Cook Up a Dorm-friendly Feast with These Timeless Thanksgiving Recipes

With Thanksgiving break around the corner, now is a fabulous time to gather friends, set the table with autumn decor and whip up a few classic friendsgiving recipes in the kitchen. 

Conflicting schedules and college budgets can make pulling off a last-minute friendsgiving feel impossible, but these simple recipes are sure to comfort the soul and make this holiday season memorable. 

Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes 

Craving mashed potatoes but hoping to avoid the hassle that usually comes with cooking them? 

This quick recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking serves six through a manageable four-step process that’ll have the dish ready in 30 minutes. 

The recipe calls for a masher, which many college students may not have. If this culinary tool isn’t available, a fork, whisk or wooden spoon will work sufficiently as an alternative to mash the potatoes. 

3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

½ cup heavy cream or whole milk, add more if needed

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons mascarpone cheese

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Freshly chopped chives

Peel and dice the potatoes, ensuring they are all around the size of one-inch cubes. Place them in a large pot, cover them with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain boil, cooking until the potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced by a fork when touched. 

Remove potatoes from the heat, drain the water, mash the potatoes and place them back into the warm pot. Incorporate the cream, butter, parmesan, mascarpone and garlic by stirring them into the potatoes. Finally, season with salt and pepper and fold in the chopped chives. 

Naturally Sweetened Cranberry Sauce

With multiple savory dishes to choose from during the Thanksgiving season, a tart cranberry sauce is a sweet addition to the table. 

Cookie and Kate’s recipe takes 10-12 minutes to make and yields two cups of cranberry sauce, serving six to eight people. The sauce can be made up to two days in advance and refrigerated for up to two weeks. 

This recipe can also be made vegan by swapping out honey for maple syrup. Additionally, if you don’t have access to a grater, orange juice can be used as an alternative to the orange zest the recipe calls for. 

12 ounces (1 bag) fresh cranberries

½ cup honey or pure maple syrup

½ cup water

1 teaspoon zest from medium organic orange or ¼ cup orange juice

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional 

First, rinse cranberries well and drain any excess water, discarding any squishy cranberries. In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, honey and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. 

Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally until the cranberries have popped and the mixture has thickened to taste — around five to 10 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the orange zest, adding the optional cinnamon if you choose. 

If the mixture is too tart, add more orange zest, orange juice, honey or maple syrup until perfected. 

Grandma’s Easy Green Bean Casserole 

Green bean casserole remains a classic side dish, but when it’s not cooked right it can turn out too crispy — or worse, soupy. With only four ingredients, this recipe from Kim’s Cravings delivers a quintessential casserole in just over 40 minutes, serving 12 people.

While this recipe is best eaten fresh, it can be frozen for up to three months before adding the topping and baking it, but it’s best not to freeze baked casserole as the fried onions can become soggy when thawed. 

3 (10.5 ounces) cans cream of mushroom soup

3 (15.5 ounces) cans cut green beans, drained

½ cup milk

2 (6 ounces) containers crispy fried onions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13-inch baking pan or casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray before setting it aside. 

In a large bowl, combine cream of mushroom soup, drained green beans, milk and one container of crispy fried onions, then stir to mix well. Next, pour green bean mixture into the baking dish and top with the unused can of crispy fried onions.

Bake the dish at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until the sides begin to brown and the casserole becomes bubbly. Let the casserole sit for about 10 minutes — then serve it and enjoy.