Whether your oven is crammed full of turkey or it’s woefully small, sometimes baking and roasting isn’t an option on Thanksgiving.
This week, people all over the country will be making multiple dishes for Thanksgiving dinner, using every available cooking surface they can, and spending an average of 9.6 hours in preparation for their guests, per 2025 WalletHub data.
Thankfully, there are plenty of Thanksgiving staples or updated versions of the classics that don’t require any oven space at all. Even the precious turkey can stay out of that fateful appliance on November 27.
Here are the easiest foods you can whip up this Thanksgiving — no oven required.
If you want to use your oven for other dishes, you could use a deep fryer for your turkey.
Deep-frying a turkey is still serious business — one that can end in a fiery disaster.
Here’s the best way to fry your turkey.
If your oven is full, you can leave soup simmering on the stove or in a slow cooker.
As part of Business Insider’s ongoing taste-test series, we’ve tried the best canned chicken noodle soups. Any of these would be perfect to whip up on Thanksgiving.
If you’re not into chicken soup, you can also check out these soups that will keep you warm during the cold weather, and these don’t even require a stove, just a slow cooker.
Mashed potatoes can be made from a mix or in the slow cooker.
Instant mashed potatoes are polarizing but extremely simple. Here are the best instant mashed potatoes you can buy at the store.
If you’re looking to make your mashed potatoes from scratch, these mashed potatoes hacks will take this classic dish to the next level.
Alternatively, you can make delicious, creamy mashed potatoes in a slow cooker. Business Insider’s Erin McDowell called it “basically a set-it-and-forget-it dish.”
Spinach casserole is another dish you can make in your slow cooker.
Casseroles are a favorite, especially on Thanksgiving. This slow-cooker spinach casserole is sure to be a big hit.
You could also use a slow cooker for your bird, freeing up oven space.
It’s a great tool to utilize on Turkey Day.
Here are recipes for slow-cooking your turkey.
Cranberry sauce is a classic Thanksgiving side dish, and all you need to do is open a can.
Find out which grocery-store cranberry sauce was named our favorite.
And don’t forget, you should always open your cranberry sauce upside down.
Stuffing is a Thanksgiving essential that doesn’t need to spend time in the oven.
There’s not one specific recipe for stuffing, and thus no one way to cook it. Here’s an “everything” stuffing recipe that goes in the slow cooker, or a stove-top Thanksgiving stuffing.
Business Insider also tried an air-fryer stuffing recipe that was tasty, if not a bit time-consuming.
Sweet potatoes are extremely versatile, and all you need to do is stick them in the microwave.
Sweet potatoes are a source of beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A once consumed.
All you need to do to successfully cook a sweet potato is to prick its skin with a fork and throw it in the microwave for 6 to 8 minutes.
You can make candied yams in an air fryer.
A Business Insider reporter tried out an air-fryer recipe recipe for candied yams and called it “ridiculously easy.”
There are plenty of ways to make cheesecake festive without turning on the oven.
There are many different no-bake recipes out there, but here are some of our favorites: apple-pie cheesecake cups, caramel apple cheesecake, and pumpkin cheesecake.
Technically, we recommended Martha Stewart’s no-bake cheesecake for summer, but it’s a year-round dessert in our eyes.
Cauliflower, or any vegetable really, tastes great pan-fried.
Here’s a recipe for pan-fried cauliflower.
Creamed corn turns corn on the cob into an autumnal side dish.
Creamed corn is corn that’s scraped off the cob and combined with milk, cream, or even cream cheese, depending on the recipe.
We’ve included a classic creamed-corn recipe, which involves simmering the corn over a stove top, and a slow-cooker variation.
Salad is a tried and true side that involves no cooking at all.
Even though Thanksgiving is all about eating until your stomach gives out, that doesn’t mean it has to all be unhealthy.
Salads are a solid way to consume something green this Thanksgiving. We’ve ranked the healthiest lettuces and leafy greens, and listed everything you need to make your salad as healthy as possible.
Green-bean casserole is another staple at the Thanksgiving table.
Green-bean casserole is even more popular than most casseroles on Turkey Day. Even though casseroles are generally baked in the oven, there are ways around that particular rule. Just check out this skillet green-bean casserole or this microwave version.
However, if you have oven space for a green-bean casserole, Business Insider ranked recipes from chefs Alton Brown, Ree Drummond, and Alex Guarnaschelli.
Everyone’s favorite pasta dish, mac and cheese, only requires a pot and a stove.
Whether you’re making boxed mac and cheese or working from scratch, this pasta side is always a hit with adults, kids, foodies, and picky eaters alike.
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