The trimmings Basket Report tracks are noticeably cheaper than they were a year ago.
Potatoes, butter, flour, sugar, eggs, milk and bread in the quantities below add up to $17.24 — −11.5% versus a year ago. This is a separate shopping-quantity tally, not a complete dinner or a per-serving estimate.
What the dinner costs
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey priced a classic Thanksgiving dinner for 10 at roughly $55 in 2025 — its third straight yearly decline, though still above pre-pandemic levels. Turkey was the largest line item in that survey. This 2025 result is historical context, not a 2026 dinner-price estimate.
Why we track the trimmings, not the turkey
This tally uses BLS item prices. The tracked retail turkey series has no numeric observation after February 2020, so we cannot use it as a current turkey price. What we can price live are the baking and side staples around the bird: 3 lb of potatoes, a pound of butter, 2 lb of flour, a pound of sugar, a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk and a pound of white bread. Together those are noticeably cheaper than they were a year ago, totalling $17.24 as of September 2026. The largest shopping-quantity contribution is a gallon of milk at $4.11.
Where to find a turkey price
For the bird itself, the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service publishes weekly advertised-retail turkey prices in its turkey market reports — a different weekly survey of grocery promotions, rather than the monthly BLS average-price measure used elsewhere on this site. The seven-component tally is illustrative: it is not Farm Bureau’s menu, does not specify a number of servings, and is not a quote for a complete holiday meal. A year-over-year total is unavailable if any required prior-year observation is missing.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Thanksgiving dinner cost in 2026?
The American Farm Bureau Federation's most recent survey put a classic dinner for 10 near $55 (2025). The baking and side staples Basket Report tracks total $17.24 as of September 2026, −11.5% versus a year ago.
Does Basket Report track turkey prices?
No. The tracked BLS retail turkey series has no numeric observation after February 2020, and we never invent a price for a series with no current data. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service turkey reports use separate wholesale or advertised-retail measures.
What is the most expensive part of Thanksgiving dinner?
The turkey was the largest line item in the cited 2025 Farm Bureau survey. Among the side and baking staples we price, a gallon of milk is the largest line at $4.11 (September 2026).
Sources and methodology
- BLS average retail food and energy prices
- Farm Bureau 2025 Thanksgiving dinner survey
- USDA AMS weekly advertised-retail turkey report
- Basket Report methodology
- Basket Report data downloads
Data through September 2026 · Editorial prose reviewed for September 2026 · Source data is independently analyzed by Basket Report and does not imply BLS endorsement.
Price your own basket
Use the calculator to total the staples on your list at current prices.