Happy Thanksgiving!
Oh Thanksgiving, a time to gather and give thanks and eat all the food. If you are part of an autism family, sometimes none of this is easy. Luckily, there are a lot of allergy-friendly options for Thanksgiving. If you are braving hosting and cooking (hey, sometimes it’s easier to control all the food your kid will have access to even if it means taking on Thanksgiving), here is a list of many possibilities. I know that they are more than doable since I’ve done it haha. Though we all know the hardest part isn’t the cooking – it’s the planning, the timing, the space and not having enough ovens or refrigerators or babysitters. If you are headed somewhere, maybe you can choose a few of these sides to bring. And if you have any great recipes or tips, please share in the comments. Wishing you a delicious, melt-down free holiday filled with love and family.
The Main Event
Obviously, the food most associated with Thanksgiving is the turkey (and gravy). Luckily, these are pretty easy to make food allergy friendly (unless you are allergic to turkey!). Check out the delicious recipes below.
Thanksgiving Turkey |
 If you already have a great turkey recipe, all you really have to do to make it dairy-free is to take out the butter and use ghee instead. But, if you’ve never cooked a turkey before (or if you want to try something new), I recommend this recipe from Healthy Little Peach. It has the perfect blend of spices and fruit to make your turkey flavorful, moist, and delicious. And with Thanksgiving, that’s half the battle. |
Gravy |
 Another Thanksgiving essential is the gravy, am I right? Besides guests smothering it on almost everything, it can cover up a wealth of errors, so this is one you want to make sure to get right. While it might seem impossible to do without flour, Paleo Grubs has achieved a pretty perfect turkey gravy using arrowroot flour, pan drippings, and bone broth. (If for some reason that doesn’t work out, you can also whip together Cheeseslave’s 5 Minute GAPS Gravy. It won’t be as thick – think more like a beef gravy than a turkey gravy – but it tastes really good and also takes, well, 5 minutes.) |
All The Sides
The hardest part of creating all the sides is figuring out the timing to cook and keep each item warm. And if you’re like me you’ll want to try to make every single thing that sounds good. For me, the best part about a million sides was that (hopefully) everyone would at least like something. Well, (hopefully) YOU will at least like something from this list below. These sides are so delicious that your guests won’t even notice that they are free of gluten, grains, dairy, corn, soy, and sugar. Another benefit is that if one thing doesn’t work out, you’ll still have a bunch of other options. That, and lunch for weeks to come!
Grain-Free Stuffing |
 I love this Thanksgiving stuffing from Cheeseslave. Stuffing is a must-have and it tastes great, and it is the perfect addition to your Paleo and allergy-friendly Thanksgiving spread. You will need coconut flour (and a bread pan is helpful, but since you are cutting up the “bread” a casserole dish will do in a pinch). This is a lot easier if you make the coconut flour bread the day before. Smother it with the gravy above, and even if you stop reading this list right here, you’ve got a great meal. |
Grown-up Cranberry Sauce |
 This Homemade Paleo Cranberry Sauce from Paleo Running Mama was the surprise hit of our Thanksgiving. My daughter helped me make it the day before. We had a lot of fun making it, and SHE loved it so I knew that it was kid-friendly. However, I did think that there would be pushback from our hardcore tradition-loving crowd on not having the usual can-shaped blob sliced up on a plate. Boy was I wrong! Everyone asked for the recipe and to take home leftovers. So, if you make this you might want to double the recipe. |
Mashed Faux-Tatoes |
 We couldn’t have a Paleo meal without paging cauliflower, the rock star substitute of Paleo nutrition. Faux-tatoes have long been a staple in our house. Making these cauliflower mashed potatoes couldn’t be easier – here’s a great mashed Faux-tatoes recipe from GAPS Diet Journey (though I use the blender) – just steam the cauliflower heads until they are soft, then throw them in the Vitamix with ghee, salt, and pepper and blend! Yummy (and no lumps!). If, however, you will not be swayed on a potato substitute, Real Food with Jessica has a great mashed potato recipe that uses the real thing. |
Classic Sweet Potatoes |
 It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving if you didn’t carb it up with multiple starches, so you’ll want to throw in some sweet potatoes as well. If you like them baked (we do!), this recipe from Lindsay Funston on Delish will help you bake them perfectly. We like to top them with ghee and cinnamon. If, however, your people are sweet potato casserole people, this is a great recipe for sweet potato casserole from Life Made Sweeter. And, you make it in the slow cooker, so you can free up your oven space. |
Green Bean Casserole |
