Blake Shelton’s Bizarre Turkey Ingredients, Donna Kelce’s Signature Rolls, and More Celebrity Thanksgiving Recipes That Might Surprise You

The holiday table brought out these stars’ most indulgent ideas, fiercest family loyalties, and some ingredients that might not be exactly traditional. Check out these awesome recipes!

With Thanksgiving approaching on November 26, 2026, Blake Shelton, Donna Kelce, and other familiar faces offered plenty of inspiration through their past holiday revelations and recipes.

But between the turkey experiments, a son’s dangerously enthusiastic praise of his mother’s cooking, and a grandmother’s VERY generous approach to brunch, some of these dishes needed to be seen before anyone reaches for a serving spoon.

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani: The Boys Had Plans for That Bird

Some families argued over who got the drumstick. At Blake and Gwen Stefani’s house, the more pressing question was apparently which snack-food aisle would inspire dinner.

In 2021, Blake told People that he and his stepsons handled an annual turkey experiment while Gwen prepared the rest of the meal. Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo’s contributions went considerably beyond setting the table.

“The first year, we made a hot Flamin’ Hot Cheetos turkey,” he said. “We crusted it in the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.”

Yes, CHEETOS. On the Thanksgiving turkey. The family subsequently tried a Funyuns coating, although Blake couldn’t remember whether Apollo or Zuma had suggested it, and he thought it tasted surprisingly similar to an ordinary bird.

For Thanksgiving 2021, one of the boys found a photograph of a turkey entirely wrapped in bacon. Blake agreed to give it a go, which sounded like a perfectly reasonable decision for a man already working his way through the snack cupboard.

By his 2023 visit to Jennifer Hudson on “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” he explained that the children spotted unusual turkey ideas on TikTok and elsewhere online. His verdict on the Cheetos experiment was delightfully blunt: “There’s really no point to it.”

An honest review from the man holding the carving knife.

Two Snack-Coated Turkeys to Try

These published recipes offered comparable ideas to Blake’s family experiments. They were not his personal recipes or exact instructions from the family’s kitchen, but there’s no harm in trying them.

Funyuns Turkey

The version shared by Parade used a short ingredient list and a loose foil wrap.

Ingredients

• 1 thawed, prepared turkey
• 1 full-size bag of onion-flavored rings, such as Funyuns
• Oil or butter, enough to coat the turkey
• Reynolds Wrap Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 325°F.
2. Crush the onion rings finely in a food processor, or seal them in a zip-top bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
3. Brush the turkey with oil or butter, then cover the surface with the crumbs.
4. Cut a foil sheet approximately 2½ times the turkey’s length. Center the bird lengthwise, overlap the foil ends loosely, and fold up the shorter sides to contain the juices without creating an airtight parcel.
5. Put the wrapped bird in a roasting pan at least 2 inches deep. Insert a meat thermometer through the foil into the thickest inner thigh without touching bone.
6. Roast to the recipe’s specified thigh temperature of 180°F. It allows approximately 30 additional minutes for a stuffed bird; use the thermometer to determine doneness.
7. Fold back the foil during the final 30 minutes to brown the surface.
8. Cover and rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Turkey

The Reynolds recipe published by BroadwayWorld took the oven-bag route.

Ingredients

• 1 thawed, prepared turkey
• 1 full-size bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
• Oil or butter, enough to coat the turkey
• 1 teaspoon flour
• 1 Reynolds Kitchens Turkey Oven Bag

Directions

1. Set the oven to 350°F.
2. Pulverize the Cheetos in a food processor, or crush them inside a sealed zip-top bag.
3. Brush the turkey with oil or butter and press the crumbs over it.
4. Add the flour to the oven bag. Set the bag in a roasting pan at least 2 inches deep, then slide the turkey inside.
5. Keep the entire bag within the pan, with its opening facing the pan’s end rather than upward. Secure it with the supplied nylon tie and make six ½-inch vents across the top.
6. Roast until the thickest thigh registers the recipe’s specified 180°F, with the thermometer clear of bone.
7. Let the bird stand in the bag for 15 minutes.
8. Carefully open the bag and transfer the turkey to a carving board, using carving forks at opposite ends if helpful.

More Red Turkeys from Netizens

In this TikTok, @mariia_g1 coated a turkey with margarine and crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos over diced potatoes. That bright crimson crust certainly made the bird impossible to overlook.

