Our Whole Thanksgiving Meal Cost $43 to Feed 9 People

At 6:12 a.m. on Thanksgiving, I was standing in my kitchen in slippers with one contact in, staring at a turkey that was still kind of… icy in the middle. My youngest walked in and asked if we were “doing the fancy food this year,” and I laughed in that slightly unhinged way moms laugh when the budget spreadsheet is taped to the fridge.

We fed 9 people for $43 total, and I’m not saying it was effortless. I’m saying my family still talks about one specific pan like it was a celebrity guest.

$9.87 Butterball turkey + the “cold water in the sink” panic thaw

I bought a 9-ish pound Butterball at Walmart for $9.87 because I refused to play chicken with prices two days before Thanksgiving. Then I… forgot to move it to the fridge in time. So at 6:12 a.m., I did the very glamorous cold-water-in-the-sink thaw, changing the water every 30 minutes like I was caring for a goldfish with a mortgage. I roasted it with just salt, pepper, and a $0.98 onion shoved in the cavity. Was it a Pinterest bird? No. Did everyone eat it and compliment the skin? Yes, and I accepted the praise like I planned it.

Walmart’s 5-pound Great Value Russet Potatoes for $2.47 saved my mashed potatoes

I used to buy the “nice” potatoes and act like it mattered. This year I grabbed the Great Value 5-lb bag for $2.47 and nobody noticed, including my mother-in-law who notices everything. My real trick was not the potatoes, it was letting them steam off in the colander for a full five minutes so they didn’t turn into glue when I mashed them. I used a splash of milk and a spoon of margarine (more on that in a second). My middle kid said, “These are the good mashed potatoes,” which is basically a Michelin star in our house.

$1.48 Great Value margarine (not butter) and my tiny identity crisis

I love butter. I also love not crying in the dairy aisle. So I bought a tub of Great Value margarine for $1.48 and told myself it was “for baking,” which is mom-code for “this is who I am now.” It went into the mashed potatoes, brushed on the dinner rolls, and melted over green beans. Here’s the part that surprised me: the only person who commented was my husband, and he just said, “Whatever you did with the rolls, do that again.” I did not correct him. I wrote “margarine” on the grocery list like it was a normal word.

99¢ Great Value turkey gravy packet fixed my too-dry slice situation

My turkey was good, but the breast was flirting with “a little dry” because I got distracted refereeing a sibling argument about who stole whose charger. I had a 99¢ Great Value turkey gravy packet on standby, and it saved the whole plate vibe. I whisked it with water in a saucepan while my oldest kept lifting the lid like he was checking a science experiment. By the time we sat down, nobody cared that I didn’t make gravy from drippings. They cared that there was gravy. My dad poured it on stuffing, potatoes, and turkey like he was sealing important documents.

$2.98 Stove Top stuffing because homemade was not happening in my kitchen

I’ve made homemade stuffing exactly once, and it tasted like exhaustion and stale bread. This year I grabbed a $2.98 box of Stove Top (Turkey flavor), and I’m not ashamed. I “fancied” it up with half an onion sautéed in margarine and a sprinkle of dried parsley I found in the back of the spice cabinet like an archaeological discovery. The kids called it “the soft bread stuff,” which is not the compliment they think it is, but they ate it. My brother went back for seconds and said, “This is dangerously good,” which I’m choosing to believe.

$1.32 Great Value frozen cut green beans + garlic powder = zero complaints

I used to do the whole casserole thing. Crispy onions, cream soup, a dish that takes up half the oven and all of my patience. This year: Great Value frozen cut green beans for $1.32. I microwaved them first (judge away), then tossed them in a skillet with a little margarine, garlic powder, and salt. That’s it. They stayed bright and didn’t turn into limp sadness. My youngest, who treats vegetables like personal enemies, ate three bites because I told him they were “buttery beans.” He asked for more buttery beans. I wrote that down too.

$3.24 Great Value whole kernel corn that my kids demanded “for balance”

I didn’t even plan on corn. Then my middle child saw a can of Great Value whole kernel corn for $0.81 and said, “We need that for balance.” I bought four cans for $3.24 because apparently my 8-year-old is now a nutrition consultant. I warmed it with a pinch of sugar and pepper (my grandma’s move), and it disappeared faster than the turkey. My niece made a little “corn moat” around her mashed potatoes like she was building a castle. Nobody asked for cranberry sauce, but they asked if we had more corn. Thanksgiving is weird.

$2.74 Great Value brown sugar turned my “boring” sweet potatoes into the star

I got a 3-lb bag of sweet potatoes for $2.94 and immediately regretted it because peeling sweet potatoes feels like punishment for past sins. I cubed them instead, boiled them, then mashed with a spoonful of Great Value brown sugar ($2.74 for the bag, and I barely dented it), cinnamon, and a little milk. No marshmallows. I know. My aunt likes marshmallows, but she also likes dramatic opinions, so she survived. The sweet potatoes came out warm and sweet without being dessert-y. My sister said, “Wait, did you put something in these?” I said, “Love.” It was brown sugar.

$2.28 Great Value dinner rolls + a hot oven timing win

I bought two bags of Great Value dinner rolls for $2.28 total, and I almost ruined them by forgetting they were in the oven while I was carving turkey and pretending I knew what I was doing. I pulled them out just as the tops went golden, and I brushed them with margarine like I was on a cooking show with no camera crew. We served them in a mixing bowl because all my baskets were “missing” (aka full of Legos). My dad ate two before sitting down. My mom wrapped three in a napkin “for later.” That’s how you know the rolls hit.

$2.49 boxed Great Value pumpkin pie mix + the “no crust, no shame” dessert

I did not make a pie crust. I repeat: I did not. I used a $2.49 box of Great Value pumpkin pie mix and baked it as a crustless pumpkin custard in a buttered 9×13 pan. It sliced like soft squares, and I served it with a sprinkle of cinnamon because presentation is a coping mechanism. My oldest called it “pumpkin brownie,” which is incorrect but adorable. Somebody asked where the whipped cream was, and I said, “In my dreams.” They still cleaned the pan. Dessert ended up being the easiest part, which feels illegal.