These Are The Restaurant Chains Serving Thanksgiving Dinner This Year

With so many people juggling the cost of groceries, traveling to connect with family and friends, and coordinating Thanksgiving meals across households, getting Thanksgiving dinner on the table might seem like more of an effort than ever before. For those who don't especially enjoy cooking, and for everyone who hates cleaning the inevitable mountain of dishes after the Thanksgiving meal has been served, it might seem more convenient to just go out for Thanksgiving dinner this year. And we know exactly where you can go.

We took a look at 21 national restaurant chains serving turkey and traditional Thanksgiving menus, to find out where you can go for a sit-down dinner, or order a fully-cooked meal to take home and enjoy. There are homestyle and comfort-food options, as well as high-end and fine dining choices. Whether it's a meal for one or two diners or a group of ten or more, there's a restaurant ready to serve you on the mother-of-all-eating holidays. Here are the restaurant chains serving Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Cracker Barrel is serving up a home-cooked Thanksgiving feast with a variety of options for both pick-up and dine-in guests. For those looking to enjoy their Thanksgiving meal without worrying about doing the dishes afterward, Cracker Barrel dining rooms will be open for normal operating hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and serve a limited menu with Thanksgiving specials. For breakfast, the restaurant is offering a new menu item, Grandma's Holiday Sampler, which will include hand-breaded country-fried turkey and buttermilk pancakes. Like the regular breakfast all-day menu, the holiday sampler will be available from open to close. Beginning at 11 a.m., the restaurant will also serve two traditional Thanksgiving meal plates and a selection of sides. For those who want to celebrate Thanksgiving at home, Cracker Barrel is offering two Heat n' Serve meal packages that serve anywhere from four to ten people each. An already warmed version of the Thanksgiving meal is also available, as well as a selection of pies to round it all out. Preorders are recommended, with pick-ups available beginning November 18th.

Metro Diner has about 60 restaurants serving classic diner-style dishes, and is primarily located in Florida and other states across the South. The restaurants will be open until 2:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving for dining, serving the regular full menu. Heat-and-Serve Thanksgiving Feasts are also available to go and will need to be reheated at home. The feasts include either baked ham or roasted turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce, Hawaiian dinner rolls, your choice of green beans or street corn, and cornbread stuffing or macaroni & cheese. Feast sizes come in one, four, and eight-person serving sizes, for $16.49, $61.99, and $119.49, respectively. The deadline for Thanksgiving pick-up pre-orders is Tuesday, November 21. For diners enjoying an early bite in the dining room, Metro Diner is currently offering a unique twist on Thanksgiving dinner, with turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy all served on top of a waffle made of stuffing, and served with a side of cranberry sauce.

Given that Boston Market is already known for its take-home rotisserie chicken meals with popular sides, it makes sense that the chain would also have a Thanksgiving meal available. There are three options available for holiday meal orders: Premium, Deluxe, and a Create Your Own package. Each package includes a featured protein; choose from Boston Market's iconic rotisserie chicken or a holiday-specific turkey or ham. The Premium and Deluxe catering packages range from $15.99 to $18.49 per person before taxes and require a 10-person minimum order. The Create Your Own package also includes your choice of protein, and ranges from $13.99 to $14.99 per person, with no minimum order. Not all Boston Market dining rooms will be open for normal service on Thanksgiving, so it's best to call your location specifically for the most accurate hours. Catering orders can be placed through Boston Market's website or catering telephone number.

Denny's lovers know the restaurant is reliably open 365 days a year, and even 24 hours a day in many locations, including Thanksgiving. And while many of the dishes on Denny's menu are comfort food classics, there are also a couple of Thanksgiving-specific options available. A special Turkey & Dressing Dinner entrée will be available for both dine-in and take-out guests on Thanksgiving Day, which includes carved turkey breast, savory stuffing, turkey gravy, and cranberry sauce, along with two sides and bread. The restaurant chain is also offering a "Turkey Bundle" that serves four for $54.99, and includes everything from the plated entrée, and red-skinned mashed potatoes. Order the Turkey Bundle at least 24 hours in advance directly from your local Denny's. The restaurant has also brought back its pumpkin and pecan pie offerings for a traditionally sweet ending to your meal, available by the slice or whole pie.

For a more formal Thanksgiving dining experience, consider heading to The Capital Grille for a meal in the dining room or prepared and packaged for you to reheat and serve at home. The dining room menu on Thanksgiving Day includes the restaurant's full dinner menu, and a special prix fixe Thanksgiving menu, which is $50 for adults and $20 for children. The prix fixe menu includes Slow-Roasted Turkey with Brioche Stuffing, French Green Beans, Cranberry-Pear Chutney, and Sam's Mashed Potatoes. The Pecan-Crusted Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Hot Honey and Pumpkin Cheesecake dessert can be added for an additional charge.

