Sweet & Savory Thanksgiving Apple Recipes

“Did they leave their house yet? When will they be here? How far away are they?” These were my questions pretty much every Thanksgiving growing up. I asked them with my nose pressed to the front window waiting for my cousins (and aunt and uncle) to arrive.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday because we spend it with our extended family. When I was a kid, my cousins, aunts, uncles, and sometimes grandparents came to our house outside of Philadelphia for a day of awesome food and, of course, so many pies. I couldn’t wait for everyone to arrive and never wanted them to leave. (You can check out last year’s Thanksgiving Chief Banana for my Aunt Carol’s incredible pecan pie recipe.)

My Family’s Go-to Menu

Our family’s Thanksgiving menu was pretty predictable year after year. Occasionally, we’d try a new side dish, salad, or soup, but the “big seven” were non-negotiable: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, rice, green beans wrapped in bacon, sausage stuffing, and what we affectionately call “cheap rolls.”

As my siblings and I grew older and started our own families, we kept the tradition alive, gathering every other year. On alternating years, I celebrate Thanksgiving with my wife’s family.

Oyster Disaster

I can still remember my first holiday meal with my inlaws. I expected the menu to be different (no two Thanksgiving dinners are exactly the same) but I was horrified to find out their go-to stuffing recipe was oyster stuffing. Oysters! In stuffing! I mean, a raw or fried oyster is delicious now and then, but in stuffing?

I resigned myself to skipping the stuffing (my favorite) that year. But the next Thanksgiving we spent together, my inlaws made me a little batch of oysterless stuffing. They’ve done it ever since, and I’ve always been grateful.

The Stuffing Test

I love how families and friend groups evolve to accommodate different tastes, preferences, and the comings and goings of people. As new partners, friends, and traditions are welcomed in, the group weaves an invisible web connecting more and more people. Maybe which stuffing recipe your family makes is like a Rorschach test revealing your family’s personality. Are you sweet, savory, saucy? Your stuffing might give it away.

Apples In Stuffing?

I recently learned that apples are another popular stuffing ingredient. Apples! I love a good apple, but I can’t imagine adding even the tart sweetness of a Granny Smith to stuffing. Wouldn’t that change the whole savory, delicious experience?

Who knows—maybe it’s time to expand my stuffing horizons and try some new recipes. There’s no shortage of them. This article alone has 86 different recipes with all kinds of ingredients, including apples, pineapple, and plantains. (Herb and Apple Stuffing is at the top of the list.)

We’ve also published several savory apple recipes right here on the FruitGuys blog. Here are a few of them, along with a few sweet favorites that might work well on your Thanksgiving table.

Savory Apple Recipes

• Savory Apple Tarts
• Waldorf Salad 3 Ways
• Apple-Turnip Mash
• Chicken with Apples, Potatoes, and Escarole
• Kohlrabi, Beet, and Apple Slaw
• Warm Shaved Brussels and Apple Salad
• Apple and Root Veggie Salad
• Grated Carrot, Apple, and Turnip Salad

Sweet Apple Recipes

• The Best Gravenstein Apple Pie
• Apple Pear Cobbler
• Easy Applesauce

Whatever you make this year, I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with joy. Personally, I feel incredibly lucky to have so many amazing people in my professional life. I’m grateful for my coworkers, our clients, our partners, our farmers, and our snack purveyors. And while I may not enjoy every kind of stuffing, I love that there are endless options to suit all kinds of tastes.