How to save money on Thanksgiving dinner: ‘You don’t need to make a butter board’

It’s natural for Thanksgiving to cause preparation-related pressure for hosts and at-home chefs. But this year, rising prices at the grocery store are adding another layer of stress.  

To help ease some of the financial burden, USA TODAY asked Institute of Culinary Education Chef-Instructor Stephen Chavez for money saving ideas. 

His biggest tip: Keep it simple. By doing so, you’ll save not only cash but also cooking time. That’ll help save money and give you more time to spend with guests. 

“It’s really about family and getting together,” he says. “I think people just need to kind of simplify.”

Inflation hits the Thanksgiving table:Turkey costs may be higher this year.

With simplification in mind, here are seven tips from Chavez to help cut costs this Thanksgiving.

Samin Nosrat’s buttermilk roast chicken can be your Thanksgiving centerpiece

2. Focus on smaller portions

Thanksgiving is known for being an indulgent holiday. Many of us eat to excess while still finding ourselves throwing leftovers in the trash.

What you can expect to pay for turkey and all the trimmings

3. Avoid trends

The holiday doesn’t need to be extravagant to be enjoyable. And you don’t have to jump on trending dishes to make your table feel fun or special.

“You don’t need to make a charcuterie board,” Chavez says. “You don’t need to make a butter board.”

Trendy dishes that require multiple ingredients hike up your grocery bill faster than tryptophan puts you into a turkey coma. 

Butter boards are taking over TikTok.What are they exactly?

4. Don’t buy pre-made sides

There are plenty of pre-made options for hosting such as dips and cheese trays and pies — but those might cost you.

“Don’t buy anything that’s pre-made,” Chavez says. “It’s just so much more expensive than making your own.”

Instead of buying pumpkin pie, he advises buying a can of pumpkin pie filling and making a pie — or smaller pies in single serve portions with a streusel topping that can be made with ingredients at home like flour, sugar, salt and butter. It will be “way less expensive” than buying a pre-made pie, he says.

How to: Make the perfect pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving

5. Use what you already have

Look at Thanksgiving as an opportunity to do a bit of cabinet clean-out, Chavez says, noting there are lots of odds and ends that you can find in your pantry or fridge and use creatively to form Thanksgiving dishes.

be strategic while shopping. Consider the grocery store geography. Visit areas like the frozen section, think about how you can use inexpensive staples and consider where you’re shopping. 

Frozen food, deals and memberships:How to save money on groceries by shopping strategically

Check out these recipes to up your kitchen game: 

• Hard-boiled eggs: Two easy ways to hard boil eggs to perfection
• Creamy risotto:Pearl couscous is the trick ingredient for creamy risotto
• Fried rice:The secret to making great fried rice at home
• Jambalaya:How to make Cheesecake Factory’s Cajun jambalaya pasta at home
• Mustard makes it better:How to use mustard not as a condiment but as an ingredient
• Pasta salad:Perfect every time: The only pasta salad recipe you’ll ever need
• Cranberry sauce:Three cranberry sauce recipes you need to try
• Sugar cookies:‘The best sugar cookie I’ve ever baked.’ Here’s the recipe.
• Kale can be tough:Raw kale can be tough. Here’s how salt can help

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