18 Thanksgiving Recipes for Huge Stinkin’ Garlic Lovers

featured image via Shutterstock

I cook with so much garlic that I’m pretty sure my hands perpetually carry its scent, which I should probably apologize to my girlfriend for. But I will never stop doubling and tripling the amount of garlic a recipe calls for, because I like to live my truth. And every savory dish tastes better with garlic—it’s just a fact. And now that I’m a mortar and pestle proselyte, my garlic game is better than ever.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and with it comes many garlicky possibilities. Turkey, mashed potatoes, greens, bread—all of the traditional staples of an American Thanksgiving dinner just happen to also be foods that are better with garlic. And as an added bonus, maybe everyone’s breath will be too rank by the end of the meal for things to devolve into a riotous political debate, as Thanksgiving dinners with my mom’s family tend to go. Garlic breath has never stopped any of us, but maybe one day.

Spoiler alert: One of the following recipes calls for “40 cloves of garlic,” which is the most scintillating phrase I’ve ever read. Let’s get our garlic on this Thanksgiving, pals! And if you comment on this post just to say that you dislike garlic, listen, I respect your right to have an opinion. The holidays are a time for acceptance and unconditional love. But also you’re wrong and not invited to my house for dinner, sorry!


1. Slow-Roast Turkey with 40 Cloves of Garlic

136256551


2. Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

garlmash_190-jpg-rend-sni12col-landscape


3. Garlic Potato Gratin

fnm_040113-garlic-potato-gratin-recipe_s4x3-jpg-rend-sni18col


4. Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Garlic and Chile

sweet-potatoes


5. Garlic Soup

6f5cec6f-d77a-458b-8f94-f373d76f77b5-untitled_17_of_36


6. Cheese Garlic Biscuits

3621178


7. Garlic Bread

ig0701_garlic-bread_s4x3-jpg-rend-sni12col-landscape


8. Sautéed Collard Greens with Garlic

mld106366_1210_collardgrn29_vert


9. Quick Sautéed Spinach with Garlic

ny1113h_quick-sauteed-spinach_s4x3-jpg-rend-sni18col


10. Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

4013367


11. Grilled Garlic Parmesan Zucchini

419851


12. Roasted Garlic Macaroni and Cheese

plated-mac-and-cheese


13. Parmesan Cheese and Garlic Potato Pieparmesan-cheese


14. Caramelized Garlic, Spinach, and Cheddar Tart

caramelized-garlic-and-cheddar-tart


15. Creamy Parmesan Garlic Broccoli Casserole

broccoli-gratin-casserole-bake_main_680px


16. Rosemary Lemon and Garlic Seitan with Brown Rice

Shutterstock

Shutterstock


17. Spicy Garlic Tofu

screen-shot-2016-11-03-at-8-04-45-pm


18. Roasted Garlic Gravy

piczy2n7k


Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our A+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining A+ and supporting the people who make this indie queer media site possible?

Join A+!

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, short stories, and pop culture criticism living in Miami. She is the assistant managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear or are forthcoming in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 510 articles for us.

18 Comments

  1. This whole post needs a tic-tac. As a vampire prospect, this is not a safe area for me to in. ?

    Also, 40 cloves of garlic??!!!! Are you kidding me? You might as well find a giant clove of garlic and serve that instead.

  2. I would put all of these in my mouth. I love garlic! It’s also super heart healthy. A few years ago, I made roasted garlic hummus from scratch, and I highly recommend it. Just roast garlic (cut the whole head in half, wrap it in aluminum foil, and bake it), and your kitchen will smell amazing. GARLIC 4EVA.

  3. I love garlic so much!!! Any meal that calls for it, has at minimum 4-5 cloves. Also my first kiss happened after eating garlic bread with someone and that fact just makes me so happy, its basically exactly how I wanted it to happen.

Contribute to the conversation...

Yay! You've decided to leave a comment. That's fantastic. Please keep in mind that comments are moderated by the guidelines laid out in our comment policy. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation and thanks for stopping by!