$10 Thanksgiving Meal for Four

If you saw my previous post about getting a free turkey from Ibotta, you know how I got the cost of this meal down under $10. I admit, I did get lucky, finding the no-bake pie mix on the clearance shelf while I was in to pick up my freebie sides. It was marked $1.23, but actually rang up 82 cents!!!

So let me walk you through the planned meal and how I calculated prices. I will say that I calculated portions for items where I wasn’t using everything (like a full gallon of milk that I already have on hand). This menu is enough to feed four people, and still have turkey leftovers for sammishes later.

The Cost Analysis

The Particulars

For the turkey, I knew the Ibotta rebate would be a maximum of $14.35. I picked a turkey that was 10 cents off from that maximum. What a find!

The egg, butter, and milk, actually go to a few places. The corn muffins require one egg and ⅓ cup of milk. The no-bake pie asks for 4 tablespoons of butter for the crust and 2.5 cups of milk for the filling. The remaining butter is intended to be used for roasting the sweet potato. 

Speaking of the potato, it’s huge. I mean huge. It’s meant to be cubed, tossed in some melted butter, then roasted. I’m not actually a fan of the sweet potato casserole with the marshmallows. I love sweet potatoes but not the casserole. As an option, with the butter and remaining milk, you could potentially mash them instead if that’s your jam.

The green beans are meant to be simmered with half of the bag of bacon bits to add flavor. If you have bacon grease saved, add that too for a little more. Same for an onion. But onion is not factored into the costs in case you (or a guest) are allium averse.

The baby carrots were bought in a two-pound bag, with the intention of serving one pound. Two pounds is a bit much for just four people. The other half will be used in other meals. But the two-pounder was $1.48; the one-pound bag was $1.32. That made buying the bigger one and dividing its cost in half the wiser choice.

The Stove Top was on rollback at Walmart for $1.98. But then Ibotta had a 10 cent rebate on Stove Top, which I cheerfully made use of, bringing the total for the box down to $1.88.

As I mentioned earlier, the no-bake pie was on the clearance shelf marked $1.23, but it rang up 82 cents instead. It’s a great find! However, I do recognize that a) this discounted mix might not be available elsewhere and b) pumpkin may not be your thing. Should that be the case, I recommend checking your Walmart’s discounted bakery rack. You can shave off some costs for the milk and butter if you go that route instead, and I’ve been finding goodies like this:

I hope this has been informative and inspirational for helping you celebrate, even if you are on a very tight budget this year. May your table be full, your company be heart-filling, and your blessings overflowing!

Love, Momma

P.S. For those who are curious how much this cost me out of pocket, buckle your seatbelts because this is actually quite fun. I use Ibotta for rebates on things I’m going to be buying anyway like milk and bread and grapes. So, I did my regular shopping, including some toiletries and had enough cash back between the rebates and the bonuses, that my gift card to Walmart covered the whole meal, including the pre-rebate turkey. Huzzah!

Disclaimer: I provided a referral link to Ibotta above. If you use that link, I can receive some cash back bonus. However, you don’t have to use the link, you can just go to the site and sign up. The referral is just appreciated and helps me pay for the web hosting.