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24 Essential Thanksgiving Tools That'll Make Cooking Easier

We wouldn't dream of cooking a turkey without our favorite thermometer.

By
Ariel Kanter
Ariel Kanter
Ariel Kanter
Commerce Director
Ariel Kanter is the director of commerce at Serious Eats, where she manages everything from equipment reviews to gift guides. She's been with the site since 2016. Her writing has also appeared in New York magazine, Time Out New York, amNewYork, Afar, Today and Refinery29.
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and
Rochelle Bilow
Rochelle's headshot
Rochelle Bilow
Editor
Rochelle Bilow is an editor for Serious Eats, as well as a novelist. Based in Vermont, Rochelle specializes in stories about home cooking, techniques, tools, and equipment. She has been writing about food professionally for over a decade.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated November 14, 2024
A person removing the Cuisinart roasting pan with a roasted chicken in it out for the oven.

Serious Eats / Taylor Murray

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner can be stressful. Between choosing the right bird, settling on a menu, and stocking your pantry (not to mention cooking the whole thing) there's already plenty on your plate. Thankfully, having a firm grasp on what's going on in the kitchen makes the holiday much less stressful. That means getting all your shopping done early, making what you can in advance, and stocking your toolkit with every vessel and utensil you'll need to make cooking and serving your Thanksgiving meal a breeze.

Here's the Thanksgiving prep and cooking equipment that the Serious Eats staff uses, both at work and home. We've got recommendations for casserole dishes, pie plates, a super powerful food processor, the best instant-read thermometer, and more.

A Keep-Forever Casserole Dish

Casseroles are Thanksgiving gold because they can be assembled up to a few days in advance and baked off whenever the oven is free. Good casserole dishes heat food evenly in the oven and retain heat well, helping to keep whatever's inside them warm on the table come serving time. (Really good casserole dishes have the added advantage of looking good on said table, as well.) You can use it to make a wide assortment of Thanksgiving sides, like our sweet potato casserole and Daniel's cornbread stuffing with sausage and sage. When we tested casserole dishes, we favored this one from Staub for its wide, looped handles and a lid for safe transport.

a top down view of the staub casserole dish on a green backdrop

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

Affordable & Sturdy Cast Iron Skillets

An excellent cast iron skillet is useful year-round, but it's especially handy come the holidays. If you use yours exclusively for stovetop preparations, then you're in for a treat—since they're oven-safe, cast iron pans are just as useful for baked preparations, like brown butter cornbread, Stella's sweet and savory corn casserole, and these delicious pull-apart stuffing rolls.

And did we mention that a cast iron skillet is also useful for so many party-ready desserts? This chocolate cake can actually be made and baked in the pan. And this skillet cookies recipe is another simple-to-prepare crowd-pleaser. What's more, cast iron pans are handsome, so you can place them right on the table from the oven (don't forget the trivet!). Our favorite cast iron skillet is this affordable one from Lodge. You also can't go wrong with an enameled cast iron skillet. This one from Le Creuset has great heat retention and natural nonstick capabilities.

Lodge cast iron skillet on a white surface

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

An Outstanding Roasting Pan

The key to a great roasting pan is the rack. This one is slightly curved, so it can handle both big and small turkey, ham, or roasts. Its lip is slightly flared, which makes for easier pouring. And those handles? Supremely comfy to grip.

The Cuisinart roasting pan with a wire rack in it.

Serious Eats / Taylor Murray

Versatile Half Sheet Trays

Hopefully, you already have some half sheet trays lying around. If you don't, it's time. You'll need these come Thanksgiving for nicely charred Brussels sprouts and roasted root vegetables. Yup, that means you can say goodbye to that fancy roasting pan (or at least save it for the bird!); all you need is a regular old sheet pan to make our crisp-skinned, evenly cooked spatchcocked turkey.

the nordic ware half sheet pan

Serious Eats / Irvin Lin

Functional and Pretty Pie Plates

The Thanksgiving table needs a pie, and a pie needs a good pie plate. Hint hint: Cheaper is sometimes better. Prefer a pretty stoneware pan that'll look nice on your table? This one from Made In also graced our winners list.

Made In pie pan

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

An Easy-to-Use Kitchen Timer

Armed with a portable kitchen timer, you won't need to worry about burning toasted nuts or your crispy mashed potato casserole. Best part about this one? It hangs around your neck, so you won't forget about your food. It's also a nice conversation piece for when things get awkward with your in-laws.

the timestick trio kitchen timer

Serious Eats / Jesse Raub

Fast and Accurate Thermometers

Banish turkey temp anxiety with an instant-read thermometer. (You'll soon also find that thermometers are great for more than just meats.) They'll give you blazing-fast results whether you want the temperature of sugar for candy or oil for deep-frying. If you feel like the Thermapen ONE is a bit on the pricey side, we suggest the ThermoPop. It takes just a bit longer to provide results, but it's just as accurate, so you can serve your bird anxiety-free. A leave-in probe thermometer is also a great option for long roasts. We love the ChefAlarm. It has a count-down and count-up timer, and even tells you how much time has passed since the alarm went off.

