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Here are 60 Friendsgiving Ideas on how to create the perfect Friendsgiving Dinner Party. The best Friendsgiving menu plus tips for making a beautiful table and how to plan it.
What is Friendsgiving?
It is a Thanksgiving celebration with one’s friends. Friendsgiving is a blend of friend and Thanksgiving, and it refers to a large meal eaten with friends either on or near Thanksgiving. It is an opportunity to share Thanksgiving dinner with a group of friends.
How to throw a Friendsgiving Dinner:
It all starts off with a plan! Set a date and get the invitations out (I love to use Canva to design invites because it is so easy!)
First, start off by making a list of all of the friends who you would like to invite. Ask them what they would like to bring from the Friendsgiving menu ideas below.
Make a list of what tasks can be done ahead of time. I like to prepare and set the table 1-2 days ahead of time. Make any floral arrangement (more details below) or tablescape 1 day ahead of time.
Start cooking several days before. I suggest what dishes can be made ahead of time below.
Prepare a music playlist (music suggestions for Friendsgiving are below) to create the perfect ambiance.
Light some candles and enjoy a delicious meal with your close friends.
What to serve at Friendsgiving:
Food and Friends is the most important part of Friendsgiving! You can serve a traditional Thanksgiving meal and it is usually served potluck style. Here is a list of foods to serve at your next Friendsgiving dinner party.
Boursin Cheese Creamy Mashed Potatoes — Creamy mashed potatoes made with garlic herb Boursin cheese. This brings so much flavor that you don’t even need the gravy!
5 from 13 votes
Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin
Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin. Homemade cheesy scalloped potatoes with a rich cream sauce and melted cheddar cheese. The perfect potato side dish recipe!
Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin — tender potatoes in a homemade cream sauce topped with melted cheddar cheese. A classic side dish!
4.99 from 73 votes
Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Crispy Smashed Potatoes. Crispy smashed potatoes with creamy, fluffy centers and crispy outsides. Petite potatoes topped with olive oil, salted butter, salt, and pepper and baked until crispy and topped with a garlic cheddar sour cream dip. The best smashed potatoes recipe!
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes. These creamy, cheesy scalloped potatoes are the perfect side dish and are made with thinly sliced potatoes, a decadent bechamel sauce, and layers upon layers of cheese and baked until melted and bubbly.
This creamy sweet potato casserole with a brown sugar topping is one of the most popular Thanksgiving side dish recipes. Everyone loves it! It is so easy and can be made ahead of time. It is the perfect holiday side dish recipe.
This Sweet Potatoes and Apples Recipe is made with tender sweet potatoes and apples layered in a silky golden butter and sugar sauce that thickens into a glaze as it bakes.
Sweet Potato Brown Sugar Pecan Bake — What is a Thanksgiving without sweet potatoes? Creamy cinnamon vanilla sweet potatoes topped with a brown sugar pecan praline topping.
5 from 3 votes
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Streusel
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Streusel. A classic Thanksgiving side dish with savory and creamy sweet potatoes topped with toasted marshmallows and brown sugar streusel.
Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows and Streusel — Creamy whipped mashed potatoes with brown sugar streusel topping and toasted marshmallows. A gourmet version of a Thanksgiving staple!
5 from 8 votes
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Cranberries
A healthy no-sugar-added sweet potatoes side dish with toasted pecans and cranberries.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Cranberries — a healthier dairy-free side dish with roasted sweet potatoes, drizzled with olive oil, and real maple syrup and tossed with toasted pecans and dried cranberries.
STUFFING:
5 from 8 votes
Cranberry Apple Sausage Stuffing
Classic bread stuffing with sausage, dried cranberries, and crisp apple. A perfect Thanksgiving side dish!
Mexican Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing made with cornbread tossed with sauteed peppers and onions, Mexican chorizo, chipotle peppers, chicken broth, cream, and spices.