 Green bean casserole was always one of my favorite Thanksgiving sides. So, I was so excited to try this Paleo version of the classic green bean casserole from Paleo Grubs. And it absolutely did not disappoint. Creamy, savory, and delicious, this is a must-have at our table. |
Rosemary Roasted Carrots |
 Are carrots that obligatory side that everyone takes 2 or 3 of and moves on? Well, with these versions you might not have any left at all. I love these rosemary roasted carrots from Oh My Veggies. They are flavorful and sophisticated, and they look really pretty if you use rainbow carrots as suggested. And, my kids are big fans of Delicious Meets Healthy’s roasted honey glazed carrots. They taste sweet to hide the healthy lol. Either of these will bring your carrots to center stage. |
Maple Bacon Brussel Sprouts |
 Want to change that veggie that kids stay up all night trying to force down and secretly feed to the dog into the veggie they ask for? Try these delicious Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts from The Modern Proper. You’ll have to click on the link to see why that additional S is not a mistake – I don’t know if you agree with that but you will definitely agree that these are tasty. I NEVER tried Brussel (Brussels?) sprouts as a kid, and I’m a convert. Pro tip: if you can, grab Trader Joe’s Brussel sprouts that are already halved and seasoned to save a little time. |
Paleo Dinner Rolls |
 Dinner rolls should be on your list if you want to portray a “normal” Thanksgiving meal. Even if everything else is perfect, you’ll probably hear that it was great, but “they didn’t have any bread” if you skip it. I don’t know what the recipe was, but the first time I tried to make grain-free rolls it was a disaster. They simply melted into the pan I put them on (instead of forming at all) and made a giant flat rectangle. Luckily, my meal cooking and prep has come a long way. These Paleo dinner rolls from Our Paleo Life are waaaay better than that first attempt. If you’ve given up bread it will be so nice to have that familiar dinner roll taste. Don’t go crazy and eat all the rolls yourself though. |
Sweet Endings
And now for my favorite part – the desserts! Don’t think you have to miss out on these – there are so many wonderful options.
Classic Pumpkin Pie |
 I’m a sucker for pumpkin pie, and it’s not really Thanksgiving without it. Paleo Running Mama’s Classic Paleo Pumpkin Pie passes all the tests for delicious, Thanksgiving-y goodness. Super yummy with whipped topping (see the Irish Whiskey part below for the whipped info) or without – your guests will be so impressed with the homemade part that they won’t even notice the Paleo. |
Salted Caramel Apple Tart |
 The first thing I want to say about this was that it was so so good! So good that it bumped out pumpkin pie as my favorite and I had 3 slices. Not surprising, it’s another dessert from Paleo Running Mama – the salted caramel apple tart. We topped this with an amazing dairy free vanilla bean ice cream (I’m 99% sure it was Nada Moo! Organic Vanilla Bean, but I will update when I’m 100% sure) and the result was perfection. Make this – you will not be sorry! |
Chocolate Soufflé |
 Full disclosure – I have not made this. But, I WANT to and I’m drooling over the picture. Gutsy by Nature’s Paleo chocolate soufflé looks amazing and it was on my list. But I’m intimidated by soufflés and there was too much pressure the last time I made Thanksgiving dinner to add this in. But since I’m so excited to try this at some point, I wanted to include it on the list. |
Irish Coffee |
 In my house, the Grande Finale of every Thanksgiving celebration growing up was the serving of Irish coffee. As children we watched in envy while the grown-ups indulged in these heavily whipped mugs of deliciousness. As teens, we were finally allowed to have one (and we pretended we liked the coffee and whiskey so that we could keep adding more whipped cream). And as a grown up (with so little non-alcoholic joy), I feel that the Irish whiskey is the requisite ending to the Thanksgiving feast, as well as an easy way to mend any mistakes of the holiday. The Irish coffee part is easy – make some coffee and put some whiskey (preferably Jameson) in it. (FYI – the distillation process makes most liquor gluten-free, but listen to your body!). The hard part, if you are eliminating dairy, is the essential whipped cream. There are a few options here. The best option is to make your own, and I recommend using A Clean Bake’s recipe for dairy-free whipped cream. But if you are super-tired from all of the homemade things you’ve already whipped (dad joke intended) together, you can cheat and pick up Forager’s Dairy-Free Whipped Cream Alternative, which is usually available at most health food stores. Just don’t cheat on the booze 😉 |
My autism journey has changed the way I live and care for my family. I am passionate about nontoxic products, natural remedies, grain-free nutrition, essential oils, and healing the symptoms known as autism. This is a space for anyone aspiring toward cleaner, healthier living.
XO Joanna
