Everything you ever wanted to know is all in one place, which means no more guessing, googling, or crossing your fingers. The hustle-bustle of the biggest cooking day of the year has got nothing on you.
The Turkey
How Do I know if my turkey is done?
Hello, Meat Thermometer
170°
In Breast
180°
In Thigh
How DO I THAW A TURKEY?
Remove from freezer, place on a sheet pan, and refrigerate
1 day
per
4 lbs
OOOOPS!
My turkey didn’t thaw.
Can I roast it anyway?
But it may cook unevenly and you should allocate up to
How much should I make per person?
The Sides
How to make the
— perfect —
cranberry sauce…
every time
Here’s what you need:
- Fresh or frozen cranberries
- Liquid (water, OJ, or apple cider)
- Sugar
- Optional spices: cinnamon stick, star anise, whole cloves, dried/fresh ginger
Here’s what you’ll do:
- Add enough liquid to cover a third of the cranberries
- Add 1 cup sugar per 12-ounce bag of cranberries.
- Toss in spices
- Simmer until cranberries soften and become jammy
For more cranberry inspiration, click here.
5 steps to
mashed potato
glory
- Opt for a 50/50 mix of starchy Russets or Idahos and waxy, low-starch Yukon Golds.
- Bring potatoes to a boil with the water rather than adding them to the boiling pot.
- Use a potato ricer to save yourself the trouble of mangling them with a fork (or your hands).
- Skip the salted butter to control the sodium content.
- Stick with room temperature butter/cream so it absorbs better into hot potatoes.
For more mashed potato inspiration, click here.
What can I do in advance?
- Plan your menu (here’s some inspiration)
- Assemble casserole (then bake on the big day)
- Wash green beans, wrap in paper towels, and store in fridge drawer in a plastic bag
- Order our Apple Cranberry Stuffing with Sage and Baguette Pieces and get everything you need delivered to your doorstep ahead of time
- Toast nuts
- Make cranberry sauce (here’s some inspiration)
- Cut potatoes (and store in cold water)
- Clean salad greens and make vinaigrette
- Peel, seed, and cube butternut squash (here’s some inspiration)
- Make soup (here’s some inspiration)
- Bake pies (and reheat on the big day)
How much should I make per person?
Gravy troubleshooting
Too thin?
Heat together equal parts softened butter and flour. Whisk into gravy.
Too salty?
Chop up a small potato, stir into gravy, let sit 15 minutes, and remove before serving.
What to do if your guests are:
The Tools
The biggest hack of all? HelloFresh’s curated Thanksgiving Kit complete with all the essential Kitchenware and gadgets you need to conquer cooking (and calm the chaos). It’s available on hellofresh.com/shop for a limited time, so act fast!
| US Dry Volume Measurements | |
|---|---|
| MEASURE | EQUIVALENT |
| 1/16 teaspoon | dash |
| 1/8 teaspoon | a pinch |
| 3 teaspoons | 1 Tablespoon |
| 1/8 cup | 2 tablespoons (= 1 standard coffee scoop) |
| 1/4 cup | 4 Tablespoons |
| 1/3 cup | 5 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon |
| 1/2 cup | 8 Tablespoons |
| 3/4 cup | 12 Tablespoons |
| 1 cup | 16 Tablespoons |
| 1 Pound | 16 ounces |
| US liquid volume measurements | |
| 8 Fluid ounces | 1 Cup |
| 1 Pint | 2 Cups (= 16 fluid ounces) |
| 1 Quart | 2 Pints (= 4 cups) |
| 1 Gallon | 4 Quarts (= 16 cups) |
| US to Metric Conversions | |
| 1/5 teaspoon | 1 ml (ml stands for milliliter, one thousandth of a liter) |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 ml |
| 1 tablespoon | 15 ml |
| 1 fluid oz. | 30 ml |
| 1/5 cup | 50 ml |
| 1 cup | 240 ml |
| 2 cups (1 pint) | 470 ml |
| 4 cups (1 quart) | .95 liter |
| 4 quarts (1 gal.) | 3.8 liters |
| 1 oz. | 28 grams |
| 1 pound | 454 grams |
| Metric to US Conversions | |
| 1 milliliter | 1/5 teaspoon |
| 5 ml | 1 teaspoon |
| 15 ml | 1 tablespoon |
| 30 ml | 1 fluid oz. |
| 100 ml | 3.4 fluid oz. |
| 240 ml | 1 cup |
| 1 liter | 34 fluid oz. |
| 1 liter | 4.2 cups |
| 1 liter | 2.1 pints |
| 1 liter | 1.06 quarts |
| 1 liter | .26 gallon |
| 1 gram | .035 ounce |
| 100 grams | 3.5 ounces |
| 500 grams | 1.10 pounds |
| 1 kilogram | 2.205 pounds |
| 1 kilogram | 35 oz. |
| Pan Size Equivalents | |
| 9-by-13-inches baking dish | 22-by-33-centimeter baking dish |
| 8-by-8-inches baking dish | 20-by-20-centimeter baking dish |
| 9-by-5-inches loaf pan | 23-by-12-centimeter loaf pan (=8 cups or 2 liters in capacity) |
| 10-inch tart or cake pan | 25-centimeter tart or cake pan |
| 9-inch cake pan | 22-centimeter cake pan |
Meet The Fresh Fam
We're not all chefs, but we do actually go home and cook HelloFresh meals at night. We've learned a thing or two over time, so we're excited to help YOU hack the biggest cooking, entertaining, and hosting day of the year.
Shara's veggie shortcuts
Senior PR Manager
Senior PR Manager
400°F. Olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. That’s all you need for perfectly crispy roasted veggies.
“It works for pretty much anything, and you can even use leftover HelloFresh spice blends to jazz things up. Cover the baking tray with aluminum foil to cut back on cleaning. And if you’re really short on time, opt for veggies that don’t need much prep, like asparagus.”
MECCA'S TATER TIPS
Production Supervisor, New Jersey Distribution Center
Production Supervisor, New Jersey Distribution Center
Fact: Prep is the key to success.
Problem: Not all ingredients store well overnight. Like potatoes, for example, which turn brown if peeled, chopped, and exposed to oxygen for too long.
Solution: “Refrigerate cut, raw potatoes in water to prevent browning. But you don’t have to do that for sweet potatoes. Those can be boiled whole the night before with the skin on and stored normally in the fridge overnight. Plus, it’s so much easier to remove the skin when they're cool.”
MARIA'S OVEN BAG MAGIC
Payments Team Specialist, Customer Care Center
Payments Team Specialist, Customer Care Center
Say hello to your juiciest, most tender turkey ever.
“Use an oven bag! It allows the turkey to retain its moisture and makes your life easier because you don’t have to continuously ‘babysit’ it. Plus, it cuts the cooking time by a third and makes cleanup much easier.”
Click here for more of the latest recipes, tips, and tricks from the HelloFresh test kitchen.