Gulliver’s Creamed Corn — A popular side dish for a reason! White shoepeg corn, cream, butter, parmesan cheese, and a touch of sugar. It will be gone in no time!
5 from 19 votes
Southwest Creamed Corn
This Southwest Creamed Corn is made with white corn, sauteed with jalapenos and onions, and cooked with heavy cream and pepper jack cheese. The perfect creamed corn recipe with so much flavor!
This Hot Honey Skillet Corn recipe is an easy and flavorful side dish made with sweet corn, peppers, onions, and spicy hot honey. It’s sweet, spicy, buttery, and ridiculously addictive — the kind of side dish people end up eating straight from the pan.
This is the best cornbread recipe that is moist, tender, and flavorful. This homemade cornbread recipe is both sweet and savory and perfect for pairing with honey butter.
Homemade Green Bean Casserole — a made-from-scratch fresh green bean casserole with a rich, cream sauce topped with fried onions. A classic made even better!
5 from 4 votes
Green Beans with Almonds and Caramelized Onions
Fresh Green Beans sauteed with caramelized onions, lemon zest, and crunchy almonds.
A sweet and savory twist to traditional green beans with the addition of crispy bacon, caramelized onions, and a buttery brown sugar glaze. This easy side dish is perfect for holiday dinners, Thanksgiving or as a crowd pleasing side dish.
The Best Macaroni and Cheese is so cheesy with three types of cheese! How to make homemade mac n cheese at home. Tips and tricks for making creamy macaroni and cheese.
Cheesy Macaroni and Cheese — The Best Macaroni and Cheese is so cheesy with three types of cheese! How to make homemade mac n cheese at home. Tips and tricks for making creamy macaroni and cheese.
CARROTS:
5 from 9 votes
Honey Butter Glazed Carrots
Tender carrots sauteed in sweet cream butter, creamy honey, and fresh lemon zest.
These Sweet and Spicy Roasted Carrots are the perfect combination of sweetness and a warm kick from the Calabrian chili paste. Topped with creamy burrata, crunchy pistachios, and fresh basil.
Homemade Garlic Butter Rolls. Made from scratch, fluffy homemade pull-apart rolls slathered in garlic herb butter. The perfect buttery homemade pull-apart rolls recipe!
Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls — Made from scratch, fluffy homemade pull-apart rolls slathered in garlic herb butter. The perfect buttery homemade pull-apart rolls recipe!
5 from 22 votes
Japanese Milk Bread Dinner Rolls
Soft, fluffy, and tender homemade rolls due to a special technique. This game changing technique makes all of the difference in making melt-in-your-mouth rolls.
Cheesy garlic monkey bread, or garlic cheese pull-apart bread, made with Rhodes frozen dinner rolls, is soft, buttery, and cheesy. Each roll is dipped in garlic butter and then topped with gooey, melted mozzarella cheese that bubbles as it bakes. The result is a pull-apart bread that's golden on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and has cheesy, garlicky goodness in every bite.
Easy, 4-ingredient Cranberry Sauce has the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness. This is the best cranberry sauce recipe! This Cranberry Sauce can be made ahead of time and is perfect to serve alongside turkey on Thanksgiving or on turkey sandwiches.
Fresh Cranberry Orange Sauce— a simple cranberry sauce using only four ingredients and made in less than 15 minutes. You will never want to eat canned cranberry relish again.
Best Thanksgiving Pie Recipes:
4.99 from 52 votes
All Butter Flaky Pie Crust
All Butter Flaky Pie Crust is your perfect, foolproof pie crust every single time!
The best pumpkin pie recipe made with cream cheese and butter which makes it extra rich and creamy. Award-winning creamy pumpkin pie recipe has a secret ingredient to make it extra special! This is the best pumpkin pie recipe and won the best pumpkin pie on the internet!
The BEST PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE— this is a favorite because of two secret ingredients. We changed up the classic pumpkin pie and make it creamier and a real crowd-pleaser. This just took FIRST PLACE in the Pumpkin Pie Bake-Off pitted against some of the most famous bakeries and food websites.
