14 Inexpensive Desserts for Your Thanksgiving Meal

October 12, 2020 | foodandgratitude

No holiday meal would be complete without a decadent dessert or two for Thanksgiving. Fortunately, there are a number of cheap and easy ones you can make at home so you donít spend a fortune at the bakery.

Pumpkin Pie

This is a traditional favorite that makes the most of the autumn pumpkin harvest. Buy pumpkins from a farm, cut in half, roast until tender, and scoop out the pumpkin puree. Each pumpkin should yield several cups, making it far cheaper than buying puree or pumpkin pie filling at over $3 per can. You will have to add seasoning to it, but this means that you will get exactly the taste you want.

Pumpkin Bread / Pumpkin Spice Bread

Pumpkin is very moist and makes a great cake or loaf. You can make it as spicy as you like to suit your taste. You could also frost or glaze it to make it look more festive.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin is an excellent ingredient for cheesecake, giving color, moisture and healthy fruit and fiber to a cake that can otherwise be very high in calories and quite dense and fattening.

Apple Pie

Make the most of the harvest in the orchards with a traditional apple pie. Make a lattice crust and serve with a dollop of cream or ice cream on the side. Making it from scratch means adjusting the seasonings as you like, and you can add raisins, cranberries and more to make it really festive.

Apple Crumble / Apple Crisp

Instead of a buttery pie crust, use brown sugar, flour and spices as a crumble topping. An apple crisp uses oats. Both are very filling and great with cream or ice cream.

Pecan Pie

This classic Southern favorite is festive and tasty. Pecans can be expensive, however, so buy in bulk online.

Sweet Potato Pie

This is another classic Southern favorite that is similar to pumpkin pie, but uses yams and their natural sweetness for the pie filling. Making it from scratch means you can season it as you wish.

Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is another healthy but filling dessert option which makes the most of the autumn harvest. Add raisins for sweetness and a cream cheese frosting and some nuts to dress it up.

Cheesecake

Cheesecake works well on its own, with chocolate, and with any fruit topping you like. Buy the cream cheese when it is on sale. You can also lighten things up by adding sour cream.

Cranberry and Apple Cake

This loaf cake is colorful and festive, and makes the most of cheaper produce at harvest time.

Creme Brulee

This dessert is basically a custard with browned sugar on top. It is served in small individual containers called ramekins, making it an elegant addition to your holiday table.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This is a very festive-looking cake thanks to the topping of bright yellow pineapple rings with red maraschino cherries in the center of each ring. Buy canned pineapple when it is on sale.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon meringue is a combination of an easy lemon custard and a sugary meringue on top. The meringue will require quite a few egg whites, but eggs are inexpensive. Plan another dessert like bread pudding to help use up the unwanted egg yolks from this recipe.

Angel Food Cake

This is a light, fluffy cake that gets its texture from egg whites. It is low in calories and an ideal pairing with most fruits.

Home-made desserts are not just less expensive, they are often more delicious than the bought option too. Use these ideas to give your guests a real Thanksgiving treat.