Most Thanksgiving dinners are big family affairs. You roast a turkey, serve it to a dozen relatives, and then try not to get into a fight over politics while you eat.
But getting together with the family doesn’t always work out. Maybe someone is sick. Maybe you can’t get away because of work or school. Maybe your relatives all live too far away for you to visit. Or maybe you just want a quiet weekend at home for once, with no bickering.
So there you are, just you and your partner, sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner all by yourselves. You can’t exactly roast a turkey for just the two of you. So what do you do?
Answer: You cook up this Thanksgiving Sheet Pan Dinner for Two. It’s a complete Thanksgiving meal with all your favorites – herbed turkey breast, bread stuffing, brussels sprouts, and marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes – scaled down to fit a small family.
Better still, it all roasts together on just one pan. You can have the whole meal ready in an hour and a half – much faster than a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and with much less work. And it’s still a feast worthy of the occasion.
Recipe Notes:
- The timing is the tricky part of this sheet pan meal. Fortunately, the turkey breast, brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes all cook in about the same amount of time. The size of the turkey breast and/or the sweet potatoes could impact cook time. If you are using large sweet potatoes, for example, you could get them started in the oven while preparing the stuffing and other parts of the meal.
- The stuffing doesn’t really have to be baked in the oven, but the ramekins and the toasty top do make the meal extra fun. If you choose to not bake the stuffing, roast the pecans in advance for flavor and crispness in the stuffing. You can also cover the stuffing ramekins with aluminum foil for the majority of the cook time and then toast them at the end. Some people like to cook the stuffing right on the sheet pan along with the turkey, but you would need to get everything else started and then spread the stuffing on the sheet pan during the last 15-20 minutes of cooking.
- You could swap in/out other vegetables for the brussels sprouts such as asparagus or green beans (both have much shorter cook times) or small potatoes (see Thanksgiving Vegetarian sheet pan dinner)
Store everything in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze up to 1 month.
Thanksgiving Sheet Pan Dinner for Two
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork and rub with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on the sheet pan.
- Prepare stuffing: In a medium skillet, cook celery and onion in four tablespoons of butter over medium heat until the vegetables are softened and onions are translucent.
- Add the water and package of bread crumbs(and seasoning) to the skillet. Toss well until the bread has absorbed all of the water.
- Add the cranberries and pecans and toss to combine. Set aside.
- Season turkey breast as desired – many turkey breasts will come pre-seasoned, but you can also add herbs like thyme, rosemary, and/or sage. Rub the turkey breast all over with olive oil or softened butter and seasonings. Place in the center of the sheet pan.
- Spoon stuffing into buttered ramekins and place on the sheet pan.
- Toss Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread in remaining space on sheet pan.
- Bake the sheet pan for 45 minutes – 1 hour until turkey breast registers 165°F at its center. Stir the brussels sprouts once or twice during baking. Remove ramekins with stuffing from the oven once they are browned on top and cooked through (timing will depend on size of the ramekins).
- Once the turkey has cooked and the sweet potatoes pierce easily with a fork, remove the sheet pan from the oven.
- Slice open the sweet potatoes and load with butter and marshmallows. Place one tablespoon of butter over the top of the stuffing in each ramekin and return everything to the oven. Bake for 5 minutes longer to toast the marshmallows and top of the stuffing.
- Sprinkle sheet pan with pomegranate seeds and fresh chopped herbs and serve.
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Don’t forget to pack any leftovers up for lunch! We love these lunchboxes!
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Thanksgiving Sheet Pan Dinner for Two
This Thanksgiving Sheet Pan Dinner for Two is a complete Thanksgiving meal with all your favorites scaled down to fit a small family.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves:4 or 2 very large servings
Hover over “serves” value to reveal recipe scaler
Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes or yams
- Olive oil for rubbing skins
- salt/pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
Stuffing:
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 1 package of pre-seasoned turkey stuffing bread crumbs e.g., Stove Top
- 6 tablespoons salted butter divided
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup cranberries we used dried cranberries, but you can also use fresh or frozen
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Turkey:
- 1 turkey breast thawed
- Fresh herbs as desired thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley
Brussels Sprouts:
- 1 pound brussels sprouts rinsed, trimmed, and cut in half
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish
- Freshly chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork and rub with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on the sheet pan.
-
Prepare stuffing: In a medium skillet, cook celery and onion in four tablespoons of butter over medium heat until the vegetables are softened and onions are translucent.
-
Add the water and package of bread crumbs(and seasoning) to the skillet. Toss well until the bread has absorbed all of the water.
-
Add the cranberries and pecans and toss to combine. Set aside.
-
Season turkey breast as desired – many turkey breasts will come pre-seasoned, but you can also add herbs like thyme, rosemary, and/or sage. Rub the turkey breast all over with olive oil or softened butter and seasonings. Place in the center of the sheet pan.
-
Spoon stuffing into buttered ramekins and place on the sheet pan.
-
Toss Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread in remaining space on sheet pan.
-
Bake the sheet pan for 45 minutes – 1 hour until turkey breast registers 165°F at its center. Stir the brussels sprouts once or twice during baking. Remove ramekins with stuffing from the oven once they are browned on top and cooked through (timing will depend on size of the ramekins).
-
Once the turkey has cooked and the sweet potatoes pierce easily with a fork, remove the sheet pan from the oven.
-
Slice open the sweet potatoes and load with butter and marshmallows. Place one tablespoon of butter over the top of the stuffing in each ramekin and return everything to the oven. Bake for 5 minutes longer to toast the marshmallows and top of the stuffing.
-
Sprinkle sheet pan with pomegranate seeds and fresh chopped herbs and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Calories: 832kcal (42%)Carbohydrates: 75g (25%)Protein: 56g (112%)Fat: 35g (54%)Saturated Fat: 9g (45%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 166mg (55%)Sodium: 1302mg (54%)Potassium: 1720mg (49%)Fiber: 15g (60%)Sugar: 23g (26%)Vitamin A: 17770IU (355%)Vitamin C: 109mg (132%)Calcium: 198mg (20%)Iron: 6mg (33%)
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.