5 from 3 votes
Mini Pumpkin Pie Bites
Small, bite-size pumpkin pie tarts with a buttery, flaky pie crust and topped with homemade whipped cream.
How to make the famous, viral NYC's Milk Bar Pumpkin Caramel Pie. This pie starts with a homemade pie crust, filled with a spiced pumpkin white chocolate ganache, salted caramel, fresh sweetened whipped cream, and a homemade streusel topping.
Caramel Apple Pie is a made with sweet and crisp apples sauteed in brown sugar and drizzled with homemade caramel sauce, all in a buttery flaky pie crust. The BEST Apple Pie Recipe drizzled with salted caramel sauce.
Caramel Apple Pie— classic apple pie with homemade salted caramel sauce. Perfect served with vanilla bean ice cream.
5 from 8 votes
Dutch Apple Pie
Dutch Apple Pie How to make a traditional Dutch Apple Pie with a buttery, flaky pie crust, topped with cinnamon-sugar apples, with a brown sugar streusel topping.
Dutch Apple Pie — the best of both worlds! A buttery, flaky pie crust topped with sweet cinnamon sugar apples and sprinkled with a brown sugar crumble topping.
5 from 11 votes
Best Apple Pie
The Best Homemade Apple Pie Recipe! This Fresh Apple Pie with a Buttery, Flaky Crust is made with fresh apples tossed in sugar and cinnamon and baked in a homemade pie crust.
This is the best Chocolate Cream Pie recipe made with decadent chocolate custard in a flaky, buttery crust and topped with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings. You will love this chocolate pie recipe!
French Silk Pie — a rich, decadent chocolate pie made with simple ingredients to highlight the chocolate and cream. A classic chocolate pie recipe that everyone loves!
German Chocolate Pie — a homemade chocolate custard with a sweet sticky coconut-pecan topping with fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
5 from 4 votes
No Bake Chocolate Cream Pie
This No Bake Chocolate Cream Pie is made with a buttery Oreo crust holding a luscious chocolate ganache filling topped with sweetened whipped cream. An easy Chocolate Cream Pie recipe!
The popular Italian dessert — the famous Cannoli — but made into a pie. A creamy sweet ricotta and cream cheese filling with mini chocolate chips, topped with chocolate ganache, and freshly whipped cream.
Cannoli Pie — the famous Italian dessert made into a pie! Creamy sweetened ricotta, cream cheese, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, and mini chocolate chips all topped with chocolate ganache and whipped cream.
5 from 4 votes
Creme Brûlée Pie
A silky smooth vanilla creme brûlée in a buttery crust with a crisp sugar topping.
Creme Brûlée Pie — a favorite dessert made into a silky smooth pie in a buttery pie crust. A mix between creme brûlée and a famous chess or buttermilk pie makes this a winning pie!
5 from 6 votes
Sweet Potato Pie
This Southern Sweet Potato Pie has the creamiest, spiced brown sugar sweet potato filling in a buttery crust and topped with fresh whipped cream. This is the perfect Fall and Thanksgiving dessert.
Easy Homemade Coconut Cream Pie made with pudding mix, sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, whipped cream, and sweetened shredded coconut all in a buttery pie crust and topped with sweet whipped cream.
No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie with a graham cracker crust, creamy peanut butter filling with peanut butter cups, chocolate ganache, and topped with fresh whipped cream and peanut butter cups. The best chocolate peanut butter pie recipe!
Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie— Silky smooth brown sugar filling with crunchy pecans, topped with homemade whipped cream, in a buttery flaky crust.
5 from 5 votes
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Rich chocolate pecan pie with a silky stovetop brown sugar filling, toasted pecans and melty chocolate chips, all in a flaky homemade butter crust. The perfect Thanksgiving pie!
Chocolate Pecan Pie — a homemade pecan pie with chocolate chips in a buttery, flaky pie crust.
