'Best Thanksgiving dinner:' Woman's $20 Dollar Tree holiday dinner recipe goes viral

An unexpected hero has emerged to save Thanksgiving dinner with a budget-friendly recipe for those struggling to make ends meet.

It all started a few days ago when Rebecca Chobat, the brains behind the "Dollar Tree Dinners" account on TikTok, shared a video of how to put together a Thanksgiving meal with ingredients from Dollar Tree on a $20 budget.

Chobat has built a large online following by sharing simple and affordable recipes, including previous iterations of the now-viral Dollar Tree Thanksgiving dinner, to an audience of two million people who may be facing food insecurity, are looking for ways to reduce their grocery bill, or are in need of other options.

Chobat's original video posted Saturday, and a series of other videos posted that provide step-by-step instructions on how to recreate the Mac & Cheese croquettes, "Best of Thanksgiving" casserole, and caramel apple cookie bars, have gone viral, getting over 10 million views and thousands of comments.

"I've got a $20 budget to make a Thanksgiving dinner using ingredients from Dollar Tree," Chobat says in the video. "And I'm happy to say that not only have I already made the Dollar Tree Thanksgiving dinner, I do think it was my best Thanksgiving dinner that I have ever made."

Chobat even received a shout-out from fellow creator "Caleb Cooks," who said in a video posted Monday that he saw a single mother with three young children gathering ingredients to make the Dollar Tree Thanksgiving dinner while he was shopping at Houston location.

"I want her to know that her videos are helping people," he said.

'Thank you from the bottom of my heart,' Dollar Tree meals lady says

In a video posted Wednesday, Chobat thanked Caleb for sharing the story, saying it brought her to tears.

"I don't have the words to describe how I'm feeling today. I think the closest I can come to is that I'm humbled, and I am honored although I don't really think that fully encapsulates it," Chobat said. "Thank you, Caleb, for posting your story about a single mom at Dollar Tree who was there shopping my Dollar Tree Thanksgiving dinner, and how it was how she was going to be able to provide Thanksgiving dinner for her family this year."

The mother, according to Caleb, planned on heating up some "frozen meals or something," but because of the videos was able to give her kids a "real Thanksgiving dinner." And that her kids were excited for it.

"The Dollar Tree meal lady is a wholesome creator, and I want her to know that her videos do help people cause I saw a real-life example of it," he said.

What ingredients are used to make a 'Dollar Tree Thanksgiving Dinner?'

Chobat was able to make a three-course meal, including Mac & Cheese croquettes, "Best of Thanksgiving" casserole and caramel apple cookie bars, with less than 20 ingredients for $20. If you are game enough to recreate the "Dollar Tree Thanksgiving Dinner," the ingredients are listed below.

A few "optional" add-ons, such as a large casserole dish, a block of Cheddar cheese, and an extra packet of sugar cookie mix, may also be purchased but are not needed to make the meal.

"If anyone out there is making my Dollar Tree Thanksgiving dinner this year, I sincerely hope that you enjoy it as much as I did," Chobat says in a video posted Wednesday.

Ingredients list:

• Swanson chicken broth (Optional)

• Kraft ranch

• Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

• Kraft Mac & Cheese

• Turkey stuffing mix

• Idahoan original mashed potatoes mix

• Pioneer roasted turkey gravy mix

• Dried cranberries

• French style green beans

• 2 cans of turkey

• Milk

• Margarine

• Sugar cookie mix

• Werther's chewy caramel candies

• Apple pie filling

Those interested in following a step-by-step tutorial on how to make each course, the videos for the Mac & Cheese croquettes, "Best of Thanksgiving" casserole and the caramel apple cookie bars are linked.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman's $20 Dollar Tree Thanksgiving dinner goes viral