20 of The Best Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

The Best Thanks­giv­ing Side Dish Recipes is a trea­sure trove of culi­nary inspi­ra­tion for the hol­i­day sea­son. This col­lec­tion fea­tures an array of mouth­wa­ter­ing side dish­es that per­fect­ly com­ple­ment your Thanks­giv­ing feast. From clas­sic mashed pota­toes to inno­v­a­tive takes on green bean casse­role, these recipes promise to ele­vate your hol­i­day meal. With these dish­es at your table, your Thanks­giv­ing cel­e­bra­tion will sure­ly be mem­o­rable and fla­vor­ful.

Yum­my Mashed Pota­toes! 

• 4 pounds of rus­set pota­toes
• 1 cup of whole milk or heavy cream
• 1/2 cup of unsalt­ed but­ter (1 stick)
• Salt and pep­per to taste
• Chopped fresh pars­ley (option­al, for gar­nish)

Instruc­tions:

1. Peel the pota­toes and cut them into even­ly sized chunks.
2. Cov­er the pota­to chunks in a large pot with cold water. Add a gen­er­ous pinch of salt to the water.
3. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medi­um-low and sim­mer the pota­toes until they are fork-ten­der, about 15–20 min­utes.
4. While the pota­toes are cook­ing, heat the milk (or cream) and but­ter in a sep­a­rate saucepan over low heat until the but­ter is melt­ed. Keep the mix­ture warm.
5. Drain them thor­ough­ly once the pota­toes are cooked and return them to the pot.
6. Mash the pota­toes using a pota­to mash­er or a pota­to ricer until they are smooth and lump-free.
7. Grad­u­al­ly stir the warm milk and but­ter mix­ture into the mashed pota­toes. Mix until the pota­toes are creamy and well com­bined with the liq­uid.
8. Sea­son the mashed pota­toes with salt and pep­per to taste. Adjust the sea­son­ing as need­ed.
9. Trans­fer the creamy mashed pota­toes to a serv­ing dish and gar­nish with chopped fresh pars­ley if desired.
10. Serve your deli­cious home­made mashed pota­toes hot as a per­fect side dish for Thanks­giv­ing or any meal.

Feel free to adjust the amount of milk or cream and but­ter to achieve your desired lev­el of creami­ness. Enjoy your creamy mashed pota­toes!

Mac and Cheese! 

• 8 ounces elbow mac­a­roni
• 2 cups shred­ded sharp ched­dar cheese
• 1/2 cup grat­ed Parme­san cheese
• 3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup but­ter
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded moz­zarel­la cheese
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded Col­by cheese
• 1/4 cup but­ter
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded moz­zarel­la cheese
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded Col­by cheese
• 1/4 cup but­ter
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded moz­zarel­la cheese
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded Col­by cheese
• 1/4 cup but­ter
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded moz­zarel­la cheese
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded Col­by cheese
• 1/4 cup but­ter
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded moz­zarel­la cheese
• 2 1/2 cups shred­ded Col­by cheese

Instruc­tions:

1. Pre­heat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Cook the elbow mac­a­roni accord­ing to the pack­age instruc­tions until it’s al dente. Drain and set aside.
3. In a saucepan, melt 1/4 cup of but­ter or mar­garine over medi­um heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Cook, stir­ring con­stant­ly, for about 5 min­utes. Be care­ful not to brown the roux.
4. Grad­u­al­ly whisk in the milk so that no lumps form, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medi­um and sim­mer until the sauce thick­ens. This will take about 5 to 7 min­utes.
5. Stir in the shred­ded ched­dar cheese and grat­ed Parme­san cheese until the cheese is melt­ed and the sauce is smooth—season with salt and pep­per to taste.
6. Add the cooked mac­a­roni to the cheese sauce and stir well to coat.
7. Trans­fer the mac­a­roni and cheese mix­ture into a light­ly greased bak­ing dish.
8. In a sep­a­rate bowl, mix the shred­ded moz­zarel­la and Col­by cheese. Sprin­kle this cheese mix­ture over the top of the mac­a­roni and cheese.
9. Dot with 1/4 cup of but­ter cut into small pieces.
10. Bake in the oven until the cheese is bub­bly and gold­en brown, about 30 min­utes.
11. Let it cool for a few min­utes before serv­ing. Enjoy your home­made mac and cheese!

