Build a Better Thanksgiving Bread Basket

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. There is so much to love about it: The yearly Thanksgiving Day parade, the snow that has just sprinkled on the ground, and cooking all day for people you love.

As much as I love making the whole Thanksgiving meal, all of that cooking along with set up and clean up can leave me wanting one thing…my bed! Oh and maybe someone to finish cleaning the kitchen, too.

While I can’t really help you with either of those, I can make one of the most important parts of the Thanksgiving table stress-free: the breadbasket!

You’ll want to start by gathering a few different quick and easy bread recipes so everyone has something in the basket they’ll love. First, a good biscuit is a must. These sweet potato biscuits are the perfect choice for Thanksgiving.

Next I like to throw in a bread that is super light and airy, something that your guests may not expect. Bisquick popovers are a huge hit with my family — you don’t even need a special popover pan to make them, just a basic muffin pan.  

Finally, round out your basket with a quick loaf of 5-Grain Bread, which requires no rising time. All this hearty loaf needs is a smear of some good butter. 

Now that you’ve got the bread down, it is time for some butter! It is really fun to give your guest a few flavored butter options rather than just plopping a boring old stick of butter on the table.

First up, Toasted Coconut Cranberry. The flavors are spot-on for the holidays and go so nicely smeared on a piece of warm, fresh-baked bread. Plus, it’s just so pretty and festive! 

You can’t do Thanksgiving without a little apple flavor. This Caramelized Shallot Apple Butter is the perfect balance of sweet and savory. 

I rounded out the options with Roasted Bourbon Pecan Butter. After all, Bourbon Pecan Pie is my favorite part of our Thanksgiving meal. To make the butter, roast the pecans in a mixture of pure maple syrup and bourbon and then just toss them in with some bourbon-infused butter. This sweet and savory butter is my family’s favorite; it just melts in your mouth and screams Thanksgiving!

All the butter recipes can be made a week in advance and brought back to room temperature an hour before serving. This will ensure easily spreadable butter. If you’re feeling extra festive you can also roll the butter into a log and serve it that way.

This mix of bread and butter makes for a pretty and festive addition to your Thanksgiving table. Trust me, all your guests will be majorly impressed and no one needs to know how little time and effort you actually spent on it. No, keep that a secret and soak in all the flattering comments.

There is going to be a lot of them!