The take-out menu serves four and costs $135. It includes all of the sides you'll find on the special Thanksgiving prix fixe menu but doesn't include turkey or dessert. To reserve a table in the dining room, head to The Capital Grille's website, where you can also pre-order the take-out sides menu through November 21. Pick-ups will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Popeyes Cajun-Style Turkey made its debut all the way back in 2001 and seems to be getting more and more popular every year. The bird is seasoned with Popeyes proprietary Louisiana-style seasoning, and pre-cooked for less preparation on your end on the big day. With that said, the turkey comes frozen and needs to thaw out, then be reheated in the oven until it reaches 140 F for about 2 hours. The Cajun-style turkeys are no longer available for delivery, but you can still find them in stores, where the price is drastically lower — only $59.99 before tax, compared to the $99 to order the turkey online and have it shipped. No sides are offered with the turkey, but Popeyes restaurants offer plenty of side options to choose from at an additional price, including mashed potatoes with gravy, macaroni and cheese, and biscuits. The FAQs page for the Cajun-style turkey also includes a recipe for making your own Cajun-style gravy with the turkey's pan drippings.

Whether you're in the mood for breakfast or a full Thanksgiving feast, Bob Evans is cooking. Restaurants everywhere will be open as usual, from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m., and serving a Thanksgiving Celebration Platter meal alongside the regular menu. The platter includes slow-roasted turkey, housemade bread and celery dressing, cranberry relish, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and ham, buttered corn, dinner rolls, and a slice of pumpkin pie — truly a feast! You'll find all of the same dishes in the Turkey Farmhouse Feast packages offered by the restaurant, which are packaged for pick-up and reheating at home, and serve four to eight people, depending on the package size. Bob Evans is also offering Farmhouse Feasts with Hickory-Smoked Ham in lieu of Slow-Roasted Turkey, and a Premium Farmhouse Feast that includes both ham and turkey and serves up to 10 people. A wide selection of individual sides and desserts are also available to order, all through the Bob Evans website.

Ruth's Chris Steak House has locations across the country open and serving a three-course Thanksgiving feast this year. According to the restaurant chain's website, the special Thanksgiving Day menu may vary depending on the location, but the set-price menu averages $44 for adults and $17 for children. It includes a choice of starter, either Caesar salad, steak house salad, or lobster bisque. The second course is sliced oven-roasted turkey, served with sausage and herb stuffing, homemade turkey gravy, and cranberry relish, along with a choice of one additional side. Pumpkin cheesecake with vanilla ice cream is served for dessert.

Two pick-up options are also available, including a $175 option that serves four people and includes turkey, and a side-only option that comes in two different side options, and ranges from $28 to $45 before taxes. Reservations and pre-orders can be made directly on the restaurant's website.

Yes, even your favorite Italian restaurants are offering to cook this Thanksgiving. Buca di Beppo is serving Thanksgiving dinner in the restaurant and for carry-out. The Thanksgiving Feast restaurant in the dining room includes sliced white meat turkey, homestyle gravy, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, spicy Italian sausage stuffing, seasonal vegetables, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. The same feast can be ordered to-go in either a small size, which feeds up to three people, or a large size which feeds up to six. 

For larger groups, Buca di Beppo is offering half-pan meals that feed up to 10 people for $250 and full-pan meals that feed up to 20 people for $450 through the restaurant's catering service. Additionally, you can order platters of your Italian food favorites, like baked ziti, chicken carbonara, and the restaurant chain's popular meatballs. Reservations and to-go orders can be made online, as well as catering orders. Hot and cold pick-up options are available.

Truth be told, we like the idea of a buffet on Thanksgiving — no fighting over the last spoonful of macaroni and cheese, no hurt feelings when no one goes for a bite of Aunt Carol's dry stuffing, and all the gravy you want. Golden Corral is transforming part of its buffet line into a Holiday Buffet, complete with carved roasted turkey, carved holiday glazed ham, carved holiday beef roast, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, and pies. What's more, the Holiday Buffet is available on weekdays after 4 p.m., which is especially great for those who can't celebrate on Thanksgiving Day, no reservations are required. Additionally, Holiday Feast To Go Meals are available to pre-order online and serve six to ten people. To-go meal options include many of the same menu items on the Holiday Buffet and can be ordered online.

