Additional Coverage:
- I made Walmart’s $4-a-person Thanksgiving dinner. The value was great, but my meal was even better with a few changes. (businessinsider.com)
Walmart’s $40 Thanksgiving Feast: A Budget-Friendly Holiday Solution
**Local resident Abigail Singrey recently put Walmart’s much-touted $40 Thanksgiving meal to the test, designed to feed a party of ten at an impressive $4 per person. Her verdict?
Exceptional value, with a special shout-out to the mac and cheese. **
Singrey, who recounts a memorable first Thanksgiving as a newlywed at a Denny’s in Niagara Falls, found herself hosting a smaller gathering this year and decided to explore affordable options amidst rising grocery costs. Walmart’s pre-selected Thanksgiving dinner, promising to serve ten for just $40, caught her eye.
The meal, conveniently ordered through the Walmart app, included 15 items, primarily from Walmart’s “Great Value” brand, such as three boxes of mac and cheese, three cans of corn, brown gravy mix, and pie crusts. Other well-known brands like Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup and Stove Top stuffing mix were also part of the package.
Singrey noted that the app automatically loaded all items for the $4-per-person deal, allowing for easy quantity adjustments. Her only modification was reducing the corn, as she’s not a big fan.
The entire haul, including tax, came to just under $43 and was ready for pickup within hours.
Upon collecting the ingredients, Singrey realized a few essential pantry staples were not included in Walmart’s list, such as sugar, milk, butter, eggs, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fortunately, she already had these on hand, but advises others to factor them into their shopping if they plan to make the full meal, including the pumpkin pie. To elevate the flavors, she also purchased an additional $10 worth of cooking wine, sage, parsley for the turkey, and oranges for a homemade cranberry sauce.
Several dishes proved remarkably straightforward to prepare. The stuffing, gravy, dinner rolls, and mac and cheese required little more than butter.
Singrey particularly appreciated the ease of preparing the Great Value gravy and Stove Top stuffing, noting they significantly cut down on her usual prep time. The included ingredients also perfectly facilitated her go-to green bean casserole recipe, utilizing green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and Kinder’s fried onions.
For the cranberries, Singrey opted for a cherished family recipe – a relish from her husband’s great-grandma, which has become a holiday staple for her extended family. This simple recipe involves blending cranberries with two whole oranges, then stirring in sugar and allowing it to sit overnight to develop flavor.
The pumpkin pie also came together effortlessly using the provided crust, condensed milk, and Great Value pure pumpkin. Following the recipe on the can, Singrey incorporated her own sugar, eggs, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The Great Value baby carrots, lacking specific instructions, were transformed into a simple glaze with butter and honey from her pantry.
Singrey dedicated careful attention to the turkey, employing Martha Stewart’s cheesecloth method for a consistently moist and flavorful result. This technique involves soaking cheesecloth in melted butter and white wine, draping it over the turkey, and basting every 30 minutes, resulting in perfectly browned, tender meat.
While impressed with the overall offering, Singrey noted that the meal did not include beverages. She suggested purchasing sparkling water, apple cider, or wine for entertaining. Additionally, with pumpkin pie being the only dessert from the provided ingredients, she recommended planning for additional dessert options or encouraging guests to bring some.
Ultimately, Singrey was pleased with the meal’s quality. Although the texture of the turkey stuffing wasn’t her favorite, she highlighted the mac and cheese as a standout, exceeding expectations and tasting far more elevated than typical boxed versions. She believes guests would be hard-pressed to guess it came from a box.
In conclusion, Singrey confirmed that Walmart’s $40 Thanksgiving dinner could indeed feed ten people, providing her and her husband with nearly five days of leftovers. Her total expenditure, including a few extra ingredients, was around $50.
By incorporating fresh herbs and citrus, she was able to impart a homemade feel to the menu. Walmart’s Thanksgiving dinner, she found, delivered on its promise: an easy, affordable, and genuinely delicious holiday meal.