5 from 13 votes
Southern Pecan Praline Cheesecake
This Pecan Cheesecake is a rich, creamy homemade cheesecake topped with decadent brown sugar pecan praline sauce. This Pecan Praline Cheesecake combines pecan pie and cheesecake into one perfect pecan dessert!
This classic banoffee pie is a no-bake dessert made with a buttery graham cracker or Biscoff cookie crust, rich toffee caramel, fresh bananas, and fluffy whipped cream.
Triple Berry Pie. The best homemade berry pie recipe with a buttery pie crust. Top it with vanilla bean ice cream and you have the perfect berry dessert!
Lemon Cream Pie. A simple creamy lemon cream pie with fresh lemon zest in a buttery graham cracker crust with sweetened whipped cream. The BEST Lemon Pie Recipe.
Homemade cherry pie is bursting with sweet-tart cherries nestled in a flaky, golden crust and topped with vanilla bean ice cream. I am sharing tips and tricks for making sweet cherry pie at home.
Festive Charcuterie Board perfect to celebrate Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving with friends and family. How to pick out the perfect meats, cheeses, fruits, jams, crackers, and dips for your Fall charcuterie spread. Tips and tricks for making the best charcuterie board.
Fall Charcuterie Board — Festive Charcuterie Board is perfect to celebrate Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving with friends and family. How to pick out the perfect meats, cheeses, fruits, jams, crackers, and dips for your Fall charcuterie spread. Tips and tricks for making the best charcuterie board.
5 from 22 votes
Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
This Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip is a festive appetizer that is creamy, tart, a tad spicy, and sweet. This Cranberry Jalapeno Dip is made with fresh cranberry salsa atop cream cheese. It is the perfect holiday party appetizer!
Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip — This Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip is a festive appetizer that is creamy, tart, a tad spicy, and sweet. This Cranberry Jalapeno Dip is made with fresh cranberry salsa atop cream cheese.
5 from 4 votes
How to make a Charcuterie Board
How to create a beautiful and delicious charcuterie board with a list of what meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits, condiments, vegetables, and extras to use and tips on how to design a cheese board, what to buy, and where to buy it.
How to make savory and sweet mini cheese balls for a perfect appetizer. How to make a cheese ball shaped Christmas tree and a cheese ball shaped wreath.
This Pecan Pie Dip is made with creamy, fluffy, sweet cream cheese and whipped cream topped with a homemade pecan caramel sauce. This has all of the flavors of pecan pie without all of the work. A sweet and delicious holiday appetizer.
This festive Fall Pumpkin Baked Brie is the perfect appetizer or centerpiece for your charcuterie board. Flaky puff pastry baked with creamy brie cheese and pumpkin butter or fig jam is the perfect salty sweet combination.
A Butter Board with fresh butter is spread onto a board and topped with an assortment of toppings and served with warm bread. This Butter Board with Toppings is such a fun appetizer for a party!
The Henry Cranberry Orange Mocktail — A real crowd pleaser! This non-alcoholic drink if made with festive Cranberry Sprite, vanilla syrup, fresh oranges, and cranberries.
MUSIC PLAYLIST:
The music sets the tone for any dinner party and Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving aren’t any exceptions. Play some soothing jazz music to create the perfect ambiance.
Frank Sinatra
Nat King Cole
Ella Fitzgerald
Michael Buble
Josh Groban
INVITATION AND MENU:
You can create quick and easy invitations on Canva.com that you can send digitally (text or email) or can print out. It is super user-friendly and can be done in minutes!
I love to use Emilie Henry Pie Dishes and this red pie dish is just perfect for this homemade apple pie. You can also find this white ruffle pie dish which is so popular!
I am an Award-Winning Recipe Creator. Cover of Food Network Magazine. Two-Time Pillsbury Bake-Off Finalist. I am passionate about sharing the best recipes so you have success in the kitchen!
The best ideas!!!