IHOP might not be your first thought when you think of Thanksgiving dinner, but if you're looking for a low-key alternative to the traditional feast that you'll find elsewhere, it's worth checking out the seasonal specials the popular pancake chain is offering. Currently, the restaurant chain is offering two seasonal turkey dishes, a Homestyle Turkey & Stuffing Dinner, that includes roasted turkey and gravy, cornbread stuffing, and a choice of two sides. A mixed berry topping is served with the dinner instead of traditional cranberry sauce. For those who prefer the sacred day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich, check out IHOP's Homestyle Turkey & Stuffing Melt, made with roasted turkey, mayo, grilled onion, cornbread stuffing, mixed berry topping, and a four-cheese blend. Both dishes are currently available on IHOP's menu, and are available for takeout or delivery depending on location. Many locations will be open on Thanksgiving, but hours may vary.

A Thanksgiving menu that's got cannolis and tiramisu on it? Yes, please. If that sounds like your kind of way to end a Thanksgiving meal, Romano's Macaroni Grill might be the way to go for Thanksgiving this year. The restaurant chain is offering a $34 three-course prix fixe dine-in menu alongside the regular menu, which includes a choice of soup or salad, roasted turkey breast with mashed potatoes, roasted garlic demi-glace, sausage and apple stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a choice of broccolini or crispy brussels sprouts. It's finished with a pumpkin cannoli, traditional cannoli, or pumpkin tiramisu. Thanksgiving meals for kids are $17. The prix fixe menu is also available to-go, although the restaurant is not currently offering a packaged or cold option. Reservations and orders can both be made online via the restaurant's website.

In true STK Steakhouse fashion, the Thanksgiving party starts on Thursday and lasts all the way through Sunday. The restaurant chain is offering a high-end prix fixe dinner option that starts at $64 for adults and $29 for children 12 and under. It includes cornbread and sausage stuffing, shallow and thyme confit turkey thighs, sautéed green beans with crispy shallots, maple baked sweet potatoes, Yukon gold mashed potatoes with parmesan crust, classic gravy, and cranberry orange chutney. Spiced pumpkin pie is available for an additional $12 per slice. The same meal is available for takeout and includes a slice of pumpkin pie for $64 a serving, or $124 for two servings. A whole spiced pumpkin pie with candied ginger cream and crunchy caramel honeycomb is available for $64 per pie, as well as a selection of the restaurant's staple side dishes. Reservations and orders can be made online through the restaurant's website, which also notes that the regular happy hour, pre-theater, and night-out menus will not be available on Thanksgiving.

Known for its swanky dinner-and-a-show style and ambiance, Eddie V's Prime Seafood is taking on Thanksgiving dinner with a similar flair. Restaurants across the country will serve a traditional Thanksgiving dinner menu along with the regular full menu from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The prix fixe menu is $50 for adults and $20 for children, and includes slow-roasted sliced turkey, French green beans with sun-dried tomatoes, brioche sage stuffing, pan gravy with mirepoix brunoise, cranberry chutney, housemade mashed potatoes, and a bread basket. The special dessert option is a pumpkin pie tartlet with pecan ice cream. Reservations can be made online through the restaurant's website. The Thanksgiving menu is not currently available to order online, but may be available directly from the participating restaurants on Thanksgiving Day.

There's no shortage of steakhouses offering Thanksgiving dinner menus this year for those looking to celebrate with an upscale meal out, and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar is also joining the steakhouse Thanksgiving parade. Interestingly, it's one of the few steakhouses actually offering steak on its special Thanksgiving menu, albeit for an additional charge. The special three-course prix fixe menu starts at $59 per guest, before taxes, and is only available on Thanksgiving Day. Additionally, there's a children's three-course menu available for $26. The special menu includes a choice of lobster bisque or salad, followed by an entrée choice of mixed-herb roasted turkey breast and turkey gravy, petit filet mignon, or prime bone-in ribeye. Sides are shared with the whole table, followed by dessert which is a choice of Harvest New York cheesecake or carrot cake. Thanksgiving dinner bundles that serve six each are also available to order via the restaurant's catering website, along with à la carte options from the rest of the menu.

Bravo! Italian Kitchen is offering a Thanksgiving Feast similar to other restaurants on this list, but at a slightly lower price. For $39.99 per adult, the Thanksgiving Feast menu option includes a salad, sliced white meat turkey, homestyle gravy, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, Italian sausage stuffing, seasonal vegetables, cranberry sauce, and a slice of pumpkin pie. A smaller Thanksgiving kid's menu is also available.

In addition to the dining room menu, Bravo! is offering a to-go menu, including everything on the feast menu for three people at $105, or for six people at $160. Meals can be ordered hot or cold to reheat and served later. Like Buca di Beppo, half-pan and full-pan Thanksgiving Feast options are available for $250 and $450, respectively. Reservations and orders can be made online through the restaurant's website, along with specific ordering and pick-up information.

