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I tried the $20 Thanksgiving meal deals from Target and Amazon Fresh — one wowed me
One of these retailers is selling a turkey for less than the price of a Pumpkin Spice Latte!
Even with the price of groceries soaring, we're thrilled to hear that there are still great deals on the table for the upcoming season. This year's Thanksgiving lead-up has retailers like Amazon Fresh, Target, Walmart and Aldi vying for your holiday grocery budget ... with $20 grocery kits! To see how they stack up, we ordered two of the most popular, easily available options, from Amazon Fresh and Target. These kits are supposed to include everything you need to host a festive dinner for far less than you'd imagine, so keep scrolling to see what we found.
The best Thanksgiving meal deal matchup
Amazon Fresh
This Thanksgiving grocery deal for six people came with a frozen 12-pound turkey (serves six with leftovers), an assortment of canned vegetables, a can of cranberry sauce, boxed stuffing mix, boxed mashed potatoes and a packet of gravy mix for a total of just $16.11 plus delivery fee and tip. The "sides" that come with this package likely would not satisfy six people, but if you were planning to buy a few of these boxed and canned goods anyway, this is the best deal out there — winner, winner, turkey dinner!
- The meal cost us less than $20!
- Comes with a Butterball turkey
- Some of the other ingredients are from Whole Foods' house brand
- Not all items are guaranteed
- We had to pay a delivery fee
The Target Thanksgiving grocery deal initially lured me in with its promise of being priced "$5 lower than last year." Don't get me wrong, it's a deal, but the turkey that arrived in my order was not a 10-pound frozen turkey as I expected. I live in New York City, and it seems only a frozen breast was available, so that's what they sent me — which was disappointing for a family that loves drumsticks. It also did not include the crispy fried onions I expected per their promotional image of green bean casserole.
- Goods are from name brands like Stove Top, Heinz and Ocean Spray
- You can stack deals if you're a Target Circle member for even more savings
- Comes with whole potatoes rather than boxed mashed potatoes
- Not everything in the kit is guaranteed
- Photo used in the ad is a bit misleading
- Offer not available in Hawaii or Alaska
The verdict on the best Thanksgiving meal deal
We were pleasantly surprised to find that the best Thanksgiving grocery deal comes from Amazon Fresh (valid until November 28), where you can order a whole, frozen 12- to 14-pound turkey, canned cranberry sauce, refrigerated biscuit dough, a packet of gravy mix, a box of stuffing mix, a box of instant mashed potatoes, a can of corn and a can of green beans for the incredible price of $16.11 (plus a $9.95 delivery fee; if you pick up the order yourself, it's free). If you have Amazon Prime, you can expect further discounts. This bundle can serve four people generously, or up to six with a few minor additions. The turkey alone cost me just $5.88 (at $.49 per pound), which is less than the price of a PSL from Starbucks!
I was a bit skeptical about cooking such a bargain turkey, so I placed an order with Amazon Fresh and had the Thanksgiving meal deal delivered to my apartment. Sure enough, it arrived complete with everything I listed above. What it didn't include was any fresh produce, which obviously keeps the cost in check, but for me is a deal-breaker when it comes to this holiday meal. My family enjoys fresh mashed or roasted potatoes and green beans, and I prefer to cook the turkey with butter, fresh herbs and a quartered onion and lemon stuffed inside for flavor. No matter, I thawed the turkey and got to work on Thanksgiving dinner, the abridged version. I stuffed it with a lemon and onion from my own pantry, seasoned it with salt and pepper and massaged it with butter and thyme. Three hours later I took a stunning bird out of the oven that no one would ever suspect cost less than six bucks. Even if you do end up buying a few extra fresh ingredients, this is still the grocery deal of the year.
The Target Thanksgiving meal deal didn't come in under $20 (for a meal that serves four people) as advertised. When I added the items to my cart, the only available turkey for delivery was a frozen 5- to 9-pound turkey breast (not a whole bird), and the total came to $26.33 before the delivery charge. However, unlike the Amazon fresh kit, it did include a bag of potatoes, which I prefer to a box of instant mashed potatoes any day. I was intrigued to see a jar of gravy as opposed to a mix from a packet and, of course, no one can resist a box of Stove Top stuffing mix.
Other Thanksgiving meal deals
The Walmart deal (a holiday meal for less than $7 per person) offers many more items than the Target and Amazon Fresh deals, including fresh produce such as russet and sweet potatoes and celery and onions, and they're mostly well-priced. However, the turkey (a whole frozen 12- to 16-pound bird) cost roughly twice the price of the one from Amazon Fresh, and it's not available everywhere.
This grocery bundle includes ingredients for the turkey, green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes and more. The turkey itself is a frozen 16- to 22-pound bird. The rest of the fixings are mostly boxed and canned foods, with a few fresh items in the mix. It's extremely economical if you're on a limited budget and feeding a crowd.