Best Thanksgiving Appetizers and Desserts Recipes

Thanksgiving dinner typically consists of the same menu every year. Why not change up Thanksgiving appetizers a little bit?

We created a list of our favorite Thanksgiving appetizers and desserts for this year. These delicious recipes are great for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving! We even included a few tips to make these recipes even easier and tastier!

1. Cheesy Crescent Roll Leaves

Hungry Happenings’ cheese crescent roll leaves make a great seasonal appetizer! This recipe only contains 5 ingredients, making it easy to cook up before your Thanksgiving feast.

We used leaf and acorn cookie cutters to enhance the festive fall table decor that graces Thanksgiving gatherings. The crescent rolls garnished with melted cheese create a beautiful orange color to brighten up any dinner table.

To yield more rolls we recommend collecting the leftover cutouts and create a second ball of dough. Simply roll the dough again and cut out additional leaves and acorns.

These crescent roll leaves are simple and delicious as is but you can give them a little zest with paprika and/or Italian seasoning. Seasonings like paprika can also add a vivid autumn look to the crescent rolls.

We recommend using these seasonings carefully as they can quickly become overpowering.  This easy-to-make appetizer will be a hit at Thanksgiving or any upcoming fall dinner.

2. Thanksgiving Turkey Cheese Ball

This cheese ball is a quick appetizer to throw together and appeal to the kid in everyone! It is almost effortless to create and makes for great table decoration as well.

You can change up the blend of cheeses or add different herbs to this appetizer to give the turkey cheese ball a different flavor profile. We went simple and stuck with cheddar cheese and cream cheese for the base, and rolled the ball in chopped pecans.

Instead of using melted chocolate to glue together the turkey face, we used the leftover mixture from the cheese ball and attached it to the Slim Jim. Lastly, we put it in the freezer to fully solidify. This dish is ideally served to guests as a snack prior to the much anticipated main Thanksgiving meal.

3. Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Caramel apple cheesecake bars are the best way to end your Thanksgiving dinner. These festive bars are packed with flavor and look stunning with each layer showing. This recipe does take a little bit longer to make due to the multiple layers and prep work, but it’s definitely worth the wait!

This recipe starts with a shortbread-like crust, then builds up with a cheesecake layer, followed by a chopped spiced apple layer, and ends with a crumbly streusel. After baking add a caramel drizzle topping and the bars are ready to enjoy!

For optimal flavor, we recommend serving the bars chilled. Guests can add more caramel topping to their liking once the dessert has been served.

The blend of the cinnamon and nutmeg dusted apples with the creamy cheesecake and light crumble makes for a most decadent dessert that melts in your mouth! This recipe is the perfect way to put a close to your Thanksgiving feast.

We hope you enjoy our recipe list and have a very happy Thanksgiving!