Kitchen Research: Thanksgiving Food Around The World

These Are Only A Few Thanksgiving Dishes Celebrated Around the World

Traditional American Thanksgiving Dinner/Photo: Jed Owen

Some could argue that Thanksgiving is essentially an American holiday. 

Each year, we celebrate by eating American dishes like macaroni and cheese, turkey, ham, yams and green bean casserole, all while enjoying American pastimes like football, hanging out with family on the couch and watching the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. So you might be surprised to learn that there are variations of Thanksgiving celebrated by people around the world to give thanks and celebrate where they’re from.

In fact, according to Olivia Waxman from Time Magazine, the first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada and not the United States. In addition to Canada, countries like Mexico, Thailand, Sweden, and Italy all have their own versions of Thanksgiving. The tradition of a yearly harvest and thanking the Earth for providing for its people is without question an idea that goes beyond borders. 

Even the football and turkey-based Thanksgiving we know today is slightly different from how the holiday started. Many aspects of Thanksgiving that we know today have been whitewashed from what historians think really happened on that first Thanksgiving, which included the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans sharing an autumn harvest feast that didn’t even include turkey or dessert.

So if you’re looking to get closer to the true meaning behind Thanksgiving, you might be able to learn something from the people who celebrate their own Thanksgiving around the world. 

Here are a few dishes that celebrate Thanksgiving around the world.

Classic Red Mole With Turkey (Mexico)

Photo: Mole Rojo Clásico con Guajolote

When walking into most authentic Mexican restaurants, you are bound to find mole. Mole, pronounced MOH-lay, is a chocolate-based sauce (in some cases) that when done correctly could almost wipe away all of your worries. Considered to be one of Mexico's first international dishes, mole holds a special place in the cultural history of the vibrant country it calls home (via Benito's Mexican restaurant). This sauce was seen as something that was special, shared between families at special events and celebrations. 

Click here to find out how Chef Rick Bayless cooks his Red Mole with Turkey

Thai Turkey Meatballs (Thailand)

Thai Meatballs/Photo: Lexis Clean Kitchen

These Thai Meatballs are paleo, gluten-free, and bursting with flavor. They are a healthy meatball recipe that everybody will love. This Thai meatball recipe is loaded with veggies and infused with the perfect flavor combination of ginger, chili, garlic, and more. 

Click here to learn how Chef Lexi cooks her meatballs in the kitchen

Swedish Hasselback Potatoes

Swedish Hasselback Potatoes/Photo: Home Chef Amanda’s Cookin

Hasselbacks potatoes is the Swedish way of roasting potatoes. Its name comes from the Hasselbacken Restaurant, now attached to a hotel in central Stockholm. Hasselbacken was first established in the 1700s as a tavern and was originally just a traditional red hut in the middle of thicket of hassel (hazel) on quite a steep backe (slope), which is how it got its name. Restaurang Hasselbacken opened in 1853 in a grand new building. It developed a reputation for major celebrations, which were enjoyed by Stockholm's rich upperclass.

Click here to learn how Home Chef Amanda makes these delicious potatoes

Pumpkin Ravioli (Italy)

Tortelli de Zucca/Photo: Chef Caroline Cooking

Pumpkin ravioli may take a little time to make, but if made right, they are really worth the effort. Pumpkin arrived in Italy via the Spanish and Portuguese Jews after the Inquisition. Although popular in Ancona and Ferrara, these much-loved ravioli are a specialty of Mantua, where a sizable Jewish community thrived during the reign of the Gonzaga family. The pumpkin filling may include the addition of crunchy amaretti (almond macaroons), ground toasted almonds, chopped raisins, or mostarda di frutta, a condiment of candied fruit in a mustard-flavored syrup that is a specialty of Cremona. 

Click here to see Home Chef Caroline’s authentic Italian pumpkin ravioli recipe

Wherever you are in the world, you probably have something to be grateful for. So whether you’re in Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Sweden, Italy, the United States, or anywhere else in the world, I hope you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving, whatever it looks and tastes like. If you’re curious about some other harvest festivals around the world, you can learn about a few more in China, and Korea, as well as this harvest festival celebrated by Jewish people around the world. 

No matter where or how you’re celebrating, enjoy your Thanksgiving celebration!