Thanksgiving dinner is nice and all, but enjoying it with a waterfront view really adds a little something that you might not be able to experience at home. Chart House restaurants, known for their dining room views and accompanying steak and seafood menus, are offering a seafood-forward prix fixe option for holiday diners this Thanksgiving. There are two three-course options that each begin with a voice of soups or salads. 

The $59 dinner option includes a Traditional Turkey Dinner, complete with butter and sage roasted turkey, savory cornbread stuffing, mashed or baked sweet potato with rum butter pan gravy, creamed spinach, and cranberry relish. The $59 menu entrée options also include a selection of seafood and steak options for those who want to pass on the traditional turkey, followed by a third-course dessert option of pecan pie, pumpkin pie, mini lava cake, or the chef's dessert. The $65 three-course dinner option doesn't include the Turkey Dinner option, but an expanded selection of seafood and steaks. Pick-up and delivery options are available, and reservations can be made through the restaurant's website.

With so many options available, we wouldn't blame you if you wanted to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner out and enjoy making the fewest possible decisions. At Del Frisco's Grille, you can do just that, with the Thanksgiving three-course prix fixe menu, which only includes two choices. The starter comes with a choice of butternut squash bisque or Caesar salad, and the dessert comes with a choice of either pumpkin pie or apple berry cobbler. Otherwise, there's only one entrée option, the herb and butter roasted turkey with mashed potatoes, brown gravy, green beans, apple sausage stuffing, and cranberry sauce. With so few decisions to make, you might have more bandwidth to take on the wine menu, and even think about what you're going to be browsing during the Black Friday sales.

Fogo de Chão is bringing its signature fire-roasted meats to Thanksgiving this year, with all-day dining available at your local restaurant from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., as well as to-go and pick-up options. The dinner price will apply to meals all day on Thanksgiving, which begins at $68.50 per person for the continuous tableside service. Special Thanksgiving options include Roasted Turkey au Jus, Brazilian Sausage and Apple Dressing, Cranberry Relish, Sweet Potato Casserole, Steamed Asparagus, Cocoa Fudge Brownies, and Pão de Queijo bread. The Thanksgiving Experience Package To-Go costs $195 and serves six. Reservations are available on Fogo de Chão's website, as well as pre-orders, pick-up, and to-go orders. The restaurant requests catering and experience package to-go orders with 24-hour advance notice. Prices and availability will vary by location, so it's best to call your local restaurant for its specific offerings.

Most restaurants serving Thanksgiving meals in-house are offering individually-plated meals, but Maggiano's Little Italy is serving an entirely family-style meal — which is nice for those who enjoy the feeling of sitting around the dinner table at home, without having to worry about the mess in the kitchen. Maggiano's Thanksgiving Family Style menu includes freshly baked bread, Balsamic Tomato Bruschetta, and a first-course salad to start things off. The second course includes a choice of two proteins, including Traditional Roasted Turkey, Country-Style Baked Smoked Ham, and Branzino Fresca Style. Additionally, a choice of two pastas and two sides are served. For dessert, there's a choice of Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake, Warm Apple Crostada, or Tiramisu. A condensed version of the family-style dine-in menu is available as a carryout bundle, which can be ordered through Maggiano's website.

You may notice a lot of similarities between the Brio Italian Grille's menu and the Bravo! Italian Kitchen's menu, includes nearly identical Thanksgiving Day menus. That's because they're both owned by Earl Enterprises, which also owns Buca di Beppo and a dozen other restaurant chains. But depending on where you're located, only one of the restaurants may be in your area. The major difference between the two restaurants' Thanksgiving menus is the price, with the Brio Italian Grille's Thanksgiving Day menu clocking in at $44.99 per person, compared to the $39.99 at Bravo! Italian Kitchen. The Thanksgiving Feast To Go can be ordered for the same sizes and prices, as well as the larger-group half-pan and full-pan size meal options that the other restaurants offer. Take-out, delivery, and curbside meals can all be ordered through the Brio website, as well as making reservations for Thanksgiving Day.

There used to be very few dining options on Thanksgiving Day if a traditional turkey and gravy dinner wasn't your style, but that's changed quite a bit in recent years. Plenty of national chain restaurants are open, including a few that don't offer traditional Thanksgiving options at all. Red Lobster sticks to what makes it popular on Thanksgiving — seafood and cheddar biscuits — with nearly all restaurant locations open from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. for unconventional holiday dinners. Ruby Tuesday is also open on Thanksgiving Day, dishing up its popular steaks, ribs, and seafood dinners for guests who don't need turkey to celebrate. Additionally, you'll find plenty of fast food chains available for a quick bite to eat, or coffee and doughnuts to keep you rolling this holiday season.