Thanksgiving Dinner Plan with Rice, Beans, and Latin Recipes to Share
When Thanksgiving comes around, I don’t just think about turkey and stuffing. I think about arroz con gandules simmering with homemade sofrito, black beans bubbling on the stove, and sweet plantains frying until their edges turn deep golden and caramelized. I’m also thinking about the cousins running around, the aunts and uncles catching up in the kitchen, and the whole family squeezed around the table. Those are the smells and sounds that remind me of every holiday that felt full and warm.
That’s what my Thanksgiving dinner plan looks like. I set out rice, beans, plantains, and a chicken marinated with citrus and garlic. It feels like a party, it feeds a hungry family, and most of all it tastes like home.
The Main, Whether It’s Turkey or Not
Some years it’s turkey, some years it’s chicken or pernil. These are the ones I look forward to, and every one of them feeds a table.
Citrusy and Garlicky Roasted Cuban Mojo Pork (Lechon Asado)
Pork shoulder marinated overnight in citrus and garlic, roasted till it pulls apart. This is the one my family asks for. It’s what I make when turkey isn’t happening.
Citrusy Garlicky Cuban Roasted Chicken (Pollo Asado Cubano)
Sour orange, a lot of garlic, and skin that goes crisp. Easier than a turkey and it never comes out dry.
Herb Butter Apple Cider Roast Chicken
Cider in the pot with a red apple and a herb butter rub. The cider is what makes it feel like November.
Lemon Herb Butter Roast Chicken
Butter with thyme and rosemary all over the bird, then the broiler at the end for the skin. One bird covers dinner and the leftovers.
No-Marinate Tender and Juicy Costillas (Baked Baby Back Ribs)
Ribs with guajillo and tomato paste, no marinating at all. Two hours in the oven while you handle everything else.
Rabo Encendido (Cuban Oxtail Stew)
Oxtail braised for hours till it falls off the bone. If somebody else is bringing the turkey, this is what I bring.
Chimichurri Chicken Thighs
Thighs marinated in chimichurri and baked. The marinade goes on the night before, so the oven does the rest.
Rice and Beans, Always
Every Thanksgiving table I grew up with had a pot of rice and a pot of beans on it. They sit right next to the turkey.
Vegan Arroz con Gandules
Pigeon peas and recaito cooked into the rice. This is holiday food in Puerto Rican homes and it belongs on any Thanksgiving table.
Puerto Rican Style Stewed Black Beans (Habichuelas Negras)
Black beans simmered slow with sofrito. Make them the day before. They only get better sitting overnight.
Black Beans and Rice with Green Chiles
Green chiles folded through rice and beans in one pot. Easy to make while the oven is full.
The Best Colombian Coconut Rice (Arroz con Coco)
Rice in coconut milk with raisins stirred through. The caramelized bottom is called titote and it’s the part everybody fights over.
Easy and Delicious Cilantro Lime Rice
Bright, herby rice you can make at the last minute when you realize there isn’t enough food.
The Sides That Fill the Table
Half of Thanksgiving is the sides. I make most of these every year, and a few are newer.
Baked Corn Pudding Casserole
Frozen corn and canned creamed corn baked with cornmeal till it sets. It holds its shape and travels well, which makes it the one I bring when dinner’s somewhere else.
Creamed Corn From Scratch in Just 20 Minutes
Twenty minutes on the stove and nothing like the canned version. I make it while the bird rests.
Honey Garlic Herb Butter Roasted Carrots
Raw honey and a splash of white wine vinegar with the butter. The edges caramelize and go sticky.
30-Minute Oven-Roasted Parmesan-Garlic Carrots
Garlic and oregano with parmesan over the top. Half an hour, and they cost almost nothing for a full table.
Crispy Zaatar Roasted Cauliflower with Hummus
Cauliflower roasted till the edges crisp, spooned over hummus. I put it out early while everybody’s standing around.
Easy Fried Sweet Plantains (Maduros)
Ripe plantains fried till the edges caramelize, sweet against everything savory on the table.
How To Make Perfectly Sweet Plantains In The Air Fryer
The air fryer version, which frees up the stove when every burner is going.
Crispy Fried Patacones Made With Green Plantains
Green plantains smashed and fried twice. Salt them hot and put them out with hogao.
Dessert
One dessert, and it takes three ingredients.
3 Ingredient Cuban Guava Pastries
Guava paste and cream cheese in frozen puff pastry. Thirty minutes. They look like you spent the afternoon.
6-Ingredient Arroz con Leche (Colombian)
Rice pudding with three milks and plenty of Ceylon cinnamon. It cooks on the stove while dinner’s in the oven.
What to Make Ahead
The beans are the easiest thing to do early. I make them a day or two ahead and they improve in the fridge, which is one less pot on Thursday morning.
Anything with a marinade also wants a head start. The mojo pork and the chimichurri chicken both go into their marinade the night before, so Thanksgiving morning is just putting them in the oven.
The corn pudding can be assembled the day before and baked when you need it. The arroz con leche keeps for days, and the guava pastries go in frozen puff pastry, so that’s thirty minutes whenever you have a free oven.
Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas FAQs
What should I bring to Thanksgiving dinner?
Something that travels and doesn’t need the host’s oven. The corn pudding is one of the best Thanksgiving casseroles for exactly that reason, the beans reheat in one pot, and a tray of guava pastries needs nothing once it’s baked.
What are easy things to make for Thanksgiving?
The sides, every time. Creamed corn is twenty minutes, the carrots are half an hour, and the plantains cook while everything else finishes. If you only have time for one dish, make the rice.
Can I do Thanksgiving without turkey?
We do it most years. A roast chicken with citrus and garlic, a pork shoulder, or a pot of oxtail all feed a table and none of them take the oven hostage for six hours.
What works when everyone brings a dish?
Anything on this list that holds at room temperature or reheats in one pan. The rice, the beans, the corn pudding and the plantains all travel well, which is what makes them good Friendsgiving buffet food.
If You Like This You’ll Love These
Here are a few others I’ve made and loved:
38 Delicious Friendsgiving Recipes to Bring to the Table for the potluck version.
40 Make Ahead Meals for a Busy Week for everything you can cook before you need it.
57 Delicious Sunday Dinner Ideas for the Table for the rest of the year.
If you make any of these Thanksgiving dinner ideas, leave a comment. I love reading your comments and will try to get back to every single one.
