I made an entire Thanksgiving dinner using only Ina Garten recipes, and most dishes were simple and delicious

Terri PetersJan 14, 2024, 12:42 IST

This year, I mixed things up by cooking an entire menu of Ina Garten recipes — all of which were new to my family.Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images; Terri Peters

I cooked a Thanksgiving feast using only Ina Garten's recipes and it cost me $132.
I made turkey, green beans, stuffing, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pie.

When I first became interested in food and cooking, I spent lots of time watching Ina Garten on Food Network and pouring over her cookbooks and recipes.

Garten is one of the greats, so when I recently decided to cook an early Thanksgiving dinner for friends, it was a no-brainer that I'd put together a menu full of "Barefoot Contessa" recipes.

I kept things simple and elegant like Garten, choosing classics like roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Although I've been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family for at least 15 years, I learned some new tricks and found new recipes I would definitely make again.

Here's what it was like to cook a full-on Ina-giving.

The ingredients were surprisingly easy to find.

First, I went grocery shopping.Terri Peters

I started cooking the day before and knocked out the apple pie first.

I used premade pie crust instead of making it from scratch.Terri Peters

Next up was the cranberry sauce.

Ina Garten's cranberry sauce has apples in it.Terri Peters

The stuffing was also easy to make in advance.

I'm not a huge fan of stuffing but I kept an open mind about Ina Garten's recipe.Terri Peters

Garten puts goat cheese in her mashed potatoes — a first for me.

I used a hand mixer to whip up the mashed potatoes.Terri Peters

Another unique Garten twist? Tomato-topped mac and cheese.

Making breadcrumb topping was easier than anticipated.Terri Peters

With day one of prep work complete, I enlisted the help of a favorite Thanksgiving hack.

I felt good going into the big Thanksgiving feast.Terri Peters

On the big day, I started with green beans.

This green-bean side was much lighter than my usual casserole.Terri Peters

The last item to prep was the bird itself.

I haven't cooked a whole turkey without spatchcocking it in a long time.Terri Peters

When everything was cooked and ready, I was really proud of the meal I'd created.

The meal felt worth the 10 hours of effort I'd put into it.Terri Peters

The turkey turned out beautifully, but I'd probably stick with spatchcocking.

The turkey looked incredible and had a nice taste.Terri Peters

The cranberry sauce was a little fancy for my tastes.

I don't think homemade cranberry sauce is worth the effort for me.Terri Peters

Although I'll keep making my casserole for Thanksgiving, I'd cook Garten's green beans again.

Ina Garten's green beans tasted fresh.Terri Peters

Garten's tomato-topped mac and cheese reminded us of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Tomato helped brighten the mac and cheese.Terri Peters

The goat cheese in the mashed potatoes changed the flavors of a classic.

I wouldn't make the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving again.Terri Peters

Garten's stuffing converted me into a stuffing girl.

Ina Garten's stuffing recipe was incredible.Terri Peters

The deep-dish apple pie was a hit with my guests.

Ina Garten's apple pie recipe is a keeper.Terri Peters

Weeks later, I'm still proud of the meal I created.

Ina Garten's Thanksgiving feast was cheaper than my usual Thanksgiving meal.Terri Peters

I tried beef-stroganoff recipes from Robert Irvine, Ree Drummond, and Rachael Ray, and the best calls for pickles instead of mushrooms

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