Celebrate each other during the holiday season with this Friendsgiving Spread. From appetizers to the main dish, sides and dessert, it includes a carefully planned menu of delicious, creative takes on your holiday favorites so you can spread the love.
The Friendsgiving Spread
Spend an evening with your friends sharing food, laughs, and a few adult beverages, while celebrating each other and the Thanksgiving season. This Friendsgiving Spread is filled with charming details and delicious twists on your favorite holiday dishes. From appetizers to sides to dessert, everything on the menu is planned carefully so all you have to do is put it together or delegate! If you’re feeling ambitious, you can prepare the spread all by yourself. With my spread planning guide and easy, delicious recipes, you can absolutely do it with ease and pride. But I also recommend making this a potluck affair. Assign your friends a dish or two and then make some room on the spread table when they arrive. This is going to be a meal and a memory you’ll cherish together.
Recipes Included in This Spread
A classic Thanksgiving menu gets a bit of a makeover for this Friendsgiving feast. The flavors are exciting and the presentation in each of these recipes is so charming, it’s a food memory in the making.
Apple Cider Smash
Here’s to graduating from the kids’ table! Crisp ginger beer, aromatic bourbon, and warm cinnamon give Apple Cider Smash some grown-up appeal. This cocktail goes down easy and is easy to prepare for a crowd. What more can you ask for?
Pumpkin Spiced Deviled Eggs
The devil is in the details! Pumpkin puree and hint of nutmeg make these Pumpkin Spiced Deviled Eggs a delicious, inventive appetizer. And the cornichons in these deviled eggs make them look like inviting, delicious little pumpkins. So cute!
Gouda and Cheddar Cheese Fondue
Served in a baked pumpkin bowl, this Gouda and Cheddar Cheese Fondue is one hard-to-resist dip. Lightly seasoned with nutmeg and cloves, it brings those fall flavors into one perfectly melty dip no one will be able to pass up.
Pumpkin Cheese Ball
A hint of pumpkin spice adds some fall pep to this festive Pumpkin Cheese Ball that’s perfect for dipping. Formed into a perfect, cheesy pumpkin, it’s such a cute, creamy delicious way to celebrate the autumn holidays.
Honey Herb Roasted Chicken Drumsticks
Move over, turkey! Serve up Honey Herb Roasted Chicken Drumsticks for an easy, attractive and delicious main dish. Golden, crackly skin, moist, tender meat, and just the right amount of seasoning, these drumsticks can’t be beat!
Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
With a sweet caramelized top and soft warm insides, these Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes will have them coming back for more! Beautiful burnished orange sweet potatoes and velvety-soft fresh sage leaves–they look like perfect little pumpkins!
Green Bean Bundles
Wrapped in crispy bacon and topped with a sweet and savory glaze, these Green Bean Bundles take your holiday veggie to the next level. Salty, savory, sweet — these Green Bean Bundles deliver on flavor, texture and presentation.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
These are not your grandmother’s Brussels sprouts! Crisp and slightly charred on the outside, tender on the inside, and perfectly seasoned, these veggies are heavenly!
Sausage Dressing Stuffed Baked Apples
With breading that bakes up golden brown, sweet Italian sausage baked into rosy, burnished apples, these Sausage Dressing Stuffed Baked Apples add an elegantly delicious touch. They’re so beautiful and so tasty. Everyone will love them!
Whole Roasted Garlic and Herb Cauliflower with Pomegranate Seeds
Serve a veggie dish they’ll never forget with this Whole Roasted Garlic and Herb Cauliflower with Pomegranate Seeds. It’s as beautiful as it is delicious–a tantalizing holiday side dish.
Pumpkin Cornbread
With a soft, crumbly center and a crackly crust just waiting for a dollop of butter, this Pumpkin Cornbread is as delicious as it is charming. Reminiscent of a pumpkin pie, it’s a cute and comforting carb to serve at your feast.
One-Pan Mini Thanksgiving Pies Three Ways
Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? Now you don’t have to choose. With One-Pan Mini Thanksgiving Pies, you can make all three in one easy-to-follow recipe!
How to Prepare and Set the Friendsgiving Spread
Up to A few Days Before
You can bake the One-Pan Mini Thanksgiving Pies. If baking in advance, remove them from the pan and let cool completely. Store loosely covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Up to One Day Before
- Prepare the Pumpkin Cheese Ball and keep it wrapped in the refrigerator until you’re ready to plate it. When ready to serve, add the stem and surround it with crackers. This is great to serve before the main feast as an appetizer.
