$20 Three-Course Thanksgiving Meal from Dollar Tree Goes Viral
Source: Brandon Bell / Getty
With grocery and home goods prices through the roof, many Americans are looking for ways to affordably provide meals for the family and still make ends meet this holiday season. One TikTok creator’s video seems to have saved the day for millions after her $20 Dollar Tree meal has gone viral just ahead of Thanksgiving.
In an effort to create and showcase extremely budget-friendly meals (exclusively made from Dollar Tree ingredients) for her audience of over 2M, the creator behind @DollarTreeDinners recently posted a new and improved Thanksgiving recipe. The three-course dinner includes Mac & Cheese Bites, “The Best of Thanksgiving” Casserole, and Caramel Apple Pie/Cherry Pie Cookie Bars.
“I’ve got a $20 budget to make a Thanksgiving dinner using ingredients from Dollar Tree… I’m happy to say that not only have I already made the Dollar Tree Thanksgiving dinner [and] I do think it was my best Thanksgiving dinner that I have ever made.” -@DollarTreeDinners’ Rebecca Chobat
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@dollartreedinners I made a 3-course Thanksgiving dinner on a $20 budget from Dolalr Tree, starting with these crispy and creamy fried mac & Cheese bites. They’re crunchy on the outside, tender and cheesy on the inside and perfect with ranch for dipping. Stay tuned for the main dish and dessert. Ingredients: 1 box Kraft Thick & Creamy mac & cheese 1 & 1/2 cups of water 1/2 cup of milk (plus extra for breading) 2 tablespoons of margarine Italian seasoned breadcrumbs Oil for frying Ranch dressing (for dipping) Instructions: 1) In a pot, combien the macaroni, water, milk, margarine and cheese powder from the box. 2) Bring to a boil, stirring occassionally, then cover and simmer for 8 minutes continuing to stir occassionally 3) Transfer to a shallow container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (preferrably overnight) 4) Remove mac from the container and cut it into 12 cubes 5) Coat each cube in italian breadcrubs, dip in milk, then coat again in breadcrumbs. Compress the cubes into balls while breading to shape them. 6) Heat 1 inch of oil in a pot and fry the mac and cheese balls in two batchdes for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with ranch for dipping. Enjoy! #budgetfriendlymeals #dollartreefinds #thanksgivingonabudget #thanksgivingdinner #friedmacncheese #budgetcooking #dollartreemeals #3coursemeal #thanksgivingrecipes #holidaycooking #easyappetizers #budgetthanksgiving #tiktokfoodie
♬ original sound – Dollar Tree Dinners – Dollar Tree Dinners
@dollartreedinners Thanksgiving Dinner you can make for under $12! Ingredients: 1 package Idahoan Original Mashed potatoes 1 can french style green beans (can also use frozen) 2 cans of turkey (drained, broth reserved) 1 packet Pionner roasted turkey gravy mix 1 box turkey stuffing mix Dried cranberries (soaked in water to rehydrate) Milk Margarine Chicken Broth Total cost $11.25 Prepare the mashed potaotes, follow the package instructions but substitute some or all of the water with chicken broth. Season well with salt & pepper and spread evenly into a baking dish as layer 1. Spread on a can of drained french style green beans (if desired, this layer can also be green bean casserole by mixing 2 cans of green beans with 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and some french fried onions) Drain the canned turkey, saving the broth for the gravy, shred the turkey well with a fork and spread it over the green beans. Use the reserved turkey broth and water to prepare the roasted turkey gravy according to the package instructions. Pour the gravy evenly over the turkey. Follow the stuffing mix instructions substituting all or some of the water with chicken broth and fold in the soaked cranberries. Spread the stuffing layer evenly over the casserole as the final layer. Dot the top of the stuffing layer with small pats of margarin and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the edges are bubbling. Enjoy! #thanksgivingonabudget #budgetfriendlymeals #dollartreerecipes #thanksgivingcasserole #budgetcooking #comfortfood #casserolerecipes #holidaycooking #3coursemeal
♬ original sound – Dollar Tree Dinners – Dollar Tree Dinners
@dollartreedinners Caramel Apple Pie and/or Cherry Pie Cookie Bars 2 packages of sugar cookie mix 1 can of fruit pie filling (Apple or Cherry) Werther’s Chewy Caramels (Optional) Margarine and water to prepare the cookie mix Combine the sugar cookie mix with margarine and water as directed on the package. Grease a square baking pan and press about 3/4 of the dough into the bottom to form the base. Prebake the cookie base for 18 minutes then set aside to cool. While the base bakes pour the pie filling into a saucepan, mash the fruit nad simmer uncovered until it thickens. Optional Caramel layer: for the caramel apple pie bars melt the chewy carmel candies and spread a thin layer of caramel over the cooled cookie base befoer adding the pie filling. Spread the thickened pie filling over the baked cookie base, take the reserved cookie dough and add collops on top leaving some edges of the pie filling peaking through. Return to the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. let the bars cool completely before cutint ginto squares to ensure they hold together. Enjoy! #thanksgivingonabudget #budgetfriendlymeals #dollartreerecipes #budgetcooking #comfortfood #holidaycooking #3coursemeal #dollartreefinds #thanksgivingdinner #dessert #cookiebars #holidaydessert
♬ original sound – Dollar Tree Dinners – Dollar Tree Dinners
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Full Ingredient List Below
- Swanson chicken broth (Optional)
- Kraft ranch
- Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- Kraft Mac & Cheese
- Turkey stuffing mix
- Idahoan original mashed potatoes mix
- Pioneer roasted turkey gravy mix
- Dried cranberries
- French style green beans
- 2 cans of turkey
- Milk
- Margarine
- Sugar cookie mix
- Werther’s chewy caramel candies
- Apple pie filling
The dinner became increasingly popular after a TikToker posted a heartfelt story about meeting a woman who this recipe saved from eating frozen dinners with her children for Thanksgiving. The video new has over 25M views.
Keep scrolling for the full story and the original TikToker’s response.
@calebcooks94 You are helping a lot of people @Dollar Tree Dinners #fyp #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #foryou #foru #forupage #foryourpage #fypシ #fypage #dollartree #dollartreefinds #dollartreedinners #thanksgiving #thanksgivingdinner
@dollartreedinners Thank you @CalebCooks for sharing that story. It’s an honor knowing that someone out there is able to make a holiday meal for their family because of my videos. This platform is the best thing that has ever happened to me, you all educate and inspire me everyday.
I wish you all the best possible Thanksgiving.
For more Dollar Tree full recipes and cooking tutorials, check out Rebecca Chobat’s @DollarTreeDinners on TikTok.
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