Fully Mediterranean Team Favorites: Easy Dishes to Share This Thanksgiving
From simple sides to nostalgic family recipes, we’re sharing the dishes our team turns to year after year. Full of flavor, love, and the spirit of sharing a meal together!
Hi everyone! With the Big Show, aka Thanksgiving, just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to share a little roundup of our favorite easy-to-bring holiday dishes from the Fully Mediterranean team.
I have to admit, it was so hard to pick a favorite! How do you choose just one recipe? It’s like asking, “Who’s your favorite child?” This turned into a fun project for me and the team — we found ourselves reminiscing about the dishes that bring us joy year after year, and why we keep coming back to them (or sometimes, why we’re ready for a little change!).
Each recipe holds a story — of loved ones who are with us, and those who live on in our hearts. It’s a beautiful reminder of why we cook and gather. My heart is full of gratitude.
Cooking for Others
Cooking for others is one of the oldest ways we show love. Across so many cultures, preparing food is about so much more than just feeding people — it’s how we nurture and care for one another. In the Mediterranean, food isn’t just what’s on the plate; it’s about connection, conversation, and nourishment for both body and soul.
I was talking with a dear friend recently — she’s one of those natural nurturers — and she mentioned how much joy she finds in cooking for others. She’d just brought dinner to a family in need, and we talked about how those small acts can fill your cup in the most unexpected ways. When you cook for someone, you’re offering a little piece of yourself. That simple exchange — giving and receiving through food — creates a beautiful cycle that feeds us all, inside and out.
An Invitation to Cook with Heart
So this Thanksgiving, whether you’re tossing together a simple salad or preparing a big, beautiful feast, take a moment to cook with intention. Be grateful for the hands that grew your ingredients and the loved ones who will gather to enjoy them.
Fully Mediterranean Team Favorites
Pam:
If you’ve been following Fully Mediterranean, you know this Pumpkin Curry Soup is a non-negotiable at my family’s Thanksgiving. My mom started the tradition so long ago that none of us can even remember a holiday without it. Sometimes we enjoy it casually, all gathered around and chatting with a warm cup in hand, and other times it makes its way to the table for a more formal start to the meal. Either way, this soup is comforting, full of flavor, and truly feels like a warm hug in soup form.
Claire:
One of the first dishes that comes to mind when I think of Thanksgiving is the sweet potato recipe my dad always makes, originally passed down from my grandma. It’s been a favorite for as long as I can remember. I’ve always loved the process of helping prepare it—especially enjoying the sweet potato skins on the side :)—and I appreciate how easy it is to prep ahead of time. Growing up, my siblings and I were always on “marshmallow duty,” and I’ll warn you: the instructions to watch them carefully are there for a reason! The toasted marshmallows add the perfect touch of sweetness, and the sweet potatoes provide a delicious serving of starchy veggies to your Thanksgiving plate.
Sarah Ann:
This was a recipe that my mom found years ago. It is such an easy side dish to make, but always a staple in our house, especially for the holidays. My mom combines fresh broccoli florets, raisins or cranberries, red onion, crunchy almonds — and yes, bacon, because even healthy salads can have a Mississippi flair. Proof that “balanced diet” can mean broccoli in one hand and bacon in the other. This is the dish that turns vegetable skeptics into broccoli lovers and has everyone asking for seconds
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Chelsea:
I came up with this Balsamic Roasted Winter Vegetables recipe for my first Friendsgiving after moving to Nashville. Everyone else had already signed up for the usual Thanksgiving staples — stuffing, mashed potatoes, all the cozy carbs. But there weren’t any vegetables on the list. I wanted to bring something that looked good on the table, tasted great, and added a little balance to the mix. The balsamic and pomegranate add a nice sweetness, tang, and pop of color, and the goat cheese gives it a creamy, slightly decadent touch. Simple, delicious, and always a hit!
Let your cooking be a mindful act of Thanksgiving — from your heart to theirs.
Love,
Pam and the team