Thanksgiving dinner – the home owner’s greatest spectacle. You spend weeks perfecting your Pinterest board with festive recipes and inviting friends and family… Only to witness dishes pile to the ceiling, as your guests shuffle crumbs off their laps onto your once spotless floors. Rather than throwing a fit over painfully awkward conversations and runny gravy, throw in the towel on cooking Thanksgiving dinner, altogether. Your family might shun you at first for depriving them of deviled eggs and stuffing, but so what? Tell them to count their blessings and choose between one of these 11 fast food restaurants open on Thanksgiving Day.
1. Boston Market
Presumably one of the safer Thanksgiving takeout options is Boston Market, offering everything from a whole roasted turkey to vegetable stuffing and cranberry walnut relish. Order a turkey meal for six, including six large sides and cornbread for just $42.54.
And if you can’t escape the Macy’s Day Parade or family political debates, don’t sweat it. Boston Market will deliver a fully-prepped Thanksgiving meal right to your doorstep. Most locations are open for at least part of the holiday, but double check your local spot’s hours to be sure you can score that whole pumpkin pie before you get the whole family excited.
2. Burger King
When your house catches on fire, your turkey is still frozen at dinner time, or you experience some other catastrophe on Thanksgiving – what do you do? Drive around town until you find a neon open sign, and there’s a good chance it’ll be Burger King or one of its competitors. A chicken sandwich may not be Mom’s famous honey roasted ham, but it’s only $7.49 with a side of fries and a small drink.
3. Jack in the Box
Don’t worry – Jack in the Box will have curly fries whether it’s Thanksgiving or not, but their pumpkin spice shake is only around for a short season. It’s basically the same thing as your favorite holiday pie, right?
4. McDonald’s
When that turkey is taking way too long to thaw out, and Mom won’t let you touch the hors-d’oeuvres until everyone arrives, there’s only one thing left to do. Hit up your local McDonald’s, of course.
Order a baked apple pie, strawberry and creme pie, or hot caramel sundae for less than $1.29.
5. Papa John’s
A greasy, cheesy pizza delivered straight to your front door…what’s not to be thankful for? Papa John’s is open for delivery on Thanksgiving in most locations, making your Turkey Day meal as easy as opening your front door. Get an extra large pizza for $20.
6. Pizza Hut
If you’re not a Papa John’s family, check if your local Pizza Hut is open on Thanksgiving Day. Most of them are, and you can score a large pizza for less than $15. Put that bad boy in front of the football fans, and no one will complain about not having a homecooked meal.
7. Popeyes
Maybe your ideal Thanksgiving doesn’t include feasting on burgers and pizza, we get it. Luckily, Popeyes offers meals that more closely resemble a traditional Thanksgiving meal – chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, flaky buttermilk biscuits, home-style green beans with turkey bacon, cinnamon apple pie, and pecan pie. Toss those dishes onto your family’s fine china before anyone shows up, and no one will know you spent $20 on the big day.
Family meals are between $12.99 and $37.99.
8. Qdoba
If your family likes to throw tradition out the window, head over to Qdoba for your Thanksgiving dinner. You won’t find anything resembling a turkey or mashed potatoes, but chips and queso is always something to be thankful for.
9. Starbucks
Not exactly a Thanksgiving dinner, but Starbucks offers seasonal flavors including pumpkin and cranberry-based beverages and baked treats.
Plus, Starbucks has taken pumpkin spice to a whole new level. They started with the ever-so-popular Pumpkin Spice Latte and have expanded their menu to include: a Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte and a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino Blended Creme. The pumpkin offerings don’t stop there. They’ve also got pumpkin bread and a pumpkin cream cheese muffin. And if you need something to balance out all of that sweetness, you can try the holiday turkey and stuffing panini for less than $7.
10. Steak ‘n Shake
After spending the entire holiday listening to stories about your great uncle’s coin collection, you’ll probably need to sneak away and treat yourself with a Steak ‘n Shake milkshake… or a Frisco Melt (never a bad idea).
11. White Castle
Who knows… Maybe you’re really craving one of those festive turkey sliders, or maybe nothing else is open nearby. White Castle has plenty of cheap season offerings for $1.59 or less.
Keep in mind, most of the time holiday hours are subject to the franchise owner’s discretion, so be sure to call in and check before you head out. And just remember — the world will keep spinning if you don’t cook on Thanksgiving Day (sorry, Mom).
And don’t forget to check out the fast food restaurants that are open for Christmas while you’re here!
Burger King by my house is closed all day…