Thanksgiving is less than a week away and you know what that means… tons of… Freindsgivings! I love Thanksgiving and being able to see my family, but there’s nothing quite like a good old Friendsgiving. It is a special time of year when you can get together with literally all of your friends and finally catch up after months of being super busy and struggling to make plans together. It’s a time where, although I’m sure you love your family, there are no awkward family moments, and you get to just hang out with your ‘chosen family.’ Sounds amazing right? I think so too except there’s just one problem… what to bring?! That is quite literally the hardest part of the entire event. It can be so hard to coordinate what everyone is bringing and even with a spreadsheet everyone takes up the easy ideas so fast and you are left there trying to decide what to bring. Sometimes these spreadsheets turn out to be all desserts or all sides and there’s no diversity and it leaves you not knowing if you should go with the trend or try to bring something new to the party. Well, I am here to help you come up with fun and mostly original ideas (and just my favorites that aren’t so original) to bring this year so you don’t come empty-handed and maybe even get your friends to comment on how original you are!
Now something to keep in mind as you read this is there may be many people in your life who can’t eat certain things, for example, many of my friends are vegetarians or have celiac disease which makes it hard for us to plan things surrounding food sometime, especially if others are not accounting for it. So, my biggest tip to you this turkey season is to account for these kinds of things when making your dishes. Does your dish have gluten? Is someone who can’t eat that going to be there? Do you know that for sure or is there a chance someone you don’t know, who may have dietary restrictions, will be there? No problem! Make a gluten-free option too! The same applies to all other intolerances and diets. Having said that let’s get into it!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
So these pumpkin cream cheese muffins are my absolute favorite thing to bring to Friendsgiving as they are absolutely delicious! Yes, you may have seen them at Starbucks… yes, every year I make them it is from a Starbucks copy-cat recipe… you got me… but that is only because they are so good and you can’t deny it! Besides stop wasting your money at Starbucks when you could literally make these at home all the time! They are a perfect moist muffin with a nice sweet creamy cream cheese middle. To make them just look up ‘pumpkin cream cheese muffin Starbucks copycat recipe.’ I’d recommend playing with the sweetness of the cream cheese frosting as everyone’s taste buds are different and some recipes are too sweet and not sweet enough. I’d also recommend leaving the pumpkin seeds out of it as I find they come out moister and better tasting that way.
How to account for gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan?
Just replace the flour with gluten-free flour. The best based on my best friend’s recommendations are anything from the brand King Arthur and the Pillsbury gluten-free flour. As for vegan options there are many egg substitutes such as applesauce, banana, tofu, and soy yogurt. There are also many vegan cream cheese options at many grocery stores that you can use in this recipe, even from brands that ae super common like Philadelphia.
Pinwheels (Veggie and Meat Options)
I really love a good pin-wheel and although I see them all the time at other holidays, especially the fourth of July, I never see them at Friendsgiving! This is such a shame because they are so easy to make and are sure to be a big hit at your Friendsgiving! They also have so much diversity as you can make turkey and cheese, Italian sub, ham and cheese, margarita pizza, sundried tomato and basil, rainbow veggie, and the list goes on!
You should have no troubles making these a fit for everyone as they are so versatile and you can use gluten-free tortillas!
Pull-Apart Garlic Bread
Now I know what you’re thinking… there is no way I can make this easily and make it gluten-free and taste good. Well, guess what you can! I was personally trying to figure out how to make rolls for a Friendsgiving this year that were gluten-free, but I didn’t have much time and I often struggle when I make things like bread gluten-free. Well in my research I found gluten-free multi-purpose dough from the brand Favorite Day at Target! From here you can just use this dough and follow any pull part garlic bread recipe and you should be good to go! Most garlic bread recipes are super easy as it is mostly just brushing some butter or butter alternative over the bread and adding crushed garlic on top! You can’t ever go wrong with garlic bread, and you could even stick cheese in the middle!
How do I make this vegan? If you just have to make it vegan there are many vegan dough recipes online you can follow and you can replace the cheese with a vegan alternative or just make it without! If you need it to be both gluten-free and vegan, then just replace the flour in the vegan dough recipe with gluten-free flour! Although I do recommend not doing both unless you absolutely have to because although it is very doable to do this, and it still taste good it is much harder. I would recommend looking up some basic tips on how to do it to make it as tasty as possible!
Fruit kabobs
These are great because they are literally one of the easiest ideas on this list, so they will meet the dietary needs of everybody! All you have to do is get some toothpicks, fruit, and then whatever else you wanna add! I’d recommend cheese if you do not have to worry about anyone who is vegan or a vegan cheese alternative. Another great addition to these is frozen yogurt balls! To make these take your favorite yogurt (dairy or dairy free depending again on your guests!) and put it into an ice-cube tray and freeze it. Then stick it on the toothpicks with your fruit and there you go– a yogurt fruit kabob!
Pecan Ooey Gooey Crumble Bars
My favorite Thanksgiving pie is most definitely pecan pie, but nobody has time to make a homemade pie for Friendsgiving and many pies you can get from the store may not taste very good and most definitely will not fit your friends’ potential dietary needs. So here is a recipe for a much easier, and arguably much taster, pecan ooy goey crumble bars. This is so easy to make and delicious while still meeting everybody’s needs! All you have to do is buy a pre-made pie crust at Walmart (they usually have gluten-free options) and crush it into any brownie pan you have lying around. From here follow any recipe on how to make pecan pie filling and lay it on top and put it in the oven! Let it cool and there you go an amazing ooey gooey pecan crumble!
How to make it Vegan?
Just substitute any butter for vegan butter, be sure to use any nut milk, and you’re good to go!
Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Now mac and cheese is a great pairing to any meal as it is just so delicious, but this holiday is everything fall so why not put a fall twist on it that also makes it, so it fits into a vegan lifestyle! Now this is very original and when I first heard about it, I thought I would not like it, but let me tell you there is nothing quite like butternut squash mac and cheese, it’s creamy and delicious! Although I have never had pumpkin mac and cheese, I also think it would be good as they are both from the squash family and it is so fitting for this time of year! To make it just use pumpkin puree for the base of your mac and cheese sauce, some people also add cheese to this, but if you are going to do so and need it to be vegan look for a vegan cheese alternative!
How do I make this gluten-free?
Just use gluten-free pasta and if the recipe calls for a little flour as many do then use the same flour mentioned above!
Hopefully this article gave you several Friendsgiving dish ideas for this year and hopefully made you more aware of the potential dietary needs you may need to account for this holiday season!