Turkey, stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, and cranberries are just some of the ingredients that go into Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole, which is topped with a speedy homemade gravy.
Simply put, it’s a casserole that includes all of your friends’ favorite foods from Friendsgiving. A traditional Thanksgiving dish, it has turkey (or chicken, or no meat at all), sourdough stuffing with herbs, sweet potatoes, green beans, and dried cranberries. Make a pot of mushroom gravy (or your preferred gravy) to generously spread over each plate while the casserole bakes to hot and golden perfection in the oven. To top it all off, this Friendsgiving Casserole from Joanna Gaines can be on your table in a fraction of the time it takes to make a traditional Friendsgiving meal.
Try More Recipes From us:
Why I Love This Casserole Dish
When I first read the recipe for Joanna Gaines’ Friendsgiving Casserole, I was skeptical. Personally, I prefer to compartmentalize my meals. However, because I was requested to create the dish as written and offer my own interpretation of it, I went ahead and did so.
Joanna Gaines’ Friendsgiving Casserole is a dish that I quickly came to like. You wouldn’t believe how simple it was to cook with Thanksgiving leftovers, and how very satisfying it was to eat all at once. I use this as a standard procedure whenever I roast a turkey.
Ingredients That You’ll Need:
A few comments on the things we’ll need before getting to the entire recipe for Joanna Gaines’ Friendsgiving Casserole are included below.
- Veggies: I used a combination of sweet potato (or another type of potato), chopped fresh green beans (or frozen), celery, and onion. However, feel free to add whichever vegetables you choose!
- Garlic: Because this ends up being a really large dish, I would suggest using a generous amount of garlic in the seasoning.
- Salt and pepper: Don’t forget to season the veggie combination well with salt and pepper, and conduct a quick taste test after mixing all of the casserole components to determine if the whole thing needs more salt and pepper.
- Bread: I highly recommend making the croutons for the “stuffing” portion of the Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole with some quality crusty bread (I used sourdough). To prevent the filling from becoming mushy, use dried-out leftover bread. If you are short on time, you may dice the bread into croutons and bake/dry them in the oven as it preheats.
- Turkey: For this Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole recipe, you may use any type of ground, diced, shredded, cooked turkey, or turkey sausage. You may also substitute chicken or leave out the meat completely to make this dish vegetarian.
- Dried cranberries: I love how the dried cranberries bring a sense of sweetness to this Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole! You could also use fresh cranberries, which would be considerably sourer. You may also use any other dried berries or raisins you choose.
- Fresh herbs: I also recommend seasoning the dish with plenty of chopped fresh herbs. (I used fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme in this recipe.) If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use a couple of teaspoons of your preferred dry herb spices.
- Stock + eggs: In order to produce the “stuffing” component of this Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole and ensure that all of the components stay cohesive with one another, we will also make use of a mix of chicken or vegetable stock in addition to eggs.
- Nuts: To give the dish an additional layer of flavor and texture, one of my favorite things to do is sprinkle the top with some roasted nuts (such as pepitas, pecans, or walnuts), then bake it.
- Gravy: And last, but certainly not least, there is the gravy to consider. I prepared a batch of my go-to recipe for mushroom gravy so that it could be drizzled over the top of this dish, but you are welcome to use whichever gravy recipe you enjoy the most.
Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole Variations:
As previously said, there are several ways to personalize this Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole. So please feel free to play around with the recipe and have fun! Some ideas may include…
How To Make Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole
- Prepare the oven and skillet. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
- Sauté the vegetables. In a large nonstick sauté pan, warm oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and sweet potato to the pan and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato has softened substantially.
- Add the green beans, garlic, and celery, and generously season the mixture with salt and pepper. Continue cooking the garlic for two to three minutes, stirring periodically, until aromatic.
- Combine everything. Cooked vegetables are transferred to a large mixing bowl. Add the bread, cooked turkey, dried cranberries, and fresh herbs to the dressing.
- In a small dish, combine the stock and eggs, then pour the mixture into the main mixing basin. Use a spatula to gently stir the mixture until it is uniformly blended. Transfer the casserole to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and smooth it out evenly.
- Bake. Uncovered, bake the casserole for 40 to 45 minutes, or until it is fully cooked and the top is golden brown. (However, if the top becomes too brown or appears to be about to burn, simply place a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the casserole until baking is complete.)
- Prepare the sauce. While the casserole is baking, prepare the mushroom gravy according to the directions in the recipe.
- Serve. Once the Friendsgiving Casserole by Joanna Gaines is cooked, take it from the oven and, if wanted, serve with a drizzle of gravy and a sprinkling of chopped nuts. Serve warm, sprinkling each portion with more gravy, and enjoy!
How To Reheat Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole?
In The Oven:
Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Reheat the Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole, covered, for about 15 minutes per pound. Reheat for another 10 minutes after removing the foil. Broil the fried onions on low for 2-3 minutes if they need to be crisper.
In The microwave:
In the Air Fryer:
In the air fryer, reheat the Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole for 3-4 minutes at 350-400 degrees F.
- Cranberry Sauce
- Kale Salad
- Dinner Rolls
- Green Salad
- Roasted Broccoli
How To Store Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole?
Leftover Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
Transfer any leftover Joanna Gaines Friendsgiving Casserole to a well-sealed freezer bag or container. Keep for up to 2 months in the freezer. Cold leftovers of Joanna Gaines’ Friendsgiving Casserole are best when reheated the following day.
Joanna Gaines’ Friendsgiving Casserole may be reheated for 25-30 minutes in a casserole dish covered with foil at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Recipe Tips
- Turkey options/alternatives: Pre-cooked turkey can be diced or shredded. (I used leftover roasted turkey breast that I cooked using this recipe’s approach.) You might also make a pound of ground turkey or turkey sausage. To make this dish vegetarian, substitute chopped or shredded chicken or skip the meat completely.
- Dried-out bread: Stuffing tastes best when cooked using old, dried-out bread (so that it does not become soggy). Before creating this bread, I recommend slicing the bread into little pieces and letting it out on the counter to dry overnight. If you’re in a hurry, spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake and dry out the bread in the oven as it preheats.
Amount Per Serving
- Calories 442.8
- Total Fat 3.1g
- Saturated Fat 1g
- Cholesterol 42.7mg
- Sodium 1318.3mg
- Potassium 526.7mg
- Total Carbohydrate 42.2g
- Dietary Fiber 3.4g
- Sugars 29g
- Protein 19.7g
- Vitamin A 137.3%
- Vitamin C 18.6%
- Calcium 2.4%
- Iron 10.9%
Try More Recipes:
Servings 8
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 442.8
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 3.1g5%
- Saturated Fat 1g5%
- Cholesterol 42.7mg15%
- Sodium 1318.3mg55%
- Potassium 526.7mg16%
- Total Carbohydrate 42.2g15%
- Dietary Fiber 3.4g14%
- Sugars 29g
- Protein 19.7g40%
- Vitamin A 137.3 IU
- Vitamin C 18.6 mg
- Calcium 2.4 mg
- Iron 10.9 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