Then @yummyeat made it even redder.

Donna Kelce: Jason Had to Explain Himself to Kylie

After that turkey, a basket of dinner rolls sounded almost restrained. Mama Kelce’s rolls promptly ruined that assumption.

Jason Kelce chose his mother’s rolls for his menu on Mythical Kitchen’s “Last Meal” episode titled “Jason Kelce Eats His Last Meal.” While speaking with host Josh Scherer, he explained that the holiday meats and side dishes changed, but Donna’s rolls had become compulsory as both he and Travis Kelce grew up eating them.

“She made them one year, we love them so much, and my wife still gets upset because my mom will come over and this is like the only thing I want.”

He did attempt some diplomacy with his wife, Kylie Kelce: “She’ll make this beautiful green bean casserole, which is delicious, Kylie, I love that, but I mean that’s like the thing right there.”

Kylie, the casserole received its compliment. The rolls still won.

The secret involved marshmallows wrapped in dough after a butter and cinnamon-sugar coating. During baking, the marshmallow melted away, leaving a sweet, hollow center that Jason and Josh enthusiastically discussed.

According to Today, the family favorite traced back to Pillsbury’s Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs, the recipe Edna Walker of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, entered to win the 1969 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest.

Make the Marshmallow Rolls

The recipe shared by Taste of Home made 16 rolls, with a vanilla glaze and optional nuts. Increase the batch as needed, especially if your table includes someone with Jason’s level of devotion.

Ingredients

• 2 cans refrigerated crescent roll dough, 8 ounces each
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 16 large marshmallows
• ¼ cup melted butter

For the Glaze

• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 teaspoons milk
• ¼ cup chopped nuts, optional

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease 16 medium muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl; keep the melted butter in another.
3. Separate the crescent dough into 16 triangles.
4. Dip each marshmallow into butter, then coat it in the cinnamon mixture.
5. Set a marshmallow at a triangle’s point and roll toward the wider base. Pinch every opening firmly closed so the filling stays enclosed.
6. Dip one end of the parcel into the remaining butter and place that end down in a muffin cup. Repeat with the remaining dough and marshmallows.
7. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. A foil sheet or rimmed baking sheet on the lower rack can catch drips.
8. Leave the rolls in the pan for 1 minute, then move them to a rack over waxed paper.
9. Stir together the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and enough milk for your preferred glaze consistency. Drizzle over the warm rolls, add nuts if using, and serve warm.

Watch the Centers Disappear With These TikTokers

In her account, @tricksinthekitchen demonstrated the butter-and-cinnamon coating, sealed crescent dough, and icing finish. The hollow middle explained why these were such entertaining little rolls to pull apart.

Another TikToker, @thecookingmawma, also made the marshmallow-filled version, carefully pulling the dough shut on the sides before baking.

Kelly Ripa: Her Family Recipe Came With a Punch Line

Donna’s rolls required a little assembly. Kelly Ripa’s joke about her own inherited Thanksgiving specialty required considerably less effort.

During the November 13, 2025, episode of “Live With Kelly and Mark,” Kelly described opening canned cranberry sauce, sliding it onto a tray, and following the can’s ridges to cut the slices. Generations of tradition, delivered with a can opener.

Honestly, those built-in cutting guides had earned their place on the holiday table.

Her actual cooking ambitions were more substantial. Back in 2021, Kelly and her son Michael Consuelos prepared crispy Hasselback potatoes au gratin on “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” with Ryan Seacrest joining the conversation.

“It’s a creamy, cheesy potato that’s thinly sliced and crispy on top that my kids for years and years have begged me to make,” she said during the cooking segment.

Kelly had found the recipe in a newspaper, and she only tried it after her kids moved out. Still, Ryan welcomed the prospect of a new family tradition. The preparation involved slicing skin-on russets into accordion shapes, with chopsticks alongside them to stop the knife before it cut right through.

Then came Parmesan, Gruyère, and heavy cream. The children had made a compelling request.

Meanwhile, her father, Joe Ripa, also had a signature Thanksgiving recipe, giving the family another option beyond potatoes and Kelly’s extremely efficient cranberry presentation.

