Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Recipes

A Jew-ish Thanksgiving menu

Kasha, challah and bagels are all part of this traditionally non-traditional programming

Image by iStock

It’s turkey time again, when you gather with your entire extended family to consume a symbol of Americana while checking your watch to see if those Black Friday sales have started yet. But for those of us who know turkey tastes like napkins, here are some other, newer, more fun options.

Joan Nathan’s Squash and Cranberry Crisp

Image by iStock

Some Thanksgiving recipes from the queen of the kitchen, including some apple cranberry crisp and oven roasted squash soap? Be prepared to trample over your great-aunt for the last bites of these.

Pumpkin Cranberry Challah

Pumpkin cranberry challah? Don’t mind if we do. This festive recipe is the perfect mix of Judaica and Americana and it’s sure to get your guests’ attention.

Bagel Stuffing

Image by Molly Yeh

Okay, yes. We want this Molly Yeh-approved Thanksgiving-ready bagel stuffing. I know what you’re thinking; can’t y’all just lay off the bagels for one day? No, we can’t, and now we don’t have to!

Thanksgiving ‘Mina’

Image by Gayle L. Squires

Don’t feel like getting into some brutal tableside debate about which type of Jewish food is better, Ashkenazi or Sephardi? Well, why not serve both and let everyone argue about something else? This Thanksgiving mina is served to you by a food historian with a side of history, so pass the forks.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Image by Jon Edwards

Colorful, zesty and the tiniest bit basic (but in the best way), this Thanksgiving dish will assuage the hungry masses while they wait for the turkey to finish roasting.

Turkey with Kasha Varnishkes

Image by Courtesy of Brasserie Zentral

This turkey with kasha varnishkes is not for the weak, let’s just say that. “We’re grateful that the traditional dinner choice for this holiday is not a spiral-cut honey-glazed ham,” write the authors. It’s a Jewish take on a Thanksgiving favorite.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Explore

Most Popular

In Case You Missed It

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.