- Up to a day before, you can bake the pumpkin to use as a bowl for the fondue, if desired.
- Bake the Pumpkin Cornbread, let it cool, and keep it covered at room temperature. Serve at room temperature or return to a 200°F oven to warm it through before serving. Garnish with butter dollops just before serving.
- Prepare the Pumpkin Spiced Deviled Eggs to the point of garnishing them with paprika. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Garnish with paprika just before serving.
- The Sausage Dressing Stuffed Baked Apples can be prepped the day before to the point of baking them and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Bake just before serving or bake in advance and keep them warm in a 200°F oven until ready to serve.
The Day Of
- Roast the Brussels Sprouts just before serving them so they’re still crisp. They’re great served with the Gouda and Cheddar Cheese Fondue. On the day of the gathering and just before serving it, make the Gouda and Cheddar Cheese Fondue. Serve it in the Baked Pumpkin Bowl for a festive addition to your feast. The fondue is great to serve as an appetizer with grapes, cubed bread, pear slices and the Roasted Brussels Sprouts for dipping.
- Bake the Whole Roasted Garlic and Herb Cauliflower and keep warming in a 200°F oven until ready to serve or serve at room temperature. It tastes great both ways!
- Prepare and bake the Green Bean Bundles, Maple Roast Sweet Potatoes and Honey Herb Roasted Chicken Drumsticks just before serving them. If needed, these can be baked and kept warming in a 200°F oven until ready to add them to the spread table and serve.
- Make the Apple Cider Smash in advance and keep chilling in the refrigerator or just before serving.
- To set the spread, add all of the dishes to the spread serving table or down the middle of the dining table and serve. The Pumpkin Cheese Ball and Gouda and Cheddar Cheese Fondue are great served as appetizers.
- Serve the Mini Thanksgiving Pies Three Way with whipped cream for dessert!
Happy Friendsgiving!
If you make this Friendsgiving Spread, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me or tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. I love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the recipes I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Friendsgiving Spread
Yield: 8 servings
Description
Celebrate each other during the holiday season with this Friendsgiving Spread. From appetizers to the main dish, sides and dessert, it includes a carefully planned menu of delicious, creative takes on your holiday favorites so you can spread the love.
Instructions
- Up to a day before, you can prepare the Pumpkin Cheese Ball and keep it wrapped in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to plate it, add the stem and surround it with crackers. This is great to serve before the main feast as an appetizer.
- Up to a day before, you can bake the Pumpkin Cornbread, let it cool, and keep it covered at room temperature. Serve at room temperature or return to a 200°F oven to warm it through before serving. Garnish with butter dollops just before serving.
- Up to a day before, you can prepare the Pumpkin Spiced Deviled Eggs to the point of garnishing them with paprika. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Garnish with paprika just before serving.
- Up to a few days before, you can bake the One-Pan Mini Thanksgiving Pies. If baking in advance, remove them from the pan and let cool completely. Store loosely covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- The Sausage Dressing Stuffed Baked Apples can be prepped the day before to the point of baking them and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Bake just before serving or bake in advance and keep warming in a 200°F oven until ready to serve.
- Roast the Brussels Sprouts just before serving them so they’re still crisp. They’re great served with the Gouda and Cheddar Cheese Fondue.
- Up to a day before, you can bake the pumpkin to use as a bowl for the fondue, if desired.
- On the day of and just before serving it, make the Gouda and Cheddar Cheese Fondue. Serve it in the baked pumpkin bowl for a festive addition to your feast. The fondue is great to serve as an appetizer with grapes, cubed bread, pear slices and the Roasted Brussels Sprouts for dipping.
- Bake the Whole Roasted Garlic and Herb Cauliflower and keep warming in a 200°F oven until ready to garnish and serve. Serve warm or at room temperature. It tastes great both ways!
- Prepare and bake the Green Bean Bundles, Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Honey Herb Roasted Chicken Drumsticks just before serving them. If needed, these can be baked and kept warming in a 200°F oven until ready to add them to the spread table and serve.
- Make the Apple Cider Smash in advance and keep chilling in the refrigerator or just before serving.
- To set the spread, add all of the dishes to the spread serving table or down the middle of the dining table and serve. The Pumpkin Cheese Ball and Gouda and Cheddar Cheese Fondue are great as appetizers.
- Serve the One-Pan Mini Thanksgiving Pies Three Ways with whipped cream for dessert!