Feel free to cus­tomize this recipe by adding bread­crumbs on top for extra crunch or mix­ing in ingre­di­ents like crispy bacon or sautéed onions for added fla­vor.

Green Bean Casse­role!

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) con­densed cream of mush­room soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups crispy fried onions (French’s Fried Onions)
• 1/2 tea­spoon gar­lic pow­der
• 1/2 tea­spoon onion pow­der
• Salt and black pep­per to taste

Instruc­tions:

1. Pre­heat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Bring a large pot of salt­ed water to a boil. Add the green beans and blanch them for about 5 min­utes until they are bright green and slight­ly ten­der. Drain and trans­fer the beans to an ice bath to stop cook­ing. Drain again.
3. In a mix­ing bowl, com­bine the con­densed cream of mush­room soup, milk, gar­lic pow­der, onion pow­der, salt, and black pep­per. Mix until well com­bined.
4. Add the blanched green beans to the soup mix­ture and fold them gen­tly until they are even­ly coat­ed.
5. Trans­fer the green bean mix­ture to a 9x13-inch bak­ing dish.
6. Bake in the pre­heat­ed oven for about 25 min­utes or until the casse­role is heat­ed through and the edges are bub­bly.
7. Remove the casse­role from the oven and sprin­kle the crispy fried onions even­ly over the top.
8. Return the casse­role to the oven and bake for 5–10 min­utes or until the onions are gold­en brown and crispy.
9. Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few min­utes before serv­ing.
10. Serve your home­made Green Bean Casse­role as a delec­table Thanks­giv­ing side dish every­one will love.

This clas­sic dish is sure to be a hit at your Thanks­giv­ing table!

Cran­ber­ry Sauce!

• 12 ounces (about 3 cups) fresh cran­ber­ries
• 1 cup gran­u­lat­ed sug­ar
• 1 cup water
• Zest of one orange (option­al)
• 1–2 table­spoons fresh­ly squeezed orange juice (option­al)

Instruc­tions:

1. Rinse the cran­ber­ries thor­ough­ly and remove any stems or blem­ished berries.
2. In a medi­um saucepan, com­bine the water and sug­ar. Bring it to a boil over medi­um-high heat, stir­ring to dis­solve the sug­ar.
3. Add the fresh cran­ber­ries once the sug­ar is ful­ly dis­solved and the mix­ture is boil­ing.
4. Reduce the heat to medi­um and let the cran­ber­ries sim­mer for about 10–15 min­utes or until they start to burst. Stir occa­sion­al­ly.
5. If desired, add the zest of one orange and 1–2 table­spoons of fresh­ly squeezed orange juice to the sauce for a cit­rusy fla­vor. Stir to com­bine.
6. Con­tin­ue sim­mer­ing for anoth­er 5–10 min­utes until the sauce thick­ens. You can sim­mer longer for a thick­er con­sis­ten­cy or less for a thin­ner sauce.
7. Taste the cran­ber­ry sauce and adjust the sweet­ness if need­ed. If you pre­fer it sweet­er, add more sug­ar or more orange juice for a tangy twist.
8. Once the cran­ber­ries have main­ly burst and the sauce has thick­ened to your lik­ing, please remove it from the heat.
9. Allow the cran­ber­ry sauce to cool to room tem­per­a­ture. It will con­tin­ue to thick­en as it cools.
10. Trans­fer the cran­ber­ry sauce to a serv­ing dish, cov­er it, and refrig­er­ate until ready to serve.

