beans with ham, cranberry relish, rolls, and cherry pie. You have until the week before the holiday to order online, though it’s a “while supplies last”-type deal, so you might want to do it sooner.
Bob Evans
Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel is serving Heat n’ Serve Holiday Family Meals that feed up to 10 people, but as few as four people. You can pick them up from a Cracker Barrel, then heat at home in about two hours. The meal comes with oven-roasted turkey breast, cornbread dressing, gravy, cranberry relish, your choice of sides depending on which portion you order, sweet rolls, a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie. The restaurant recommends ordering online at least 24 hours ahead of when you want to pick it up, and you can read more about the different options you can choose from here.
Cracker Barrel
Boston Market
Boston Market typically offers some sort of holiday meal like a Thanksgiving meal that feeds up to 12 people for $120. It comes with an 11- to 12-pound whole roasted turkey, spinach artichoke dip and crackers (gotta have an appetizer), mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry walnut relish, dinner rolls, and a 9-inch apple pie and pumpkin pie. The items come precooked but frozen, so you’ll have to let them thaw. From there, it takes about two hours to heat everything up. Boston Market sells a few other meals if you have fewer guests or prefer ham as your protein.
Boston Market
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Whole Foods
Whole Foods is selling classic turkey dinners and vegan meals this year. The latter was made in partnership with Chef Jenné Claiborne, author of Sweet Potato Soul: 100 Easy Vegan Recipes. You can get a Roasted Turkey Dinner that serves 8 for $130 or one that serves 4 for $80. The options are categorized by the size of your gathering and your dietary needs.
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Buca Di Beppo
Buca Di Beppo is known for its family-style meals, so it’s no surprise their Thanksgiving Feasts really feeds a crowd. Buy a half-pan that serves 10 for $200, or a full pan that serves 20 for $380. Feasts include sliced white meat turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, spicy Italian sausage stuffing, green beans, bread, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Make sure to place an order by 4 p.m. on November 27.
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Trader Joe’s
Leave it to Trader Joe’s to have a crazy-good deal on Thanksgiving turkey. While TJ’s usually doesn’t sell an entire meal, the grocery store is does often offer a $13, 40-ounce Turkey and Stuffing en Croute. Similar to a beef Wellington, turkey tenderloin and sweet cornbread stuffing are wrapped in a puff pastry. The box also comes with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce, so you’re about a third of the way to a full meal already.
Trader Joe’s
Marie Callender’s
Marie Callender’s has five Thanksgiving feasts to choose from, all of which require about 3 hours of reheating time. They can serve up to eight people typically, depending on which you choose. Order ham, turkey, or both, and you’ll get all the trimmings: apple sage stuffing, fire-roasted yams, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies, cornbread, house blend coffee, and a whole pumpkin or apple pie.
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Williams-Sonoma
Though it’s not the cheapest option on this list, Williams-Sonoma offers gourmet options for those who just aren’t feeling it. Fresh, free-range turkey has ranged from $79-$179, depending on how many people you’re looking to feed, but there are so many other options to choose from: pre-brined turkey, smoked turkey, bone-in turkey breast, and more. If you want to do it all in one shot and be done with everything, they also have Complete Turkey dinners, starting around $279 going all the way up through the Ultimate meal, which comes in around $629.
Williams-Sonoma
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