Credit to image used in pin goes to Janine. Changes were made to the original image.
Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays of the year. It’s filled with food, friends, and family. And If you’re someone who’s hosting, I know it can be pretty overwhelming. Between the turkey, side dishes, and desserts, there’s a lot of things to take care of and a ton of prep work.
And that’s why I decided to make this helpful list of Thanksgiving hacks that are full of great ideas that’ll make your Thanksgiving so much easier. It’s a simple guide that’ll help you make sure your holiday planning goes off without a hitch. So read over each of these Thanksgiving tips and tricks and try them this year for minimal stress.
1. Keep Your Turkey Moist While Roasting
Turkeys tend to get dry in the oven but thankfully there’s a hack for that!
Make the main dish tender and delicious by shaping foil into a thick ring to keep the turkey elevated while cooking. It’s such a simple tip that’ll help make preparation so much smoother!
2. Ice Down Your Turkey to Cook It Evenly
We all know how annoying it is when the white meat of the Turkey gets dry. So try icing down the turkey breast before roasting so the white meat doesn’t cook faster than the dark meat. Now everyone won’t be fighting for the drum sticks!
3. Freeze Unbaked Pies
If you’ve hosted Thanksgiving before, then you know how much time desserts can take up. So for a stress-free day and feast (and better crust), prep your pies ahead of time and freeze them before baking. No need to create more work for yourself the day of!
4. Rinse Potatoes Quickly in the Dishwasher
If you have a lot of potatoes to wash, then put them in a dishwasher and let it clean them for you. They’ll also be easier to peel afterwards. And if you’re trying to figure out how to make the day as easy as possible, then definitely don’t skip this idea!
5. Keep Mashed Potatoes Warm in a Slow Cooker
To keep your mashed potatoes warm when every burner on your stove is in use, simply put them in a slow cooker. Just make sure to set the temperature to low and remember to stir it every 30 minutes.
6. Make Turkey Gravy (Way) Ahead of Time and Freeze
Anything that you can prep in advance reduces the stress of cooking holiday meals and saves you so much time. And this tip is pretty nice since you can store gravy for up to 3 months in the freezer!
7. Use a Cooler to Brine Turkey
If you’re having a large sized Turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, save up your fridge space and use a cooler to brine your turkey.
8. How to Easily Remove Garlic Peels
Put your garlic cloves in the microwave for 15 seconds and then hand-peel the garlic after. The casings will easily come right off and you wont’ be standing there for 5 minutes wasting precious cooking time.
9. Throw Your Pumpkin Pie Into Your Milk Shake
Have an extra pumpkin pie and you wanna serve your guests some milkshakes? Try this Thanksgiving hack that’s for the true elite. Just take a slice of pumpkin pie and throw it into your blender for a ridiculously good dessert.
10. How to Fix Burnt Turkey Skin
If your bird starts to brown too quickly or burn, this is what you’re gonna do. Grab a sheet of foil and cover up that area. The shininess of the foil tent helps reflect heat away from the turkey which means it won’t cook as quickly. Genius right?
11. Keep Your Turkey Gravy Warm
Once you’ve finished making your gravy, just pour it into a thermos and then pour it into a gravy boat once the rest of the meal is on the table. That way you won’t have extra things to warm up before Thanksgiving dinner.
Grace Moser is the author and founder of Chasing Foxes, where she writes articles to help women create a life they love in big and small ways. She's been a full-time traveler since 2016 and loves sharing her experiences and exploring the world with her husband, Silas. Her lifestyle and travel advice can also be seen on sites such as Business Insider, Glamour, Newsweek, Huffpost, & Apartment Therapy.