Blog / Food around the world
Thanksgiving Dinner CaloriesA Plate-by-Plate Breakdown
· 3 min read
Thanksgiving is the one meal of the year where nobody's counting, and that's fine. But it helps to know roughly where the calories are, so a big day stays a big day and doesn't turn into a big week of leftovers.
The quick answer
| Plate | Calories (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Modest plate (turkey, a spoon of each side, no seconds) | 900-1,200 |
| Typical plate | 1,500-2,000 |
| Full plate plus seconds | 2,200-3,000 |
| Add a slice of pie with whipped cream | +350-550 |
Add appetizers, drinks and dessert and the whole day can pass 3,000-4,500 calories.
Calories by dish
| Dish | Serving | Calories (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Roast turkey, white meat, no skin | 6 oz (170 g) | 250-280 |
| Roast turkey, dark meat with skin | 6 oz (170 g) | 330-380 |
| Stuffing / dressing | 1 cup | 350-400 |
| Mashed potatoes (butter and milk) | 1 cup | 230-300 |
| Gravy | ¼ cup | 30-60 |
| Green bean casserole | 1 cup | 160-230 |
| Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows | 1 cup | 300-450 |
| Mac and cheese (baked) | 1 cup | 350-500 |
| Cranberry sauce (canned) | ¼ cup | 100-110 |
| Dinner roll with butter | 1 roll + 1 tsp | 150-200 |
| Corn casserole | 1 cup | 300-400 |
Dessert and drinks
| Item | Calories (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Pumpkin pie, ⅛ of a 9-inch pie | 300-320 |
| Pecan pie, ⅛ of a 9-inch pie | 450-500 |
| Apple pie, ⅛ of a 9-inch pie | 350-410 |
| Whipped cream, 2 tbsp | 20-50 |
| Scoop of vanilla ice cream | 140-200 |
| Glass of red wine (5 oz) | 120-130 |
| Beer (12 oz) | 150-200 |
| Eggnog (1 cup) | 220-350 |
The swaps that actually matter
You don't have to skip anything. These changes save the most for the least sacrifice:
- White meat over dark meat with skin: saves about 80-100 calories per serving.
- One spoon of each side instead of a scoop: sides, not turkey, are where most of the plate's calories are.
- Pick one heavy casserole, sweet potato, mac and cheese or stuffing, rather than a full serving of all three.
- Pumpkin pie over pecan: about 150 calories less per slice.
- Alternate drinks with water. Three glasses of wine is close to 400 calories.
How to handle the day
- Eat a normal breakfast with protein. Saving up all day makes overeating at dinner almost certain.
- Walk after the meal. It won't burn off dinner, but it helps digestion and the post-meal slump.
- Log it roughly and move on. One 3,500-calorie day adds well under half a kilo (1 lb) of fat. What matters is that Friday is a normal day, not the start of a four-day leftover marathon.
- Portion leftovers into meal-sized containers instead of grazing from the fridge.
Logging Thanksgiving without the maths
Nobody wants to search a database for "grandma's sweet potato casserole" mid-dinner. In DietTracker you can just say "turkey with skin, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, green bean casserole and a roll" and it estimates the whole plate in one go, and you can tweak portions after.
Working out a target for the rest of the season? Read how many calories you should eat to lose weight or try DietTracker free.