105 Classic Thanksgiving Side Dishes To Make For The Holiday
These side dishes deserve main event status.
People might say that Thanksgiving is all about the bird, but real ones know—it's actually all about the SIDES. That turkey, ham, or even a Thanksgiving cauliflower centerpiece would be mighty lonely without a table full of casseroles, sauces, rolls, and lots and lots of potatoes. To ensure your feast is as great as it can be, check out our top 105 best Thanksgiving sides—you might just find a new family favorite among them.
First things first: If you’re going for the most quintessential Thanksgiving, you’ve got to have the classics. We’re talking stuffing, sweet potato casserole, gravy, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce… If you wanted to, you could make all those, stop right there, and have pretty much the perfect meal. If you’ve made those a million times already and want to branch out, but are worried your friends and family might mutiny, we suggest starting small. Try out a new variation on the tried and true recipes, like our cranberry relish instead of sauce, our sweet potato casserole with pecans instead of marshmallows, our loaded green bean casserole with added bacon, our cream cheese mashed potatoes, and more.
If your Thanksgiving crowd is more creative (or forgiving 😉), try adding in more exciting ingredients to your normal fare. Love veggies but looking for something with a little more intrigue? Try our salty sweet shredded Brussels, our stir-fried green beans, our bang bang Brussels, or our Moroccan-spiced carrots—they’re sure to kick your meal up a notch. Big potato fan but want something more interesting than mashed? Try our chili oil smashed potatoes, our mashed sweet potatoes, our fondue mashed potatoes, or our Lyonnaise potatoes. Love the idea of stuffing but never feel like the standard recipes do it for you? We've been there. Try changing it up with our stuffing-stuffed pumpkins, our oyster stuffing, our cornbread dressing, or our stuffin’ muffins. You might just like them so much, you’ll bookmark the recipes for years to come.
Want even more Thanksgiving ideas? Check out our favorite Thanksgiving salads, soups, cocktails, and desserts too.
Shredded Brussels Sprouts
We love classic sautéed Brussels sprouts paired with our turkey, but sometimes we crave something with a bit more kick. These slightly spicy salty-sweet sprouts make for a unique and easy fall salad that can be served warm or cold (so you can prep them ahead of time!).
Get the Shredded Brussels Sprouts recipe.
Fondue Mashed Potatoes
Fondue mashed potatoes, or more classically known as pommes aligot, are super-creamy, silky mashed potatoes that have a starchy, cheesy pull like you’ve never seen before. The buttery potato mixed with fresh garlic, white wine, and mild Gruyère is really an experience you're going to love.
Get the Fondue Mashed Potatoes recipe.
Green Bean Casserole
For this recipe, we ditched the canned cream of mushroom soup and went for fresh instead. By sautéing mushrooms with thinly sliced onion in butter, you're building a base with some serious depth of flavor. Cook the mushrooms enough that they get a little caramelized, and you'll really be good to go.
Get the Green Bean Casserole recipe.
Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse prepares their killer casserole with layers of mashed, soufflé-like sweet potatoes topped with a crunchy, sweet brown sugar and pecan crust and baked into a winning combination of textures. Pssst: You can also turn this into Thanksgiving dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Thanksgiving Rolls
If you’ve never tried your hand at making Thanksgiving bread from scratch, this straightforward, easy recipe is for you. With only a few simple ingredients and a little bit of hands-off time, you can have soft, buttery dinner rolls not only for Thanksgiving dinner, but any time of the year.
Get the Thanksgiving Rolls recipe.
Mashed Potato Casserole
This recipe begins—as you might expect—with classic mashed potatoes. We then add herb-infused milk and some cream cheese, then fold in the secret ingredient—eggs! Eggs are stirred in before baking to lighten up the potatoes, and they help the mixture “soufflé” a bit in the oven. You might never make regular ole mashed taters again.
Get the Mashed Potato Casserole recipe.
Southern Baked Mac & Cheese
This isn't your average mac & cheese. Chef Millie Peartree puts an entire layer of pure cheese in between two layers of (already cheesy) macaroni. Game. Changer. Your Thanksgiving guests will flip.
