This collection of Thanksgiving side dishes is filled with inspirations and recipes to help you plan out your Thanksgiving menu. Whether you want a classic recipe or something more modern, this list has a little of everything.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the holiday itself, and I love sharing Thanksgiving recipes and helping my readers to create food memories with their friends and families. For the past several years I have been creating unique Thanksgiving menus, and now I am organizing all of the Thanksgiving side dish recipes into this list so that everything is in one place.
You will find recipes for Thanksgiving classics like mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. I’ve also included recipes that are trendy (like Corn with a Parmesan Lime Sauce and Shishito Peppers), inspired by travel (like Colcannon), or slightly healthier (like Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes).
My family tends to rely on the same recipes from year to year, but adding a new recipe can bring new life to Thanksgiving dinner. Add roasted carrots to the menu to contrast with the rich heavy foods Thanksgiving is known for. Or try a twist on a classic and make Chorizo Sage Stuffing or Fig and Cranberry Chutney.
The best thing is that most of these recipes can be prepared a day or two in advance and reheated on Thanksgiving. My trick to preparing food in advance is to add a little extra liquid (whether that is broth, sour cream, etc) to help prevent the side dish from drying out as it sits in the fridge and is reheated.
Thanksgiving Side Dishes:
Thanksgiving Side Dishes
This comprehensive list of Thanksgiving Side Dishes has classic recipes and more modern creations! I created this list to organize my Thanksgiving recipes and to help you plan your holiday menu.
These rich, creamy, and cheesy mashed potatoes are the perfect Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. The secret ingredients are cream cheese and sour cream.
Mashed new potatoes are topped with sauteed onions and kale. It's my take on a traditional Irish recipe.
The combination of roasted garlic and brown butter give these mashed potatoes a rich flavor.
Adding cauliflower to mashed potatoes is an easy way to reduce the carbs and calories. This easy cauliflower mashed potato recipe is a slightly healthier side dish to add to your Thanksgiving menu.
Blue Cheese Potatoes Au Grain is made with layers of thinly sliced new potatoes that are cooked in a sauce made with sauteed shallots, garlic, cream, chive cream cheese, and blue cheese.
This cranberry sauce is made from scratch using whole cranberries, and it's very easy to make.
Fig and cranberry chutney is a sophisticated alternative to serving cranberry sauce.
Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes are roasted in butter and maple syrup and topped with a butter, brown sugar, and pecan crumble. It's a no-fuss recipe that is easy to prepare and fitting for Thanksgiving.
This easy recipe for Thanksgiving Roasted Sweet Potatoes emphasizes the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes without adding marshmallows.
If you want, you can add marshmallows on top of these mashed sweet potatoes.
This Thanksgiving stuffing recipe celebrates fall flavors! Stuffing mix gets an upgrade by adding mushrooms, apple, cranberries, sage, and pecans.
A stuffing made with spicy chorizo, fresh apples, and mushrooms that is topped with fried sage leaves.
Roasted butternut squash and chopped kale add extra veggies to this stuffing recipe.
An easy to prepare recipe for a classic Green Bean Casserole. This can be made a day in advance and then baked in the oven.
Corn seasoned with Mississippi comeback sauce takes just 20 minutes to prepare. It's a little creamy and a little spicy.
This Sugar Snap Pea and Corn Salad with caramelized shallots and a citrus yogurt dressing is an untraditional addition to Thanksgiving dinner that my family loves.
Inspired by a side dish at a steakhouse in Chicago, fresh corn is served in a zesty parmesan lime sauce and topped with blistered shishito peppers.
A corn casserole made with bell peppers, chili powder, paprika, and cream cheese. It's creamy and cheesy and completely irresistible.
Roasted carrots are definitely the easiest side dish, and then whey are seasoned and roasted they are filled with natural sweetness and lots of flavor. This simple recipe takes just 4 ingredients and 5 minutes of active preparation time.
This simple recipe for Roasted Carrots with a Ginger Yogurt Sauce and Pepitas turns carrots into a show stopping side dish.
The combination of ginger and honey give these roasted carrots a sweet and spicy taste.
Homemade dill cottage cheese rolls are the perfect thing to use to soak up any extra gravy on your place.
This recipe for the Corn Bread Muffins makes for a great Thanksgiving side dish or a delicious breakfast.
What is your favorite Thanksgiving side dish? I have always loved mashed potatoes the most, but my Southwestern-inspired corn recipe is a close second! Tell me about your favorite in the comments.