Preparing For Thanksgiving? Costs Are Up For Your Favorite Dishes

Affordability and inflation are dominating the national discussion on the cost of living.

Many consumers will flock to the grocery store this weekend for their Thanksgiving feast items.

What will the 2025 Thanksgiving meal cost compared to 2024 prices?

Just looking at items purchased at your local grocer, rather than going out to a restaurant.  Dining out on Thanksgiving will cost significantly more.  However, while you don't have to do the cooking or cleanup, you won't enjoy any delicious leftovers, either.

Local restaurants offer a Thanksgiving meal service, so check local social media for possibilities near you.

A consensus among the estimates for store-purchased items shows the 2025 feast should cost about $7.30 per person.  Wells Fargo Bank is estimating a meal for ten people should run about $80, or up to $95 for name-brand products versus the store brands

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Walmart's meal basket for 10 people is back this holiday for under $40. It includes a 13.5-pound Butterball turkey and over 20 essential side items and dessert ingredients.

Walmart's 2024 meal kit was advertised at $7 per person, and to hold down prices, the 2025 Thanksgiving basket contains about half the items compared to last year, eliminating fresh vegetables and pecan pie.

If that means too many leftovers for a smaller gathering, Target's meal kit serves four guests for $20

Fred Meyer offers a pre-cooked turkey dinner with six side dishes that serves 6–8 people for $90.

Here are the key Thanksgiving price differences compared to 2024

Turkey: Wholesale turkey prices surged in 2025 due to avian flu impacts. Many grocers are doing promotional offsets for consumers this year.  Wells Fargo reports national-brand turkey prices are 3.7% lower, and Walmart's turkey price is at its lowest since 2019.

Side Dishes: These are the biggest contributors to increased prices for the Thanksgiving spread.  Butter is up as much as 58%, crescent rolls 50%, and apple cider 33% compared to 2024 prices. 

Frozen Vegetables: Some good news for consumers, national-brand frozen vegetables are an average 15% lower in year-over-year price comparisons.

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