Whether you’re getting together with extended family or having an intimate dinner for two, the thought of making a complete Thanksgiving feast can be daunting even for the most seasoned home cooks.
Thankfully, there are solid meal kit options on the market that can take the planning, shopping, and stress out of the equation so that you can focus on cooking (or heating up) something impressive and delicious. To help guide your Thanksgiving meal planning, we tried four of the most popular Thanksgiving meal kits on the market. Read on for our comprehensive thoughts.
Related: We Tested 4 Popular Canadian Meal Delivery Kits. Here’s How They Compared
Chef’s Plate
Chefs Plate: Thanksgiving Turkey and Thyme Mushroom Sauce with Maple-Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Perfect For: An Intimate Dinner For Two
Price: $6 per serving (minimum order of two servings)
Availability: Order Canada-wide via chefsplate.com by October 2 for delivery from October 1-7.
Why it’s great: Roasting a whole turkey for two people just doesn’t make sense. For an intimate Thanksgiving feast, the turkey dinner for two option from Chef’s Plate is the perfect solution. With gourmet touches like truffle salt mashed potatoes and maple-bacon Brussels sprouts, this turkey dinner can double as a luxurious date night meal. Bonus: this kit is available to order for 2-16 people, so you can order it even if you’re having a larger gathering.
How it compares: Despite having Thanksgiving touches like turkey and mashed potatoes, this meal kit tasted decidedly less Thanksgiving-y than the other kits (likely because of the mushroom gravy and lack of classic flavours like cranberry sauce and stuffing). Still, it’s a delicious meal that feels subtly festive, and the maple-bacon Brussels sprouts were a real standout.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Turkey Cooking Times
HelloFresh
HelloFresh: The Thanksgiving Box
Perfect For: A Crowd-Pleasing Turkey Dinner with All the Fixings
Price: $23 per person (boxes starting at $139)
Availability: Order Canada-wide via hellofresh.ca by September 28th for delivery on October 6th.
Why it’s great: Hosting a crowd? HelloFresh has you covered with their Thanksgiving Box that comes in two serving sizes to feed 6 or 10 people. If you’re looking for a complete turkey dinner with all the fixings, this is it! The kit includes ingredients for sage-roasted rolled turkey with gravy, roasted butternut squash with maple syrup drizzle, garlic-infused mashed potatoes, green bean casserole with crispy shallots, sage and thyme stuffing, cranberry sauce with orange zest, and a dessert of apple cranberry crisp with almonds and chantilly cream.
The comprehensive instructions guide perfectly times out your cooking process, so you know exactly when to simmer that cranberry sauce mash those potatoes, all while your turkey roasts in the oven. If it’s your first time making Thanksgiving dinner or you simply do not have the energy to put together a menu and buy all the ingredients (we don’t blame you!) but still want to cook something special, this is the kit for you.
How it compares: This is by far the most labour-intensive meal kit, but it really pays off with a whopping eight dishes including dessert (and nine if you add on the vegetarian main of Butternut Squash Galette). It makes for an exceptionally satisfying complete turkey dinner experience.
Related: These Pumpkin Pie Squares With Candied Pecans is the Fall Dessert You’ve Been Craving
Farm Boy: Thanksgiving Turkey Indulgence Dinner For Two
Perfect For: The Hands-Off Chef
Price: $45 per serving, (boxes are $90)
Availability: Order within Ontario in stores via farmboy.ca for in-store pick up on October 8th.
Why it’s great: If cooking isn’t your thing but you’re still craving the smell of roasted turkey with stuffing wafting through your home, the Farm Boy Thanksgiving Dinner is your best bet. A complete Thanksgiving meal that you can heat up in 30 minutes is a pretty wonderful experience, and this meal kit features Ontario turkey with savoury turkey gravy, cranberry ginger sauce, cranberry apple sausage stuffing, chive mashed potatoes, slivered butternut squash, roasted Brussels sprouts and a decadent slice of pumpkin cheesecake topped with vanilla whip for dessert. Farm Boy also offers their Thanksgiving Dinner in larger formats for 6-8 people priced at $179.99.
How it compares: Unsurprisingly, this prepared meal comes with the highest price tag per serving, an important factor to keep in mind. That said, the price tag is reflected in the presentation and organization: each dish comes individually packaged and beautifully arranged with straightforward heating instructions. While you can certainly remove the turkey, stuffing, mash and veggies from the packaging, we opted to keep them in the packaging because it was already so nicely plated. Bonus: Farm Boy is extra generous with the servings of stuffing.