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9 Thanksgiving Recipes with Secret Ingredients

Give one of the classics on your menu a little, delicious tweak, and your guests will be raving all dinner long.

By Amy Ahlberg
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Secret ingredient for turkey: honey

A honey glaze, flavored with rosemary and sage, creates a crispy, savory turkey skin while keeping the inside meat succulent and moist.

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Secret ingredient for sweet potatoes: pears

Instead of topping your sweet potatoes with familiar marshmallows, blend a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, and cooked or canned pears straight in for a light, sweet taste.

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Secret ingredient for mashed potatoes: apples

Mash potatoes with tart, cooked apples and top with crisp bacon for a sweet-savory take on the classic.

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Secret ingredient for apple pie: oatmeal

This from-scratch apple pie uses oatmeal to make a simple, no-rolling pin-required crust.

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Secret Ingredient for pumpkin pie: fat-free evaporated milk

Lighten up traditional pumpkin pie (without sacrificing flavor) by using fat-free evaporated milk.

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Secret Ingredient for tarts: cranberries

Bring sweet-tart cranberries to the table in an unexpected way with this seasonal dessert. It bakes up beautifully in a springform pan and is glazed with a cranberry-orange topping.

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Secret ingredient for soup: apples

Start your meal with a bowl of creamy, seasonal squash soup that gets a dash of zing from unexpected apples.

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Secret ingredient for Brussels sprouts: water chestnuts

Fancy up Brussels sprouts by adding fresh parsley for brightness—and unexpected diced water chestnuts for crunch. Bonus: This stove top recipe means you can save space in the oven.

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Secret Ingredient for beets: orange juice

This bright, citrusy recipe pairs ruby-red beets with orange slices, juice, and zest. And while you can certainly use fresh beets, canned beets make this dish extra easy.

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Your Comments

  • Tkillay

    sounds great! I like to use black magic and oil and was even thinking of smoking a turkey this year but my wife said NO WAY! I”m pretty adventurous and she’s traditional .

  • Ucnbykoc

    THESE SLIDESHOWS SUCK! None of them ever load the 2nd page. I hate your website format.

  • Ucnbykoc

    THESE SLIDESHOWS SUCK! None of them ever load the 2nd page. I hate your website format.