Estimates are showing this year’s Thanksgiving meal will on average cost $65 and require a kitchen. For students who might now have this option, we wanted to find a way to limit the cost and make it dorm-friendly. With the following meal plan, you can make a Thanksgiving meal armed with $25 and a dorm microwave – perfect for Friendsgiving, dinner parties or anyone staying on campus this holiday season. We got all of our supplies from Walmart. 

THE BIRD $5.97:

Unfortunately, turkey prices were not in our budget, so we opted for a rotisserie chicken from the Walmart Deli instead. It is fully cooked and can be served shredded in the stuffing mix or to the side, whichever is your preference. 

Tips: The traditional rotisserie chicken was a touch dry and lacked in flavor, we would recommend shredding the bird and incorporating it into the stuffing for it to be more flavorful and keep in moisture from microwaving. 

MASHED POTATOES $0.98 :

We bought a packet of Great Value roasted garlic mashed potatoes and added a pat of vegetable oil spread midway through cooking to add creaminess. Follow the directions provided on the packet. 

Tips: If you’ve got it in your budget, you can add some milk, cream or garlic powder to enhance the flavor. 

GREEN BEANS $6.96:

Every Thanksgiving has some form of green bean we incorporated our Imperial vegetable oil spread we got for $1.38, Great Value salt and pepper that was $1.76, Great Value chicken broth for $1 and our Oscar Mayer bacon bits we picked up for $2.82. We mixed all of these ingredients together, adding the amount of seasoning we thought appropriate and cooked them in the microwave for about a minute and a half.

Tips: The flavor was a bit bland but the texture of the green beans was the main issue. We would recommend if available finding pre-seasoned steamable green beans or vegetable medley to help with this issue. If you want to follow the original recipe, leave room in your budget for garlic and other seasonings. 

STUFFING $1.98:

We picked up a box of Stove Top chicken-flavored stuffing for $1.98. Because we’re in the Thanksgiving season, this was on sale from $3.88. Follow the instructions on the back of the box. 

CRANBERRY SAUCE $1.98:

We picked up a can of Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce for $1.98. We removed it from the can, which can be done by sliding a knife into the can and then scraping the sides until the sauce falls out. We then plated our sauce and sliced it up into thick chunks. 

DESSERT $1.48:

No Thanksgiving meal is complete without dessert and we decided to get two mini pre-made pies courtesy of the Walmart Bakery. We went with a pecan and sweet potato pie, both $0.74. We were going to get a pumpkin pie, but they were out when we arrived. To prepare, all we had to do was remove them from the packaging and cut them in half.

Categories: Life