This home­made cran­ber­ry sauce is a delight­ful addi­tion to your Thanks­giv­ing table. It pro­vides a sweet and tangy con­trast to the savory dish­es. Enjoy!

Thanks­giv­ing Dress­ing!

• 12 ounces (about 3 cups) fresh cran­ber­ries
• 1 cup gran­u­lat­ed sug­ar
• 1 cup water
• Zest of one orange (option­al)
• 1–2 table­spoons fresh­ly squeezed orange juice (option­al)

Instruc­tions:

1. Rinse the cran­ber­ries thor­ough­ly and remove any stems or blem­ished berries.
2. In a medi­um saucepan, com­bine the water and sug­ar. Bring it to a boil over medi­um-high heat, stir­ring to dis­solve the sug­ar.
3. Add the fresh cran­ber­ries once the sug­ar is ful­ly dis­solved and the mix­ture is boil­ing.
4. Reduce the heat to medi­um and let the cran­ber­ries sim­mer for about 10–15 min­utes or until they start to burst. Stir occa­sion­al­ly.
5. If desired, add the zest of one orange and 1–2 table­spoons of fresh­ly squeezed orange juice to the sauce for a cit­rusy fla­vor. Stir to com­bine.
6. Con­tin­ue sim­mer­ing for anoth­er 5–10 min­utes until the sauce thick­ens. You can sim­mer longer for a thick­er con­sis­ten­cy or less for a thin­ner sauce.
7. Taste the cran­ber­ry sauce and adjust the sweet­ness if need­ed. If you pre­fer it to be sweet­er, add more sug­ar or more orange juice for a tangy twist.
8. Please remove it from the heat once the cran­ber­ries have main­ly burst and the sauce has thick­ened to your lik­ing.
9. Allow the cran­ber­ry sauce to cool to room tem­per­a­ture. It will con­tin­ue to thick­en as it cools.
10. Trans­fer the cran­ber­ry sauce to a serv­ing dish, cov­er it, and refrig­er­ate until ready to serve.

This home­made cran­ber­ry sauce is a delight­ful addi­tion to your Thanks­giv­ing table. It pro­vides a sweet and tangy con­trast to the savory dish­es. Enjoy!

Sweet Pota­to Casse­role!

• 4 cups mashed sweet pota­toes (about 4–5 medi­um sweet pota­toes, cooked and peeled)
• 1/2 cup gran­u­lat­ed sug­ar
• 2 large eggs, beat­en
• 1/2 cup unsalt­ed but­ter, melt­ed
• 1/2 cup milk (whole or 2%)
• 1 tea­spoon vanil­la extract

For the Top­ping:

• 1 cup brown sug­ar, packed
• 1/2 cup all-pur­pose flour
• 1/4 cup unsalt­ed but­ter, melt­ed
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instruc­tions:

1. Pre­heat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x13-inch bak­ing dish.
2. Com­bine the mashed sweet pota­toes, gran­u­lat­ed sug­ar, beat­en eggs, melt­ed but­ter, milk, and vanil­la extract in a large mix­ing bowl. Mix until well com­bined.
3. Trans­fer the sweet pota­to mix­ture to the greased bak­ing dish, spread­ing it out even­ly.
4. Pre­pare the top­ping in a sep­a­rate mix­ing bowl by mix­ing the brown sug­ar, flour, melt­ed but­ter, and chopped pecans until you have a crumbly tex­ture.
5. Sprin­kle the top­ping even­ly over the sweet pota­to mix­ture in the bak­ing dish.
6. Bake in the pre­heat­ed oven for about 25–30 min­utes or until the top­ping is gold­en brown and the sweet pota­to fill­ing is heat­ed.
7. Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few min­utes before serv­ing.
8. Serve your home­made Sweet Pota­to Casse­role as a delight­ful Thanks­giv­ing side dish that’s both sweet and nut­ty.