A Thermapen one taking the temperature of a sous vide water bath set to 134 degrees

Serious Eats / Irvin Lin

Sharp Mandoline Slicers

Handheld mandolines are great to have on hand if you want to cut perfectly even slices for roasted veggies, salads, and even potato dishes like our cheesy, creamy Hasselback potato gratin. The good news: Our favorite mandolines make chef-worthy cuts.

a hand with a cut-resistant glove sliding a potato over a mandoline

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

The Best 3-Quart Saucier

What is a saucier, you may ask, and why do I need one? A saucier is like a slightly shallower, wider saucepan with rounded sides; chefs use them for whisking risottos, gravies, and demi-glace. We like them for these tasks as well. Our favorite saucier is from Made In, because it has the best balance of weight, ergonomics, and performance of all the models tested. Its broad surface area was ideal for stirring. Buy one for Thanksgiving, and we guarantee you'll use it all year round.

Made In Saucier against a white background

Serious Eats / Tim Chin

Unbeatable Rolling Pins

Sad news: Rolling out your pie dough with a bottle of wine does not produce great crust. But a good, tapered, French-style rolling pin offers a lot more control and precision. Once you have your rolling pin, you'll be ready to make any kind of pie. If you find it tricky to get evenly rolled dough, check out this pin from GIR—it has adjustable rings that help you achieve a precise thickness.

a person using a rolling pin to roll out a pie crust

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

A Powerful Carving Knife

When it comes time to cut the turkey, you'll need a good carving and slicing knife. The long, tapered blade of a carving knife will help you get right down to the bone and maneuver around cartilage (which means more meat for you and the fam). While the Wüsthof was the clear winner of our carving knives review, we also loved this budget-friendly pick from Mercer.

A person slicing meat using the Wusthof Classic Carving Knife

Serious Eats / Taylor Murray

...Or a Great Electric Knife

Electric knives aren't for everyone, but they've come a long way since their inception. We recently (and carefully) tested them, and were pleasantly surprised at how nimbly they worked their way around bones. This set from Cuisinart came out on top of our review.

the cuisinart electric knife on a cutting board

Serious Eats / Henry Wortock

A Hard-Working Chef's Knife

If you don't already own a great chef's knife, Thanksgiving is the ideal time to invest. (You may even snag an early Black Friday deal.) We recommend this Wüsthof knife to everyone, and we were seriously impressed with the performance of this budget pick for less than half the price.

Our Favorite Kitchen Scale

A good kitchen scale is immeasurably (ha!) important. It's the most precise way to bake and cook. We've never found a better one than OXO's, thanks to its lightning-fast screen and pull-out display. Want some other great measuring tools? We've done the legwork to identify the best liquid measuring cups, dry measuring cups, and measuring spoons.

A large bowl of flour on the OXO kitchen scale with its display pulled out.

Serious Eats / Ashlee Redger

An Indispensible Oven Thermometer

So, what happens when you've followed our turkey recipe down to the letter but things aren't looking quite right? Well, it's probably your oven—most aren't all that accurate. To keep your oven honest, we strongly suggest you pick up an oven thermometer. Simply place it in there to make sure your oven is calibrated and ready to get that turkey skin extra crispy.

Investment-Worthy Dutch Ovens

I don't think there's anything more versatile than a good Dutch oven. Come Thanksgiving time, you can use it to par-cook potatoes for Kenji's best roasted potatoes recipe, sauté aromatics for your sausage and oyster stuffing, and even prep your apple pie filling before you slide it into that perfect crust. We did a deep dive into the world of Dutch ovens and found that our old standby, the Le Creuset, is still one of the best out there, thanks to its excellent heat retention, generous capacity, and versatility on the oven and stovetop. Staub's also fantastic, as is the more budget-friendly .

yellow staub dutch oven on a stove

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

The Best Potato Ricers

There may be some people out there who are cool with lumpy mashed potatoes. But for the rest of us, a potato ricer is a great tool to have in the kitchen, whether you're partial to extra-fluffy or rich and creamy mashed potatoes. We were wowed by this unique potato ricer, thanks to its twist-motion design. If you're partial to traditional press-lever ricers, you'll like our winning pick from Chef'n.

A half of a peeled potato in the hopper of the Joseph Joseph potato ricer.

