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Grocery Store Thanksgiving Catering Flavor Trends
In the past, we’ve examined a variety of Thanksgiving CPG products to share the latest trends and highlight items you might want to try during the holiday season. This year, we took a different route and focused on grocery-store Thanksgiving catering. How retailers are elevating their Thanksgiving menus to stand out—using unique dishes, inventive flavor combinations, and premium ingredients.
There are so many stores ready to make your entire Thanksgiving meal for you—from Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, and Lazy Acres (check out the shoot we did for theirs), to smaller micro-grocers like L.A. Grocery + Cafe and Cookbook. Even meal-delivery services like Blue Apron have you covered if you don’t feel like cooking this year. The options are endless—and, honestly, a little overwhelming.
Sure, the easiest thing might be ordering from the grocery store you already love, but we sifted through all the offerings to find out who goes beyond the Thanksgiving classics. We wanted to see which stores offer niche or unexpected menu items that could be a fun way to elevate or reimagine your usual holiday spread.
Whole Foods expanded their menu well beyond traditional Thanksgiving fare. They shifted the focus to holiday hosting in general, offering everything from more classic flavors—like Pimento Mac & Cheese Croquettes and Goat Cheese–Stuffed Mushrooms—to less traditional but crowd-pleasing party items like Shrimp Cocktail and sushi platters. They truly make the options feel endless.
Smaller micro-grocery stores leaned into quality, offering ingredient-driven dishes such as L.A. Grocery + Cafe’s Farmers Market Crudité, their Diestel California-Raised Regenerative Turkey, and a Slow-Roasted Columbia River Steelhead.
Williams Sonoma also impressed with an innovative Thanksgiving delivery menu. Appetizers like Classic Welly Bites and Pecan Pumpkin Butter Baked Brie stood out, along with desserts such as Jane’s Sweet Things Cranberry Mascarpone Pie and Pumpkin Pecan Butter Hand Pies.
There truly is something for everyone. Erewhon, for example, offered a wide variety of creative vegan options—like Vegan Turmeric Lasagna and Wild Rice Stuffing—perfect for breaking up the predictable Tofurky routine. Other stores stepped up their vegan game as well: Whole Foods’ Mushroom & Root Vegetable en Croute looks incredible, and Bristol Farms offers a Vegan Wellington that could make even meat-eaters jealous.
Overall, grocery catering makes Thanksgiving easy and delicious without the pressure of making everything from scratch. These dishes are designed to feel elevated—far from the stereotype of “grocery store food.” Stores are keeping up with new flavor profiles that excite consumers, creating menus that satisfy both the traditionalist and the adventurous foodie alike.
When it comes to turkey, there’s a strong emphasis on the bird’s farming practices—quality is key.”
Turkey Trends: Organic Heirloom Turkey, Heritage Turkey, Raised Regenerative Turkey, and Free-Range Turkey
Vegan Thanksgiving often brings Tofurky to mind, but grocery stores are shifting the narrative with a growing lineup of innovative plant-based dishes.
Vegan Trends: Mushroom & Root Vegetable En Croute, Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole, Vegan Wellington, and Vegan Turmeric Lasagna
The essential Thanksgiving sauces will always be cranberry sauce and gravy, now often enhanced with new flavors to put a fresh twist on the classics.
Sauce Trends: Herbed Mushroom Gravy, Burgundy Red Wine Jus, Brown Sugar Citrus Glaze, Herbed Mushroom Gravy
The possibilities for Thanksgiving appetizers seem endless. This is where grocery stores aren’t afraid to have fun, experimenting with creative ways to incorporate the flavors we know and love.
Appetizer Trends: Spinach Artichoke Puffs, Pimento Mac & Cheese Croquettes, Pecan Pumpkin Butter Baked Brie, Pumpkin Curry Soup, Classic Welly Bites, Sweet Potato Croquettes, Chicken and Cranberry Hand Pies.
Vegetable sides are essential when you consider all the rich Thanksgiving dishes, and they also provide a perfect canvas for interesting flavor combinations.
Vegetable Trends: Roasted Carrots with Harissa Chimichurri, Hot Honey Roasted Root Vegetables, Brussels & Kale Slaw, Cider-Glazed Brussel Sprouts with Pepitas, Autumnal Salad
Overall, stuffing tends to remain a classic dish at the Thanksgiving table. The innovation comes from the type of bread used and the creative toppings added.
Stuffing Trends: Mushroom & Herb Stuffing, Jalapeno Cheddar Stuffing, Cornbread Dressing with Sausage and Corn Nuts, Wild Rice Stuffing
With a neutral food like mashed potatoes, there are countless ways to dress them up beyond the classic butter, salt and pepper.
Savory Trends: Corn Pudding, Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Brown Butter Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Sage Streusel, Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Truffle Parmesan Mashed Potatoes.
Everyone loves the classic Thanksgiving dessert flavors, but there are plenty of ways to add a bit of flair – whether it’s presenting them in a new form, like a cake instead of a pie, or introducing a creative twist such as adding bourbon to pecan pie.
Dessert Trends: Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Delight, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie, Cranberry Mascarpone Pie and Pumpkin Pecan Butter Hand Pies.