How to Use AI to Plan Your Thanksgiving Meal

Thanksgiving always starts with the best of intentions. You picture a perfectly roasted turkey, golden brown and steaming, a table full of harmonious sides, and happy guests gathering to praise your culinary genius. But the reality? It’s a battlefield of forgotten ingredients, burnt casseroles, and chaotic schedules. But this year—you have BakeBot, the new (and free) AI Kitchen Assistant by BakeSpace.com (the food-themed social network I founded in 2006).

There’s also much debate about using AI in the kitchen—but AI can do much more than just generate a recipe. So let's talk about this elephant in the room.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't read a story about using AI to make recipes that include some cleaning product -- just so the journalist can see if it will make a recipe. You don't have to be a prompt engineer to know that's a bad idea. So for clarity -- this isn't about trying to get AI to do something weird. It's about taking what you're already doing (even on your tried and true recipes) and adding some tech magic.

So let's get down to business.

First things first: Open Your Mind. With AI, anything is possible.

This year, with BakeBot, you can make Thanksgiving the most creative, fun, and experiential holiday ever. Imagine surprising your loved ones with a Taylor Swift-themed Thanksgiving, featuring dishes inspired by her catchy tunes. Or perhaps everyone is coming over to watch one of the big games and you're from Detroit (like me!) so you want to throw a Lions-themed Thanksgiving for NFL’s biggest fans, it could help you create recipes like Detroit Deep Dish Stuffing! Or perhaps you want to dazzle your friends with a Barbie-themed Friendsgiving, where every dish shines in fabulous pink, but you also need it to be gluten-free, vegan, and egg-free.

You might also consider creating a Family or Friendsgiving menu that celebrates your diverse cultures. Picture a delicious butternut pumpkin udon that honors your friend’s Japanese heritage, or a zesty Mexican-inspired corn pudding that pays homage to another’s roots. With BakeBot’s help, you can weave in flavors and dishes from around the world, transforming your feast into a vibrant tapestry of culinary delights. Whether you’re eager to create a TikTok butter-board centerpiece or whip up a Thanksgiving feast inspired by your favorite K-drama, BakeBot can help bring creativity to your recipes, while still making them edible.

The Great Menu Debate: Is Thanksgiving the time to take risks?

Every year, our Thanksgiving spread features the same dishes: roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, and that cranberry sauce from a can that always gets left untouched. You might want to try something new, like the TikTok recipe you keep seeing pop up (hello Chili's Nashville Mozz, but in sharable bite-sized balls), or you want to attempt one of grandma’s recipes from her recipe cards (but her handwriting is nearly illegible, and there are missing instructions).

With BakeBot, you can easily brainstorm fresh ideas that fit the holiday vibe. It can suggest dishes you hadn’t even considered—like roasted Brussels sprouts with maple-balsamic glaze. BakeBot balances traditional favorites with fresh spins on classics, so you don’t end up throwing the whole meal into unfamiliar territory. Plus, it can scan old recipe cards—even the handwritten ones—so you can preserve those family recipes.

The Unexpected Guest Crisis: When your brother brings his new girlfriend and she's vegan!

Of course, no Thanksgiving is complete without a few surprises, like three guests with different dietary restrictions. One is gluten-free, another is vegan, and a cousin who casually mentioned they "weren’t doing sugar" just the day before. How are we supposed to adjust our favorite dishes without ruining them?

BakeBot can quickly make adjustments - even after you've already bought your ingredients. You can just ask it "what else can I use" or "I only have X, can I use that." Just like that, your menu is back on track.

BakeBot isn't just a recipe generator, it's also a pop-up on every page so if you have a question or want to adjust a recipe you also see on BakeSpace, it can -- because it already understands the recipe on the page. Just say "make it vegan" and it will. If you're logged into your BakeSpace account, you can type "save" and it will automatically save your modified or new recipes to your account from the chat.

The Gravy Dilemma: When no one wants to go back to the grocery store.

You realize, with horror, that you’ve forgotten to buy enough broth for the gravy or that you don’t have flour. Your beautiful, golden turkey is about to be gravy-less, and there’s no time to run to the store. Too bad your teenager didn't want to learn how to drive!

Lucky for you, you can reach for BakeBot to brainstorm a miracle. You enter what you have on hand—turkey drippings, a little butter, and some leftover chicken stock. BakeBot, thinking faster than anyone could under pressure, suggests a simple workaround: use the drippings and butter to make a roux, then stretch it with water and herbs. It won’t be a perfect, classic gravy, but it’ll be good enough to fool your guests.

When Gravy Hits the Fan: Cooking Mistakes & On-the-Fly Fixes

Of course, no Thanksgiving is complete without at least one cooking disaster. Mistakes happen all the time, but for the Big Day - it can really ruin the whole meal! What happens when you accidentally dump an entire bowl of flour into the mashed potatoes or you stirred your stuffing too much and now it's mushy?

This time, instead of freaking out, you take a breath. With BakeBot, you’re not alone in the kitchen. It can walk you through fixing the mistake—adding more liquid to balance the flour and whisking vigorously to smooth out the lumps. Adjusting your oven temperature - you name it!

BakeBot can also adjust a recipe on the fly. So, you don’t have to think about how to adjust baking times or how much of a new ingredient you used. It will show you the new recipe with all the new steps -- tada!

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Sidekick

So, the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure, remember that BakeBot isn’t just a tool for planning meals or adjusting recipes. It’s a true kitchen assistant—one that can think on its feet, offer real-time suggestions, and rescue even the most disastrous mistakes. It’s built for home cooks, with all the quirks, last-minute changes, and inevitable surprises that come with big holiday meals.

This Thanksgiving, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure, give BakeBot a try. It can help you brainstorm new dishes, adjust for picky eaters, walk you through cooking schedules, and even fix those inevitable mistakes. Whether you’re a seasoned Thanksgiving pro or tackling the holiday meal for the first time, BakeBot has your back.

And who knows? Maybe this year, the only thing you’ll need to worry about is finding room for leftovers -- which BakeBot can also help you with!

Happy cooking, and good luck!

Image created with TastyUpdate.com (another side project of mine)