Thanksgiving celebrations among the Amish vary as widely as the Amish themselves.

I’ve been to some generally more conservative communities where Thanksgiving is scarcely observed. In fact, businesses will be open as usual in some of the most conservative Amish communities. There might be a small home-based “variety store" where the doors are open just like any other day. It’s not that the Amish are not thankful, it is just that being thankful is part of the daily fabric of existence among the old-order Amish. So why devote a single day just to the cause?
Still, in other Amish communities, Thanksgiving is observed with a big meal of turkey and all the trimmings.
Generally, the more open an Amish community is, the more likely you will see Thanksgiving observed. And this is just my opinion, but I think a lot of it has to do with secular influences. The Amish and more progressive and open communities have more contact with non-Amish people and traditions, and they get adopted by the Amish.
In other Amish settlements, celebrating Thanksgiving is good for business. There are plenty of Amish-style buffets and smorgasbords in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and northern Indiana, where tourists come to have a giant Thanksgiving meal. Even if the restaurants are closed on Thanksgiving day, they’re open the day before.
I love this Amish Thanksgiving Vegetable Medley it’s simple to throw together. Just like with Amish baking, this recipe has only a few ingredients but they deliver a lot of flavor.
For this recipe, I’m listing all canned ingredients that you can buy at the store, but I’m Amish cooks would have home-canned corn, home-canned tomatoes, and possibly probably even home-canned lima beans. And, this recipe has only a couple of seasonings with it. But it tastew so good. I love this dish. I mean, you can add other seasonings if you like, but they are not needed (in my opinion). This is delicious.
This is a 3-vegetable dish. That's it, but the lima beans add some great bulk, the corn and tomatoes add color and taste. So good.
I am not a huge fan of lima beans, but I think in this dish, with this combination, they work well.
Most Amish would have a home-canned supply of veggies to reach into for this dish.
This is the dish as it comes out of the oven. You can see the melted butter on top, after you get it out of the oven, you stir that throughout and you'll get that nice buttery flavor everywhere.
I had a sampling of this, and it is so good, but you can tweak the recipe. You could add some sliced carrots, green beans, cauliflower, or button mushrooms. You could sprinkle with thyme or black or red pepper flakes for a bit more zip. If there is any other spices you love, you can't really go wrong adding them.
The dish is very colorful and could be served in a glass bowl to add a splash to your Thanksgiving dinner table. I think this makes for the perfect Thanksgiving side dish, a wonderful flavorful addition to anyone's Thanksgiving table feast.
This type of dish pairs well with chicken or turkey and is something different besides the typical green bean casserole on your menu. A spoonful of this adds nice color to the plate alongside the stuffing, turkey, cranberries,mashed potatoes and gravy, and sweet potatoes! So if you are still looking for a vegetable side dish, it doesn't get much easier or more flavorful than this Amish Thanksgiving Vegetable Medley
🍅 Amish Thanksgiving Vegetable Medley
- 1-16 ounce can of lima beans
- 1-12 ounce can of whole kernel corn
- 1-16 ounce can of tomatoes
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 /2 teaspoon onion salt
- 1 /2 teaspoon celery salt
📋 Instructions
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter a one and a half quart casserole.
Combine all of these ingredients except the butter.
Dot the top with butter.
Bake in a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes.
🥬 More Amish Veggie Recipes
MRS. YODER'S FOUR-BEAN BAKED BEANS
This is an amazing dish, similar to the above, but with a nice bacon-y flavor.
PORK N BEANS
This is an amazing recipe from Ethridge, Tennessee.
BEAN FUDGE
I am always so intrigued with this recipe. You may be thinking, what does this have to do with beans? Well, it is fudge made from beans. The one time I made it, it was really, really good...it just didn't "set" like maybe it should have...it was, I think, too creamy, but I'd love to take another crack.
🖨️ Full Recipe
Amish Thanksgiving Vegetable Medley
Ingredients
- 1-16 ounce can oflima beans
- 1-12 ounce can ofwhole kernel corn
- 1-16 ounce can oftomatoes
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 /2 teaspoon onion salt
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Butter a one and a half quart casserole.
- Combine all of these ingredients except the butter.
- Dot the top with butter.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.
Barbara Boldt
So simple, but OH SO GOOD! The only thing I added was some Adobo seasoning and used celery seed and onion powder instead of celery salt and onion salt ( reason being I didn't have those two spices). I paired this with a red potato and made it a meatless meal.
Kevin Williams
Thanks, Barbara, sounds like you made some super additions!