This is a frugal, from scratch Thanksgiving menu with details on costs, to help you make smart decisions in tough times.
This series of articles is designed to help families put a frugal Thanksgiving meal on the table.
Start at the beginning: Frugal $50 Thanksgiving Meal
From Scratch Frugal Thanksgiving Menu
This is my menu that came from my $50 shopping cart, assuming your cupboards are bare, but I was very conservative in my estimating, so odds are very good that you can do better than this and include more.
You have to decide what is most important to your family for your Thanksgiving menu. I love fall flavors. Everything we eat at Thanksgiving is my favorite; I look forward to the meal all year. In my house we have to have turkey, gravy, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and egg nog.
The priority of this list was determined by my hubby, and may or may not have anything to do with what your family likes. You will note how I had to dig down in the list to find something that would fit my last little bit of money. I do include that last item on the list so I know what I want to do if something comes out better than I expected. The price listed is the actual cost to make it.
$50 Thanksgiving Menu
- 1. Turkey $15.00
- 2. Gravy $1.10
- 3. Stuffing/Dressing $5.23
- 4. Cranberry Sauce $3.65
- 5. Mashed Potatoes $2.23
- 7. Rolls $2.01
- 9. Egg Nog $0.74
Did Not Make the Cut:
- 6. Pumpkin Pie $4.75
- 8. Brussels sprouts $1.54
- 10. Chocolate Pie $2.45
- 11. Green Bean Casserole $6.60
- 12. Sweet Potato Casserole $6.87
- 13. Apple Pie $6.56
- 14. Spinach Dip $3.04
- 15. Carrot Cake $10.48
- 16. Cheesecake $8.92
Deluxe Thanksgiving Meal Total $82.67
This is a deceptive total for everything, since it is calculated from the actual ingredients used. Most people don’t have to buy pantry items like milk, flour, vegetable oil and butter to cook their meal, so it does not cost as much.
Thrifty Thanksgiving for Tough Times Series:
Frugal $50 Thanksgiving Meal
From Scratch Thanksgiving Menu
Next: From Scratch $50 Shopping Cart
Store Bought $50 Shopping Cart
Thanksgiving Blessing Bags
Quickie Thanksgiving Recipes
Frugal Dinner Recipes and Costs
Frugal Dessert Recipes and Costs
Price List
Make Ahead Thanksgiving Timeline
Frugal Thanksgiving Links
Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe Links
Thrifty Thanksgiving Pinterest Boards
* Also see our Care Package for the Hard Times Kitchen series
We hope you enjoyed our Thrifty Thanksgiving for Tough Times – From Scratch Frugal Thanksgiving Menu post
Vintage postcard image from Graphics Fairy
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