Crispy Hasselback Potatoes Au Gratin

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed, with skins on
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Fresh thyme leaves
• 1½ cups grated Parmesan
• 2 cups shredded Gruyère
• Approximately 2 cups heavy cream, enough to bring the dish about two-thirds full

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Put a potato between two chopsticks and make thin crosswise cuts, stopping at the chopsticks so its base stays connected; repeat with the others.
3. Grease the bottom and sides of an oven-safe casserole with 1 tablespoon butter. Fit the potatoes snugly inside with their cut sides facing up.
4. Distribute the remaining butter over the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and add the thyme.
5. Scatter both cheeses over the dish, then pour in the cream until it reaches approximately two-thirds of the dish’s height.
6. Place the casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, cover tightly with foil, and bake for 1 hour.
7. Remove the foil and bake for approximately 30 more minutes, until the potatoes are tender inside and their exposed edges are browned and crisp, with a bubbling, thickened sauce.

Joe’s Famous Thanksgiving Recipe

Joe’s recipe, published on the show’s website, combined meat and peppers in a generous tomato sauce.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 pounds cubed meat or chicken
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4 to 6 green, red, or yellow bell peppers, each cut into 8 pieces
• 1 jalapeño or habanero, stem and seeds removed, then quartered
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1 to 2 tablespoons oregano
• 8 cups tomato sauce, plus more if needed to cover the meat and peppers
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a pot over high heat.
2. Brown the meat, then add the garlic, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the bell peppers and prepared hot pepper, followed by black pepper and oregano.
4. Pour in the tomato sauce, adding enough to cover the meat and peppers.
5. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.
6. Stir in the mushrooms and cook for 30 additional minutes, until the meat is cooked through and tender.

Check Out These Cheesy Potatoes Too

There are many versions of this dish made by netizens all over the world. TikTok creator @halynas.cooking.l made a similar Hasselback gratin with three kinds of potatoes. The finished dish had beautifully browned potato edges rising above the sauce.

Kathy Hilton: Brunch Needed Its Own Luxury Budget

Kelly had the potatoes covered, but Kathy Hilton had an opinion about what belonged on top. Naturally, caviar entered the conversation.

In 2024, Kathy told People that Thanksgiving morning meant watching the parade with her grandchildren, continuing a tradition her mother had shared with her. She described having eight grandchildren at the time, four boys and four girls, with the older children helping in the kitchen.

“I make a special brunch, and I’ve got everything. I’ve got the eggs, scrambled eggs with caviar. I have pancakes, I have waffles, I have bacon,” she said.

Scrambled eggs with caviar before the Thanksgiving feast. Kathy understood how to make a morning feel expensive.

Family gatherings meant a great deal to her and her husband, Richard Hilton, known as Rick. They shared children Nicky Hilton, Paris Hilton, Barron Hilton, and Conrad Hilton, with grandchildren through the first three.

And she had rules for the caviar table. Speaking with The Daily Beast, Kathy described serving hot russet potatoes with butter, sour cream, and caviar, a combination also associated with Jackie Kennedy.

For family gatherings, she offered potato latkes with similar toppings, leaving out the butter. For around 200 guests, she bought a couple of kilos of caviar and put half a kilo on either side of the table. Her preference was to have enough left for a late-night helping or breakfast the following morning.

Kathy’s Caviar-Topped Potato

This preparation reflected her signature combination, shown in “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

Ingredients

• Large russet potatoes
• Unsalted butter, to taste
• Chilled sour cream
• Caviar, such as Sevruga or Kaluga hybrid, to taste
• A mother-of-pearl, bone, wooden, or plastic spoon for serving the caviar

Directions

1. Scrub the potatoes and bake at 400°F for approximately 50 to 60 minutes, until the skins are crisp and the centers tender.
2. Split each hot potato lengthwise. Gently loosen the flesh with a fork while keeping the skin intact.
3. Add butter to the hot center and let it melt. Spoon chilled sour cream over the top.
4. Use the caviar spoon to add a generous helping of roe.
5. Keep the layers intact rather than stirring everything together. Scoop upward through the warm potato and cool toppings for a bite containing each component.

Bethenny Tried Her Own Version

Bethenny Frankel mashed butter and flaky salt into her baked potato, added crème fraîche, then divided the top between Kaluga hybrid caviar and orange salmon roe. Two kinds of roe, one very fortunate potato.

Mila Kunis: Her Family Voted Against the Fancy Version

Kathy’s guests could help themselves to caviar. But Mila Kunis faced a household that wanted its holiday favorites prepared a very particular way, and upgrading the ingredients did not win her any votes.

