Thanksgiving Meal Bags

With Thanksgiving coming up fast, I’m sharing my list for contents of little Thanksgiving Meal bags that can be left in the little Free Pantries or donated to any organization that helps those in need. To learn more about Free Pantries, and learn how to find one in your area, check out this post. 

The following list will provide a small Thanksgiving meal for 2-4 consisting of:

• Thanksgiving Casserole (I worked up the recipe and made some cards you can print off below)
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Mashed Potatoes
• Green Beans
• Corn Muffins
• Cranberry Sauce

In my area, using all Great Value brand, this cost 11.72 each plus tax. This would also be a great supplement or starter groceries for a larger Thanksgiving meal. Regardless, even putting one bag together and donating it or leaving it in a Free Pantry will definitely help someone. Note: I originally wrote this post in 2024. I’ve updated with 2026 pricing at the bottom of this post for anyone who is curious. 

The list of what I purchased for my bags is below. Modify this to fit your budget and preferences. However, if you decide to print out my recipe cards for Thanksgiving Casserole and include them in your bag, make sure you get the box of stuffing, can of chicken, can of cream of chicken soup, and packet of dry turkey (or chicken) gravy mix.

All items are great value brand:

• 12.5 ounce can of chicken – I bought a four pack from Walmart for the best deal. $2.18
• 1 Box Turkey Stuffing .97¢
• 1 can cream of chicken soup .68¢
• Packet Turkey Gravy Mix .67¢
• 1 can green beans $1.06
• 1 box vegetarian Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix .62¢
• 1 can cranberry sauce $1.66
• 1 packet complete buttery potatoes. .98¢
• 1 box Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese $1.48
• 1 jar Turkey Gravy (for topping things) $1.42
• Box of 2.5 gallon storage bags – Got these from the Dollar Tree .20¢ each
• Total: 11.72

You can cut costs by $3-4 with the substitutions below:

• In place of the jar of turkey gravy, you can get a can or another packet of dry mix.
• Omitting the cranberry sauce will save nearly $2. 
• Regular Jiffy corn muffin mix is a little cheaper than vegetarian.
• There are much cheaper green beans available, these are just my preference

Include a recipe card for Thanksgiving Casserole if you like – I made up recipe cards with a Thanksgiving Casserole recipe. This is just a simple recipe I created to make a more filling dish with the stuffing and chicken. It makes a generous 8×8 pan. I enjoyed it for lunch and will eat it again tomorrow!

The recipe cards can be printed by clicking here

Updated pricing for 2026

Overall, the total price was about the same due to being able to catch the green beans on sale. My bigger challenge was finding all of the products as our Wal Mart carries less stock, fewer items, and fewer brand products (even their own house brand) than they did in 2024.

Substitutions and additions

I had to switch out Jiffy Corn Muffin mix as I can no longer find the vegetarian but I traded it for a package of Gladiola Cornbread mix, which does not contain lard. I also added a $1.96 box of brownie mix, this year, because I think we could all use some brownies!

Totals

2024 pre-tax total was $11.93. 2026 pre tax total (with an additional $2 for brownie mix) is $14.19. We pay about 7% taxes on groceries so that would be added to the total to make my final cost for each Thanksgiving meal bag about a dollar more than what is pictured in my cost breakdown below. 

You can print off this whole post here: