Don't Ditch The Tasty For The Cheap

In anticipation of Thanksgiving Day, Benzinga researched several economical recipes to help you save money this holiday. According to the Associated Press (AP), the projected mean cost of a Thanksgiving meal for ten people in 2016 is $49.41. This is a 13-cent rise in price from three years ago. The jump is due to an increase in the price of coffee, dairy products, sugar, eggs and sweet potatoes.

But the consumer can still be in control of their holiday spending. Here are our top three favorite recipes that will leave you with plenty of cash to shop on Black Friday:

Food & Wine Roasted Winter Squash With Herbs And Garlic

Click here for the recipe.

Squash is a low-cost, versatile vegetable. So use it in your recipes to save money and add some color to your meal this Thanksgiving. Food and Wine's website features a recipe for Roasted Winter Squash with Herbs and Garlic. Since this side dish incorporates simple ingredients, most of which one probably stores away in their cupboard year-round, we estimate that the dish costs somewhere around $10 to make and can feed a relatively large crowd.

As winter squash is the dish's main ingredient, we researched the average price of butternut squash per pound. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service's website, butternut squash averaged $1.24 per pound in 2013. With a cup totaling 0.452 pounds, the price per pound equated to $0.79 per cup. Toriavey.com states that the average weight of a butternut squash is two to three pounds. Finally, it is important to note that this 2013 estimate provides a fairly accurate display of 2016 pricing for the product.

Food Network Turkey Gravy

Click here for the recipe.

By embracing the reusable and recyclable trend this Thanksgiving, you can save money on the big holiday meal. The Food Network offers a gravy recipe that incorporates trimmings from the turkey and the basic ingredient of flour (who doesn't have flour in their cupboard year-round, right?). The sustainable nature of this recipe makes the cost of the dish next to nothing.

Glazed Carrots With Cardamom And Ginger

Click here for the recipe.

This Food and Wine dish uses carrots as its main ingredient. According to the USDA Economic Research Service's website, raw whole carrots cost $0.74 per pound in 2013. The average grocery store sells the recipe's other main ingredient, orange juice, frozen in cans for less than a dollar. The recipe calls for three pounds of carrots, which equates to twelve servings. At $0.74 a pound, this means that the main ingredient will total about $2.22.

Make it a thrifty Thanksgiving this year and enjoy tasty dishes with these recipes. We're thankful for them and think you will be too. Bon appetite!

Infographic designed with data from AP article entitled "How Much Will You Spend on Thanksgiving Dinner for 10?"