10 of the best Thanksgiving meals served at chain restaurants
- Organizing a Thanksgiving dinner can be a stressful ordeal, especially for those spending hours in the kitchen over a hot stove.
- Some people opt out of cooking altogether by choosing a simpler alternative - getting their turkey dinner at a restaurant.
- Here is a list of 10 of the best chain restaurants you can get a meal at - turkey and all - on Thanksgiving Day.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and as the number of days you have to prepare for the big meal dwindles, some people might be considering outsourcing their turkey dinner.
Catering your Thanksgiving meal and not having to worry about a dry turkey or a burnt ham can make it easier for some people to enjoy the holiday.
Luckily, several chain restaurants offer special meal packages for Thanksgiving Day - either for home delivery, pick-up, or dining in. These meal packages contain all of the Thanksgiving classics, and some have special twists unique to the restaurant.
Whether you need a backup plan or just want to avoid the hassle of cooking altogether, here are 10 chain restaurants where you can get a hot Thanksgiving meal.
Cracker Barrel offers customers hot meals for dining in and the option of picking up a turkey dinner to take home.
For customers who want to enjoy Thanksgiving from the comfort of their homes, but still want to reap the benefits of a catered meal, Cracker Barrel offers a "Heat n' Serve Family Meal To-Go" that can feed up to 10 people.
This meal, which costs $124.99, comes with a slew of dishes, including two fully-cooked turkey breasts, cornbread dressing, turkey gravy, cranberry relish, sweet yeast rolls, a pumpkin pie, and a pecan pie.
Cracker Barrel recommends placing orders for the meal at least 24 hours in advance of pick-up. These meals will be available for purchase from November 23 to December 1.
However, if you'd prefer to avoid the cleanup process and responsibility of hosting people at your house altogether, Cracker Barrel also offers an in-restaurant meal on Thanksgiving Day. At $12.99 for adult plates and $7.99 for kids plates, these meals come with turkey, gravy, ham, sweet potato casserole, a choice between corn muffins or biscuits, and a slice of pie.
These meals are available from 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day until closing.
Boston Market allows customers to dine in or choose from two different pick-up options for catering entire meals.
With nearly all Boston Market locations open on Thanksgiving Day, patrons can sit in the restaurant for their holiday meal and have a choice between half a rotisserie chicken and slices of oven-roasted turkey for their main course. The $13.99 plates also come with a dinner roll, a slice of apple or pumpkin pie, and a choice of two sides.
Customers who prefer to eat at home have two options for take-out. For those looking to have their meal in their fridge, ready to heat at any time, the "Holiday Heat and Serve" can be picked up prior to Thanksgiving Day and stored in your fridge for later. These pre-cooked meals will set you back $120 and come with a whole turkey, gravy, vegetable stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry walnut relish, one apple pie, and one pumpkin pie.
Boston Market also offers eight different Thanksgiving spreads or a la carte options that can be home-delivered on its website.
The Italian restaurant Buca di Beppo provides customers with Thanksgiving staples like turkey and classic Italian dishes like spaghetti and meatballs.
Buca di Beppo offers a variety of options for customers on Thanksgiving Day, including some holiday staples with an Italian twist.
For $199, patrons can purchase a half pan of food that serves 10. This pan comes with turkey slices, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread rolls, spicy Italian sausage stuffing, pumpkin pie, and spaghetti and meatballs. Orders are available for pick-up from November 18 to November 28 from your local Buca di Beppo. For parties of up to 20 people, the full-pan option is available for $379 and contains the same array of dishes.
For families who prefer the extra convenience, Buca di Beppo also offers home delivery options for November 27 and 28. A small dinner that serves three people costs $68.99 and comes with stuffing, turkey, green beans, cranberry sauce, spaghetti and meatballs, pie, and mashed potatoes. The large dinner costs $134.99 and serves five people with the same options as the smaller meal.
If you don't want to dine at home this year, Buca di Beppo also accepts Thanksgiving Day reservations with your choice of typical Italian cuisine and Thanksgiving Day specials.
Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse are open for business on Thanksgiving and offer full holiday buffets.
Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse, both owned by Home Dining LLC, offer full holiday buffets on Thanksgiving, including turkey, ham, and all of the usual side dishes like mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. For fans of seconds and thirds, this buffet might be ideal.
If you want a more festive environment for your turkey day, Rainforest Café hosts special Thanksgiving meals.
Rainforest Café is open on Thanksgiving and offers reservations for families who want to think outside the box for their holiday meal. All you have to do is call ahead and make a reservation at select locations.
According to spokesperson Mattie Van Gundy, the restaurant offers a turkey dinner "with all the trimmings," including slow-roasted turkey breast, cornbread stuffing, red-skinned mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, sauteed green beans with red onion and mushrooms, cranberries, cinnamon honey roasted sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
Select Sizzler restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving and will serve turkey dinner plates for under $13.
Participating Sizzlers will be serving traditional Thanksgiving dinners with plates starting at $12.99. These spreads will include sliced turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked sweet potatoes, and a slice of pumpkin pie.
Denny's created an entire menu for the holiday season chock-full of classic Thanksgiving flavors, in addition to its traditional turkey plate.
For those looking to enjoy a familiar setting for their dinner, Denny's "Classic Turkey and Dressing Dinner" starts at $9.99 and includes sliced turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and your choice of two sides.
Denny's also recently began offering the dinner package online so that families can have food delivered to their house on Thanksgiving Day.
And if you just can't get enough of the holiday flavor, Denny's released its "Festive Flavors" menu last year, which offers different renditions of holiday classics and creative twists like a cinnamon roll pancake breakfast.
Marie Callender's has five different dinner options and an a la carte menu that customers can order from.
Marie Callender's provides customers with five different precooked Thanksgiving dinner options in addition to an a la carte menu including apple sage stuffing, fire-roasted yams, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, vegetables, cornbread, one whole pumpkin or apple pie, and coffee.
The Turkey Feast and Ham Feast both feed four to six guests and include all those fixings in addition to a fully cooked turkey or ham, costing $114.99 and $124.99, respectively.
If you have a slightly larger party, the chain's Ultimate Whole Turkey and Ham Feast feeds six to eight and comes with a whole roasted turkey and ham. This option will set you back $164.99.
You can also eat at Marie Callender's if you'd rather host guests at a restaurant than your house. Meals cost $22.99 for adults and $8.99 for kids.
Ruth's Chris Steak House's Thanksgiving Day menu offers a full turkey dinner with sides and dessert for $41.95 per adult and $14.95 for kids.
If you want a traditional Thanksgiving meal at a restaurant with a more formal feel, Ruth's Chris Steak House offers a Thanksgiving Day menu with all the turkey day classics. For $41.95 per adult and $14.95 per child, your three-course meal will come with a choice of starters, sides, an entree of roasted turkey, and choice of dessert.
Guests will have to make a reservation in advance in order to secure their spot.
Bob Evans' 'Thanksgiving Farmhouse Feast' feeds 10 people for less than $12 each.
Bob Evans Restaurant has three different "Farmhouse Feast" options for Thanksgiving. The "Ham Farmhouse Feast" and "Turkey Farmhouse Feast" both serve eight people and come with stuffing, green beans, gravy, buttered corn, bread and celery dressing, and pumpkin pie. The difference is that, like their names suggest, you can choose either ham or turkey as the entree.
The Premium Farmhouse Feast can serve up to 10 people and comes with the same staples of the smaller feasts with a few added bonuses, like both turkey and ham, mac and cheese, and two types of pie. According to The Daily Beast, this meal costs $114.99.