In a 2017 interview with Bon Appétit, Mila credited her mother with teaching her to taste, season, and improvise with whatever was available. Her husband, Ashton Kutcher, even had a nickname for her resourcefulness: a leftovers ninja.

She made lasagna and stuffed peppers, but her anything-goes salads were especially adventurous. Fruit, quinoa, beans, and even sauerkraut could find their way into the bowl with a good vinaigrette.

Her mother’s chicken soup remained frustratingly hard to duplicate, however, even with telephone instructions. That perfect broth resisted all attempts at imitation.

Thanksgiving hadn’t always been part of their family calendar. Mila began making the meal after her mother suggested she take it on, then discovered the familiar holiday-host predicament of cooking all day and feeling too exhausted and full to enjoy dinner.

By 2017, the family had started deep-frying its turkey. The sides included corn soufflé or creamed corn, roasted root vegetables, and mashed potatoes, with sweet potato casserole sometimes joining them.

Her attempt to introduce fresh green beans and mushroom ragù met resistance. The family wanted canned beans with Campbell’s mushroom soup and French’s onions, so Mila surrendered that particular dish to tradition.

“I got outvoted, so that’s the one thing that’s not from scratch.”

The people had spoken, and they wanted the simplest, classic recipes.

Corn Soufflé and Classic Green Bean Casserole

Although Mila didn’t detail her recipes, these are published versions that will be great for your dinner.

Corn Soufflé

The version from Hungry Bluebird brought the ingredients together in one bowl.

Ingredients

• 1 can whole-kernel corn, 15 ounces, drained
• 1 can cream-style corn, 15 ounces
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup sour cream1 box corn muffin mix, 8½ ounces

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
2. Stir all the ingredients together until evenly combined, then transfer to the prepared dish.
3. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until set but still moist. A deeper dish may require more time.

Green Bean Casserole

The classic Campbell’s recipe offered the familiar mushroom-soup-and-onion combination Mila’s family preferred.

Ingredients

• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, 10½ ounces
• ½ cup 2% milk
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 4 cups cooked, cut green beans
• 1⅓ cups French’s French Fried Onions, divided
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a 1½-quart oven-safe casserole, combine the soup, milk, soy sauce, beans, and ⅔ cup fried onions; season to taste.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, until bubbling, then stir.
4. Cover with the remaining ⅔ cup onions and bake for 5 more minutes, until golden.
5. Let the casserole stand briefly before serving.
6. For the beans, use 2 drained 14½-ounce cans, 16 to 20 ounces thawed frozen beans, or approximately 1½ pounds fresh beans. If using fresh, blanch trimmed beans for 2 to 4 minutes, then cool in ice water before assembling.

Watch Other Versions of These Typical Family Favorites

TikToker creator @bryannah_kay made a similar corn casserole with Jiffy mix, sour cream, and butter. Her version kept the whole-kernel corn’s liquid and baked into a softly set, golden-topped dish.

Meanwhile, Mamaw Gail added cheddar to her mushroom-soup-and-green-bean mixture, with fried onions inside and on top. That final crunchy layer deserved its own serving-spoon strategy.

Kathie Lee Gifford: Three Days of Cooking for the People She Loved

Mila’s family defended the casserole they knew. For Kathie Lee Gifford, keeping familiar dishes on the table carried a tender connection to her late mother.

In 2025, the then-72-year-old told Fox News that Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday, and she usually began cooking three days ahead. Her menu followed the food her mother used to prepare, including stuffing, yam soufflé, gravy, and mashed potatoes.

“She couldn’t boil water when she married my daddy when she was nineteen, but boy, her stuffing is unsurpassed,” Kathie Lee said.

For that year’s holiday, she planned to be with her daughter, Cassidy Gifford, Cassidy’s husband, and their two young children, preparing food ahead to take along. She also prepared a meal for her son, Cody Gifford, his wife, and their three children, visiting them in Connecticut before Thanksgiving.

Two households still got a helping of the family traditions, even though she couldn’t spend the day with both children.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to just being with my loved ones and eating the food that my mother and their grandmother and great grandmother every single year made and blessed us with,” she said.

Cassidy and Cody were her children with her late husband, Frank Gifford, who died in August 2015, shortly before his 85th birthday. Her faith brought comfort as she remembered Frank over t…