This may be an unpopular opinion: (very unpopular) but my family has embraced the idea of local, pre-assembled, “to-go”, Thanksgiving dinners for a few years now. Last year, we picked up 5 massive boxes of dishes from New Seasons the day before Thanksgiving and our stress just melted away. Although our main dishes were pre-assembled for us, we still cooked additional dishes that are family traditions. It felt too good to be true. Honestly, my hubby and I are always a little scared about making the turkey too, so it was nice to know it was already cooked before we threw it in the oven to warm it up. Here are some stores and restaurants that are offering premade Thanksgiving dinner options.

Portland City Grill-

PCG is offering a whole dinner for 12-14 people that includes: turkey, mashed potatoes, lemon-scented green beans and carrots, chicken apple and sage sausage stuffing, cranberry and orange compote, and a good ole’ pumpkin pie for $260. This is surely an expensive option, but it is from Portland City Grill: so, I would guess that it is worth it. The email notes that orders must be in by 11/18/20 and the orders can be picked up on 11/25 between 12-5 p.m. Although I received an email with all this info because I am signed up with them: the link won’t take me to the “ordering” section. I would say if you are interested in ordering, give them a call at 503.450.0030. 

New Seasons-

New Seasons grocery store offers dinner packages to-go for the holidays. They have: 1) Traditional turkey dinners for: 4-6 people or 8-10 people, regular and “gluten-free” 2) Turkey breast dinner for four 3) Side dish package for poultry for 4-6 people 3) Vegan harvest field roast En Croute dinner for 4 (I’m embarrassed to say I have no idea what this is, ha-ha). The traditional turkey dinner includes a cooked turkey, Yukon gold mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. New Seasons also offers amazing, delicious sides including “entertaining platters” like brie and fruit, vegetables, or desserts. A lot to explore in this section, here is the link: https://reservation.newseasonsmarket.com/

Cracker Barrel-

There is a Cracker Barrel near Jantzen Beach that has a variety of either “hot and ready” or “heat and serve” Thanksgiving meals. The meals have turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberries, and dinner rolls. They also offer a few different types of pies: pumpkin, pecan, chocolate pecan, or apple pecan streusel. Here is the link: https://www.crackerbarrel.com/Explore/Thanksgiving

Screen Door Restaurant-

Screen door is a beloved restaurant in Portland. For Thanksgiving, they are offering a whole turkey dinner option, add-on sides and trimmings, desserts, beer, and wine to-go. The sides are unique and sound delicious: sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and toasted pecans, baked mac and cheese, and cheddar chive drop biscuits. Here is the link:  https://screendoorrestaurant.com/

Safeway-

Safeway has 4 holiday meals available 1) Traditional turkey dinner 2) Rotisserie turkey breast dinner 3) Holiday spiral ham dinner and 4) Prime rib dinner. They range in price from $59.99 to $89.99. Some of the sides are green bean casserole, rolls, sweet potatoes, scalloped potatoes, gravy, etc. Along with the meals, various trays and platters are available such as fruit trays, sandwich trays, meat and cheese trays and desserts. Here is the link to Safeway’s holiday offerings: https://www.safeway.com/orderahead/store/1447/category/Holiday+Meals?catId=2

Ringside Steakhouse-

I was excited to see this choice. I love Ringside, so I was thrilled to see that they are offering a Thanksgiving dinner to-go. The price is high at $189 but the meal sounds great. A roasted split turkey breast with gravy and cranberry sauce, whipped russet potatoes, green beans with herbs, bread stuffing, and a pumpkin pie. The website advises shoppers to order now for pick-up during the week of Thanksgiving. Here is the link: https://www.ringsidesteakhouse.com/holiday-kit-orders

Fred Meyer-

Wow. I cannot believe how extensive the holiday meals are at Freddy’s. The “meal bundles” provide either 1) turkey 2) ham or 3) prime rib with the Thanksgiving staples: green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, dressing, sweet potatoes, and pie. The prices are good too, ranging from $55 to $80 for everything. They also offer sides like broccoli-rice casserole, orange-cranberry casserole, and creamy scalloped potatoes. I like the way they offer whole meals with standard sides, and non-standard sides. Here is the link: https://www.fredmeyer.com/fresh/70100128/d/holiday-meals/5f7c71cb51d8390008187ee5

Whether you want a fancy, hot, pre-cooked meal or a practical “cook it yourself” meal, it is nice that stores and restaurants are organizing and pre-assembling big holiday meals for people. While some families look forward to spending all day in the kitchen, other families just like to pick up a meal that has already been prepared. It can be incredibly stressful to prepare an elaborate meal for several people if you are not comfortable in the kitchen. I like doing the prepared meals because to me: it feels like that extra time I am saving out of the kitchen can be spent enjoying my family. My kids and I will cook a few of our signature dishes like we always do but only after we pick up our boxes of pre-assembled Thanksgiving dinner from New Seasons. Best of luck to you all in preparing and enjoying your Thanksgiving dinner however you want to.