20-Minute Thanksgiving Recipes

After baking flaky squares of puff pastry, Melissa Rubel Jacobson tops them with sweet fig preserves and pungent blue cheese.

The bulk of time needed for this recipe is dedicated to boiling the potatoes. After that, the dish comes together very quickly. Even better: the shallot butter can be made a week ahead of time, making last-minute preparation a snap.

Canned chipotles in adobo sauce, sold at Latin markets and many supermarkets, give this clever, creamy dip an enticing heat and smokiness. The spiced pepitas (roasted and salted pumpkin seeds) scattered over the dip are addictive and great as a snack on their own.

This warm, sweet-spicy goat cheese dip is an easy alternative to a cheese plate.

This fruit-filled butter is wonderful on crusty bread and warm popovers.

A gentle heat makes these seasoned walnuts ideal with cocktails.

A splash of pear brandy plus maple syrup and Spanish almonds put a modern spin on baked Brie.

Chef Nuno Mendes separates brussels sprout leaves by hand before sautéing them, an extremely time-consuming task. Thinly slicing the sprouts vertically—by hand or with a food processor fitted with a slicing blade—gets similar results in a fraction of the time.

“I just think carrots, particularly their tops and roots, are an artistic wonder,” Richard Blais says. “The color, the abstract shape—they’re gorgeous.” He cooks them in a tangy ginger sauce and then sprinkles them with the flavorful, seaweed-and-sesame-seed-based Japanese seasoning called furikake.

This refreshing vodka cocktail, from chef Rachel Klein’s friend Julie Weinberg, gets its incredible floral flavor from essential oil. Even a drop or two is powerful.

This simple salad has a perfect mix of bitter (arugula), sweet (Asian pear), tangy (lemon dressing) and crunchy (pumpkin seeds). Try it with green apples or Bosc pears if Asian pears are hard to find.

This green salad is one of Jordon Carroll’s favorites: romaine lettuce with onion and tomato. She adds a pinch of oregano to the dressing, the way her grandmother used to.

Cooked with less water and in a wide skillet, tart cranberries get candied in the sugar syrup and remain almost whole.

This impressive cool-weather salad is an extraordinarily addictive mix of sweet, crunchy and salty ingredients.

These beautiful, rustic tarts from author Susan Spungen have a supertender, terrifically tasty crust made with rye flour and cornmeal. They’re extremely easy on the cook because they can be made ahead at any stage: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; the unbaked tarts can be refrigerated overnight; or the whole tarts can be baked and frozen, then reheated shortly before serving.

Mexican chocolate, which is flavored with ingredients like cinnamon, almonds and vanilla, lends a distinct flavor to Stephanie Prida’s rich custard. Look for it at Mexican markets and specialty-food stores.

The blend of flavors and textures here—crunchy, smooth, nutty, sweet, tart—makes this simple dessert irresistible. Opt for lebneh or another soft fresh cheese that won’t melt quickly underneath the warm apples topped with a quick granola crumble.