Clean Eating Thanksgiving

Rebecca Longshore

Clean eating recipes may sound like a fad diet or foodie trend, and on a day when everyone's craving plates full of comfort food, "clean" food may seem far from the mind. However, clean food is delicious food, and these clean eating Thanksgiving recipes all use simple, wholesome ingredients that you're likely used to cooking with from Thanksgivings past. You're going to see many familiar Thanksgiving staples in this list, including turkey, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins. While these recipes may be new to you, the flavors are all about Thanksgiving comfort.

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Spinach and Feta Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

View Recipe: Spinach and Feta Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust

The simple, scalloped shell made from thinly sliced rounds of sweet potatoes makes this version of a popular brunch (or supper) dish gluten-free. Choose potatoes with comparable diameters to create uniform slices for the easy-to-make crust. A mandoline makes slicing quick and precise, but a sharp chef's knife will work too. You can also slice the potatoes in the food processor using the slicing blade.

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Honey-Bourbon Spatchcocked Turkey

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Honey-Bourbon Spatchcocked Turkey

The brine is all the seasoning you need for this fantastic bird. While the amount of bourbon used in the brine may seem generous, it will impart a very subtle flavor to the meat once all the water is added, diluting it slightly. If you want a more intense smoke flavor, add a handful of soaked applewood chips to the grill. For a deeply bronzed, almost mahogany look, brush the skin with a mixture of water and honey each time you go to rotate the bird.

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Quinoa with Toasted Pine Nuts

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Quinoa with Toasted Pine Nuts

The perfect side-dish companion to a variety of meat-based main dishes, including fish, chicken, and steak, this quinoa recipe is simple and delicious.

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Coal-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Photo: Tara Donne; Styling: Alistair Turnbull

View Recipe: Coal-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Roasting sweet potatoes in a lightly ashed-over bed of coals turns their flesh fluffy and smoky. Drizzle with sour cream, and garnish liberally for a riot of textures, colors, and tastes.

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Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Pomegranate and Pine Nuts

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Pomegranate and Pine Nuts

This staff favorite adds color and texture to your buffet and makes a splash on the Thanksgiving table. For a bit of showmanship, bring the whole cauliflower to the table, and then "carve" and dress with the vinaigrette, pomegranate arils, pine nuts, and parsley. While most holiday dishes are designed to be delicious warm or at room temperature, this is one dish that's worth saving until the end of your prep and serving straight out of the oven.

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Lemon-Herb Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Lemon-Herb Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables

Combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine butternut squash, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, and potatoes from master recipe in a large bowl, then follow remaining steps.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

With only 5 minutes of hands-on time, you'll have this side dish on the table in no time.

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Roasted Parsnips with Lemon and Herbs

Photo: Greg Dupree; Styling: Lindsey Lower

View Recipe: Roasted Parsnips with Lemon and Herbs

If you’re not familiar with parsnips, try these quick recipes to acquaint yourself with them. The root veggies look like white carrots and have a decidedly sweet, earthy flavor. Shop for medium to small parsnips, as larger ones tend to have tough, woody cores. In the main recipe here, a hit of fresh lemon juice and sprinkling of fresh herbs make the whole dish taste fresh and bright. If you don’t have parsley on hand, you can leave it out, but do seek out the dill.

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Fall Butters

View Recipe: Essential Fall Butters

Pear, apple, pumpkin - oh my! All the fall flavors you love are now in spreadable form. They might be called butters, but in fact there isn't any butter at all. We cook down the fruit low and slow with warm spices, zesty citrus, and sweet cider to make the perfect fall accompaniment to any dish. We recommend smearing them on toast topped with crushed nuts, spooned over yogurt or oatmeal, or enjoyed straight from the jar. You can even pair the apple or pear butter alongside pork chops for an upgrade on the familiar pork and applesauce combo. The possibilities are endless, and these jars can last in your fridge almost all season long.

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Spiced Apple Chips

Photo: Grace Elkus

View Recipe: Spiced Apple Chips

These delicious apple chips really satisfy your sweet tooth at snack time. Stick to cinnamon, or enjoy them alone. Feeling more adventurous? Try our pumpkin and chai spice variations.

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Baked Apples

View Recipe: Baked Apples

Served as an accompaniment to pork or poultry, these baked apples are a sure way to add flair to your meal. Leftovers? These apples can be served over oatmeal or slices of breakfast bread the next morning. You can make a clean eating version by substituting the brown sugar with maple syrup or honey.

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Maple Pumpkin Blender Muffins

Rebecca Longshore

View Recipe: Maple Pumpkin Blender Muffins

Gluten-free, completely clean, and less than 100 calories per muffin. After discovering the magic of our blender muffins made with bananas, we had to see if they could work just the same with pumpkin instead. They were even better than we imagined—light, fluffy, full of pumpkin-spice flavor, and incredibly satisfying. While store-bought or café muffins can range from anywhere to 300-600 calories, and add more than 20g of fat, 70g of carbs, and 50g of sugar to your day, these magical muffins pack in almost 5g of protein for less than 100 calories, 3g of fat, 6g of sugar, and 16g of carbs.

Replay gallery

Clean Eating Thanksgiving

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Spinach and Feta Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust

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