Get the Southern Baked Mac & Cheese recipe.
Classic Stuffing
When it comes to the big Thanksgiving feast, we consider the roast turkey and the sweet potato casserole as sides to the STUFFING. A good stuffing makes or breaks Thanksgiving dinner, so follow our tips to make it the best you can.
Get the Classic Stuffing recipe.
Sweet Potato Gratin
Your sweet potatoes are tired of being baked all on their own. Give them the chance to become something much more exciting and turn them into sweet potato gratin. Just like the OG potatoes au gratin, these sweet potatoes (including purple AND orange ones) are layered with plenty of cheese and herby cream sauce and baked until golden brown and bubbly. 😍
Get the Sweet Potato Gratin recipe.
Perfect Gravy
Gravy is luscious and full of umami, one of our favorite food enhancers. What other sauce could be drizzled over all the different types of meats, veggies, and sides of your holiday meal? And we think that your Thanksgiving only deserves the best, which is why perfecting gravy is worth it—and so easy!
Get the Perfect Gravy recipe.
Skillet Cornbread
Not only does this cornbread involve less cleanup (we love an oven-to-table vessel), but it promotes the ideal texture of crackly crust around moist, decadent corn cake. Pouring the batter into a preheated cast-iron creates a sear to the batter (nothing like that sizzling sound when it’s poured in) and speeds up the bake time. Wins ALL around.
Get the Skillet Cornbread recipe.
Parmesan Roasted Green Beans
This side is like if green beans dressed up as cheesy garlic bread. 😍 Tossed in garlic and black pepper and showered with cheese, this simple, yet irresistible side will steal the spotlight at every holiday table.
Get the Parmesan Roasted Green Beans recipe.
Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows
Most sweet potato casseroles have only marshmallows or pecans. Don't even think about making this mistake. Topping with a pecan streusel and then marshmallows helps this Thanksgiving casserole stand out above all the rest.
Cheesy Brussels Sprout Bake
This is one side dish that will make everyone freak out (and run for seconds). If you have vegetarian guests, feel free to skip the bacon. We're usually all about the smoky flavor, but for this dish, it's all about the CHEESE.
Get the Cheesy Brussels Sprout Bake recipe.
Best-Ever Oyster Stuffing
Homemade stuffing is a must on the Thanksgiving table. If you're new to the oyster stuffing game, let us tell you, you're in for a treat. Oysters lend a briny, super savory flavor to your stuffing that will keep your guests coming back for second and third helpings.
Get the Best-Ever Oyster Stuffing recipe.
Pear Salad
This simple yet satisfying wintery salad packs a flavorful punch with slightly smoky seared pears, creamy blue cheese, and ultra-crunchy candied pumpkin seeds. Tied together by a sweet-sour honey vinaigrette, it’s the perfect holiday side (or add some protein to make it a main!).
Get the Pear Salad recipe.
Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
Creamy, sweet, and conveniently orange, butternut squash adds extra body, richness, and color to mac & cheese. A little thyme does some heavy lifting, making the homey comfort classic a little fancy, and bringing some fall flavors to the table that are *chef’s kiss*.
Get the Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese recipe.
Harvest Chicken Casserole
This satisfying casserole has ALL of your fall favorites—Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, cranberries. Make it for a big crowd for Thanksgiving, then make it all fall long—it's a prep-ahead DREAM.
Get the Harvest Chicken Casserole recipe.
Corn Casserole
This classic Southern side is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. If you prefer, drained and rinsed canned corn can be used instead of frozen, and you could substitute more milk in for the heavy cream. The finished casserole won't be quite as decadent, but it will still be delicious.
Get the Classic Corn Casserole recipe.
Sweet Potato Salad
This sweet potato salad is the perfect way to lighten up any autumnal dinner, and especially your Thanksgiving spread. Feta, dried cranberries, and red onions pair really nicely with the earthy sweetness of the orange super food. Did we mention it's great warm or cold (which means you can make it ahead!)?
Get the Sweet Potato Salad recipe.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
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