Serious Eats / Will Dickey

Strong Poultry Shears

If you're going to spatchcock your turkey, you'll need a strong pair of kitchen shears. Good thing we tested a whole bunch! OXO's poultry shears were the winners: The looped handle will keep your hands from slipping (in case of grease), and there's a take-apart hinge that makes them super easy to clean. These are the only shears we tested that did well getting through slimy skin and cleaving through bone.

Oxo poultry shears on a grey background

Serious Eats / Ashlee Redger

Highly Accurate Immersion Circulators

A sous vide circulator will take your cooking to the next level in terms of precise temps and supreme textures. We recently tested 19 immersion circulators, and our favorites for sous vide cooking were standouts. The Breville Joule Turbo is slim but powerful, with an easy-to-use app. We also liked the Anova Precision Cooker for its intuitive onscreen display.

A Breville joule turbo sous video machine standing upright in a Dutch oven

Serious Eats / Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm

A Handy Fine-Mesh Strainer

We've written time and again about the many uses for fine mesh strainers, and on Thanksgiving, it definitely makes the essential tools list. For example, they ensure that your stock is crystal clear. And they'll help produce the silkiest custards (like for Stella's chocolate cream pie). We love the Rösle Stainless Steel Round Handle Kitchen Strainer, though the more budget-friendly OXO Good Grips strainer also did a good job in our review.

a person using a fine mesh strainer to sprinkle flour over a block of dough

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Top-Rated Food Processors

We regularly update our food processors review. Sure, they can be heavy and pricey, but a food processor is an excellent tool to have in your kitchen, especially when you're cooking for a crowd. Use it to quickly blitz your mirepoix, slice potatoes, put together your flaky pie dough in a flash, or even purée soups. The attachments in the Breville 16-Cup Sous Chef cannot be beat, but if you're looking for something a little smaller you (and your wallet) will love the classic Cuisinart 14-Cup.

A person attaches the bowl to the Breville 16-Cup Sous Chef Peel & Dice Food Processor

Serious Eats / Nick Simpson

Speedy Immersion Blenders

We've not only done extensive research on finding the best hand blender, but we've also written a love letter of sorts about why we think you need one. The long-short of it is, you can use it to make the silkiest butternut squash soup and even whipped cream in a pinch. And if you happen to somehow produce lumpy gravy, a quick blitz with the immersion blender and it'll be smooth as can be. You're surely familiar with the brand names of our favorites: All-Clad and Vitamix make incredibly powerful immersion blenders.

A person uses the All-Clad Stainless Steel Immersion Blender in a plastic container

Serious Eats / Russell Kilgore

A Fool-Proof Tart Pan

Facts: Some people have pie crust anxiety, and that is OKAY. In that case, you'll want to skip the pie pan and use a tart pan with a removable bottom—that will allow you to use a press-in crust or a traditional crust and achieve perfectly crimped edges without all the drama.

A metal tart pan on a wooden cutting board with dough and a rolling pin
Removable-bottom tart pans can be used with traditional pie dough or press-in crusts.

Serious Eats / Rochelle Bilow

A Big Carving Board

A carving board with a wide juice trench is your best friend when carving turkey. This giant one from The Boardsmith earned all the gold stars in our review. It's customizable, so you can choose whether you want a juice trench, a bottom groove, and finger grooves. (P.S.: We like it so much, we also named it our favorite cutting board.)

A wooden carving board on a marble surface

Serious Eats / Taylor Murray

FAQs

What can you prep two days before Thanksgiving?

It's your lucky day! We have an entire article about how to get ready for Thanksgiving (from a practical standpoint). Prepping veggies and other ingredients can also be helpful, and certain dishes are more make-ahead friendly than others (think casseroles, stuffing, and gravy).

What do I need to make turkey?

Kenji's recipe for The Best Simple Roast Turkey With Gravy Recipe requires a baking steel and a V-rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. A sharp carving knife (or just a sharp knife in general) is also a must, and a good wire rack makes seasoning and prepping your turkey easy. And don't forget the thermometer!

How can you tell when turkey is done roasting?

To ensure a fully-cooked (but not overcooked!) turkey, you need an accurate thermometer—our favorite is the Thermapen ONE. We've also written a guide for properly temping a turkey here.

Why We're the Experts

  • Ariel Kanter was the director of Serious Eats for many years.
  • Rochelle Bilow is an editor at Serious Eats. She's a culinary school graduate, former line and prep cook, and has been working in food media for almost two decades.
  • We've independently reviewed (nearly!) all of our selections above, from instant-read thermometers to sous vide machines, so we know a thing or two about what to look for when it comes to kitchen gear.

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