Restaurants are picking up the pace with only days ahead of Thanksgiving Day. We might as well give you some ideas for your Thanksgiving Day menu and get your creative juices flowing.
They’re basically the same food we all know and love, but with a little twist to make it more suitable for your takeouts and deliveries.
Why You Need to Optimize Your Menu
We bet you already have a menu from previous Thanksgivings. But that was some time ago. Obviously, you can’t have more than 50% of your dine-in capacity, and customers will most likely go for a more practical option.
You’ll still have the usual dine-in Thanksgiving Day specials on Monday, but you need the other 50% to 60% volume from your takeouts and deliveries.
Quite simple, isn’t it? Well, you also need to make sure your Thanksgiving menu for takeout and delivery travels well and doesn’t take an eternity to prepare.
We’ll share some quick and easy Thanksgiving Day menu ideas from the internet to give your takeout and delivery a little boost during the holidays.
Main Dish
Let’s start with an all-time classic – the iconic Thanksgiving Day turkey. For takeout and delivery, you might go for something that’s easier to cook and travels well. Here’s a great example:
Roasted Turkey Breast
Ingredients:
| 3 tbsp. | Dijon Mustard |
| 2 tbsp. | balsamic vinegar |
| 3 tsp. | dried herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves, etc). |
| 2 tsp. | garlic powder |
| 1 tsp. | salt |
| 3 tbsp. | olive oil |
| 1 tsp. | smoked paprika |
| freshly ground black pepper | |
| 3 lbs. | turkey breast |
Side Dish
Most people will probably have their own turkey – or try making one. Offer some of your traditional Thanksgiving side dish to go with the main course. Here are some Thanksgiving Day ideas with a twist:
Honey Roasted Carrots
Ingredients:
| 2 lbs. | carrots |
| salt | |
| freshly ground black pepper | |
| 1/2 tsp. | cumin |
| 2 tbsp. | olive oil |
| 2 tbsp. | honey |
| fresh herbs (parsley, thyme) | |
| sesame and flax seeds |
Baked Parmesan Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:
| 2 lbs. | sweet potatoes |
| 1 1/2 tbsp. | cornstarch |
| 1 tsp. | garlic powder |
| 1 tsp. | dried basil |
| 1/8 tsp. | cumin |
| 1/2 tsp. | salt |
| 1/3 cup | Parmesan |
| freshly ground black pepper | |
| 2 tbsp. | oil |
| (dip) | |
| 1/4 cup | sour cream |
| 1/2 tsp. | mustard |
| 2 tbsp. | sweet chili garlic sauce |
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:
| 1 pound | Brussels Sprouts |
| 1/2 tsp. | salt |
| 1/4 tsp. | garlic powder |
| 2 tbsp. | olive oil |
| freshly ground black pepper | |
| 1/2 cup | cranberries |
| 1/4 cup | pine nuts |
Roasted Vegetable Salad
Ingredients:
| 1 pound | butternut squash |
| 1 pound | Brussels Sprouts |
| 1 | red bell pepper |
| 1 tsp. | salt |
| 1 tsp. | black pepper |
| 2 tsp. | dried oregano |
| 3 tbsp. | olive oil |
| (dressing) | |
| 1 | avocado |
| lime juice | |
| 1/4 cup | olive oil |
| 1 clove | garlic |
| 1/2 tsp. | salt |
| 1/4 tsp. | black pepper |
Casseroles
Casseroles are excellent for takeout and delivery because you can prepare them ahead of time and can be easily baked or reheated. Give some of these casseroles a try for Thanksgiving.
Potato Gratin (Potato Dauphinois)
Ingredients:
| 2 1/2 lbs. | starchy potatoes |
| 1 1/4 cup | cream (35% fat) |
| 1 tsp. | black pepper |
| 1/4 tsp. | nutmeg |
| 1 1/2 tsp. | salt |
| 1 | garlic clove |
| 1 tbsp. | butter |
| 1/3 cup | Cheddar cheese |
| fresh thyme |
Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
| 1/4 cup | onion |
| 2 tbsp. | butter |
| 2 tbsp. | all-purpose flour |
| 1 tsp. | salt |
| 1 tsp. | sugar |
| 1 cup | sour cream |
| 14.5 oz. | French style green beans |
| (toppings) | |
| 2 cups | cheddar cheese |
| 1/2 cup | buttery round crackers (crushed) |
| 1 tbsp. | butter |
Butternut Squash Casserole
Ingredients:
| 1 | butternut squash |
| 1 cup | sugar |
| 1 1/2 cup | milk |
| 1 tsp. | vanilla extract |
| 1 pinch | salt |
| 2 tbsp. | all-purpose flour |
| 3 | eggs |
| 1/4 cup | margarine |
| (toppings) | |
| 6 oz. | crushed vanilla wafers |
| 1/2 cup | margarine |
| 1 cup | brown sugar |
Yam Casserole
Ingredients:
| 4 lbs. | yam |
| 2 tbsp. | butter |
| 2 | eggs |
| 1/4 cup | brown sugar |
| 1 tsp. | salt |
| 1 tsp. | cinnamon |
| 1/8 tsp. | allspice |
| 1/8 tsp. | nutmeg |
| (toppings) | |
| 6 oz. | pecan halves |
| 1/3 cup | brown sugar |
| 1/4 cup | melted butter |
Ask Your Customers What They Have in Mind
The great thing with social media is you’re able to show people your Thanksgiving Day ideas and get instant feedback for free. By now, you should have thousands of followers on your restaurant Facebook Page. So why not give them a little “teaser” of your Thanksgiving Day menu and see what they have in mind?
Put out a little survey or landing page of your Thanksgiving Day ideas for takeout and delivery. You can easily do this if you have a restaurant CRM like DeliveryBizConnect. It also helps you with the estimated cost, saving you a lot of money in the process while giving customers exactly what they want for Thanksgiving.
And finally, you need to have an online menu for your takeout and delivery. If you’re using third-party delivery apps, keep in mind it takes 24-48 hours before your menu items go live on the app. With DeliveryBizConnect, you can quickly set up your takeout and delivery items for Thanksgiving and it becomes available on the DeliveryBizConnect app and your online menu all on the same day.
See how quick and easy it is to set up your online menu using DeliveryBizConnect:
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