A Thanksgiving table that feels familiar yet fresh — built around classic American comfort dishes reimagined with the warmth and spice of Middle Eastern flavors.

The Feast

Alison Roman’s Dry-Brined Turkey… with Lebanese 7-Spice (Baharat)
Follow the recipe closely, but add 2 tablespoons of 7-spice mix and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon to the dry brine at the start. These warm spices give the turkey a cozy, spiced aroma that feels both familiar and new — perfectly suited for Thanksgiving. Follow the recipe through step 12, then use the drippings to make the gravy below.

Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen Turkey Gravy with Chestnuts
A rich, savory gravy infused with roasted chestnuts for texture and depth. Roast the vegetables and chestnuts until tender, then add them to the turkey drippings from the recipe above for a deeply flavorful sauce.

*Rice Stuffing (Hashweh) with Chestnuts — photo courtesy of* *Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen*

Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen Hashwe (Stuffing)
A rice-based stuffing with spiced ground beef, toasted nuts, and chestnuts. Start by toasting the nuts and frying the chestnuts, then prepare the fragrant rice with ground beef and warm spices.

Thomas Keller’s Mashed Potatoes… with Aleppo Pepper
There’s no better mashed potato recipe if you love silky-smooth potatoes. Finish with a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper for subtle warmth and to stay consistent with the Middle Eastern flavor profile for the feast.

Hetty Lui McKinnon’s Harissa-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Sweet meets spicy in this bold side that balances richness with gentle heat. Harissa brings far more than spice — it lends smokiness, tang, and a deep, rich complexity that makes every bite more intriguing.

Ottolenghi & Nour Murad’s Mac and Cheese with Za’atar Pesto
Comfort food, reimagined — creamy, herbaceous, and delightfully unexpected. A Middle Eastern take on mac and cheese, enhanced with cumin, a bright za’atar pesto, and crispy fried onions.

Fattoush Salad (No Tomatoes)
Crisp romaine, cucumbers, radish, sumac, and pita chips tossed with a tangy pomegranate dressing and jeweled with fresh pomegranate seeds. Tomatoes feel out of place on a fall table, but this crunchy, sweet-tart chopped salad with greens, sumac, and pomegranate is a perfect, seasonal complement. You can follow this recipe but skip the tomatoes all together. You can also replace the tomatoes with pickled beets for a sweet and crunchy element that goes well with the pomegranate molasses dressing.

Garlicky Green Beans with Walnuts
Blanched green beans tossed with olive oil, lemon, and plenty of garlic, then topped with toasted walnuts for texture and brightness. Recipe here

Melissa Clark’s Cranberry, Pomegranate, and Pistachio Relish
A vibrant, tangy condiment that ties everything together — the perfect bridge between East and West.

Dessert

Pumpkin Semolina Cake (Pumpkin sfouf)
A fun pumpkin dessert that is not pie. Use the turmeric semolina cake mix to make prep a breeze.

Sami Tamimi’s Labneh Cheesecake with a Baklava Crust
If you love a cheesecake on your thanksgiving table, try this one! The crust combines pistachios, walnuts, and filo crumbs for that unmistakable baklava crunch, while the filling is made with creamy labneh and delicately perfumed with orange blossom water. The result is a dessert that’s light, floral, and perfectly balanced