Justine Doiron, Chef Behind TikTok’s ‘Justine Snacks’, Invites You to Think Beyond the Turkey This Thanksgiving (EXCLUSIVE)
Learn why the social media star sees vegetables as 'maximizers instead of just a side'
Justine Doiron, known as @justine_snacks on TikTok and Instagram, is beloved for her simple, nutritious recipes and warm online presence, and her unpretentious approach to cooking with seasonal ingredients, reducing food waste and prioritizing plant-based dishes has earned her millions of devoted followers.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the chef, who published her bestselling debut cookbook, Justine Cooks, last year, has partnered with the canned food company Del Monte to develop two tasty new holiday recipes using their Hot Honey Sliced Carrots and Mexican Style Street Corn. Doiron spoke to Woman’s World about these new recipes, her surprising approach to centering vegetables on her Thanksgiving table and more.
Finding creative new uses for canned vegetables
Canned vegetables sometimes get a bad rap, but they’re staple ingredients for many Thanksgiving side dishes, and Justine Doiron’s two new Del Monte recipes put a fun twist on canned carrots and corn.
Doiron sees her recipes for a sweet and spicy Esquites-Inspired Cornbread and a simpler-than-it-looks Hot Honey Carrots & Ricotta Tart as part of her vision for making Thanksgiving “easy, comfortable and fun.” “These Del Monte vegetables have flavors that really match Thanksgiving menus, and the convenience means people can spend less time stressing in the kitchen and more time actually enjoying themselves during the holiday season,” she says.
How to have a veggie-forward Thanksgiving
Doiron follows a pescatarian diet, and her recipes have inspired many of her followers to cut back on meat. It can be difficult to think about vegetables during Thanksgiving, given the holiday’s focus on turkey, but Doiron observes, “Turkey is deeply overrated. Even if you’ve made the best turkey, I never see anyone at the table say it’s their favorite part.”
“I have a whole veggie-based menu that I put on my YouTube this year, because when it comes to Thanksgiving, I think if the sides are good, no one is going to really miss the turkey,” Doiron continues. “Vegetables are delicious,” she says, pointing out, “A stuffing would have no flavor if you didn’t inject it with tons of things like scallions, fennel and mushrooms.” “Stuffing is so deeply underrated it hurts,” she says. “The only reason it is so good is because it is the one Thanksgiving food we don’t bring into our year-round rotation, which makes it so special to me.”
“A good Brussels sprout dish also needs more love. If they make your Thanksgiving table, you have excellent taste,” Doiron says, noting that in adding some much-needed green to your Thanksgiving plate, “Once you pivot your hosting perspective to seeing vegetables as maximizers instead of just a side, then it’s easy to prioritize them.”
Her comfort foods and pantry favorites
As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, many of us find joy in comfort foods. “My favorite comfort food changes by the minute!” Doiron says. “Right now, it’s a roasted sweet potato, mashed up with skyr [an Icelandic dairy product similar to yogurt], miso and maple syrup, then re-roasted until it’s nice and caramelized,” she says, pointing to her recipe for Twice-Baked Japanese Sweet Potatoes for those who want to try the comforting goodness at home. She also loves the simple perfection of “fresh sourdough with salted butter that’s melting into the crevices.”
Of course, comfort is key at Thanksgiving, and Doiron and her family always have a childhood favorite on the table. “We’re traditionalists, but we try a new macaroni and cheese recipe every year,” she says. “This is my sister’s favorite food, so we’re still on the hunt for the best possible version.”
Doiron finds satisfaction in pantry cooking and has a popular series of TikTok videos devoted to the topic. To reduce food waste, she always keeps a compost bowl on her counter while she’s chopping and prepping (“It makes everything faster and easier!” she says) and she tries to make the most of ingredients she already has, rather than rushing out to buy new ones. “My best pantry meal is brothy beans, which are affordable and filling,” she says. “To oomph up the nutrition, I usually like to add a vegetable, whether that’s just roasted broccoli, or Del Monte’s flavored vegetables.”
Easy ways to fix Thanksgiving stress
As fun as Thanksgiving is, it can also be stressful due to the amount of work that goes into preparing a feast for a large group. Asked how she makes the holiday easier to manage, Justine Doiron advises, “Batch as much as you can, and prep as much as you can the day before. As soon as guests start arriving, pull in people to help if they’d like. Frame Thanksgiving as a communal cooking day and all the stress of perfection will fall to the side like magic.”
Like most of us, Doiron cherishes the ritual of kicking back with a plate of leftovers after the holiday has passed. “The next day, after watching a few Christmas movies and practicing the art of doing nothing, I carefully assemble all the leftovers into another full Thanksgiving plate. I microwave it—it must be the microwave—and then have my second dinner. After that, the itch is scratched and the leftovers go to the people in my family who want to make sandwiches for the week!” she says, proving that even for a professional chef, sometimes the lowest-effort approach to leftovers is the most satisfying.
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