This dish com­bines the nat­ur­al sweet­ness of sweet pota­toes with a crunchy pecan top­ping, mak­ing it a favorite among Thanks­giv­ing guests. Enjoy!

Roast­ed Brus­sels Sprouts!

 

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh Brus­sels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 2–3 table­spoons olive oil
• Salt and black pep­per to taste
• 2–3 cloves gar­lic, minced (option­al)
• 1/2 cup grat­ed Parme­san cheese (option­al for top­ping)

Instruc­tions:

1. Pre­heat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Toss the trimmed and halved Brus­sels sprouts in a large mix­ing bowl with olive oil until they are even­ly coated—season with salt and black pep­per to taste. If desired, add minced gar­lic for extra fla­vor.
3. Spread the Brus­sels sprouts in a sin­gle lay­er on a bak­ing sheet.
4. Roast the Brus­sels sprouts in the pre­heat­ed oven for about 20–25 min­utes or until they are ten­der and crispy out­side. Be sure to stir or shake the pan occa­sion­al­ly, even when cook­ing.
5. If you’d like to add a cheesy top­ping, remove the Brus­sels sprouts from the oven a few min­utes before they’re done. Sprin­kle the grat­ed Parme­san cheese over the sprouts and return them to the oven for a cou­ple of min­utes until the cheese is melt­ed and slight­ly gold­en.
6. Once done, trans­fer the roast­ed Brus­sels sprouts to a serv­ing dish and serve them hot.

These roast­ed Brus­sels sprouts are a fan­tas­tic Thanks­giv­ing side dish. They offer a delight­ful com­bi­na­tion of ten­der­ness and crispi­ness, with a hint of gar­lic and option­al Parme­san cheese for added fla­vor. Enjoy!

Creamy Spinach!

• 2 pounds fresh spinach, washed and trimmed
• 2 table­spoons unsalt­ed but­ter
• 1 small onion, fine­ly chopped
• 2 cloves gar­lic, minced
• 1/4 cup all-pur­pose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup grat­ed Parme­san cheese
• Salt and black pep­per to taste
• Pinch of ground nut­meg (option­al)
• Grat­ed nut­meg for gar­nish (option­al)

Instruc­tions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the washed and trimmed spinach and blanch for about 1–2 min­utes until wilt­ed. Drain the spinach and trans­fer it to a bowl of ice water to cool. Once cool, squeeze out excess water and chop the spinach.
2. Melt the but­ter in a large skil­let or saucepan over medi­um heat. Add the chopped onion and gar­lic and sauté until soft and translu­cent, about 3–4 min­utes.
3. Sprin­kle the flour over the onion and gar­lic mix­ture and stir con­tin­u­ous­ly for 1–2 min­utes to make a roux.
4. Grad­u­al­ly add the whole milk and heavy cream to the roux, whisk­ing con­tin­u­ous­ly to pre­vent lumps. Con­tin­ue to cook and whisk until the mix­ture thick­ens, about 5–7 min­utes.
5. Stir in the grat­ed Parme­san cheese until it’s ful­ly melt­ed and the sauce is smooth.
6. Add the chopped spinach to the creamy sauce and stir until the spinach is even­ly coat­ed.
7. Sea­son the creamed spinach with salt, black pep­per, and a pinch of ground nut­meg if desired. Adjust the sea­son­ing to your taste.
8. Con­tin­ue to cook for anoth­er 2–3 min­utes or until the spinach is heat­ed and the fla­vors meld togeth­er.
9. Trans­fer the creamed spinach to a serv­ing dish and gar­nish with a sprin­kle of grat­ed nut­meg if you like.
10. Serve your home­made creamy spinach hot as a delec­table Thanks­giv­ing side dish.

This creamy and fla­vor­ful spinach dish pairs won­der­ful­ly with your Thanks­giv­ing turkey and oth­er tra­di­tion­al dish­es. Enjoy!

Roast­ed Veg­eta­bles